Do any other guns have a better bang for your buck than the Tikka ?

To be fair, the 70 I had was made in the mid-80's. Good-looking gun, but not a stellar performer.
I'm sure the new ones are an improvement, I haven't handled many of them. They obviously have impressed some people here.
Some are made by FN in Belgium, and others are made in Portugal? Or are they all made in Portugal under license?
Before anyone gets "testy" again, I'm not looking for ammunition, just asking ;)
 
Chilly807 said:
To be fair, the 70 I had was made in the mid-80's. Good-looking gun, but not a stellar performer.
I'm sure the new ones are an improvement, I haven't handled many of them. They obviously have impressed some people here.
Some are made by FN in Belgium, and others are made in Portugal? Or are they all made in Portugal under license?
Before anyone gets "testy" again, I'm not looking for ammunition, just asking ;)
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Alright, big big changes occurred quite some time ago. :) The Model 70 reverted back to the Pre-64 action, so it's not even the same action you had. Quality has improved immensely too, recent guns and all my new ones were FN made in South Carolina. You'd honestly be hard pressed to find a higher quality gun at the price, this isn't fanboyism just telling it straight.

in 1992 the "Classic" or Pre-64 style action was reintroduced, alongside the push feed / simplified manufacture model you had. Then by 2006 all they make is controlled round feed / classic actions again with a few straggling models of push feeds petering out. In my opinion the best Model 70 ever made was the South Carolina FNs, they're tighter and better finished than a Sauer I had that retails around $7,000 in Canada. I've yet to try the new Portuguese made Model 70s, they're supposed to be as good, I certainly hope so. Very different rifle than a T3, and very different rifle than your 80's push feed Model 70. Some got FN Model 70s last year for $700 on sale, I have one that I paid more for second hand from someone who got the deal, and still feel I did well.

The machining operations that go into something like the current Model 70 and a T3 make you wonder how they retail at essentially the same price today. And no plastic. So to answer the thread's question, yes a Model 70 can beat a T3 on value.
 
I just ordered up a Howa 1500 in 6.5x55....had enough trigger time with a Vanguard .243 that I'm confident in the rifles. Only thing I'm not crazy about with them is the cocking effort is much more then any other rifle I have, and it seems it's due to the looong distance the firing pin travels, which makes for greater lock time. Still gotta say my Rem 700's are the best of the bunch for the inexpensive rifles.
Aren't Win 70's made in Argentina now? I use to own one of the original Stealth with the HS stock in .308....nice rifle but way too heavy for anything useful....
 
I will never buy a tikka or any other rifle with such a narrow ejection port..... For the life of me, I can't understand why any manufacturer would make one that way......

And yes, I am sure I will hear all about the "preciseness" of their ejction etc..... But in the real wold, I hunt in sub zero temps where anything mechanical can go wrong...... Whn it does, I need to be able to get my fingers in there if I have to.....

Super poor design IMOP......
 
I briefly had a .270 T3 in the normal version. I found the kick was at my limit (gun was scoped). Nice gun otherwise. I now shoot a browning abolt micro in 7-08 (weighs about 7 lbs scoped) and far prefer it to the tikka, since it is lighter, and the kick is not a problem. Since you don't like brownings, the ruger hawkeye compact in 7-08 or .260 remington would be my second recommendation. Of course you'd have to find one first.

shorttrac said:
Seems you are more concerned about light weight and recoil. Tikka t3 and lightweights are notoriously bad kicking rifles. I think a T3 would be a disappointment compared to your deluxe IMHO. Those deluxes are very nice and have some weight to absorb recoil. If you have to have light weight the Weatherby Backcountry, Ruger or Kimber are better guns than t3's. If you don't mind a bit heavier gun and don't want to blow the bank the Vanguard is tough to beat.
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Keep in mind folks, cheaper price for a funtioning item does not make it a "better bang for the buck.

The model 70, MKII's, X-Bolts are all better bang for the buck than savage, tikka, vanguard or a Howa. And the first three I listed have stronger and safer actions.

A $2,000 car for $1,000 is not a better deal than a $50,000 car for $$6,000.


The three rifles I listed don't have any of the issues the others have, for not much more $$ if any. Let's see a savage Come with a decent magazine or trigger for example. Sure, you can upgrade a plastic stock, replace the trigger, and with the savage who knows what to do about crappy feeding. And you'll have a decent rifle! All for more than a Model 70 or MKII, or x-bolt, or.... And in the end have a rifle that is still worth less than half what you have in it.

I am not saying there is anything wrong with the rifles, for the price, except Tikka maybe, but it doesn't mean it can compare to the others when it comes to value or quality.


Feel free to debate this all day, that is what the forums are for.
 
Any tikka owners complaining?

A tikka is not a savage. Thats like comparing a volvo to a kia...

The X-bolt might as well be a plank. The anti-bind bolt or w/e they call it feels like a rusty door latch compared to the tikka. A guy I worked with bought one that had a 9lb trigger pull. Good thing they have lots of varieties I guess, so you can have a mediocre facsimile of whatever style of sporting rifle you want.

Operates as smoothly or smoother than any push feed I have owned or fired. I may be in love with the bolt, you can operate it from the shoulder with a flick of the wrist and a couple fingers like it is a .22.

I have never seen one that didn't shoot out of the box.

If you are worried about a rifle from FINLAND failing to function in the cold then you will worry about anything...

In the right chambering in the lite model you have a very light weight gun that doesn't kick a lot. Tupperware stock may not be my first preference but the comb, pg and "checkering" are great. A well designed stock shape.

Polymer is good enough for every army in the world and is good enough for me. You can't bend the feed lips on the magazine, which I have seen knock some other rifles out of service until a screwdriver can be found.

The magazine has really grown on me. Anyone who has handled a Mauser m12 will notice its "plastic" magazine...

The wood on the model 70 is an advantage for sure, but not 400 bucks more than I paid cool.

Long live the Tikka, the poor man's Sako.
 
conor_90 said:
Any tikka owners complaining?

A tikka is not a savage. Thats like comparing a volvo to a kia...

The X-bolt might as well be a plank. The anti-bind bolt or w/e they call it feels like a rusty door latch compared to the tikka. A guy I worked with bought one that had a 9lb trigger pull. Good thing they have lots of varieties I guess, so you can have a mediocre facsimile of whatever style of sporting rifle you want.

Operates as smoothly or smoother than any push feed I have owned or fired. I may be in love with the bolt, you can operate it from the shoulder with a flick of the wrist and a couple fingers like it is a .22.

I have never seen one that didn't shoot out of the box.

In the right chambering in the lite model you have a very light weight gun that doesn't kick a lot. Tupperware stock may not be my first preference but the comb, pg and "checkering" are great. A well designed stock shape.

Polymer is good enough for every army in the world and is good enough for me. You can't bend the feed lips on the magazine, which I have seen knock some other rifles out of service until a screwdriver can be found.

The magazine has really grown on me. Anyone who has handled a Mauser m12 will notice its "plastic" magazine...

The wood on the model 70 is an advantage for sure, but not 400 bucks more than I paid cool.

Long live the Tikka, the poor man's Sako.
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Kind of sounds like you have your mind made up Conner..... Which is cool.... We all have our opinions....

We all have our preferences, and all that are loyal to other brands will discount them..... If tikka works for you then good for you.... You are hunting and shooting.... That's the most important thing whether it be an axis or a Tikka or a Forbes...

In my opinion, the line between a budget rifle and everything else has been blurred as the manufacturers try to outdo eachother in a quest to take our hard earned coin.....
 
Cleftwynd said:
Keep in mind folks, cheaper price for a funtioning item does not make it a "better bang for the buck.

The model 70, MKII's, X-Bolts are all better bang for the buck than savage, tikka, vanguard or a Howa. And the first three I listed have stronger and safer actions.

A $2,000 car for $1,000 is not a better deal than a $50,000 car for $$6,000.


The three rifles I listed don't have any of the issues the others have, for not much more $$ if any. Let's see a savage Come with a decent magazine or trigger for example. Sure, you can upgrade a plastic stock, replace the trigger, and with the savage who knows what to do about crappy feeding. And you'll have a decent rifle! All for more than a Model 70 or MKII, or x-bolt, or.... And in the end have a rifle that is still worth less than half what you have in it.

I am not saying there is anything wrong with the rifles, for the price, except Tikka maybe, but it doesn't mean it can compare to the others when it comes to value or quality.


Feel free to debate this all day, that is what the forums are for.
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The Tikka has a much better trigger than the X-bolt, and it is usually more accurate than the MII.
 
conor_90 said:
Any tikka owners complaining?

A tikka is not a savage. Thats like comparing a volvo to a kia...

The X-bolt might as well be a plank. The anti-bind bolt or w/e they call it feels like a rusty door latch compared to the tikka. A guy I worked with bought one that had a 9lb trigger pull. Good thing they have lots of varieties I guess, so you can have a mediocre facsimile of whatever style of sporting rifle you want.

Operates as smoothly or smoother than any push feed I have owned or fired. I may be in love with the bolt, you can operate it from the shoulder with a flick of the wrist and a couple fingers like it is a .22.

I have never seen one that didn't shoot out of the box.

If you are worried about a rifle from FINLAND failing to function in the cold then you will worry about anything...

In the right chambering in the lite model you have a very light weight gun that doesn't kick a lot. Tupperware stock may not be my first preference but the comb, pg and "checkering" are great. A well designed stock shape.

Polymer is good enough for every army in the world and is good enough for me. You can't bend the feed lips on the magazine, which I have seen knock some other rifles out of service until a screwdriver can be found.

The magazine has really grown on me. Anyone who has handled a Mauser m12 will notice its "plastic" magazine...

The wood on the model 70 is an advantage for sure, but not 400 bucks more than I paid cool.

Long live the Tikka, the poor man's Sako.
Click to expand...

Butt pad like a jungle carbine (hockey puck) on the tikka's, i really like it otherwise, though, i think the styer pro hunter is a better bang for the buck, I'm a lefty though so my world is a world of compromises with finding firearms I like in the calibers I want.
I can see the flat bottom 5 round mag of the sako's to be a better option as opposed to the 3 round mag of the tikka's as well.
 
conor_90 said:
Any tikka owners complaining?

A tikka is not a savage. Thats like comparing a volvo to a kia...

The X-bolt might as well be a plank. The anti-bind bolt or w/e they call it feels like a rusty door latch compared to the tikka. A guy I worked with bought one that had a 9lb trigger pull. Good thing they have lots of varieties I guess, so you can have a mediocre facsimile of whatever style of sporting rifle you want.

Operates as smoothly or smoother than any push feed I have owned or fired. I may be in love with the bolt, you can operate it from the shoulder with a flick of the wrist and a couple fingers like it is a .22.

I have never seen one that didn't shoot out of the box.

If you are worried about a rifle from FINLAND failing to function in the cold then you will worry about anything...

In the right chambering in the lite model you have a very light weight gun that doesn't kick a lot. Tupperware stock may not be my first preference but the comb, pg and "checkering" are great. A well designed stock shape.

Polymer is good enough for every army in the world and is good enough for me. You can't bend the feed lips on the magazine, which I have seen knock some other rifles out of service until a screwdriver can be found.

The magazine has really grown on me. Anyone who has handled a Mauser m12 will notice its "plastic" magazine...

The wood on the model 70 is an advantage for sure, but not 400 bucks more than I paid cool.

Long live the Tikka, the poor man's Sako.
Click to expand...
I'll be honest, the Tikka t3 lite shares a lot of similarities to the Ruger American to me. Similar weight, decent trigger, crappy stock, polymer mag but accurate as heck. The tikka t3 lite started out and is still Sako's entry level rifle.not that that's a bad thing, it is just that imo , for a bit more you can have the Sako A7. Some places price them almost the same.
 
nomad 68 said:
I'll be honest, the Tikka t3 lite shares a lot of similarities to the Ruger American to me. Similar weight, decent trigger, crappy stock, polymer mag but accurate as heck. The tikka t3 lite started out and is still Sako's entry level rifle.not that that's a bad thing, it is just that imo , for a bit more you can have the Sako A7. Some places price them almost the same.
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Agreed.

Accuracy is important, but it one part of a good rifle. A savage axis can be accurate. Doesn't make it worth more, more dependable, or hold its value. Same goes for the Tikka, as with the Ruger American that you mentioned. Entry level rifles are great, but they are just that, entry level rifles. That's all they will ever be.

Better bang for the buck? I don't think so, I think the gems priced +\- a grand these days are competing quality and reliability wise with $3,000 + boutique or euro rifles. There is your bang for the buck.
 
Butt pad like a jungle carbine (hockey puck) on the tikka's,
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True, big flaw. Also present in the synthetic Sakos. At least the pad is not only hard but small like those on brownings...


Yes Brad, I have made up my mind. I used to compare Tikka's and X-Bolts for a living when I worked behind a gun counter it seemed. I never sold someone a Sako or Tikka and had them complain about it or send it on warranty, can't say the same for brownings...


Ruger fails imo on stock design, accutrigger rip off and bolt handling compared to the Tikka.
 
stubblejumper said:
The Tikka has a much better trigger than the X-bolt, and it is usually more accurate than the MII.
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It certainly is by far and another argument I find that's pretty lame is when someone claims that the T3 action is not safe..... how many blown-up T3s have you seen ?
I loaded my T3 in 338 WM past max in any loading manual without any sign of pressure, same with both 9.3s that I had.
Of course there are stronger actions but strength-wise the T3 is just fine...
 
conor_90 said:
True, big flaw. Also present in the synthetic Sakos. At least the pad is not only hard but small like those on brownings... The X-Bolt has one of if not the best recoil pad on the market


Yes Brad, I have made up my mind. I used to compare Tikka's and X-Bolts for a living when I worked behind a gun counter it seemed. I never sold someone a Sako or Tikka and had them complain about it or send it on warranty, can't say the same for brownings... Many Tikkas have been returned with feeding issues and ejection issues, as for the Browning, we aren't talking about the abysmal a-bolt


Ruger fails imo on stock design, accutrigger rip off and bolt handling compared to the Tikka. You are referencing the American, we are talking about the MKII
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The Tikka is a fine rifle, but not a better value than the ones currently being discussed. If you are trying to make someone believe it is a Merkel, Steyr, Blaser, whatever, good luck. The T3 is an Axis, is an American, is a Mossberg, etc..... Entry level and not without its own issues.
 
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