300 wsm. Stainless/Synthetic Tikka T3X or Browning XBolt

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ACandian

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Love to hear some opinions on these two as these are what I've narrowed my choice down to.

Similar Weight, both can be found new for just over 1000.-1100. Dollar mark.

Tikka seems silky smooth, 24" barrel with 11 rate of twist
Browning seems like a little nicer finish, nicer stock, 23" barrel with 10 rate of twist

I'm not buying the 300 wsm to shoot light bullets , I want to shoot 180 grain min.

Would love some opinions on accuracy, rate of twist for 180 plus grain rounds etc. With these two guns

Cheers
 
Any magnum Tikka I've ever fired kicked like a mule. I would take the Browning. If your shooting 180 grain or heavier I would recommend the 300 Win Mag over the WSM.

300 Win Mag and the 200 grain Nosler Accubond is a deadly combination.
 
I've had both and the Tikka came out ahead for 2 reasons. After firing a round the tikka had a lighter bolt lift compared to the Browning. The Tikka bolt was smoother as well. The Tikka had more felt recoil than the Browning however and both rifles were more than accurate enough. Either is a great choice, it just comes down to personal preference.
 
I have a Stainless Stalker X-Bolt in 30-06 and am very pleased with it,.. MOA accurate with everything I have fed it so far,.. factory 150s, 165s, 168s, and handloaded 180rn,.. it gives lite recoil for a 30-06,.. I think recoil is lite due to the rifle being well balanced and the Inflex recoil pad,.. the Dura-Touch Armor Coating is great. I have never handled the Tikka T3X, but I did handle the T3 before I bought the X-Bolt, and the X-Bolt just seemed to be a superior made rifle,.. I'm sure the Tikkas are excellent rifles, but personally I like the Brownings better. I'm sure the 1 in 11 twist rate of the Tikka would be fine, but the 1 in 10 of the Browning might possibly be a bit better for heavier bullet weights. Another thing I liked about the Browning over the Tikka was the magazine, but maybe the T3x mag is different from the T3 mag. Also with the Browning the 300wsm will be short action, the Tikkas are long action,.. and I think the bolt lift is shorter on the Browning 60 degree as opposed to 70 degree on the Tikka.

With all that being said,.. I don't think you will go wrong with either rifle,.. I personally just like Browning better.
 
I have an x bolt stainless in 300wsm that shoots 180grain accubonds into less than a half inch with IMR 4350. Load development was stupid easy, only complaint is stiff bolt lift on the x bolt compared to tikka. My buddy’s 300WM tikka T3 shoots those same 180 grain accubonds just as well as the x bolt, but with more felt recoil.

Trigger on the tikka is nicer, I have adjusted the browning down as low as she goes, but the tikka definitely gets the nod there.

I prefer the x bolt, but I don’t think you can go wrong with either...
 
Great info here. For the most part, my experience agrees. Personally I like the 200gr in a 300 mag, and the browning 1-10" will sling that more effectively. The big advantage to the tikka is its long action. The browning has a short action (I believe), and it's magazine will limit your overall length. With the tikka, it would be quite easy to extend the factory magazine, or buy a 300wm magazine and seat your big heavy long bullets out farther, maximizing case capacity.

I think the 300WSM is the best of the .300's, taking into account efficiency, recoil and barrel life, I will just build my next one on a long action so I can seat the big bullets to maximum advantage. Keeping in mind I will need to get the chamber reamed to suit my overall length.

Case cutaway Photos here on page 4; https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/300-wsm-long-action-build-input-welcomed.167249/page-4
 
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