Remington 700 Sendero vs. Tikka Varmint which is better?

[brownie2505]

Hey guys I'm looking for some advise on which gun to go with and why you think so. I'm looking at buying either a Remington 700 Sendero in a .300WM or a Tikka Varmint in a .300 WM as well.

Basically I'm looking to do a bunch of long range target shooting out to 1000 yards and also use the rifle for some bighorn sheep hunting.

Thanks for the help,

 

[Clocked92]

I have a Remington VSSF II, which is essentially the Short action version of the Sendero. I will tell you right now that I would never want to take that rifle sheep hunting, regardless of caliber. Way too long and heavy for my liking to be hauling up and down a mountain for days. It does however make a great target/coyote rifle.

 

[brownie2505]

Yeah I was a little concerned about that. Thanks for your reply.

 

[r204]

The Remington fans will say the Remington is better and the Tika guys will say the oppsite

 

[prarie_boy]

I am a Remington guy no question but if you want the most accurate out of the box gun without having to do any tinkering at all probably a safe bet to pick the Tikka.

 

[Dogleg]

If you want to seat to the lands, the short mag/long throat on a Tikka will have you shooting a single shot with
practically every bullet. The 3.600 box on the Remington will still give you a repeater with practically every bullet.

If you get into long range shooting you quickly find that barrels are disposable, and the action is the heart of the rifle. Do you want your heart to be a half plastic single shot with a thumb nail
sized loose metal piece pretending to be a recoil lug? Those features seem more like the kind of
thing you put up with, not ask for.

I've had a few Tikkas and a pile of Remington's. The chances of getting a decent out of the box shooter are pretty good either way. If you're like everyone else, out of the box isn't going to keep you happy long.

 

[brownie2505]

Thanks Dogleg. How many shots can I expect to get out of a heavy barrel?

 

[gks]

Hey I would lean towards the Tika better quality & accuracy right out of the box. As far as looks the Remington looks a bit better, but has Remington really solved their issues with their safety's once and for all

 

[laker415]

Dogleg has really good points regarding the 2. I have the sendero on my want list. I have 2 remington 700 heavy barrels and both are great shooters. I don't mess with the xmark though. Trigger techs in both and every remington after.

 

[cdn_guide71]

I have both, Rem700 Sendero 300WM and Tikka T3 Tactical in 300WM. I also own a Rem 700 VSSF in 308. I have them all topped with top of the line glass (leupold, NXS Nightforce, and Vortex Razor). All shoot incredibly well. When shooting under 700m with match ammo, the T3 out shoots the Sendero, ever so slightly, however on further ranges the Sendero is better routinely. It should be noted both are sub MOA, so the slight difference may be just my good day/bad day situation. When splitting hairs it's hard to tell. With heavier projectiles they both handle wind well, and can really reach out.

For hunting I have carried all of them one time or another. The T3 is slightly lighter. The Rem take a better beating. The Tikka is noticeably shorter, not sure if that would make a difference.

Price wise, my T3 was over 2k with tax, the Sendero was under 1500. The Sendero required 20 MOA base. Hope this helps, if you want side by side pics message me, or if you have any other questions feel free.

Ps
If I was to buy again, I might look at T3 with cadex like chassis, or varmint given the price break puts it in line with the Rem. I have no regrets with what I have bought.