Bergara vs Tikka

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Jlcossette

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I’m in the process of purchasing a new hunting rifle. I’m looking for something decent in .308, so far I’ve been looking a lot at the the tikka T3x. Then came across the Bergara B-14 HMR. I know the tikkas are excellent rifles but I don’t know much about the Bergara. From my understanding the Bergara is basically a rem 700 so plenty of aftermarket parts where as the tikka not so much but not a huge concern. I’m just trying to compare and see which would be the best for performance and durability for the price. If anybody has any input it would be much appreciated. Also if anybody has any recommendations of rifles that would be as good. My price range is about $2500 for rifle+optics.
 
For a hunting rifle in your price range, if you want something well made, well finished, and durable, Winchester M70 or CZ550.
Bergara is made with a cast receiver, Tikka cuts a lot of corners to make a rifle, both are grossly overpriced for what they are.
 
Hitzy said:
For a hunting rifle in your price range, if you want something well made, well finished, and durable, Winchester M70 or CZ550.
Bergara is made with a cast receiver, Tikka cuts a lot of corners to make a rifle, both are grossly overpriced for what they are.
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Nothin' wrong with a well made & finished, cast receiver. Folks like Ruger been doing it well for a long time now.
 
Bergara is a great rifle, if your looking for something lighter go with the tikka, both are excellent out of the box rifles, Bergara B14 uses a #4/5 contour barrel witch makes the rifle pretty heavy out of the box.
Just depends what you want weight wise and weather you like a removable magazine (Tikka) or if you prefer a floor plate (Bergara), again either way you cant go wrong with either rifle.

The tikka has an all stainless option and is lighter which would sway me a little to the tikka.
 
Bergara also has detachable magazines available. ^

I"ve had several Tikkas, T3 and 595, all were great rifles. Only Bergara I have is a barrel on my muzzleloader, but it also shoots well.
 
SHELL SHUCKER said:
Nothin' wrong with a well made & finished, cast receiver. Folks like Ruger been doing it well for a long time now.
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Ruger has been doing it a long time, I trust their casting process, the bolt guns are still a bit crudely finished compared to the No1's. Not so sure I trust Italian casting as much, and I'm not sure how a cast Italian Sabatti retails for $500 but a cast; Italian Bergara retails for $1500...
 
Weatherby Fan said:
Bergara is a great rifle, if your looking for something lighter go with the tikka, both are excellent out of the box rifles, Bergara B14 uses a #4/5 contour barrel witch makes the rifle pretty heavy out of the box.
Just depends what you want weight wise and weather you like a removable magazine (Tikka) or if you prefer a floor plate (Bergara), again either way you cant go wrong with either rifle.

The tikka has an all stainless option and is lighter which would sway me a little to the tikka.
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This be true. I'm having fun with my Bergara B14R .22 rimfire, and though she be a hefty beast, the bugger is a well made & solid platform for my uses.
 
@hitzy


Well bergaras aren’t made in Italy so that’s a start


I get what your saying though.

Of the above choices I’d go tikka by a landslide. They’re light, they’re smooth, and usually hellishly accurate. A 1000 bucks doesn’t buy you much anymore off the shelf
 
Hitzy said:
Ruger has been doing it a long time, I trust their casting process, the bolt guns are still a bit crudely finished compared to the No1's. Not so sure I trust Italian casting as much, and I'm not sure how a cast Italian Sabatti retails for $500 but a cast; Italian Bergara retails for $1500...
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Bergara is a Spanish maker with a US partnership to enable good product at reasonable pricing for performance. Their tooling & metal processes are right up there with many other high quality makers, so no worries.
 
Slimbo said:
@hitzy


Well bergaras aren’t made in Italy so that’s a start


I get what your saying though.

Of the above choices I’d go tikka by a landslide. They’re light, they’re smooth, and usually hellishly accurate. A 1000 bucks doesn’t buy you much anymore off the shelf
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I knew they were made in Spain, no idea why I typed Italy...built a chicken coop today so I'm kind of fried lol.
They are decent looking guns, I'm just more of a traditional manufacturing gun guy, I like 1 piece forged bolts and receivers with integral recoil lugs, I wouldn't feel like I was getting money's worth with anything cast except a Ruger lol.
 
if your dead set on the Bergara then go for it - as for Tikka's sure they are great rifles my advice would be to shoulder both of them if you can - the one slight advantage to the Bergara is that it's what the Remington 700 should have been - but I did send Bergara an email about 6 months ago asking a question about their rifles and never got a reply back from them -
 
I had a Bergara Premium Mountain Rifle 2.0 and liked it very much.

I sold it, but not because I didn't like it. A good friend fell in love with it and the IOR Valdada scope mounted on it. He paid enough for the package that I could easily purchase a complete replacement new.

The action is slick and positive during feeding to the chamber and the trigger can be taken down safely to two pounds, maybe less. I didn't try. The stock is very comfortable for people with a 13.5in trigger reach.

I also have a Tikka3 Lite. It also wears an IOR Valdada scope, but it's chambered for the venerable 6.5x55.

They are both ergonomically correct for me. They are both approximately the same weight. They are both very accurate.

The Bergara is quite a bit more expensive than the Tikka and that's because of its stock.

I found the Tikka to be slightly more accurate than the Bergara. Both cartridges are inherently accurate. I couldn't see any reason, other than that's just the way it was.

I originally purchased the Premier 02 because it was supposedly made in the USA. I believe they are assembled there, under tighter controls, than they are in Spain. Maybe not.

The Finns and the Spanish love their firearms and they like them to shoot very well.

IMHO, you won't go wrong with either rifle. They both shoot well enough to have high quality scopes mounted and reloads made up that they like.

If I were in your position, I would choose the one that appealed to me aesthetically and build it up from there.

They are actually both pretty decent, right out of the box. They don't need much more.

There are several grades of both rifles, all the way up to those with every bell and whistle.
 
I have both currently in my gun locker, several Tikka T3s in various configurations and only one Bergara-The HMR version which is designed more as a long range precision rifle. If I had $2500 cash and the itch for a new rifle and those were my choices I would be buying another Tikka, they have proven themselves to me on numerous occasions as a very accurate rifle with most factory ammo options and are easy to build up handholds for too, they excellent triggers, the magazine while a put off for some because it is polymer has never let me down and is smooth to feed rounds from, the bolt is very slick and easy to take down for maintenance, and despite what many say there is a plethora of aftermarket parts available for these rifles.

Good luck with the decision, both are well made rifles and would serve you well I am sure. I just prefer Tikka!
 
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Ain’t no shade on a tikka , anyone tells you otherwise hasn’t done much actual hunting with one. Light weight , accurate , well made rifles that get the job done. Don’t own a bergara but have read good things. They seem to be more of a hybrid mix of both target and hunting rifle in one. You probably can’t go wrong either way.
Tikka T3 30-06 gets it done https://flic.kr/p/2jRLiPt
 
IvoB said:
if your dead set on the Bergara then go for it - as for Tikka's sure they are great rifles my advice would be to shoulder both of them if you can - the one slight advantage to the Bergara is that it's what the Remington 700 should have been - but I did send Bergara an email about 6 months ago asking a question about their rifles and never got a reply back from them -
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By adding an external extractor, Bergara removed one of the best features of the 700, the gas sealing design.
If an external M16 style extractor is a must have, the Howa/Vanguard's have pretty much the same 3 rings of steel, proper gas venting for an external extractor, forged receiver with integral recoil lug, 1 piece forged bolt, pretty much the ideal action.
 
Bergara HMR is heavy so for most hunting, a Tikka T3 is a much better choice.
I own 3 Tikka T3x Lite rifles and consider them perfect for medium range hunting.
For long range hunting, regardless of the rifle, there are better cartridges than 308 Win.
 
Slimbo said:
Of the above choices I’d go tikka by a landslide. They’re light, they’re smooth, and usually hellishly accurate. A 1000 bucks doesn’t buy you much anymore off the shelf
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Yup. Everything has gotten more expensive, and the Tikkas are a significant upgrade from most of the rifles that now occupy their old $600-700 price bracket.
 
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