Tikka economy rifles?

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I agree that the Tikka is an entry level Sako rifle, they are definitly up the evolutionary scale from the Savage/Stevens line. Some don't like the platic parts, but the heart and soul of a rifle is the action and barrel. There are very few that are built better and more consistently than those that come out of Finland whether they are Sako's or Tikka's.

I am also of the opinion that a really nice crisp trigger is better that the take up style accutrigger on a hunting gun, perhaps not on a varmint or target rig.
 
neither trigger is appropriate for varmint and target use, where weights are more commonly measured in ounces rather than pounds. Triggers are one of those things that are getting universally better, across the board. Just as it's getting difficult to find a new gun that *won't* shoot MOA any more, likewise it's getting harder to find guns with truly abysmal triggers such as found on guns made a decade ago. The notable exceptions are Ruger and Vanguard triggers which are genuinely terrible. But, those trigger mechanisms are relatively simple to 'fix.' Disassembling them and polishing them up goes a long way.

Honestly, my favourite factory trigger is the model 70 trigger. It's simple, reliable, and very finely adjustable for pull, uptake and overtravel. The old savage trigger was similar, though couldn't reliably function with lighter pull weights. The model 70 trigger, as adjusted out of the box isn't anything special, but I'd rather have a trigger with the potential to easily adjust to my liking than one I can't. The Tikka trigger is excellent, but it's not as easy to adjust for anything other than pull weight.

But - there isn't a factory trigger out there than can hold a candle to one that's been worked over by a competent smith (though not all factory units have equal potential), or been replaced with a good aftermarket unit
 
Economy Rifle?

So, is the Tikka an economy rifle? Yeah, sure it is. I'd say a safe full of Tikkas would mean that the economy is doing real well in your neck of the woods. I hoping my next factory rifle will be a T3 in .260 Rem..... ;)
 
manbearpig said:
a safety feature included
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exactly,..the Accutrigger is not a "trigger" design per se,...but it is a "built in safety" design....to over come Savages lack of a real adjustable trigger that is safe as well as light....a device like this could be added to any factory trigger to catch the sear when the user adjusts it too light and the sear engagement won't hold.

PS....the Tikka T3 has gone thru a recent "upgrade"....they are calling it the Sako A7.....
 
I sold the Savage with Accutrigger because of the lousy "accutrigger". other than the trigger, no complaints on the Savage. bearhunter
 
ill be glad to take all those lousy Accutriggers off the hands of those of you who say they are lousy. there is no creep in mine, and it can be user-adjusted in seconds down safely to a weight which requires a gunsmith trigger job (or an experienced user) on most other factory rifles. considering that the Savage and T3 are both economy rifles, this saves the average consumer another $60-70 or so of gunsmithing costs.

Tikka made some fine rifles in the past and built up a solid reputation for quality. then the T3 was introduced with a complete redesign that was all about reducing manufacturing/materials costs to the absolute minimum, yet the rifle still costs the same as its quality predecessors. Beretta spent millions of dollars on advertising telling people that this new redesign was all about 'performance and innovation' rather than simply cost-cutting, and most people bought it hook line and sinker - as evidenced by many 'i bought a Tikka and it changed my life! its the greatest rifle ever!' threads.

The Tikka is an economy rifle - and as such there is nothing wrong with it.
what i disagree with is the higher price bracket they are in and the propaganda surrounding them that they are somehow an 'advancement' of design. the proliferation of Tikka-like rifles on the market and the notion that this is somehow 'progress' is a huge step back for the modern rifle owner -- although many have never owned a fine rifle so they just dont realise it yet*.

*im talking 'average' - so dont flip out and assume im accusing each of you guys of never owning a fine rifle.
 
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"im still waiting for someone to list the advantages of a T3 receiver"

OK, here's my take. If you take a look at the Tikka action you will see that it is very enclosed. Compared to a standard split-bridge action it is going to be stiffer without needing a lot of reinforcing along the side walls and hence lighter. The enclosed action will also provide raceways for the bolt to travel along smoothly. I had a rifle (I think it was a old Howa but can't recall) where the bolt was on a single raceway - if I cycled the bolt and pushed it slightly off kilter the bolt would drag and bind, not good for a hunting rifle. The split-bridge is great if you are loading the action from the top (blind magazine) but for a detachable magazine feed rifle the enclosed action just makes more sense. The enclosed action will also provide a bit more protection against dirt and debris. It's a little harder to single feed the enclosed action but I do it all the time - just takes a bit of practice. If you look at the Savage website you'll see that their premium "Target Action" is also enclosed.

As for the recoil lug all I can say is that it works just fine as is. With modern materials and techniques a small lug that fits tightly is going to be more that enough. The action screws and recoil lug just transfer the recoil impulse to the stock while keeping everything tight. As long as there is no free play between the action and stock then everythings good. My 9.3 has show no signs of wear or movement after 100 rounds and my 6.5 is fine after nearly 500 rounds.

I'm not saying that the Tikkas are the be all and end all in hunting rifles. There are a few things about then that I'm not thrilled with. They are, however, a step up from the other entry level rifles, IMHO. They may cost a bit more but they do offer good value for the money. If Tikka was still making the older M55 & M65 rifles then you'd have to wonder where they would be priced. I would think that they would be in the premium category. As Tikka was bought by Sako and they in turn were bought by Beretta its all a moot point. Beretta will cater to the American market and make rifles that appeal to the US shooters.

If you don't like the T3's that's fine - everyone is entitled to their opinion. There are lots of other choices available (which is a good thing!). If you like economical rifles, high end fancy rifles , unusual and exotic rifles or worship the Mauser actioned rifles then there is something available for you. Don't worry about what others own or use, just get what appeals to you and go shooting!
 
Snow Dog said:
OK, here's my take. If you take a look at the Tikka action you will see that it is very enclosed.
=/=
If you look at the Savage website you'll see that their premium "Target Action" is also enclosed.
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you could also look at that another way. compared to the Tikka, the Savage/Stevens action is very open - facilitating easier loading and the possibility of topping off the mag, both desirable qualities in a hunting rifle. the accuracy potential of both platforms is the same. yes, for a target rifle you could opt for a more enclosed action, but many competition rifles are still built on the old open Savage action.
which brings me to question whether or not the Tikka action is designed with a small, single port as an innovation, or as a method to reduce the cutting of the port with one machining operation as opposed to the 6-7 required for the Savage port.
considering that they both have the same potential for accuracy, then you could make the point that the Savage action is superior because it maintains the same accuracy potential but also allows for easier loading and topping off of the mag.

Snow Dog said:
As for the recoil lug all I can say is that it works just fine as is.
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there is simply no way to defend the recoil lug. it might 'work ok', but it was hailed as a design feature. its only feature is to reduce the cost of production. one of the main points of the Tikka action that precision shooters attack is the recoil lug.

Snow Dog said:
If Tikka was still making the older M55 & M65 rifles then you'd have to wonder where they would be priced.
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good point, i didnt think of that.
still, its unfortunate that we probably wont be seeing more of those, as the trend is towards more T3-like rifles as evidenced by the new Sako A7 (aka Tikka T4).
 
manbearpig said:
yeah, you can witness the 'T3 collective' incoherantly flaming someone for their opinion, then arriving at the same opinion that that person was stating all along - that the T3 is overpriced. :jerkit:
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Get over yourself
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"facilitating easier loading and the possibility of topping off the mag, both desirable qualities in a hunting rifle."

Has anyone ever actually needed to do this? Most rifles hold three or four rounds in the magazine with another in the chamber - if you miss that many times while shooting at an animal will reloading quickly really help?

For the precision shooter, there are much more suitable actions available for them (Stolle, Lawson, Baynard etc - all enclosed actions) than one from a hunting rifle. To built a bench rest rifle on a hunting rifle action is false economy. The custom action is going to be stronger and stiffer and after everything has been done to the hunting action, about the same price.

As for the recoil lug, in the days of frivoulous law suits, is any company going to introduce a new feature that is integral to safety without testing it beyond what could be reasonably be expected of it? I have no qualms about its safety or reliability. They have been around for a number of years now and I have not heard or seen any failures in that area. If it works well, is cheaper or easier to produce and is a departure from the ordinary does that not qualify as innovative? It does make fitting aftermarket stocks more difficult but I doubt the folks at Beretta really give a fig about that.

My opinion is that Tikkas are entry level rifles but not economy rifles. Economy rifles are built to a price point and shortcuts and cost cutting measures are used to acheive the price point. Entry level rifles are built to a certain standard (in Tikkas case - light weight and accuracy) and anything that does or does not contribute to the goal will be changed. It may not be conventional or even appealing (have you seen the Savage barrel nut? the Rem 770?) but if it helps acheive the intended goal then it will be considered.

As for the new Sako's, the jury is still out on that one. I have not seen one in person yet, just on the web site. I does look like a bit of a step backwards to me at first glance. There was nothing wrong with the 75's in my opinion but I guess they got too expensive to manufacturer. Unfortunately, that is a trend that we are going to see more and more of no matter which firearm company we are fans of. Buy what you like now because it may not be available much longer!
 
Snow Dog said:
As for the new Sako's, the jury is still out on that one. I have not seen one in person yet, just on the web site. I does look like a bit of a step backwards to me at first glance. There was nothing wrong with the 75's in my opinion but I guess they got too expensive to manufacturer.
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Sako will keep making they're higher end models, (85's), but as the A7's saturate the market the T3 will disappear.
 
manbearpig said:
i wonder how many people who bash the Accutrigger as 'gimmicky' have actually used one. it is simply a trigger thats user-adjustable in seconds to low pull weight with a safety feature included so that it doesnt go off accidentally when dropped or bumped. where exactly is the gimmick?



what are you basing the 'Tikka action is 10x better' on, exactly?
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Dunno how many people bash it as gimmicky.

I had a 111FCNS in .270 winchester. I found it gimmicky and the trigger on my tikka is much better. I tested them both (dropped them butt end down fairly hard and they both don't go off...)

The tikka action is 10x better then the savage action IMO. I have an -06 Tikka.

I don't have to pull the bolt back to china to chamber a round.
 
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