Howa 1500 vs tikka t3x

Had a few Howas and a few T3's. My first stainless Howa had gall problems with the bolt lugs. Stainless on stainless didn't seem to work. Never really got it sorted no matter how the lugs were polished / greased. Two later Howas in stainless did not have that problem. I think T3's are much better made rifles, also a much better design. Trigger just that bit nicer. The design and manufacturing tolerances of the T3 action allow you to bed your stocks in such a way that any T3 can bit fitted. This is a real bonus if you have several T3's in different cal or even want to shoot the T1X in your favourite stock as a trainer rifle. Aftermarket T3 stocks can be factory epoxy bedded and shipped to the customer. Even for competition rifles.
Most modern factory rifles shoot well if sat/bedded in a decent stock however the Tikka seems just to be a bit more accurate on average.
Only downside with the T3 is delivery times, as far as I understand they can only manufacture x amount of rifles in their production plant and are at the limit. Orders seem to increase.
edi
 
Can anyone shine some light on the howa vs tikka recoil pads, does the tikka use a Limbsaver on both t3 and t3x? And is the howa just a factory butt pad? I’m an hour or so drive to physically handle the Howas. Also the heavy barrel on the howas would be a nice feature as well.
 
I have never owned a Tikka and never will as they don't have any features I find important in a hunting rifle but I did buy a Vanguard for my daughter and am impressed with it. It's sub 1" with several loads and shoots them, as well as the one factory load we tried, to pretty much the same POI. I personally like 3 position safeties and while the Vanguard's isn't great I like it better than a 2 position. I have zero use for dbm so the hinged floorplate on the Vanguard was perfect but if you want dbm then that would rule it out for your use.
 
i was making this decision last year. I have purchased 2 Vanguards. They shoot great and a really like them. I performed extensive research and determined that the two rifles are very similar in quality but the tikas are quite a bit more expensive. The vanguards felt good on the shoulder and allowed me to buy more accessories with a free conscience.
 
In the family we have one Tikka T3 Lite in 6.5x55 and 3 Vanguard S2s a .243 Camilla, 7-08 in the injection molded plastic stock (griptonic ? I think Weatherby calls it) and a .375 H&H in the Dangerous Game Rifle.

All the rifles shoot very well. All have good triggers. The standard vanguards are heavier than the Tikka although I have not found the weight to be a problem on big mileage days.

With the .37 H&H weighing 9.6 pounds scoped recoil is quite managable and allows for quick repeat shots during practice.

A difficult choice as you are looking at two quality items.

All the best in your decison making and Merry Christmas.

GRF
 
Loaded question as it depends on which cartridge you want and what features you put value in.
In my calibers (LA non-Magnums) hunting accuracy is a dead heat.
The T3 (mine are not the x) has a smoother bolt but the Howa works fine (won’t make a difference hunting).
Same amount of aftermarket support, more or less, if you want to mess with them.
The T3 comes with a detachable magazine and to my knowledge cannot be fitted with a swinging base plate. The Howa mostly comes with the swinging base plate but the addition of a detachable magazine is easy. The Howa plastic mags for the LA is equal to the Tikka IMO.
You can get a Hogue stock for the Howa but not for the Tikka (one of my favorite hunting stocks).
Barrel is longer on the Howa (24” vs 22”) on mine anyway.
The Tikka has a single stage trigger, the Howa is a two stage trigger. While both are excellent I prefer the Howa when hunting.
The Tikka is lighter which increases felt recoil but this is only applicable if your cartridge creates it (you can easily add weight).
The Howa is heavier but to me it feels right, not heavy and is a pleasure to shoot.
If the pound or so makes a difference perhaps it’s time to revisit ones limitations?
Either way is a good choice
 
As far as caliber go I’m stuck between either 7mm or 300wm. I’ve shot both cartridges but not in either chassis mentioned. I liked the lightweight of the tikka but the dbm feels really cheap. The action is like butter but I come from shooting savage so it doesn’t take much to convince me on the action. The howa felt really good to shoulder and the extra weight for me almost felt better. I’m curious if the legacy dbm for the howa feels as cheap as the tikka dbm.
 
I have a howa alpine, weatherby vanguard (x2) and tikka t3, I love em all. Personally I like floor plate mags more than detachable ones. And at the tikka $80/mag price it's cheaper to not buy the mag if you lose it.

They're both good guns just find the best deal in the best caliber.

I gotta say I don't know what the talk about light t3s and recoil. My 270wsm doesn't have that bad of a kick at all.
 
I've handled a couple T3s and personally disliked them. I shot one in .300 WM and hated it, kicked like a mule and the guy who owned it looked uncomfortable shooting it no matter how much he said he loved the thing.

I personally own three Weatherby Vanguards (.257 WM, .308 Win and .300 WM) and one Howa (25-06). I love them all and will most likely buy an other Howa in 6.5 CM for shyts and gigs.

I think it comes down to personal preference, I disliked the Tikkas but clearly a lot of guys here love them. To me they were too light and looked bad, I prefer on heavier rifle and Weatherby/Howa hits the mark. They are very comfortable to shoot and I don't mind humping them all day chasing game.
 
Yes I have heard the lite and Superlite in 300 are not a bench gun, and I personally have no problem lugging around an extra couple lbs in the bush if it makes it more tolerable to shoot on the bench. I thought about buying a howa barreled action but cost wise almost seems smarter to buy a rifle and build off the action. I do like the hinged floor plate for in the bush. Anyone purchased a howa from one of the dealers on cgn?
 
Marcus04 said:
Yes I have heard the lite and Superlite in 300 are not a bench gun, and I personally have no problem lugging around an extra couple lbs in the bush if it makes it more tolerable to shoot on the bench. I thought about buying a howa barreled action but cost wise almost seems smarter to buy a rifle and build off the action. I do like the hinged floor plate for in the bush. Anyone purchased a howa from one of the dealers on cgn?
Click to expand...

Prophet River - excellent service - was looking for a barrelled action a few months back for a build
 
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