Tikka T3 or Tikka Battue

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kolkim

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I'm looking in the Equipment Exchange to buy my first Rifle, I see a Tikka T3 SS for 700 and a Tikka Battue for 600. It is for deer hunting but I would love to save some money. I can't find much information about the Battue except that it's iron sights are hard to use and it is for close range dangerous game but if I pop a scope onto it will it be the same as a T3 but with a 2" shorter barrel?
 
There are very good reviews out there for the Battue. I have the Battue Lite in .308. I am 6' tall and the LOP was short for me, put a Limbsaver on it which fixed the LOP and makes the rifle very comfortable to shoot from a recoil standpoint. I put a 1-4.5 scope in low Talley QD rings and it was a pleasure to shoot. I tried Federal blue box and Hornady SST Superperformance and had no trouble getting nice groupings at 100y. The gun is very light and short, it will make a great carry gun in the bush in Ontario. Very happy with the purchase. You lose a little bit of velocity due to the shorter barrel, but I found a review somewhere that it was under 100fps, which is negligible for most deer hunting purposes. Tikka rifles in general are well liked, the action is very smooth.
 
I looked at that Battue as well, the only thing that stopped me from buying it was its calibre. If it was in .308 I would have jumped on it in a heart beat!
I have never stared down the sights in person, but from the pictures they look like they're very easy to use. I wouldn't worry about the shorter barrel - .308s apparently aren't really that affected by shorter barrels (which is why Jeff Cooper selected it for his scout rifle platform).
 
I had one in .308 for years. Sold it to a friend.Mine was the first batch that had a walnut stock. Beautiful rifle. The gun came up and pointed like a German Shorthair. My only complaint was the cost of mags($80-100). If they made Battue in stainless I'd buy another.
 
The Battue's are a wonderful rifle I had two of them but recently sold my 308 because I rarely used it but kept my 9.3x62. The sights are beyond great and are very fast even in low light. I also have a T3 [wood stock ]in 222 but the Battue's seem like a completely different rifle, I own about 40 "hunting" rifles and its between the Battue and my Ruger Frontier as to what one is my favorite bolt gun.
 
Not much to add to what has already been said. I own a Battue in 308. I bought it after comparing it to Savage scout and Ruger scouts. In buying it, I broke 3 of my own rules; that I will never buy a Tikka, that I will never buy a 308 and I will never buy a synthetic stock rifle again. Couldn't be happier on all accounts.

The gun is light. It points like a dream off hand. It is way more accurate than I am, off hand and bench. The open sights are the best factory sights that I have ever seen, which is why I considered it in the first place. Mine will never wear a scope but if it did, I will be very confident in hunting with it up to my personal hunting range limit.

One word of advise, the gun is very light. If you go for higher calibers, make sure you can handle the recoil. For more info, read this older thread:

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/foru...attue-Lite-Impressions&highlight=tikka+battue
 
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