Tikka vs Savage - Is the Tikka worth the extra money?

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JohnnyKCCO

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I'm torn and I need some help.

I have been looking into my next rifle and have narrowed it down to the Tikka T3 HB Varmint Stainless Bolt Action Rifle and the Savage Arms 10FCP-SR Tactical Bolt-Action Rifle, both in .308 win. I have looked at reviews, videos, testimonials and forum posts (ad nauseum) but I still don't know what to do.

The Savage is going for $849.99 and the Tikka is at $1,119.99. On my budget, I can afford either rifle. My intention is to use the rifle primarily on the range (@ approx 200 yards, possibly further in the future) and I would like to be able to take it out on a hunt this fall (deer in Ontario). The dilemma is that I don't know if the Tikka is worth the extra ~$300.

Kindly let me know your thoughts and I would certainly appreciate any input.

Cheers,

JohnnyKCCO
 
Cycle the action side by side you'll notice a huge gap in smoothness. IMO Quality of the control on the Tikka is better. I own both tikka and savage. On the plus side for savage is the price, availability of parts if you want to tweek and accuracy. You could save a little bit of money with a savage and buy better glass which would be the best investment IMO.
 
I had no complaints with the savage, but I really like the tikka better. I don't know if it is capable of superior accuracy, the savage was pretty good. The difference is the finish of the 2. The tikka is just a better built piece of equipment. Smooth as can be action.
 
As stated, accuracy wise, I doubt you'll find much difference, and Tikka does give you a better fit and finish for that $300. Whether that extra $300 is better put into your rifle or a scope is up to you.
 
I've shot a couple different tikkas that friends own, and compared to my rem700 the tikkas always amaze me with their smoothness.
 
Get a good savage, and you can tweak it for accuracy and customize as you wish. You can with a Tikka too, just not as easy to find parts.
Tikka is no doubt a quality built rifle - just cycle it and you'll see.

However, I owned 5 Tikkas, and they were all about 1 MOA shooters. Despite my time, efforts and $$$, never got the accuracy i wanted. I outgrew that MOA only accuracy pretty quick with my long distance hunger, so went custom barrels (pick action of your choice) and am very happy. Of the 3 Tikkas I had that were HB, the best ever 5 shot 500 yd group I got was 5.5 inches, most were 7-8"(after spending $$$ to bed/lug change). My rifles (savage/rem) that I changed barrels (Krieger/benchmarks) shoot 3" consistently.

I realize I may be the minority when it comes to liking Tikkas accuracy, but mine (and buddy's) sucked for precision. I would get one group 3/4 MOA and the next 2moa, then 1moa, then 3/4 moa, then 3 moa - same gun, same load, same everything- very inconsistent. As a matter of fact, my buddies own T3's, reg and Varm models, and they too struggle with inconsistent precision shooting.... Great hunting rifles tho.

You won't see many, if any, tikkas at competitions or long range shoots, with the exception of their sporter models maybe. Then, if you have issues, you have to deal with their distributor. I sent two guns to them for accuracy issues, they had for 4-6 months, sent back, and did nothing - they told me that their MOA guarantee is for factory loaded rounds only, and the MOA guarantee is void with handholds. Upon getting that info/treatment, I sold every single Tikka I owned, and won't buy another. The support i got (or didn't get) was what determined what rifles i want in my safe.

However, if you want to get yours to shoot without too many mods, bed the stock, throw out the aluminum lug and put a steel one in (bed it in), and change the trigger guard to a metal one (proper torque on action screws) and see what happens. Their stocks are good and solid (even the plastic ones) and respond well to bedding; their mags are tough and well made - don't let that plastic fool you - it is not the same plastic found on the entry level rem/savages/marlins, etc - this stuff is strong!

Again, just my opinion, based on first hand info on these rifles.
 
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I've owned both as well. Started with a Savage then went completely over to Tikka. Much much nicer rifles that feel more "quality" if you're familiar with the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

Several years ago Tikka's weren't so popular and Savage was the rifle everyone was raving about. Ever since, when reading these forums you see more and more people suggesting "Tikka" and you see more and more Tikkas stocked on the shelves. There's a reason for this, they are fantastic rifles!

On another note, if you get bit with the long range bug, you might end up wanting to started upgraded parts of your rifle ex: bottom metal for AI mags, or a different style stock. There is lots of aftermarket support out there for a Tikka now and the best part is that the guts of the rifle (barrel, trigger, action) won't need to be changed.
 
chrismc said:
Get a good savage, and you can tweak it for accuracy and customize as you wish. You can with a Tikka too, just not as easy to find parts.
Tikka is no doubt a quality built rifle - just cycle it and you'll see.

However, I owned 5 Tikkas, and they were all about 1 MOA shooters. Despite my time, efforts and $$$, never got the accuracy i wanted. I outgrew that MOA only accuracy pretty quick with my long distance hunger, so went custom barrels (pick action of your choice) and am very happy. Of the 3 Tikkas I had that were HB, the best ever 5 shot 500 yd group I got was 5.5 inches, most were 7-8"(after spending $$$ to bed/lug change). My rifles (savage/rem) that I changed barrels (Krieger/benchmarks) shoot 3" consistently.

I realize I may be the minority when it comes to liking Tikkas accuracy, but mine (and buddy's) sucked for precision. I would get one group 3/4 MOA and the next 2moa, then 1moa, then 3/4 moa, then 3 moa - same gun, same load, same everything- very inconsistent. As a matter of fact, my buddies own T3's, reg and Varm models, and they too struggle with inconsistent precision shooting.... Great hunting rifles tho.

You won't see many, if any, tikkas at competitions or long range shoots, with the exception of their sporter models maybe. Then, if you have issues, you have to deal with their distributor. I sent two guns to them for accuracy issues, they had for 4-6 months, sent back, and did nothing - they told me that their MOA guarantee is for factory loaded rounds only, and the MOA guarantee is void with handholds. Upon getting that info/treatment, I sold every single Tikka I owned, and won't buy another. The support i got (or didn't get) was what determined what rifles i want in my safe.

However, if you want to get yours to shoot without too many mods, bed the stock, throw out the aluminum lug and put a steel one in (bed it in), and see what happens. Their stocks are good and solid (even the plastic ones) and respond well to bedding; their mags are tough and well made - don't let that plastic fool you - it is not the same plastic found on the entry level rem/savages/marlins, etc - this stuff is strong!

Again, just my opinion, based on first hand info on these rifles.
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Wow that sounds like a string of bad luck. I've owned several Tikkas and they have all been very accurate. My Sporter frequently surprised me with 1/2"-3/4" groups at 300m with 185gr Berger Hybrids. My T3 Tac in .223 is a very consistent 3/4" MOA rifle that I paln on taking Underthegun's challenge with at some point in time. I had another T3 in .223 with a Shillen barrel that I used out to 900m with several V-Bulls at FTR matches.
 
OP, go to your local shop and pick up any Savage Model 10/12/etc. (the actions are all pretty much the same) then pick up any Tikka (the actions are all the same) and fondle them.
 
Tikka223 said:
Wow that sounds like a string of bad luck. I've owned several Tikkas and they have all been very accurate. My Sporter frequently surprised me with 1/2"-3/4" groups at 300m with 185gr Berger Hybrids. My T3 Tac in .223 is a very consistent 3/4" MOA rifle that I paln on taking Underthegun's challenge with at some point in time. I had another T3 in .223 with a Shillen barrel that I used out to 900m with several V-Bulls at FTR matches.
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I thought it was a string of bad luck too, but after getting the same results (similar, but not as tight as yours) with 5 rifles, i felt that they wouldn't give me what I wanted. 3/4 MOA is my personal minimum for accuracy, but rarely got that with the tikka, and not consistantly... I get 1/2 moa now with my other non-tikka rifles for the same price I spent on the tikka after tweaking them. But my big turn off was dealing with the warranty issues.
 
capp325 said:
Tikka will have a much better barrel........
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That's a pretty bold statement considering what your comparing it to.

I have no skin in the game but out the box the accuracy of the Savage is not disputed. Because the fit and finish "feels" better is irrelevant. You want an accurate rifle right?

I'd shoot a chewed up rusted beast that smelled like crap if it shot 1/4 MOA. Weather the action is slightly less "smooth" than another firearm is of little consequence.
 
I have had both at one time or another. Now I only have the Tikka, and more are on the way to me. Yesterday I shot my T3 Tactical with factory Hornady match 155 Amax ammo at 100 yards and got under one MOA for ten shots, and three weeks ago I shot a 5 round group at 300 yards and it went 1.87". I think that is pretty good for a rifle with factory ammo and the only modification to the rifle being that I dropped it into a Boyd's Pro Varmint stock with a steel recoil lug, and it has not been bedded...yet.

The Savage rifle is certainly capable of very good accuracy as well, I have shot some pretty good groups with them as well with minor modifications (mainly just Devcon bedding). How ever I too much prefer the feel and fit and finish of the Tikka over the Savage. And the argument of after market parts in favour of the Savage is very quickly becoming a non issue, stocks, bottom metal, rails, all readily available for the Tikka now, what can you do to a Savage that you can't do to a Tikka?
 
chrismc said:
I thought it was a string of bad luck too, but after getting the same results (similar, but not as tight as yours) with 5 rifles, i felt that they wouldn't give me what I wanted. 3/4 MOA is my personal minimum for accuracy, but rarely got that with the tikka, and not consistantly... I get 1/2 moa now with my other non-tikka rifles for the same price I spent on the tikka after tweaking them. But my big turn off was dealing with the warranty issues.
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My experiences are about exactly opposite to yours. When my girl friend got her T3 Sporter The forend was cracked. The slot that the rail fit into on the bottom of the stock was to tight and it split. The store dealt with the warranty and she had a new stock in short order. We have also had one poor warranty experience with Savage. It was dragged on over about 6-8 months with shipping rifles back and forth, getting a new replacement rifle with the same problem and then getting shipped the wrong rifle. They dealt with us kindly but the whole situation could have been made easier.

Both my and my GF's T3 Sporter are consistantly 1/2 MOA rifles. I also have a Tikka lite in 243 that shoots great. Its easily under 1 MOA if you shoot slow and keep the barrel cool.


I honestly don't think either rifle has more "potential accuracy/precision" then the other. Pick the rifle that will suit you better, not worrying about what one will shoot better.
 
Tikka has good out of the box accuracy. Savage has more options for aftermarket accuracy. Depends what you want. More accessories available for Savage but if you know where to look there are plenty of options available for the Tikka. Go handle them or better yet get some friends to take you shooting and try them both. It's about your preference not everyone else's.
 
K0na_stinky said:
My experiences are about exactly opposite to yours. When my girl friend got her T3 Sporter The forend was cracked. The slot that the rail fit into on the bottom of the stock was to tight and it split. The store dealt with the warranty and she had a new stock in short order. We have also had one poor warranty experience with Savage. It was dragged on over about 6-8 months with shipping rifles back and forth, getting a new replacement rifle with the same problem and then getting shipped the wrong rifle. They dealt with us kindly but the whole situation could have been made easier.

Both my and my GF's T3 Sporter are consistantly 1/2 MOA rifles. I also have a Tikka lite in 243 that shoots great. Its easily under 1 MOA if you shoot slow and keep the barrel cool.

I honestly don't think either rifle has more "potential accuracy/precision" then the other. Pick the rifle that will suit you better, not worrying about what one will shoot better.
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I agree with everything you speak of - but - my warranty issues were for accuracy, nothing else - Tikkas are incredible out of the box as compared to most other rifles... you won't see the poor fit and finish on a tikka that some rifles come with out of the box....

When warranty centre asked about bullets i was using - as soon as i said "Handloads", he said you're on your own. What precision shooter doesn't handload was my reply.
The Tikka Sporters, TAC's, etc all are shooters - i don't doubt that at all - but those are close to 300-800-1000$ more than a T3 or savage that the OP was asking about. If you want to spend $1500 plus on a rifle, it had better shoot 1/2 MOA. A savage or 700 action/timney/kreiger and boyds stock is $1500 - and very very accurate.
Having said all that, I am still kicking myself for not getting a t3 sporter 260 when a site sponsor sold them for $1299 a while back... I have always wanted to do a build off a Tikka action, with a standard 1/4" recoil lug (not the floater lug) and a custom barrel - bet that would be a shooter!

But as dirtycurty said, its all about what you want - after all, its your $$$
 
chrismc said:
When warranty centre asked about bullets i was using - as soon as i said "Handloads", he said you're on your own. What precision shooter doesn't handload was my reply.
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Pretty much every manufacturer will say the same - handloading practices vary so much that no maker will cover product that has been used with handloads.
 
I posted the same topic back in Feb. and ended up buying a Tikka T3 Varmint .223. This factory rifle can easily shoot .5 and even down to .3, its incredible. Im trying to do the .5 moa challenge and get 4 groups .5 then my nerves get me and my last group opens up.
Tikka rifles just plain shoot amazing...no ejection issues like Sako, all sorts of aftermarket parts from Australia for cheap. Installation of parts like tactical bolt knobs are done at hom ein about 30 secs.
Best upgrade you can do with these rifles is loose the factory mags and buy Atlas Worx bottom metal for use with AI mags..you can seat 80 gr SMK's out as far as 2.500 They shoot amazing!!

I did a quick zero today before I go out tommorrow for varmint shooting but this was my group....none of my rifles shoot this well.



Cheers!!
 
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