Browning A-bolt Vs. Tikka T3
- Thread starter GEORGE7mm
- Start date
yoodle dog
Regular
I think he means they are cheaply made.
Amen to that, brother!!
but I have a Tikka M55 and an M65 here and I'll put those next an ABolt any day....it's been a long time since Tikka made a real rifle...
It comes down to what you want in a rifle.Are looks the most important factor,or are dependability and accuracy more important to you?My priority is that the gun is super reliable,holds a consistent point of impact,and is accurate.As such.I want a synthetic stock,a good trigger,and a simple rifle with no more parts than necessary.The A-bolt has more moving parts than most rifles,so I will not own one again.The t-3 has a better trigger,is on average very accurate,and quite durable,making this an easy choice for me.
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
i just realised that these types of threads are pointless 
really all it matters is that the person that buys it is happy with it. just go handle them in the store and make up your own mind.
seriously just about every modern bolt-action rifle from the big manufacturers these days has more than adequate accuracy for hunting purposes. just go to the store and ask to handle the guns you are interested in, look them over well, get what fits and looks/feels good to you.
you might end up buying a gun thats not even mentioned here.
really all it matters is that the person that buys it is happy with it. just go handle them in the store and make up your own mind.
seriously just about every modern bolt-action rifle from the big manufacturers these days has more than adequate accuracy for hunting purposes. just go to the store and ask to handle the guns you are interested in, look them over well, get what fits and looks/feels good to you.
you might end up buying a gun thats not even mentioned here.
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yoodle dog
Regular
i just realised that these types of threads are pointless
really all it matters is that the person that buys it is happy with it. just go handle them in the store and make up your own mind.
seriously just about every modern bolt-action rifle from the big manufacturers these days has more than adequate accuracy for hunting purposes. just go to the store and ask to handle the guns you are interested in, look them over well, get what fits and looks/feels good to you.
you might end up buying a gun thats not even mentioned here.[/QUOTE]X2!!!!!
really all it matters is that the person that buys it is happy with it. just go handle them in the store and make up your own mind.
seriously just about every modern bolt-action rifle from the big manufacturers these days has more than adequate accuracy for hunting purposes. just go to the store and ask to handle the guns you are interested in, look them over well, get what fits and looks/feels good to you.
you might end up buying a gun thats not even mentioned here.[/QUOTE]X2!!!!!
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i just realised that these types of threads are pointless
really all it matters is that the person that buys it is happy with it. just go handle them in the store and make up your own mind.
seriously just about every modern bolt-action rifle from the big manufacturers these days has more than adequate accuracy for hunting purposes. just go to the store and ask to handle the guns you are interested in, look them over well, get what fits and looks/feels good to you.
you might end up buying a gun thats not even mentioned here.[/QUOTE
You are absolutely right! Since man first threw his first rock, other men have been arguing over the type and size that is best. CGN are still doing it. You are also right that any gun from a large manufacturer will do the trick. Don’t overlook the small manufacturer. They are called custom gun makers.
You know, it's funny I have heard all sorts of negative opinions about the Tikka BUT all were opinionsof people who have never owned one.
Trust me, get a Tikka.
And for all of the nay sayers, take one a shoot a box or two, I bet you will believe.
Trust me, get a Tikka.
And for all of the nay sayers, take one a shoot a box or two, I bet you will believe.
I have owned one.
manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
so have i - for one whole day. i had buyers remorse shortly after i got it out of the box at home - the next morning i was back at the gun store first thing when it opened, asking the owner to let me return it and buy a Ruger M77mk2. the Ruger cost $200 more (at the time) and i had not fired the Tikka so he obliged.
the funny thing is that when i first went into the store, i recall that he had a stainless Ruger #1 out on the side counter just sitting there. i went in, asked if he had the Tikka T3 in stock in .308, checked it over, paid for it and was out the door as soon as the transfer went through - mainly based on everyone on the web recommending the T3 as the best thing since sliced bread. as i was leaving he nodded towards the rifle on the side counter and said 'thats what you should get right there'. i smiled, nodded, and probably rolled my eyes when my back was turned
its funny how despite the fact that they sell more T3s than anything and they can have their pick of pretty much any gun in the shop, i have yet to meet a gunsmith/dealer that chooses to hunt with a T3 himself (not counting the older Tikkas and Sakos). sure if you go in and ask about them many will say 'yeah theyre a good gun' - but you ask about any gun they sell and they will say that. ive heard many just say 'theyre very accurate' and leave it at that. theyre in the business of selling guns, not arguing with you. if you have your mind made up theyre not going to talk you out of it.
im just saying dont go there with your mind made up, handle the guns objectively, and base your purchase on what looks/feels right in your hands not what some people on the net told you to get.
the funny thing is that when i first went into the store, i recall that he had a stainless Ruger #1 out on the side counter just sitting there. i went in, asked if he had the Tikka T3 in stock in .308, checked it over, paid for it and was out the door as soon as the transfer went through - mainly based on everyone on the web recommending the T3 as the best thing since sliced bread. as i was leaving he nodded towards the rifle on the side counter and said 'thats what you should get right there'. i smiled, nodded, and probably rolled my eyes when my back was turned
its funny how despite the fact that they sell more T3s than anything and they can have their pick of pretty much any gun in the shop, i have yet to meet a gunsmith/dealer that chooses to hunt with a T3 himself (not counting the older Tikkas and Sakos). sure if you go in and ask about them many will say 'yeah theyre a good gun' - but you ask about any gun they sell and they will say that. ive heard many just say 'theyre very accurate' and leave it at that. theyre in the business of selling guns, not arguing with you. if you have your mind made up theyre not going to talk you out of it.
im just saying dont go there with your mind made up, handle the guns objectively, and base your purchase on what looks/feels right in your hands not what some people on the net told you to get.
Manbearpig, so you actually never took one out on the range or hunted with it?
If I was a gunshop owner/gunsmith, I would be hunting with a custom from my shop or one that I made. I wouldn't be hunting with a 600 dollar rifle, ask an owner if he hunts with a 500 dollar savage?
You keep talking about the Ruger's and I was planning to buy one. Then I read a Gun Writers review of the new Stainless Hawkeye. Here is a quote from one paragraph:
"One problem that we encountered during our range testing was that if pressure was applied to the bolt handle at an angle when closing the bolt, the bolt would tend to bind. Also, when unlocking the bolt after firing a shot it would sometimes stick, requiring a blow from the hand or excessive force on the bolt handle to get it to rotate to the fully up (unlocked) position. Both problems, we are sure, were caused by the failure to polish the bolt lugs, receiver raceways, and other mating surfaces when this rifle was made. Even the cylindrical bolt body is not polished. This lack of workmanship is especially regrettable on a medium bore rifle that might reasonably be used to hunt dangerous predators such as bear and big cats."
This left me with enough concern that I didn't want to take a chance on a 700 dollar rifle and to have problems with it. So it looks like Ruger's are also questionable in the quality department!
If I was a gunshop owner/gunsmith, I would be hunting with a custom from my shop or one that I made. I wouldn't be hunting with a 600 dollar rifle, ask an owner if he hunts with a 500 dollar savage?
You keep talking about the Ruger's and I was planning to buy one. Then I read a Gun Writers review of the new Stainless Hawkeye. Here is a quote from one paragraph:
"One problem that we encountered during our range testing was that if pressure was applied to the bolt handle at an angle when closing the bolt, the bolt would tend to bind. Also, when unlocking the bolt after firing a shot it would sometimes stick, requiring a blow from the hand or excessive force on the bolt handle to get it to rotate to the fully up (unlocked) position. Both problems, we are sure, were caused by the failure to polish the bolt lugs, receiver raceways, and other mating surfaces when this rifle was made. Even the cylindrical bolt body is not polished. This lack of workmanship is especially regrettable on a medium bore rifle that might reasonably be used to hunt dangerous predators such as bear and big cats."
This left me with enough concern that I didn't want to take a chance on a 700 dollar rifle and to have problems with it. So it looks like Ruger's are also questionable in the quality department!
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manbearpig
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Somewhere in the Third World
all this because of one reviewer?
if i had the time and the inclination i could quote a hundred such one-off statements about the Tikka. but since you brought up QC....
(1/2, 3, and 4/5 are three separate rifles)
a few years back, after six different reported instances of Sako and Tikka guns blowing up in peoples faces they had a recall on several thousand stainless barreled Sakos and Tikkas between SN 419140 to 461951. hows that for quality control? all of the European ones were successfully recalled, but some of these guns are still in peoples hands in North America.
bpcr.net/site_photos/Sako-KA-BOOM/
the owner of this rifle spent 4 hours in surgery after it shattered his hand. complete photos of what was left of the guys gun on the page above. there were photos of a Tikka T3 in even worse condition on accuratereloading.com but i cant find them, their forum links seem to have changed.
so for the Ruger - why not try the bolt yourself, or ask owners how reliably their Ruger bolts function before panicking about their lack of reliability? your post is the first ive heard mention of it, and i own three of the M77 bolt-actions myself. ive never had an extraction problem with them, and i shoot low-quality plinking ammo a lot.
and no, i never took the Tikka out to the range and/or hunted with it. i took it home, and took it back the next day because after handling it for a longer period of time, and examining it closer, i just didnt like it. simply due to the nearly unanimous internet recommendations for the Tikka T3 i just went and bought it. i dont doubt that it would have been an MOA or better rifle... but so would a Stevens, or a Savage. there are other factors that are just as important. if all you care about is a working rifle that shoots MOA or better, then save yourself $500 and buy a ________ (i wont say it).
if i had the time and the inclination i could quote a hundred such one-off statements about the Tikka. but since you brought up QC....
(1/2, 3, and 4/5 are three separate rifles)
a few years back, after six different reported instances of Sako and Tikka guns blowing up in peoples faces they had a recall on several thousand stainless barreled Sakos and Tikkas between SN 419140 to 461951. hows that for quality control? all of the European ones were successfully recalled, but some of these guns are still in peoples hands in North America.
bpcr.net/site_photos/Sako-KA-BOOM/
the owner of this rifle spent 4 hours in surgery after it shattered his hand. complete photos of what was left of the guys gun on the page above. there were photos of a Tikka T3 in even worse condition on accuratereloading.com but i cant find them, their forum links seem to have changed.
so for the Ruger - why not try the bolt yourself, or ask owners how reliably their Ruger bolts function before panicking about their lack of reliability? your post is the first ive heard mention of it, and i own three of the M77 bolt-actions myself. ive never had an extraction problem with them, and i shoot low-quality plinking ammo a lot.
and no, i never took the Tikka out to the range and/or hunted with it. i took it home, and took it back the next day because after handling it for a longer period of time, and examining it closer, i just didnt like it. simply due to the nearly unanimous internet recommendations for the Tikka T3 i just went and bought it. i dont doubt that it would have been an MOA or better rifle... but so would a Stevens, or a Savage. there are other factors that are just as important. if all you care about is a working rifle that shoots MOA or better, then save yourself $500 and buy a ________ (i wont say it).
Yeah, I seen those those pics 4 years ago.
The reviewer in the article was a Ruger fan. But he was disappointed with their quality. He had less problems with the Mark ll. He mentioned if you replace the stock, trigger and have a gunsmith polish the bolt and raceways, it would make a good rifle....
I have handled them in the gunshop, the action is rough, rougher than it needs to be. I am not keen on taking a chance after firing it, that I may or may not have problems with it. I tell you what, I will pick one up, try and it and if I have any problems, you can buy it off me for what I paid for it, so I don't lose any money on it.....
I think I would rather pick up a Mark ll and give it a try than the Hawkeye...
Personally I think the Vanguard is a better deal than either the Ruger or the Tikka for what you are getting. I have a few of them and would recommend them first. My only dislike with the Vanguard, is I wish they were a little lighter than 7.5 pounds. But in the 257 Wby, its an awesome deer rifle and you can get the black synthetic model for 500 bucks.....
The reviewer in the article was a Ruger fan. But he was disappointed with their quality. He had less problems with the Mark ll. He mentioned if you replace the stock, trigger and have a gunsmith polish the bolt and raceways, it would make a good rifle....
I have handled them in the gunshop, the action is rough, rougher than it needs to be. I am not keen on taking a chance after firing it, that I may or may not have problems with it. I tell you what, I will pick one up, try and it and if I have any problems, you can buy it off me for what I paid for it, so I don't lose any money on it.....
I think I would rather pick up a Mark ll and give it a try than the Hawkeye...
Personally I think the Vanguard is a better deal than either the Ruger or the Tikka for what you are getting. I have a few of them and would recommend them first. My only dislike with the Vanguard, is I wish they were a little lighter than 7.5 pounds. But in the 257 Wby, its an awesome deer rifle and you can get the black synthetic model for 500 bucks.....
