Please say your in Thunder Bay Ontario. I have to bring my tikkas shooting with you. Lol
When you want to buy a tikka but know savage shoots the same for less ! Lol
- Thread starter Canadiankeeper
- Start date
Please say your in Thunder Bay Ontario. I have to bring my tikkas shooting with you. Lol
haha, nah. Im south or Toronto lol. A tikka is nice but not this close to x mas lol. Again maybe next year.
I used to be a diehard savage guy. I have a M12 fclass, a m12 lrpv and a 110ba. They are a great value and for the most part shoot awesome but they lack the feel of quality. But they were designed to be very cheap to manufacture while still maintaining decent precision.
I bought a Tikka T3 Sporter when they were on that crazy sale a while back. At first i was going to flip it but i decided to try it. After opening the bolt on a fired round i was sold. Now the savages are safe queens.
Went thru the same turmoil last year.
Wanted a .223 field gun as it's just a tool not safe queen.
Short listed the T3, 700, Mossberg Patrol, and Savage.
T3 was at the top, the 700's recent QC issues took it out, the Mossbergs bolt slop also took it out.
Then down to the T3 and Savage Hog Hunter in .223. The T3 was really nice in every way, but then I tried the Savage Accu Trigger, metal back up irons, looked at it's heavier threaded barrel, and at 469.00 CDN, it was a no brainer!
Absolutely no regrets with my Savage, I did spray in expanding foam into the stock and epoxy metal rails in the front part of the stock, add a cheek riser, and bipod and muzzle brake.
The gun out shoots me, kids love shooting it, and is just a tank! Yes it's ugly but I didn't want a pretty gun just something that works.
Not scientific just out shooting the 1st time with mixed ammo I had kicking around, and no I did not shoot this group my Army buddy did.
Hey do you have a picatinny rail on your hog hunter? If you do I was wondering if you can still look down the sights with a picatinny on
- Location
- On a sand bar in the Atlantic Ocean.
Not that I want to wade in on a brand war, but I'm going to babble on about a few experiences with some different brands.
Savage: Owned a bunch of .308 Savages. Loved them all. They are very reasonably accurate right out of the box; At least the heavy barreled Model 10's, 11's and 12's. I honestly can't attest to even shooting an Axis. My Mod. 10 TR was pretty damned good. Then I found a Model 11 albeit in .223 which is a heavy barreled gun in an MDT chassis. It has shot 5 round groups in a slightly sub3" group at 500 yds. Almost as good as my Model 12 FVSS in an HS Precision stock. That sucker can shoot. It will shoot .5MOA on a good day with the right load. Unfortunately, there are occasional fliers.
My Ruger Precision is fairly good and can hold it's own; especially in the looks department. Shoots a 2.1" group at 500, but only on occasion.
Unfortunately, I saw a Tikka T3 Sporter a while back and had to have it. It was expensive and looked sort of bulbous in the target stock but the set trigger is the real kicker. At 7oz., it practically eliminates any shooter induced error as far as trigger yanking goes. The action is by far the smoothest of any rifle I own too. The M18x1 threaded barrel is sort of hard to find a brake for, but the Uber adjustable stock pretty much negates the need to compensate for recoil. As far as accuracy, I've shot it a couple weekends in F-Class practice and this past Saturday managed a 149.15V with it.
For those not familiar with the scoring, that is 10 shots at 300, 500 & 600 yds respectively with a max of 5 points per shot for a total of 150. V-bulls are totaled with 30 being the maximum achievable.
Simply said, I'm yet to see that score with any of my other rifles.
Savage: Owned a bunch of .308 Savages. Loved them all. They are very reasonably accurate right out of the box; At least the heavy barreled Model 10's, 11's and 12's. I honestly can't attest to even shooting an Axis. My Mod. 10 TR was pretty damned good. Then I found a Model 11 albeit in .223 which is a heavy barreled gun in an MDT chassis. It has shot 5 round groups in a slightly sub3" group at 500 yds. Almost as good as my Model 12 FVSS in an HS Precision stock. That sucker can shoot. It will shoot .5MOA on a good day with the right load. Unfortunately, there are occasional fliers.
My Ruger Precision is fairly good and can hold it's own; especially in the looks department. Shoots a 2.1" group at 500, but only on occasion.
Unfortunately, I saw a Tikka T3 Sporter a while back and had to have it. It was expensive and looked sort of bulbous in the target stock but the set trigger is the real kicker. At 7oz., it practically eliminates any shooter induced error as far as trigger yanking goes. The action is by far the smoothest of any rifle I own too. The M18x1 threaded barrel is sort of hard to find a brake for, but the Uber adjustable stock pretty much negates the need to compensate for recoil. As far as accuracy, I've shot it a couple weekends in F-Class practice and this past Saturday managed a 149.15V with it.
For those not familiar with the scoring, that is 10 shots at 300, 500 & 600 yds respectively with a max of 5 points per shot for a total of 150. V-bulls are totaled with 30 being the maximum achievable.
Simply said, I'm yet to see that score with any of my other rifles.
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Awesome thread as I just went through similar dilemma. Do own few Savages that shoot very very well, but wanted to have that variety in my gun safe. Plus I think there comes a time in every shooter's life when you just want to have that safe queen and since I already have a custom build F Open tack driver in .284 Win, a Stainless Tikka T3 in a fancy WSM variation needed to be acquired. Furthermore, to complicate the situation and similar to Savage but in optics comes Sightron, which I love. But does a Stainless Tikka deserve a fancy German scope like Zeiss or similar?.......and the hunt continues........To Be Continued
I started out shooting long range with a Savage but ended up with a series of Tikkas. Savage gets the job done but they just don't feel as refined as the Tikkas. The one win the Savae had over all others (until the Remington 783 and maybe the Ruger RPR) was the barrel but and availability of profit barrels. All my Tikka barrels shoot well but I really wonder how much more popular they would be compared to Savage if anyone could spin on a match grade barrel in their basement shop.
This is my girlfriend savage axis
Made me a believer
One 4 shot group really doesn't tell much. Post at target like that with 5 5 shot groups with verification and then you get some respect.
The cost thing is a dumb argument, as there are many more factors at play that result in a positive ownership experience than just accuracy.
Don't get me wrong, if a $2,500 Sako shot like sh!t then of course it would be a waste of money even if it were well made, but build quality, feel, and "presence" goes a long way.
They say the same thing about motorcycles, why would anyone buy an Italian Ducati when Japanese sportbikes are faster, more reliable, and less money? If your brain only thinks about practical things then sure you'll buy the Honda, but if you care about soul, emotion, and personality, you're willing to overlook a lot of things to get something that just feels better.
And such it is with the Tikka vs Savage, or a Norinco vs Daniel Defense, or a Ruger SR9 vs Walther PPQ. Sure you can spend less money and end up with a similar grouping, but if you can afford more, generally you will be happier with spending more. Not just for the sake of lighting money on fire, but the build quality really is better. Your hand will feel better on the grip, the action will be smoother, the construction will be better and you'll see that when you're taking it apart to clean it.
If you only care about accuracy then sure buy the cheapest thing you can to make a grouping, but that should only be one factor in your purchase. If you only have one factor in your purchase, then I almost feel bad for you that you're missing out on so much more of what shooting and pride of gun ownership can offer you.
Don't get me wrong, if a $2,500 Sako shot like sh!t then of course it would be a waste of money even if it were well made, but build quality, feel, and "presence" goes a long way.
They say the same thing about motorcycles, why would anyone buy an Italian Ducati when Japanese sportbikes are faster, more reliable, and less money? If your brain only thinks about practical things then sure you'll buy the Honda, but if you care about soul, emotion, and personality, you're willing to overlook a lot of things to get something that just feels better.
And such it is with the Tikka vs Savage, or a Norinco vs Daniel Defense, or a Ruger SR9 vs Walther PPQ. Sure you can spend less money and end up with a similar grouping, but if you can afford more, generally you will be happier with spending more. Not just for the sake of lighting money on fire, but the build quality really is better. Your hand will feel better on the grip, the action will be smoother, the construction will be better and you'll see that when you're taking it apart to clean it.
If you only care about accuracy then sure buy the cheapest thing you can to make a grouping, but that should only be one factor in your purchase. If you only have one factor in your purchase, then I almost feel bad for you that you're missing out on so much more of what shooting and pride of gun ownership can offer you.
hometownhero
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Toon Town, Sk
You could put on a barrel nut. Seen it on rem700's
If you want a great shooting, accurate HBAR Savage 223 bolt gun for coyote hunting, get a Model 10 FCP-K. It is a heavy boltgun but if you hunt from a hide, etc it doesn't matter.
I haul mine around all over farm fields here when changing calling locations, so the weight is not a big deal.
I haul mine around all over farm fields here when changing calling locations, so the weight is not a big deal.
mebiuspower
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Morontario
Yup. That's like comparing 0-60mph times in a car and solely uses that variable to justify that one car is better than the other.
Forest1488
CGN Regular
- Location
- South of Toronto
Went to the range yesterday to check out my friends new Savage 11 in 22-250. I had been hinting that buying a Tikka might be worth considering as his new coyote gun. After watching him shoot sub MOA all morning at 100 and 200 yards with factory ammo I did not have much to say about spending the extra on the Tikka. Love Tikkas but dam that Savage shot lights out.
My dad has a Savage Axis in .270 and I have a Tikka T3 Stainless Hunter in the same caliber. Whenever we compare the two, I know which one I would rather have, and quite frankly so does he. In fact after he bought his Savage it more or less convinced me I wanted something that didn't feel so cheap.
It's really about what you want and how much money you want to spend. He bought his rifle when he was strapped for cash, so it was the right rifle at the time. I bought my rifle recently, so I got a good price on it and I had been saving my pennies and watching for deals for a while, so it is the right rifle for me right now. Neither one will out-shoot the other, though in a pinch I know which action I would rather have to operate for follow-up shots. I will probably go many years before I think about upgrading, whereas my dad is already talking about upgrading or supplementing the Savage with something nicer.
It's really about what you want and how much money you want to spend. He bought his rifle when he was strapped for cash, so it was the right rifle at the time. I bought my rifle recently, so I got a good price on it and I had been saving my pennies and watching for deals for a while, so it is the right rifle for me right now. Neither one will out-shoot the other, though in a pinch I know which action I would rather have to operate for follow-up shots. I will probably go many years before I think about upgrading, whereas my dad is already talking about upgrading or supplementing the Savage with something nicer.
I agree. I buy inexpensive nails that I can drive straight. I couldn't care less who made them or what they look like.
