Best Budget Rifle for widely available factory 22-250 Tikka or Savage

D

drewdude

New member
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hello,

After doing an abundance of research on your forums and other forums and talking with my LGS I am down to either Tikka T3X Varmint Stainless or Savage 12 BTCSS.

On the shelf at stores around me (in Newfoundland) is cartridges with 45-60 grain bullets from the big manufacturers (nothing to fancy here on the rock).

I am hoping to shoot as accurately as possible for a budget out to 600-700 yards (mainly between 200-500 yards).

I understand the Tikka is 1:14 twist with a guaranteed 1 MOA and approximately 24" barrel, and the Savage is 1:12 twist with no guaranteed accuracy and 26" barrel. The tikka has the benefit of lightness, refined finish, guaranteed accuracy (obviously with specific ammunition at 100 yards) and smooth action feel (which mean a lot to me); whereas, the savage as the benefit of a fluted longer barrel and faster 1:12 twist.

Would the Tikka handle the factory cartridges with 55-60 grain bullets as well as the savage? as you can tell to me the savage as the benefit of a fluted longer barrel and faster 1:12 twist (as you can tell i'm leaning towards the tikka)?

I understand that most seem to be loving the tighter twist trend and that it has to do with length of bullet vs weight but I will not be handloading or ordering in special factory ammunition or going the 1:9 twist route.

I plan on dressing up these fire arms after purchase and using them as a cost effective way to enter the world of medium to long range shooting and use them for coyote hunting (potential long walks in the bush with the gun on my back - so weight is a turn off). A stainless heavier barrel and action is a must for the firearms intended application.

I plan on 1 of 4 scopes as my LGS only offers certain brands (leaning towards the forge due to locking turrets and bang for buck quality or the black due to the illuminated retacle and bang for buck quality):
- Bushnell Nitro 4 - 16 x 44 Deploy MIL FFP (630)
- Bushnell Forge 3 – 18 x 50 Deploy MIL FFP
- Burris Veracity 4 – 20 x 50 FFP
- Nikon Black FX1000 4-16 x 50 SF illuminated FX MRAD


Thanks in advance for all your wisdom.

Andrew
 
Tikka is a more refined product then Savage. Both have good track record for shooting well, but Savage has the disadvantage of poor manufacturing, poor QA/QC which can lead to some frustrating results for some owners.

Personally, I think Tikkas are one of the best budget precision rifles, it's no secret that would be my vote.

Neither of those twist rates are desirable for shooting any of the heavier, longer and higher BC projectiles if you want to go that route. As far as how heavy of a projectile either twist can handle - I'll let someone else answer that as I don't have a centerfire .22.
 
Hello, I only plan on shooting factory cartridges in the 45-55 grain range and maybe trying the one box of 60 grain cartridges that are on the shelf of the LGS. Which twist would suit this better, 1:12 x 26" bull barreled savage or 1:14 x 24" varmint barreled tikka.
 
I'd be inclined to do a bit of research to determine if the the 22-250 is, or was available with a faster twist rate on the barrel. Due to the velocity of the 22-250 it may not require a faster twist rate. Yet a 223 requires a faster twist rate to shoot heavier bullets. While not a 22-250 I've used a Savage with a 1-9 twist and a Tikka with a 1-8. The Savage was good with the 62 grain bullets the Tikka was good with 70 grain bullets. There are probably others who have more experience with the 22-250 so hopefully they provide more direct info for you...
 
researched the crap out of it haha, the tightest twist savage sells now is 1:12 on the firearm I mentioned, tikkas tightest is 1:14, and browning offers their x-bolt predator in 1:9 but it doesn't seem like a substantial enough barrel for long life at that twist not to mention the trigger... Bergara sells the HMR and HMR pro in 1:9 as well (i want stainless so i'd have to go with the pro which would push my price point substantially and force me to source bullets heavier than 55 grain). That is all I have found for rifles under $2000. From the research I have done i'm inclined to think that the 1:14 tikka should be good for 45-55 grain shorter factory loads and maybe even upwards of 60. I just wanted to talk to you all to get your opinion. I also understand that a gun will choose its preferred load and that tikka is the least picky.
 
Well, based on what you say you want the rifle for, I would seriously look at a 1-8t 223 - factory loaded 69gr - 75gr avail at Cabelas. Those will do all you ask for and more, for a lots less cost than a 250. Plus you will be assured it (1-8t) will shoot heavies (65gr and up) whereas its a gamble (with slim possibility) that these will shoot accurate with a 12/14t barrel.
 
chrismc said:
Well, based on what you say you want the rifle for, I would seriously look at a 1-8t 223 - factory loaded 69gr - 75gr avail at Cabelas. Those will do all you ask for and more, for a lots less cost than a 250. Plus you will be assured it (1-8t) will shoot heavies (65gr and up) whereas its a gamble (with slim possibility) that these will shoot accurate with a 12/14t barrel.
Click to expand...

I will be sticking with 22-250.

I may just consider the bergara premiere hmr pro in 22-250 at 1:9 twist as I plan on putting a KRG bravo stock and upgrading the the tikka if were to get it anyways. The Bergara comes with everything i'd want right away at a lower cost.
 
I would go with the Savage, if you are going to use it for your target rifle and shoot it enough to wear out the barrel, the Savage is a home barrel change(you need to buy a few tools, but pretty simple). If and when you need to rebarrel, you can stick with 22-250 with a different twist or change to something else that fits the bolt face/action length.
 
crooked barrel jed said:
I would go with the Savage, if you are going to use it for your target rifle and shoot it enough to wear out the barrel, the Savage is a home barrel change(you need to buy a few tools, but pretty simple). If and when you need to rebarrel, you can stick with 22-250 with a different twist or change to something else that fits the bolt face/action length.
Click to expand...

You can change out a Tikka barrel at home to - likewise just requires a couple of tools. Unscrew barrel, screw on new barrel and torque. In premise, about as simple as changing a lightbulb.
 
The one difficulty with Tikka can be getting that original factory barrel off. Apparently they can be tough to remove.

Only a problem you need to solve once though, and hardly insurmountable. After that, every barrel change is easy as a light bulb change with a little torque applied.
 
At the risk of a serious thread derail here, on the tikka, is the headspace not controlled by the depth the chamber reamer is ran in? As calculated by precise measurements form the bolt face, as in a traditional shouldered barrel?
 
Tikka would be my choice the receiver is top notch - you can always purchase a pre-fit down the road - better overall quality - and it would look kick A$$ in an MDT Chassis. Savage are good too but I would recommend the Tikka. Why? I have two of them a 204 Ruger and a 223 with custom barrel. Best bang for buck
 
crooked barrel jed said:
At the risk of a serious thread derail here, on the tikka, is the headspace not controlled by the depth the chamber reamer is ran in? As calculated by precise measurements form the bolt face, as in a traditional shouldered barrel?
Click to expand...

They are.

I'm not a gunsmith, but the fact that many companies are making shouldered barrel pre-fits makes me believe that the specs of the action are being held to tight enough tolerances such that the headspace stays within a given spec range.

Many actions are being built to such precision (ARC, Bighorn, Impact, Lone Peak, Curtis, Terminus, Surgeon, etc) that this isn't uncommon. Tikka must be in that list as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom