Tikka Tactical vs Tikka Varmint

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NitwiT

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Parksville, BC
hey all, looking for a first rifle for long range shooting, and a little bit of hunting. been advised that with my minimal experience to shooting, I should pick a small bore, or a cheap hunting rifle. So I go looking and always end up staring at a tikka t3.

Btw, went to the range for the first time in my life with a RPAL buddy, shot an AR-15, p228 sig sauer, 12 gauge mossberg tactical shotty, and a bloody old .303 lee enfield that tears your shoulder off :) (brass plate)

Now, I've learned alot about rifles, and what makes what, but I still have a bunch of questions.

A)Difference between these two rifles.. both heavy barreled, both can come in .308, which is what I want

b)Why is it such a terrible idea to buy a more expensive rifle that fits one well.

c) difference between a long-action and a short-action

and the last question would be which hunting rifle has the longest length of pull. Highly important to myself since I'm 6'7 with a longer wingspan :S

Thanks for you time :)

Mark
 
a) Tactical is black to match the Ninja outfit and has an intgrated Picatinny rail and an adjustable cheek piece, and has a threaded muzzle for a brake.

Varmint has no Picatinny and has no adjustable cheek piece.
*** The Super Varmint is essentially the same rifle as the Tik-Tac , but in a stainless finish

b) It isn't. Just don't get sucked into believeing that a more expensive rifle is a more accurate rifle. A Lada with a Corinthain leather interior is still a Lada.

c) Long actions are long enough to allow unfired 30-06 length cases to eject without having to remove the bolt. Short action accomodate 308 cases and smaller. Using a long action for a short case is ok, but actions should be as short and stiff as you can get for your given cartridge.

d) no idea, sorry.
 
Length of pull is std. dimensions, you may want to add thicker recoil pad and/or spacers between stock and recoil pad. You'll also note that Tikka makes only 1 action size to fit all chamberings, at least they did when I bought my Tikka Super Varmint in .222Rem. Whatever you buy make sure you nail down what rate of twist you want, so you'll be able to use the weight of bullet you want. You may also want to look at the Rem. 700s, they're still the "go to" rifles for accuracy and especially customizing with aftermarket acces.
 
just to reiterate one point i was looking at about the longer length of pull, a tactical rifle tends to have a longer pull than a light barreled hunting rifle? does this make sense?
 
the tic tacs are shooters out of the box....
tictac.jpg

$hit pic ...sorry ..but i love it
 
the tactical i held at a gun show was (i was told) 13.5 points, this puts it at 5-6 pounds over the typical hunting rifle.

can someone clarify what I should be looking at in terms of barrel twist to bullet weight?
 
Hi,
I have a Tikka T3 varmint in .308 with which I have just done some load development work.
With 168 grain Sierra Matchkings and 44 grains of Varget, CCI BR2's and Lapua brass my Tikka will shoot 1/2 MOA.
I am willing to bet that the Tactical version will do no better.
My rifle has a 1 in 11 inch twist which would suggest that it prefers heavier bullets, say 168 grain and heavier. I have some 180 grain Matchkings to test but I have still to shoot them.
I am 6 ft tall and the stock as is fits me well. About the only thing I would change is the ring height. I have a Bushnell Elite 4200 6-24x50 scope on the rifle and the rings are a little too tall for the cheek-piece supplied. I plan on rectifying this soon. The Tactical comes with an adjustable cheek-piece which would have made the ring height irrelevant.
I had the choice of at least a half dozen rifles when I chose the Tikka and with the exception of the very expensive HS Precision and similar pricey rifles I firmly believe that a better out of the box shooter does not exist.
Regards
Tack
 
NitwiT said:
the tactical i held at a gun show was (i was told) 13.5 points, this puts it at 5-6 pounds over the typical hunting rifle.

can someone clarify what I should be looking at in terms of barrel twist to bullet weight?
Click to expand...

I do believe that the Tikka's are closer to 8 1/2 lbs. This would be similar to the factory Remington 700P or SPS Varmint rifles. This doesn't include optics mind you. I don't consider that too much weight for hunting but it is still heavier that your typical hunting rifle.

Personally I'd go with the Tikka Varmint, it's about $650 less than a Super Varmint or Tactical but all you really lose is the factory 0 MOA mount, adjustable cheekpiece, and the threaded muzzle of the Tic Tac.

The Varmint is also available in a much wider variety of calibers in case you wanted something a little different.

As has already been mentioned all Tikkas use a the same long action, regardless of caliber, believe they use spacers in the magazines for the different calibers.
 
Hi,
The Tikka does indeed use a spacer in the magazine for different cartridge lengths. This in addition to a different sized bolt stop for each cartridge length allows for one action length to be utilised.
With scope and bi-pod my Tikka weighs around 11 pounds.
My rifle is a target toy only but if I were to remove some of the bolt-ons and use a lghter scope it would easly suffice for hunting. That said I also have a sporter in 6.5x55 which is almost as accurate and weighs 7 pounds with a Leupold VXII 3-9x40.
Tack
 
I have a varmint in 300WSM and I love it, I've only started load development and already I have one at 3/4"- and I've just started.
As for the weight of it mine feels the same same as any other woodstocked long action hunting rifle of yesterday ( a touch over 9 pounds maybe). To me the weight when using it as a hunting rifle would depend on what type of hunting your doing, would I take this gun on a sheep hunt-no, but will I take it moose hunting-yes.
Great gun though.
 
The T3 is an excellent gun. A good way to go is to buy the Varmint model and drop it into a stock like we make to complete the package!
DSC_0110-b.jpg

And that can is real.
 
the tikka tatical is the SAME gun as the varmint the tatical is phosphotized instead of stainless steel, the tatical comes stock with all the accories avaible for the varmint modle, thats why its more expensive. the tatical has an adjustable cheek piece, threaded barrel "for muzzle break", pikkitiny rail system, and rust proff finish.

the varmint is stainless or blued finish, molded stock "non adjustable".

both firearms are excelent out of the box for accuracy. the varmint is the rifle for a shooter with a budget who wants the best but can do with out the frills of the tatical version.

i own a super varmint in 308 and varmint in 300win mag the tikka action is like butter!
 
Ian Robertson said:
The T3 is an excellent gun. A good way to go is to buy the Varmint model and drop it into a stock like we make to complete the package!
DSC_0110-b.jpg

And that can is real.
Click to expand...
Ian, I have seen this picture before and each time something inside me says WOW!
I hate to ask but what would that stock cost in a left-hand version and how long would I have to wait for it?
Tack
 
Ian, I was wondering if your stock is thick enough at the tip to have a Parker Hale spigot installed?
 
We don't have a left right now. It is an ambidextrous stock but because we mould in the bolt notch etc. it is really rh.

I believe the spigot would fit. Send me one and I'll let you know. I would recommend we install it anyway.
 
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