Tikka safety, is it safe!

Premium Gun Accessories - Ammo Fusion
You pays your money and make your choice. I have Tikka and Sako rifles and have no issues with either. Use a spent round and practice.
As an ex carp fisher I also practice unloading in the dark. With safety on remove the mag. Then fingers well away from the trigger release the safety and then gently slide the bolt back.
Also do not do it with gloves on and point the rifle at the ground
If you are not comfortable get rid of it and change to a 3 stage safety such as Sauer/Sako.
Old adage practice makes perfect and perfect makes practice.
 
Mungo said:
Thinking about, I’ve seen more NDs from people using 3 position rather than 2 position safeties. I think something about that tiny bit of extra complexity is enough to lead to a little extra uncertainty about true state.
Click to expand...

Fine motor skill loss under pressure perhaps ?
 
Brno ZG 47 had it right with the firing pin interceptor 1/3 down the pin shank. If only they had made it operator fwd to live and back to safe
 
Mungo said:
uncertainty about true state.
Click to expand...
I think this is the biggest safety issue with the way we handle firearms in the UK ^^^^^
We're forever loading and unloading, to the point where we have to check the state of the rifle from time to time just to remind ourselves.
I think a rifle that is always loaded is safer than one which might be loaded, or might not.
I recall a member of this site who spends a lot of time in Mozambique saying:
"When I arrive in Africa, I load my rifle. When I leave Africa, I unload it. Because it is always loaded while I'm in Africa there is never any uncertainty about its state".

Makes perfect sense.
 
slider said:
Ok, so the background to this is than I have used a Browning X bolt for years, on which you can work the bolt to load and unload the rifle with the safety catch engaged.
I recently had cause to buy a second rifle and found a used Tikka T3 that fitted the bill. BUT I have found that I have to disengaged the safety to unload the rifle.
Now I fully understand that a rifle is never really safe unless it is empty and the bolt removed but why on earth would anyone think the Tikka system was a good idea!
Click to expand...
Because unlike your Browning, the Tikka safety physically blocks the firing pin from moving forward accidentally, e.g. if dropped.

Regardless of what type of safety a rifle has, it should always be loaded & unloaded with the muzzle pointed in a safe direction, typically into soft ground in front of you, where any accidental discharge will be from a rifle that is otherwise under control & cause no harm.

I can see absolutely no reason why anyone should want to be able to unload a rifle with the safety on, in my mind the rifle has two states - loaded & in a condition that a round in the chamber can be fired; or, unloaded with bolt back, chamber empty & magazine removed (or empty if it's got a blind mag).

Should add, I am referring to Tikka M595 above not one of these modern pretender T3 types 😉
 
Last edited:
Tikka T3 safety works well for me, as long as I remember to engage it. The only issue I've had is the trigger coming loose, which was potentially dangerous - I've rectified that now with loctite.
 
Tikka actions are so smooth and operate with very little force which does not allow for a safety that does not lock the bolt ala Remington 700 which can be unloaded in safe. I have one gripe with the T3 bolt lock, if handled rough while stalking it has happened to me that the safety moved to fire position. In many years only twice. As Tak said, loctite on m6 screw holding trigger housing is important.

The ASH 3 pos safety was/is a tricky one. I had two so far. Firstly not all rifles smiths were capable of fitting the safety which made it deadly dangerous. Same as on Win 70/Mausers etc the smith must understand the principle. The main Sako/Tikka importer in Germany was offering these ASH safeties conversions on their rifles but their inhouse smiths made a few boo boos. Even if the rifle smith did a good job at fitting them the owner of the rifle might have removed the trigger for a clean and positioned it wrong at reassembly making it unsafe. I removed my 3 pos safety again although it worked perfect for me. Overall the system is flawed the way it was.
No matter what safety system is fitted in a rifle one should service, clean and check depending on usage.

edi
 
A safety does not mean the rifle or shotgun is safe. It matters not whether its a two position, three position, a decocker, or hammer that needs cocking, a gun mechanism is mechanical device that is prone to gremlins.

Most safeties simply block the trigger mechanism. Some also block the bolt handle and hold the action shut. Some have an intermediate position that allows the action to open whilst the trigger mechanism is still blocked. Some simply block the trigger but still allow the bolt to cycled. Some safeties are automatically put on safe when you open the gun. Others do not.

But the firing pin or hammer is held back by a sear with usually less than 1/16” of engagement between the two parts. The sear is released by pressure on the trigger. But a bit of inertia can also release the sear.

A drop, bang or similar can easily make a gun fire. A build up of crud, hardened oil etc can easily reduce a sear from properly engaging so your 1/16” is down to just a few thou. Or a grass seed or similar can easily get in the and prevent proper engagement.

Or simply pulling the trigger when safety is on, and the trigger is a little sticky and doesn’t return properly.

It’s very easy for a gun to fire when the safety is released.

The only way for you to be safe with a gun is proper gun handling and muzzle awareness. And proper and regular maintenance - ie cleaning.

When you release the safety the gun should be pointing in safe place and under complete control. And the finger should NO where near the trigger. You should be expecting the unexpected.

And an empty gun should still be treated as if it’s loaded. Most accidents happen with “unloaded guns”.

Reading some of the comments on this thread really does make me wonder. However if you are in doubt just ask.
 
The old adage " never point a firearm at anything you are not prepared to destroy" works for me. Loaded or not.

I was helping to retrieve a lost stag one early morning when we bumped into another stalker with his rifle. He was swinging it around willy billy and after looking down his muzzle a couple of occasions I asked if his rifle is loaded he said " it's ok the the safety is on". FFS!
I asked him to unload it thinking that should it discharge and harm me I wouldn't be able to throttle the thick bastard....
 
I realise this is neither T3 or Blaser z(they were mentioned in the thread)

But watch this vid from 2:46 to 4:09

Perfect demonstration how to manipulate a bolt with decock function and at No time going near the trigger bow



👍🏻
 
Ronin said:
The Tikka saftey (Sako) is an adopted unit across the two brands

The Sako whilst more complex and allows the user to manipulate the bolt whilst “on safe” does not block the firing pin

One rarely hears if failure of either unit through mechanical fault or breakage

Any issues are usually caused by end users putting in significantly weaker sear springs and either failing to follow manufacture guidelines on safe operating tolerances or being on the Darwin spectrum (or both)

Lower spring rate causes lack of positive sear engagement / reset

As Blaser have been mentioned - there have been some well documented failure (ND) reported around the saftey of R93 and R8

They are two doffernt systems but both operated by sliding the decock device at the rear of the bolt body on the tang

Many failures occur when end users do not follow the manual and allow fingers within the trigger bow whilst sliding the de cock

The pressure required will in some instances cause involuntary grip and pressure on the trigger - the end result being a ND

Dirt ingress in the case if the R93 is another well known issue with sear engagement

Back on task

The AsH Tikka saftey was (is) a solution for those who wanted a true three position saftey device for T3

Though looking at the web page, I’m not sure if it’s still in production

It worked but required some “fitting” (just like any other three position saftey)

They are rarely if ever a drop in fit (ask me how I know),,,,after spending three days of hand filing - fitting a device to a dangerous game rifle

Basic principles of rifke handling should be applied when removing chambered rounds from any rifle

Even with blocked firing pin on 3 pos saftey this should be followed

Tikkas have a pretty good saftey record

End users ,,, that’s another story
Click to expand...
Oops… my bad 🤣
 
Envillegc1 said:
You pays your money and make your choice. I have Tikka and Sako rifles and have no issues with either. Use a spent round and practice.
As an ex carp fisher I also practice unloading in the dark. With safety on remove the mag. Then fingers well away from the trigger release the safety and then gently slide the bolt back.
Also do not do it with gloves on and point the rifle at the ground
If you are not comfortable get rid of it and change to a 3 stage safety such as Sauer/Sako.
Old adage practice makes perfect and perfect makes practice.
Click to expand...
And there we have it……
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Remington 700 Trigger snapped safety
Replies
9
Views
603
Fudge1187
F
Advice please ?Browning X Bolt 2 - an all purpose deer stalking rifle (non toxic rounds)
Replies
4
Views
886
Rcar3y
Rcar3y
Mannlicher-Schoenauer - is a heavy bolt lift normal?
2
Replies
34
Views
2K
Scipio
Scipio
Tikka t3x 22.250 barrel knackered
2 3
Replies
43
Views
2K
NP435
N
A question for the Mauser M03 gurus
Replies
7
Views
509
HandB
H
Premium Gun Accessories - Ammo Fusion
Back
Top