Chuck Hawks Review on Tikka's
- Thread starter b72471
- Start date
sir_springer
Regular
- Location
- East Kootenays
Here's the thing...
Both my son-in-laws bought new rifles over the last couple years, in fact one bought a couple of 'em. I get to set 'em up with scopes and sight them in.
Of course, we first talk lots about what to get, price range, etc, 'cause I'm the old guy with some experience.
In the first instance, I recommend a Rem. 700 XCR in .300 WSM as perhaps the best option. He goes for it. Right off the get-go we have to take it to my smith to get the trigger properly set up...who suggests maybe we install a Shilen, 'cause of issues of safety with the Remington original. (This was about five years ago.) We agree it's a good idea, 'cause I know of what he speaks, having been there, done that. Get it all set up, new scope, yada yada yada. And it turns out to be a nice enough rifle that shoots decent as one would expect it to.
Other son-in-law's turn comes, we talk about Remingtons, Vanguards, and the T3. We go into Wholesale Sports, and handle and inspect each, the Rem. at bit more than the T3, the Vanguard a tad less.
He loves the T3. And I have to concede that it's pretty much a no-brainer. It simply outclasses the other two in virtually every respect. The smoothness of the action puts it in another league entirely. The finish is superior. And the trigger, right out of the fricking box, is about as perfect and sweet and one could ever hope for a gunsmith to achieve on any rifle! One thing he does do is have a Limbsaver recoil pad installed first, as recommended by the store. It's a light gun, and it bites accordingly. These help tame it.
So we take it home, and eventually get it set up. Head out to the range with a box of Fusion 180s to sight it in. Before we get through the first 20 rounds, this puppy is grouping sub-MOA, one after another! And it feeds WSM ammo, which has a bit of a notorious rep for being cranky, flawlessly and smoothly as though they were greased. Needless to say, pretty happy camper happening here.
Last year the first one who got the Rem. made the mistake of handling a Sako A7 Stainless. Now he owns one, .270 WSM, and the Rem is for sale.
Enough about that.
As I pick up a CZ at the sports shop, and look at the fit and finish of both wood and metal, and then compare that to a few NA models that I won't specifically name, I cannot help but think to myself, what the hell is going on??? Like, in too many cases it's not even bloody well close! One son-in-law bought himself a CZ Bobwhite double in 20 gu. for prairie upland birds. Paid $800. It's even colour case hardened! Beautiful shotgun in every respect, certainly for the relatively measly amount paid for a double! He looked at others, nothing else even came close!
Someone mentioned the Europeans penchant for quality and attention to details. Yeah, how 'bout that, eh?
I wonder how many gun writers notice this as well...and quietly despair with regard to the quality produced on this side of the pond. How do you write about this, and not bite the hand that feeds ya???
On the plus side, I think things are getting better. IMHO, Winchester Model 70s are probably the best quality seen in half a century. TC is leading with some pretty smartly designed and finished rifles. Kimber has re-defined how rifles can look good, have nice grain, shoot great and still be a light weight as one would ever want. And Savage is pushing the envelope on innovation that has the rest scrambling to keep up, and still do it for a darn decent buck!
But for the last 20 to 30 years up until recently, North American gun makers were pretty much on cruise control, and making their living on long established brands...whether they deserved to or not! Frankly, many were cranking out crap...and a few paid the ultimate price for it. Looked good on 'em, too.
The auto industry, which I was involved in for some years, did pretty much the same thing...and the Japanese came along and basically ate their lunches for 'em. Now they finally...and hopefully...are starting to figure it all out, and quality, not just merely quantity (and quarterly reports), figures into the equation once more.
No, I think Hawks missed the real point...perhaps conveniently so.
FWIW.
Both my son-in-laws bought new rifles over the last couple years, in fact one bought a couple of 'em. I get to set 'em up with scopes and sight them in.
Of course, we first talk lots about what to get, price range, etc, 'cause I'm the old guy with some experience.
In the first instance, I recommend a Rem. 700 XCR in .300 WSM as perhaps the best option. He goes for it. Right off the get-go we have to take it to my smith to get the trigger properly set up...who suggests maybe we install a Shilen, 'cause of issues of safety with the Remington original. (This was about five years ago.) We agree it's a good idea, 'cause I know of what he speaks, having been there, done that. Get it all set up, new scope, yada yada yada. And it turns out to be a nice enough rifle that shoots decent as one would expect it to.
Other son-in-law's turn comes, we talk about Remingtons, Vanguards, and the T3. We go into Wholesale Sports, and handle and inspect each, the Rem. at bit more than the T3, the Vanguard a tad less.
He loves the T3. And I have to concede that it's pretty much a no-brainer. It simply outclasses the other two in virtually every respect. The smoothness of the action puts it in another league entirely. The finish is superior. And the trigger, right out of the fricking box, is about as perfect and sweet and one could ever hope for a gunsmith to achieve on any rifle! One thing he does do is have a Limbsaver recoil pad installed first, as recommended by the store. It's a light gun, and it bites accordingly. These help tame it.
So we take it home, and eventually get it set up. Head out to the range with a box of Fusion 180s to sight it in. Before we get through the first 20 rounds, this puppy is grouping sub-MOA, one after another! And it feeds WSM ammo, which has a bit of a notorious rep for being cranky, flawlessly and smoothly as though they were greased. Needless to say, pretty happy camper happening here.
Last year the first one who got the Rem. made the mistake of handling a Sako A7 Stainless. Now he owns one, .270 WSM, and the Rem is for sale.
Enough about that.
As I pick up a CZ at the sports shop, and look at the fit and finish of both wood and metal, and then compare that to a few NA models that I won't specifically name, I cannot help but think to myself, what the hell is going on??? Like, in too many cases it's not even bloody well close! One son-in-law bought himself a CZ Bobwhite double in 20 gu. for prairie upland birds. Paid $800. It's even colour case hardened! Beautiful shotgun in every respect, certainly for the relatively measly amount paid for a double! He looked at others, nothing else even came close!
Someone mentioned the Europeans penchant for quality and attention to details. Yeah, how 'bout that, eh?
I wonder how many gun writers notice this as well...and quietly despair with regard to the quality produced on this side of the pond. How do you write about this, and not bite the hand that feeds ya???
On the plus side, I think things are getting better. IMHO, Winchester Model 70s are probably the best quality seen in half a century. TC is leading with some pretty smartly designed and finished rifles. Kimber has re-defined how rifles can look good, have nice grain, shoot great and still be a light weight as one would ever want. And Savage is pushing the envelope on innovation that has the rest scrambling to keep up, and still do it for a darn decent buck!
But for the last 20 to 30 years up until recently, North American gun makers were pretty much on cruise control, and making their living on long established brands...whether they deserved to or not! Frankly, many were cranking out crap...and a few paid the ultimate price for it. Looked good on 'em, too.
The auto industry, which I was involved in for some years, did pretty much the same thing...and the Japanese came along and basically ate their lunches for 'em. Now they finally...and hopefully...are starting to figure it all out, and quality, not just merely quantity (and quarterly reports), figures into the equation once more.
No, I think Hawks missed the real point...perhaps conveniently so.
FWIW.
I am pretty sure he is a member here and posts thousands upon thousands of posts overstating the obvious, passing off his opinion as fact, and just generally beating his keyboard to death with incorrect information.
Either that or this particular CGN member is a near clone of old Chuck .......................
No kidding, and it's not hard to figure out who you are referring to.
Ted
Not usually a Chuck Hawks fan but I find little fault with his discussion of T3's in this article. Most T3 owners are suckered into paying the high price for a cheap gun because it's "Light and accurate" without looking at the whole picture.
Couldn't agree more!
At the range this past summer I met an older gentleman that was introducing his 16yo grandson to hunting and gave him a brand new Win Extreme in .270. After a couple of shots sighting in with the boy he came over to me to show me the brass. The factory cut chamber had a large tool mark on the shoulder. As the rifle fired the brass would expand into it and the brass had a very noticible hump on the shoulder. The disappointment on their faces was easy to see as we figured it out with my bright bore light. They left for Wholesale Sports to try exchange the gun. That's my only experience with those Extremes. It was a sharp looking rifle with a stainless half fluted barrel.
I'll stick with buying T3's in SS/synthetic.
Yeah, that's a bummer when you get something new and it turns out to have a flaw, or it's a lemon...
It's a good thing it was just a tooling mark in the chamber, not something really dangerous, like a few years back when Sako/Tikka had their stainless barrels BLOWING UP with factory ammo.
Heck, you didn't need to jam an obstruction into the Sako/Tikka barrels that were blowing up, they did it all on their own, no obstruction, just regular ammo.
For the record it was Sako not Tikka that popped. Those cheap Tikkas just keep on ticking unlike the horribly overpriced Sakos.
I totally agree. I don't think that the tikka is a bad rifle. I've fired some and they shoot great. But they have cut corners wherever possible to make the most economical gun to produce and they charge a lot. To buy a blued gun with a plastic stock and plastic everything else it costs $770!!! A stevens 200 has all that except the detachable mag for $370.
I find that the tikkas have an advantage because they offer some cartridges that other companies do not. I am seriously looking into buying a tikka because they come in 6.5x55 and 260 rem. I also like the light weight for a hunting gun, but i'm not sold on paying that much for them yet.
I find that the tikkas have an advantage because they offer some cartridges that other companies do not. I am seriously looking into buying a tikka because they come in 6.5x55 and 260 rem. I also like the light weight for a hunting gun, but i'm not sold on paying that much for them yet.
After you get some trigger time with one, that slick bolt and super crisp trigger will sell you. The accuracy is a given. And yes they do chamber the best selection of calibers but won't waste their time on the 375 Ruger. I will let the 260 Rem slide though.
