am finally close to making a purchase. its down to two rifles.

J

jay smith

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after alot of reading ive narrowed it down to 2 rifles
x bolt in 308 22 inch barrel 1/12 twist
tikka t3x ctr in 308 20 inch semi heavy barrel 1/11 twist.

it will be my first real center fire rifle.
i want to be able to use it for hunting and spend enough range time on it to learn the larger caliber.

max range would be 300 yards
would like to shoot the federal 149 gr fmj up to the 180 gr soft points.

i am leaning towards the tikka ctr for the heavier barrel.
i have read a heavier barrel is a bit less picky with ammo and won't heat up quite as fast.

i would sure appreciate opinions as this is all pretty new to me.
thanks.
 
In my opinion if it is strictly hunting you can't go wrong with any of them.
Now if you are going to do quite a bit of target shooting the Tikka is better do to the heavier barrel.
 
The T-3 has a far better trigger, and a better reputation for accuracy. i have the CTR, but in 6.5CM, and with my handloads, it is well under 1/2moa for five shots.
 
Go with the CTR you'll be really happy with the performance. I had a CTR 308 last year and it shot very well with both factory and handloads in the 168-178gr range
 
These guns are very different from each other.
Your best bet is to shoulder both of them side by side. You'll likely have a preference after that.
Second best bet is to buy and test both and keep the one you prefer... If money is not a problem.
If you really want the gun for hunting, the xbolt wins on weight alone as scoped and loaded it will be an 8 lb gun. The tikka is almost a pound over that, so about 9 lbs.

So for me that's too porky. I prefer to keep the "hunting weight" at 8 lbs or under....enter the xbolt or abolt micro in 308 or 7-08. With that package you're closer to 7 lbs even with a light scope.

On the range, imho, the tikka would be nicer to shoot from the bench with the extra weight, heavier short barrel, high cheek rest etc.
Good luck with your choice.
 
For Hunting, I would go with the Xbolt, the lighter barrel will be much better for off hand shooting.
The only benefit of the heavy barreled tikka ,would be high round target shooting.

The Newer XBolt should have the adjustable trigger, which is way better than the tikka trigger.
Also the Xbolt has the better stock.

I’ve owned a couple of both and I found the Browing to be the better hunting rifle and the Tikka the better target rifle.

Or as mentioned, the 783 will do the same thing.
 
Brianma65 said:
For Hunting, I would go with the Xbolt, the lighter barrel will be much better for off hand shooting.
The only benefit of the heavy barreled tikka ,would be high round target shooting.

The Newer XBolt should have the adjustable trigger, which is way better than the tikka trigger.
Also the Xbolt has the better stock.

I’ve owned a couple of both and I found the Browing to be the better hunting rifle and the Tikka the better target rifle.

Or as mentioned, the 783 will do the same thing.
Click to expand...

If you think that the X-bolt trigger s better than the Tikka trigger, you are dreaming. The Tikka has an excellent trigger, easily adjustable down to 2lbs, while the X-bolt trigger is one of the weaker triggers available, often not adjusting below 3-1/2 lbs or so. I have used both and adjusted several of each
 
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OP, the rifles have way different ergonomics etc. Highly suggest putting each to the shoulder before purchasing. That amongst other considerations like trigger etc.
 
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