Tikka Tac A1 vs CTR?

saunders278

saunders278

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Hey everybody,

I'm looking into getting a precision rifle setup. I’ve been shooting my whole life but only got serious about it a year ago, so I’d consider myself a competent novice.
I’ve been shooting and reloading for my dad’s old Remington 700 (7mm Rem Mag), and want to get something a bit nicer in 6.5 Creedmoor.

I’m not exactly swimming in cash, and I’ve heard Tikkas are great for the price. I love the Tac A1 but it would be the absolute limit of my budget.

Is the Tac A1 that much better than the CTR?

I’ve never used a chassis system so I don’t really know the advantages. I do like the idea of extra weight since this rifle will be a designated target rifle. On the other hand, the $1000+ savings on the CTR could get me a nicer scope (looking at the Vortex Viper PST so far). I'm not really sure of other differences between the two regarding barrels, actions, accuracy, etc.

So:

A Tac A1 with a Vortex Viper PST?

Or a CTR with better optics?

Thanks.

-K
 
Personally I find that rifles come and go but good glass, once you have it, you keep it.

If you are lucky enough to be in a place where you can handle both rifles, see how they feel. The CTR is a great rifle and the new T3X stock is really quite good. If you don't like it, down the road you can upgrade it as there are lots of options. OR, if you go with the CTR now, you can use your 1000$ savings to get the stock you want (Cadex, MDT, KRG, etc.). BUT if you think the A1 stockis the chassis you want, you might as well grab it and upgrade glass later. The PST line really arent that bad.
 
Gun itself wise I don't think there is any difference between the TAC and CTR, just the stocks. I'm starting to sound like a broken record but I recently bought a T3X CTR in 6.5 Creedmoor and will never regret it. The T3X models have amazing bolts and really nice triggers out of the box. The stocks on the T3X models are very sturdy and good ergonomics. I personally did not like the feel of the T3X stock. It just felt like cheap plastic. It was more than sturdy though, it was just the overall texture I didn't like. I used it for a couple months at the range and even hunting. Now pictures are better than words so:

This is the best group I've shot with my rifle. There are 5 shots underneath that dime:
jLBgi2K.jpg


So both the CTR and TAC will do the same grouping. It comes down to if you want to spend the extra money on the cooler looking stock. I suggest buying the T3X CTR, spend the remaining money on the optics and then save up later for a stock if you want to change it. That is what I did.

Before:
W3R4t05.jpg


After with a Mcmillan A5 Stock:
9z5QNop.jpg
 
The differences from the CTR to the Tac A1 are exactly....

- a folding chassis with a full length 0 MOA rail
- a Sako muzzle brake
- a two-stage trigger
- a safety that allows the bolt to be removed while on SAFE

I have the the Tac A1 because the price of the folding chassis I wanted (cadex) made up more than the difference in cost. But if you get the CTR and also add a brake, a new trigger, rail, etc. those are all things to come into play when deciding on your rifle. If you have the option, I'd highly recommend you get your hands on both of them and feel the difference yourself. I liked the feel of the included Tikka Tac A1 chassis however if all you've ever shot is a regular style stock, then that may work best for you. Personally I really like the folding chassis for storage and ease of cleaning/removing the bolt but if that is going to cause you to buy a Vortex scope, then I'd go with the CTR and better glass.
 
It seems like the CTR would work fine for me. I was pretty much set on this until I looked up prices for the Tikka CTR magazines. $200!! WTF. And as I understand, the Tac A1 comes with 3 and the CTR only has 1. I'd definitely want more than 1 magazine, and probably a muzzle brake, too.

Does anyone know how much the muzzle brakes go for?

So far it seems the Tac A1 costs $1200 more than the CTR, but if you consider the cost of magazines, it's more like $800. I'm assuming a muzzle brake would be between $200-300, so the actual price difference is really only $500-600. About the cost of a good quality stock...

Maybe the Tac A1 is the way to go.
 
One magazine for both rifles in Canada. The three mag deal is state side only.

Go with the CTR, add an Insite Arms Heathen muzzle brake, get some good glass, the one you mentioned is excellent, then go shoot and enjoy! I have both, and to be honest I am not a real chassis guy, I would CTR and upgrade stock later to a McMillan A3 adjustable.
 
Depends if you like the feel of chassis or not. Try hand some guns with them and see. I like the look of chassis as they are something different they do not feel comfortable at all for me. A stock works better for me. It is all up to the individual and how it feels to them.
 
I had a Tikka T3 CTR and ended up selling it and then had really bad sellers remorse, so I ended up buying a new T3X CTR. I do not think you can go wrong with Tikka's in general, since they are very accurate and good value for the money. I also read that the receivers are broached which I think contributes to the smoothness of the actions.

https://gundigest.com/reviews/tikka-t3-ctr-capable-compact-accurate
 
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I also went with a ctr. It shoots awsome first three groups factory ammo were under .6. I'd put extra money into the scope, then save up for a stock in the future. I just put mine in a Manners T4 with a Heathen break and waiting on my Kahles 624i to come in. The tikkas shoot good and need a scope that will keep up.
 
Crashman said:
One magazine for both rifles in Canada. The three mag deal is state side only.

Go with the CTR, add an Insite Arms Heathen muzzle brake, get some good glass, the one you mentioned is excellent, then go shoot and enjoy! I have both, and to be honest I am not a real chassis guy, I would CTR and upgrade stock later to a McMillan A3 adjustable.
Click to expand...

Oh, I didn't realize they both came with 1. I might have to go for the CTR in that case.

You say the Vortex Viper PST is good for optics, Crashman? I've heard conflicting things, but I've got a Vortex Razor spotting scope and it seems pretty solid to me.
 
saunders278 said:
It seems like the CTR would work fine for me. I was pretty much set on this until I looked up prices for the Tikka CTR magazines. $200!! WTF. And as I understand, the Tac A1 comes with 3 and the CTR only has 1. I'd definitely want more than 1 magazine, and probably a muzzle brake, too.

Does anyone know how much the muzzle brakes go for?

So far it seems the Tac A1 costs $1200 more than the CTR, but if you consider the cost of magazines, it's more like $800. I'm assuming a muzzle brake would be between $200-300, so the actual price difference is really only $500-600. About the cost of a good quality stock...

Maybe the Tac A1 is the way to go.
Click to expand...

As far as I was aware, the Tac A1 doesn't include the muzzle break.
 
I have owned two CTR's and a TAC A1. The TAC A 1 is a CTR with a Tikka chassis. The TAC A1 comes with one magazine and a .308 muzzle brake, regardless of 260/6.5/308 calibre choice. There are three differences I have found on the base CTR barrelled action. The TAC A1 has a two stage trigger, not a single stage like the CTR. The TAC A1 has an additional safety lever bolt release for cycling the action while the gun is on safe. The TAC A1 also has a 0 MOA top rail that is taller than the CTR to line up with an AR15 style hand guard. The TAC A1 also come with all the tools you need to disassemble it, and some rail accessories, and is set up for both QD and mash hooks.
 
#### Proenneke said:
I have owned two CTR's and a TAC A1. The TAC A 1 is a CTR with a Tikka chassis. The TAC A1 comes with one magazine and a .308 muzzle brake, regardless of 260/6.5/308 calibre choice. There are three differences I have found on the base CTR barrelled action. The TAC A1 has a two stage trigger, not a single stage like the CTR. The TAC A1 has an additional safety lever bolt release for cycling the action while the gun is on safe. The TAC A1 also has a 0 MOA top rail that is taller than the CTR to line up with an AR15 style hand guard. The TAC A1 also come with all the tools you need to disassemble it, and some rail accessories, and is set up for both QD and mash hooks.
Click to expand...

I have a quick question concerning the mount you use on your tikka tac A1, it is a zero degree mount?
where you get that???
 
GunBoy said:
I have a quick question concerning the mount you use on your tikka tac A1, it is a zero degree mount?
where you get that???
Click to expand...

I use a Badger Ordnance 20 MOA unimount. Mine is the 30mm 1.3” height mounts, which sits flat on top of the rail so any hard downward pressure is supported by the rail. The rings are not extended as far as the Nightforce mounts, and they are also less expensive than nightforce unimounts and IMO, better built. With a NXS the 20 MOA unmount gives me 20 mils of scope adjustment, which will get 6.5 CM to a mile. I bought mine from Brownells.
 
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What does everyone think about the 16" 308 model? Looks like a good setup for <400yard ranges and its folded OAL meets NR status still.
Also the website doesn't list the muzzle brake as included, but do all models include the brake from factory?

Thanks
 
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I've been back and forth a whole lot on this one. And it'll still be awhile before I have the money to actually make the purchase so that's okay.

I've seen Tac A1s on irunguns.com (the US site) going for $1800 USD (about $2240 CAD) and they claim to ship them for $25 plus 5% tax. That seems like a great deal, has anyone ordered from them before? Is this as good as it seems?

I think I'd take a Tac A1 for $2240 vs a CTR for around $1300 considering a decent aftermarket stock seems to be well over $1000.

Any thoughts/advice?
 
saunders278 said:
I've been back and forth a whole lot on this one. And it'll still be awhile before I have the money to actually make the purchase so that's okay.

I've seen Tac A1s on irunguns.com (the US site) going for $1800 USD (about $2240 CAD) and they claim to ship them for $25 plus 5% tax. That seems like a great deal, has anyone ordered from them before? Is this as good as it seems?

I think I'd take a Tac A1 for $2240 vs a CTR for around $1300 considering a decent aftermarket stock seems to be well over $1000.

Any thoughts/advice?
Click to expand...


I agree with your line of thinking. Originally I was scoping out the CTR, but when i factored in an aftermarket stock; I was pretty much on par with an A1. If you can achive what you want in a factory build it's hard to beat...especially with an excellent manufacturer like Tikka. So, I decided on the A1.

Cheers and safe shoosting!
 
X2 - with a folding chassis plus the muzzle brake and two stage trigger and it was a no brainer for me.

Turillo said:
I agree with your line of thinking. Originally I was scoping out the CTR, but when i factored in an aftermarket stock; I was pretty much on par with an A1. If you can achive what you want in a factory build it's hard to beat...especially with an excellent manufacturer like Tikka. So, I decided on the A1.

Cheers and safe shoosting!
Click to expand...
 
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