The time has come, help me decide...

tapedeck74

tapedeck74

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Hey there,

I've been looking for a 30-06 rifle for awhile now and a no-tax sale at a new store has tickled my buying bone.
I went there today and was pleased to see that reps from the various manufacturers were in store to answer questions.
I handled the offerings from Remington, Browning, Weatherby, Tikka, Ruger and Sako.

Here's what I rounded it down to:

Tikka T3 Stainless/Synthetic $800 +rings

Pluses- Nice fit & finish. Smooth bolt. Stock doesn't have too much flex. Accuracy guarantee. Good trigger.

Minuses- Lots of plastic parts. Unknown customer service reputation. Since parts are not available aftermarket, I want to know that my rifle would be fixed in a timely and competent fashion if the need arises.
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Ruger MkII Stainless/Laminate $800 w/rings

Pluses- Rugged. Reliable. Laminate stock for the same price as a synthetic on the Tikka. Free scope rings. I know Ruger has good Customer Service.

Minuses- Rough bolt. Accuracy is more of a gamble than the Tikka. Heavy trigger pull. May need bedding/floating work.

So, having just written it down, it seems clear to me that the Tikka is a better rifle. Unless it breaks..

Anyone have experience with Tikka customer service?

Any other advice on this is welcome..

Thanks for your time, Steve
 
My opinion is just that, my opinion. But in regards to Tikka, they are a nice little rifle. I'm not crazy about all the plastic on them, and at $110 for a replacement magazine, don't lose it. The customer service sucks. I sent a shot gun back, brand new in the box, and came back to me looking worse than if I took it hunting for a year.

Rugers are a good rifle, at a fair price for what you get. The laminated stocks have no checkering, and are a little slick in the wet stuff, but they are nice otherwise. The triggers aren't the greatest though. I would suggest looking at a Savage. Their not as nice to look at, but will shoot as good if not better than the others. Don't worry about the accuracy garantee, as I am willing to bet ANY out of the box Savage centerfire will shoot better than 1 1/2 inches with a variety of ammo. Also, as much as it pains me to say, I think the Remington SPS would be a better buy than the Tikka. Again, I don't mind the T3's, but I prefer the feel of the model 700. Remember, these are my opinions, and you buy what you like best and feels best to you. Good luck with your decision.
 
The Hawkeye is not an option. I know, better trigger, but the store doesn't have any.
The store doesn't seem to carry Savage.

The Remington SPS that I handled seemed nice enough, smoothest action next to the Tikka.

The Ruger may, or may not have quirks or problems, but I know that they will be fixed with no fuss. So there's some peace of mind in that.
I found the Ruger had a very good, solid feel to it. My only complaint is that the action (on the one I handled at least) was Very rough. The bolt seemed to stick as it started to pass forward over the ejector.
I'll go back tomorrow and see if they have it in the caliber I want and see if it's any smoother.

I'll take a second look at the Remmy too.

Thanks folks, Steve
 
Gatehouse said:
I woudl far prefer the Ruger over the T3

Actually, i woduln't even look at the T3 if I had the choice for a RUger.:evil:
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Ditto...I'd buy a Savage before a T3...the plastic makes me ill!

As for the rough bolt, the Ruger will begin to smooth out after a littlle use, and a little lapping compound (jewler's rouge) on the bolt raceways for a few hundred cycles of the bolt will turn it smooth as glass.

I've not seen a M77 that shot poorly after Ruger began making their own barrels (many years ago now).
 
tapedeck74 said:
My only complaint is that the action (on the one I handled at least) was Very rough. The bolt seemed to stick as it started to pass forward over the ejector.
Click to expand...


that clears up when you break it in, but the tikka will most likely be smother even after that though. and there is a lot of creep in the Ruger triggers to. i would buy the tikka because of the better trigger, synthetic stock, smoother bolt and because it's apparently more accurate. i saw tikka clips selling for about $80 at sir but thats still lots
 
280_ACKLEY said:
As for the rough bolt, the Ruger will begin to smooth out after a littlle use, and a little lapping compound (jewler's rouge) on the bolt raceways for a few hundred cycles of the bolt will turn it smooth as glass.

I've not seen a M77 that shot poorly after Ruger began making their own barrels (many years ago now).
Click to expand...

Good advice..............I'd go for the Ruger. They do smooth out with use, and shoot better than some like to admit. Can't beat them for a hunting rifle IMO.
 
i heard a story that a guy had a problem with his tikka snd they didn't have one to send to him that was the same so they sent him a sako
 
i have owned rugers and tikkas. i found the t3 to be the better shooters and the triggers to be much better. my rugers have varied in acuracy from very good to so so. both my t3 shoot better than i do. my only knock on the tikka is the stock is a little thick in the wrist area but thats a matter of taste, as for all the plastic its eough as nails and the mag seems near indistructable.
 
for a hunting rifle, Id go with the M77. At worst, it will be accurate enough for most hunting applications out to 1/4 mile. Nicer safety, better action (not as smooth but...) and that laminate a much better stock. The scope mounts are top class too
 
I bought a Ruger because I could get both stainless and left hand. Never used a bolt before and it did smooth out a lot. Pretty slick now with 100 rounds through it. Triggers must be done-mine is about 3-3.5 lbs now and shoots pretty nice. Been bedded and adjusted to fit me. This one is going to be a good hunter.(30-06) Nothing fancy but solid and reliable and shoots well too. Good enough for me.
Got my MOA pretty much out of the box.
 
guido said:
I only say that because, in my opinion, you had 4 other better brands to pick from. Remington, Browning, Weatherby and Sako. There are very few minuses with these brands.
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Fair nuff.

Weatherby- Just didn't fit me right. It seemed very big and heavy.
Browning- Quite a bit more expensive than the others.
Sako- Also Much more expensive.
Remington- It's still in the running. The action was smooth and I like the design. The one I handled was the blued SPS. If I recall correctly it had a plastic floorplate. There's a model called the 700 Mtn LSS that's interesting, but the literature says it has a "mountain countour barrel", thinner than normal I'm reckoning. That's o.k. for hunting, but not exactly condusive to bench shooting.
If the store has a Remmy that fits my criteria I'm all for it.
 
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