X-bolt vs Tikka T3x

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Baboulas66

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I'll soon be making my first rifle purchase and I'm down to 2 options. I plan to hunt spring bear up near Lillooet, BC and eventually Deer and Moose in the northern part of the province. My 2 choices are :

Browning X-bolt stainless stalker in wsm.
Tikka T3x Laminate Stainless in 300 win mag.

X-bolt :
I like the short 60 degree lift on the bolt. The trigger pull is nice. The soft recoil pad. The wsm helps keep the barrel and action shorter which in turn makes the gun lighter.

T3x:
I like the look of this gun and the action is smooth as silk. I believe the length of pull on both guns is the same and is also about 2 inches short for me. It's my understanding that the T3x has more options for a spacer I could put between the stock and the recoil pad to help the gun fit me better.

Which should I choose.
Please share your thoughts and experience.

Thanks.
 
I can't speak for the Tika, but the Browning is a nice rifle, it will shoot as good or better than you can. Once you find the right ammo it likes it can be a tack driver.
 
X Bolt for me... all the way... short bolt lift, tang safety, safety locks the bolt, a release to unlock the bolt without disengaging the safety, nice detachable mag that works very well... install dual dovetail scope mounts and it's as solid and trouble free as it gets...
 
Maybe look at a Tikka laminate in 308. Check your ego at the door, the 300's are gonna be a real ####er to shoot accurately. No advantage in killing power over a 308 at the typical hunting distances of 200 yards and in, especially in the hands of a new hunter
 
I have owned a few of both, my Wife has a T3 in 7-08, accuracy was equal, still have two X bolts, one in 270wsm and a 375 H+H, don't like the fit of either the T3 or X Bolt stock except the Tikka Forest, when I replaced the original stocks with a Boyd's Prairie Hunter or Heritage model, I prefer the X Bolt. I like the tang safety and flush fitting magazine. Both are good rifles, I like the lighter weight of both compared to some other rifles, the Tikka in .300 would need a Limbsaver, Tikka's feel like more recoil to me, my Wife's Tikka has a Boyd's Thumbhole stock and a limbsaver pad She is recoil sensitive and that combination did the trick. Personally I would not get the T3 in .300. My Hunting partner has the T3 Laminate in .338 and I had a Tikka Forest in .338 recoil is stout. Overall I prefer rifles with a hinged floor plate [a little absent minded], so one thing I did was sew a small velcro flapped pouch on the sling of any rifle with a removable magazine that way the magazine stays with the rifle.
 
todbartell said:
Maybe look at a Tikka laminate in 308. Check your ego at the door, the 300's are gonna be a real ####er to shoot accurately. No advantage in killing power over a 308 at the typical hunting distances of 200 yards and in, especially in the hands of a new hunter
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This is very true, the 300 is good as a talking point and has no flies on it at long range. But for a new hunter the 308W is a very good choice.

A friend was given a 308W as an early teenager, has had a few rifles in between 308N and 338Win but still hunts with the original 308W after 35 years.
 
You don’t need a 300 win to kill any of those species, and in a light rifle like an xbolt or tikka, 270/06/7rm will be more pleasant to shoot. This means you will practice more and be a better marksman. The animals will appreciate it.
 
todbartell said:
Maybe look at a Tikka laminate in 308. Check your ego at the door, the 300's are gonna be a real ####er to shoot accurately. No advantage in killing power over a 308 at the typical hunting distances of 200 yards and in, especially in the hands of a new hunter
Click to expand...

In the tikka it should be the 30-06.
 
I second getting the model with the hinged floor plate.

I have lost count of how many mags I've seen dropped in the mud/dirt/snow by new hunters with a new rifle in haste of inserting as they get out of a vehicle or off a quad...then they (as fast as they can) insert that unclean mag into their new rifle and then miss the shot because they were flustered by all of it....ymmv
 
NHunter said:
I second getting the model with the hinged floor plate.

I have lost count of how many mags I've seen dropped in the mud/dirt/snow by new hunters with a new rifle in haste of inserting as they get out of a vehicle or off a quad...then they (as fast as they can) insert that unclean mag into their new rifle and then miss the shot because they were flustered by all of it....ymmv
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If they dropped one big square mag, wouldn’t they also drop many small round cartridges?
 
bcsteve said:
If they dropped one big square mag, wouldn’t they also drop many small round cartridges?
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It wasnt the size of the object, just many mag style hunting rifles do not provide a tactile feel and or discernible Click when the mag locks in place, so the newbie assumes that it is, and they are not. That seems to be the issue with them. Cold weather, haste and wearing hats often add to this issue.

Now with a bolt open, holding a single cartridge and pressing down and in, repeatedly - in plain sight does not lead to such issues in most cases.

Additionally I have personally witnessed a newbie trying to load single cartridges through a hinged floor plate design, holding the rifle upside down, floor plate open, and dropping in the cartridges and he wondered when they didn't line up and chamber half the time. I corrected him and he appeared puzzled. Worse yet he was showing his teenage son this method. Wonder what cracker jack box he got his pal out of...

The Browning BAR design shows excellent engineering. A magazine which locks into place, in a closing and locking hinged floor plate...leaves zero room for error .. imho.

I no longer hunt with newbies. Too many other close calls to mention as well. I hunt alone, no exceptions.
 
lots of assuming there. Maybe you should introduce or help some "newbies" out, the future of hunting and shooting depend on it.
 
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