Tikka Tx3 or Ruger American II

T3X is more money. Better gun IMO. That said, the ruger isn't a bad gun by any stretch. You will be well served by either. If you go Tikka, seriously look at stainless. Easier to care for.

Boltgun
 
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I was looking at both options when I was shopping around as well and landed on tikka now there’s 3 always looking at me with those puppy dog eyes 👀 wanting to go out….I’m a softy and always oblige.
As for cartridge choice that kinda depends on your use case, for me personally I went with .308 for hunting and .223,6.5 for paper but whatever floats yer boat. I have nothing bad to say about the ruggers just never bought one yet.
 
I'm a fan of both of these models. The Ruger was always cheaper, not quite so much now with the Gen2 version. I've had several, mostly Gen1 models, and they always shoot accurately, have decent triggers that are easily adjustable, and generally work well. The design of the Ruger demands that when you have the factory model that uses AICS magazines, or decide to mod your existing gun by swapping it into a stock or chassis that accepts those mags, you find that the location of the stock bolt directly in front of the trigger interferes with the magazine-release mechanism. This results in it being a PITA if you want to remove the stock for any reason, or even just need to check the torque on the stock bolts. Ruger actually makes a goofy little tool to ease this task, and after a bit of practice you learn to do it fairly well even without the tool if you use a slave pin. But it is an irritation that never really goes away.

The Tikka is a bit more money, maybe not quite as good a value in terms of performance per dollar spent, but it also doesn't "feel" nearly as cheap, IMHO, as the Ruger. I think it's quite a bit nicer for a bit more money. Still a budget gun, but not a toy-like on-sale-at-Walmart feeling one.

Honestly, now that Ruger has re-branded the original Gen1 Americans as the Glenfield line, I think they represent the best value amongst these guns. Gen1 Americans have always shot just as well as Gen2 versions for me. You don't get the stock-length adjustment, you don't get the fluted barrel (thankfully!) and you don't get Cerakote. If that stuff matters to you, go for the Gen2. If, like me, you find those features less necessary, the Glenfield is a value champion.
 
Tikka is better
That said, what are you using it for?
They both now have well developed aftermarket and can be modified to be whatever you want.
With absolute bone stock rifle, the tikka has a better trigger, barrel, and smoother action.
 
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