Christiansen Arms VS Tikka VS Savage

[overlandozzy1]

As someone who’s in the market for a new rifle for this year I wanted some input. I am a left handed shooter who’s grown up shooting left hand bolt guns. I know it may sound a little spoiled but it’s what I’ve had growing up.

I am in the market for a new bolt gun chambered in 300WSM for use with Mule Dear, Elk, Black Bears, Sheep and Goats. I have a Tikka T3 with the stainless barrel chambered in 243 that I whitetail and hog hunt with back East.

As most of you know, left handed bolt guns are easier to come by now than 10 years ago but are still pretty sparse.

I stumbled across the Christiansen Arms and the Savage Ultralight 110. From what I’ve seen and held in my hands, I am still a big fan of Tikka, Specifically the Superlight with a Stainless Barrel. I have looked into Christiansen Arms line and I’m not sure what I’m getting over my Tikka for $1000+ more money. My tikka shoots ~0.25-0.50 inch groups at 300 yards with factory ammo. I understand the benefit of a carbon barrel and weight savings.

The Savage seems cheap to me. The stock at least. The barrel is pretty sweet for shaving weight, but from what I’ve seen, in order to make the Savage on par with the Tikka and CA you’re looking at an additional $750+ on top of the rifle for an aftermarket stock.

If you’ve made it this far I appreciate it. If there are any owners of all three manufactured Rifles on here please post your feedback and let me know your thoughts. Any of these rifles I choose will be getting a muzzle break. Also worth noting I’m looking to shoot factory ammunition for now. I have never gotten into reloading or doing hand load stuff. If someone wanted to even post some advice on what supplies were needed so I can complete a cost analysis of whether the reloading would be worth my time in the long run, please feel free. I’m interested in it just don’t know where to start.

 

[gerry35]

As a fellow lefty i understand there aren't as many good choices for us but there are some good ones. It's tough to beat a Tikka (we have 3 of them) so that's what I recommend. Very accurate and tons of aftermarket support if you want to customize in the future.

If you can't find a 300 WSM for some reason it would be easy to find a new take off barrel and get it put on a left hand magnum gun that you can find. I had to do basically that to get a nice LH 260 Rem and was totally happy with how it turned out. Sometimes us lefties need to be a bit creative in order to get what we want.

I have had a 300 WSM in the past and love how versatile it is. Not to many 300's you can load up with fast powders like RL15 and H 4895 and 165's for recoil reduction and also go with full power loads too.

Good luck in your search.

 

[h2so4]

I held a CA next to a Ruger this weekend. It was nicer and lighter, but I didn’t see the extra $$. I have a savage 110 LA. I really like it. The stock is kinda cheapo and the barrel is really long with a suppressor.
With your situation, I’d go with a tikka so I wouldn’t have to worry about chopping a
Barrel down to a shorter length. If you have no plans to use a shorter barrel, the tikka or
Savage would both work.

 

[S-3 ranch]

Tikka , sako, beraga
if you don’t want a savage, but mine is solid shooter and hella rifle
my mountain rifle is a Winchester 70 featherweight as I assume you’re looking for savin weight?

 

[TAArrowood]

I would second the TIKKA choice.. Also, I would recommend either the Veil or the new Ember configuration.. I really like those since they have the custom features; fluted barrel, fluted bolt, stainless construction, Threaded for can or brake, but also have the slightly larger *D-18) barrel.. They are still light weight, but have some of the advantages of heavier rifles plus all the other things that an out of the box TIKKA offers.. I don't have any hands on with either of the other rifle brands, but have had such good experiences with the TIKKAs that I don't feel any need to change.. I'd save the extra $$ and put it toward some really good optics.. Just my 2 cents.. Good luck with your choice..

 

[ResearchinStuff]

are you sure you need a new gun? you might come out way ahead buying and shooting a bunch of ammo to build your own proficiency, assuming your current scope is trustworthy. If it's not, definitely upgrade your scope, then shoot a bunch regardless.

6mm/6.5

I didn't want to derail another thread. So I started this one. Who has shot/witnessed a big game animal past 500 yards with a 6mm or 6.5? Many members here love to tell you their opinion about it, but I am figuring out that damn few have done it. So if you have, please tell me the chambering...

rokslide.com

6mm /.243 hunting success on Big Game

With the success of .223 and 6.5 threads on big game, thought I’d throw this one into the mix. Show and detail your results harvesting big game (deer, bear, elk, moose, African game) using 6mm/.243 cartridges. Please detail bullet, MV, impact velocity, and whether hand load or factory ammo.

rokslide.com

 

[overlandozzy1]

I would second the TIKKA choice.. Also, I would recommend either the Veil or the new Ember configuration.. I really like those since they have the custom features; fluted barrel, fluted bolt, stainless construction, Threaded for can or brake, but also have the slightly larger *D-18) barrel.. They are still light weight, but have some of the advantages of heavier rifles plus all the other things that an out of the box TIKKA offers.. I don't have any hands on with either of the other rifle brands, but have had such good experiences with the TIKKAs that I don't feel any need to change.. I'd save the extra $$ and put it toward some really good optics.. Just my 2 cents.. Good luck with your choice..

All I've been able to find the Superlite and Lite Stainless in Left Handed models.

 

[overlandozzy1]

are you sure you need a new gun? you might come out way ahead buying and shooting a bunch of ammo to build your own proficiency, assuming your current scope is trustworthy. If it's not, definitely upgrade your scope, then shoot a bunch regardless.

6mm/6.5

I didn't want to derail another thread. So I started this one. Who has shot/witnessed a big game animal past 500 yards with a 6mm or 6.5? Many members here love to tell you their opinion about it, but I am figuring out that damn few have done it. So if you have, please tell me the chambering...

rokslide.com

6mm /.243 hunting success on Big Game

With the success of .223 and 6.5 threads on big game, thought I’d throw this one into the mix. Show and detail your results harvesting big game (deer, bear, elk, moose, African game) using 6mm/.243 cartridges. Please detail bullet, MV, impact velocity, and whether hand load or factory ammo.

rokslide.com

I'm in the market for a larger caliber rifle, for western big game. I have a Vortex Razor HD Gen II 4.5-27x56 to go on whatever rifle I end up going with. Just trying to get input on different owners experiences to help me make my decision.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Christensen’s are awesome. I own several and so do my buddies. The all shoot .75 moa or better with factory ammo. All of mine shoot sub .5 moa. Have targets and pics.

Outside of christensen the only gun I recommend is the Bergara Premier rifles. These are made in Georgia and are way better than their imports.

 

[ResearchinStuff]

there's an awful lot of western big game getting killed with 6mm type guns. good luck with your search. Tikka all the way.

 

[ElkArcher918]

I am unimpressed with the action of the CA Ridgeline. My Tikka will run circles around it and it's just as accurate if not better. Plus, the T3X is a whole lot less $. Also have 2 other Savage rifles in '06 and 7RM that I hunt with. Rock solid shooters just not as "pretty" as the CA.

 

[JPeters218]

I have 2 tikkas and I’ve owned an Ultralite. Only reason I don’t have the Ultralite anymore is I wanted a shorter barrel for my suppressor. I had nothing against it.
It may not matter much with a brake, and this will Be different for everyone, but my Ultralite handled recoil way better than my tikka.

All that being said I love my current tikkas

 

[davsco]

Tikka T3X Lite Stainless .300 WSM 24.3" Barrel 3-Rounds Left Handed

The Tikka T3X Lite is a lightweight hunting rifle with a 24.3" stainless barrel chambered in the popular .300 WSM. It features a lightweight synthetic stock, all-weather stainless construction, and includes one 3-round detachable magazine. Get your own from GrabAGun today, the best online gun store!

grabagun.com

got two elk a few years back with basically this lefty gun. can't speak to your other options.

and btw that vortex 4.5-27 is an awesome scope, have that on my PRS rifle, but that's a heavy ass scope to be toting around the mountains...

 

[Cdpp880]

I have owned all three. They will all get the job done.
Tikka- nice action, good accuracy, flimsy stock and ok trigger

Savage- nothing particularly nice about them but they just shoot well. Their stock just feels super cheep, I personally do not care for their trigger, action is ok. But again they just shoot well.

Christensen- the action straight out of the box felt like crap, I had to sent it back bc I could barely lift the bolt after firings. They paid for shipping, fixed it and got it back to me within 3 weeks. The stock is ok, after a hundred or so rounds the action is very smooth, I love the trigger tech trigger. Accuracy is good (not great but under moa, I can consistently get around 3/4).

That being said I still have the Christensen ridgline 300wsm. Nothing wrong with the tikkas, or savage but the Christensen’s is nicer to me. With The stock, trigger, comes threaded with a pretty good muzzle brake, and accurate it’s my favorite of the three and would buy another one if I ever needed to.

 

[gerry35]

Should have mentioned in my first post that I have also had Savage and Christensen arms rifles.

Savage's are accurate and have a good stock but often feed roughly. The two I had did anyway, I would own another though if it came in a cartridge I liked.

My Christensen arms Mesa also fed rough so I swapped out the follower with one from a Rem 700 that wasn't as stiff and that helped. It seemed reasonably accurate, I traded it to a friend who needed a proper left hand gun and he loves it.

We have 3 LH Tikka's and are very happy with them.

 

[HuntHarder]

Life is to short to hunt with an ugly Savage rifle. Tikka or Christensen would be my choice. I own both and even an ugly savage. Christensen looks the best and shoots well. Tikka, shoots just as good but feels chincy or cheap. Action is smoother on the Tikka, but you are limited on COAL. The WSM would be good in a tikka tho. Come down to personal preference really. All 3 shoot well, go shoulder all of them and see which feel you like best.

 

[Jhy]

After waiting months for a Lefty Tikka on order I opted for a CA Mesa and love it. I’m not saying it shoots any better than a Tikka would have, but hold one next to the other and there’s no comparison in stock, fit, and finish

 

[kingfisher]

I have owned all three. They will all get the job done.
Tikka- nice action, good accuracy, flimsy stock and ok trigger

Savage- nothing particularly nice about them but they just shoot well. Their stock just feels super cheep, I personally do not care for their trigger, action is ok. But again they just shoot well.

Christensen- the action straight out of the box felt like crap, I had to sent it back bc I could barely lift the bolt after firings. They paid for shipping, fixed it and got it back to me within 3 weeks. The stock is ok, after a hundred or so rounds the action is very smooth, I love the trigger tech trigger. Accuracy is good (not great but under moa, I can consistently get around 3/4).

That being said I still have the Christensen ridgline 300wsm. Nothing wrong with the tikkas, or savage but the Christensen’s is nicer to me. With The stock, trigger, comes threaded with a pretty good muzzle brake, and accurate it’s my favorite of the three and would buy another one if I ever needed to.

What could be better about the trigger? Factory goes down to 2 lbs. With a $15 aftermarket spring you can have it less than that. Of all my rifles the tikka is not beat by any of the others in regards to the trigger. I wonder what triggers Im missing out on?

Lots of aftermarket availability that can fix most of the complaints regarding the tikka, prefit barrels, a good assortment of stocks, etc. The only exception to this I have found is simply the inability to run the action as a floor hinged plate, etc.

 

[Cdpp880]

The tikkas can absolutely be added to (trigger, stock…..) and made exactly what you want. But you can do that with just about any rifle. Just depends on what you want. One could get any of the three rifles in this thread and they will probably all shoot and be great rifles.

After having my Christensen for a few years now, the only thing I would change is put a AG composite stock on it. I did change out the radial break for one of there titanium side baffle breaks. That was a nice change.

 

[Miflatlander91]

Had a Christensen key word had the gun shot pretty decent with handloads but had feeding issues even with factory ammo and I just didn't think it was worth the money. I sold it and bought a tikka as you know great gun! My dad's go to coyote and varmint gun since I can remember is a savage 22-250 long action and even before the trigger change out that is still one of the most accurate guns I've been around. The savage to me is a little clunky and doesn't have the greatest looks but most I've been around have been shooters. I'd pick the tikka 1st then the savage distant 3rd woukd be the ca

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk