Kimber, Savage & Tikka ??????

[Firehole Hunter]

I have been looking at Tikka, Kimber and Savage. Don't like the price of Kimber Moutain Ascent but really like the rifle and it ticks off all of the boxes, a Savage 110 Ultralite and a Tikka Superlite. Don't really like the stock on the Tikka and was a little bit concerned about the changes on the stock when they went to the Ultralite on the Savage in getting rid of the aluminum bedding. I think I am going to go with a 30-06 caliber for ease of buying bullets and all around used on North America game. I was between a 270 and 30-06. Trying to stay out of the Magnums for a lightweight gun. Haven't thought about a gun purchase in years. Help

 

[rclouse79]

Savage and tikka are the two brands I have purchased and never sold. A .270 tikka had been doing all of my big game work for over a decade now with no complaints from me. I have never shot a Kimber.

 

[Forest]

Neither the savage or tikka have awesome stocks, but I like my tikka one slightly better. Both the tikka and savages that I have shoot very well. The smoothness of the action of the tikka as well as the trigger makes it my preference. I looked pretty seriously at the ultralight but I decided if I'm going to put a carbon barrel on something I want a specific caliber/twist combo.
Either which way, stocks can easily be replaced. Lots of good options these days and some aren't crazy expensive. Bergara and Christensen are also worth looking at in that price range

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[wyosam]

The Savage ultralite performs well. Its light and accurate, but it is an $800 barrel on a $400 dollar rifle. Surprisingly, even with the extra work done to the action, mine feels rougher than any of my other savages, and the trigger was junk (I’m usually a big fan of the accutrigger). The stock sucks, but seems to be functional. I had high hopes, but I think it is going to be a nice rifle for my wife/kids/company. I just don’t see myself carrying it much. I may even end up selling it.

The tikka action is a whole other story. Feels and functions flawlessly. Shortly after I bought the savage, I started ordering parts to build a custom off my tikka.


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[BjornF16]

I have Kimber MA, Tikka T3X's, and Savages...I prefer the Tikka but with Allterra Arms carbon stock.

 

[Trogon]

Tikka superlite in 30-06/270 plopped in a McMillan stock would tickle me pink.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

With the exception of price, the Kimber checks all of your boxes. Take the Tikka and get a price for everything it needs so it can check all of your boxes. Take the Savage and get a price for everything it needs so it can check all of your boxes.

My three Tikkas (17HMR, 6.5 CM, 300 WM) are shooters and I have no desire to change anything on them. It is the same situation with my Savage Ultralite (6.5 PRC). While there are items that I wish were better, they all shoot so amazingly well that it is highly unlikely that any aftermarket "upgrade" would make any meaningful improvement on accuracy and/or make me a better shooter.

Thankfully there are lots of options available for us to make our firearms how we want them. We all have our own priorities and preferences. In the end, go the route that will make you happy.

 

[nobody]

From reading/watching reviews, the Kimbers can be hit and miss. And because the barrel is SO thin, you get maybe 3 rounds before throwing shots. I've never handled one either and been like "Wow, this is awesome!" They're always kindof a let down.

Savage of today is nothing like Savage of 10 or 15 years ago. Yes, they're accurate still, but so is EVERY rifle on the shelf today, so that's not enough reason to buy a sub-par rifle. Lots of feeding issues with two that my buddies own, and the 4 that my F.I.L. owns. None of them feed reliably from the magazine, and all of them just feel like they're about to fall apart. The bolts are chincey and the whole action and everything feels like it's on the verge of falling apart.

The Tikka is noticeably nicer than everything else. It does have a cheap plastic stock, but it's like the high end of the cheap plastic stocks on the market. they are stiff enough that you can actually brace against it without issues, and the triggers are money. The bolts don't bind but fit tight and smooth, and they lock up super tight. Working part time at Sportsman's Warehouse, I sell 3:1 Tikkas to other Sub $750 rifles. Above that, I sell more Bergara than anything else, but the Tikkas are the cream of the crop for the "entry level."

Also, people come in and ask me how much they need to spend on a hunting rifle. I tell them that they can buy a cheap Savage or something, and then I'll see them in a couple of years when they need to upgrade because the trigger is janky or the stock flexes too much for them. Then I tell them the Tikka is the gun that you'll never NEED to replace. You can if you want to, but it has all the features and functionality that you'll ever need, so you'll never have a super valid argument to ever replace it other than "I want to." There's good arguments to upgrade something like a Savage, but not the Tikkas. They're just superior in every way.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Not enough trigger time with savage to say.

for kimber vs tikka. I have heard about a lot more kimber lemons than tikkas But never encountered a bad shooter from either brand personally. I think the most recent tikkas have closed the gap in terms of fit and finish and the rough tech stock feels better in the hand. Of course that has added $200-300 to the price. My gen 1 t3x lite shoots as well as my buddies kimber with the same scopes and his base rifle was almost 2x the price. in Fairness, his kimber (Adirondack) is a pound lighter and the stock feels better be stiffer in the hand.

 

[wapitibob]

tikka then savage

There's a reason the internet is full of "how to fix a kimber" threads.

 

[Firehole Hunter]

Or should I just put a McMillian or a Bell & Carlson stock on my Classic Stainless Model 70, but is in a Rem 7 Mag?

 

[wapitibob]

You might be able to find one ready to go from mcmillan or manners.

 

[Seamaster]

You might want to take a look at the Sako A7. It is fairly priced and a step above Tikka. I am not saying that the Tikka is a bad choice, but Tikka is Sako's budget friendly model and the A7 is a slightly higher end model for not much more cash. I played with and A7 this year and was favorably impressed.

Frankly I would just put a nice stock on the Winchester and call it good.

 

[AZ_Hunter_2000]

You might want to take a look at the Sako A7. It is fairly priced and a step above Tikka. I am not saying that the Tikka is a bad choice, but Tikka is Sako's budget friendly model and the A7 is a slightly higher end model for not much more cash. I played with and A7 this year and was favorably impressed.

Frankly I would just put a nice stock on the Winchester and call it good.

Sakos and Tikkas suffer from slow twist rates in most of their offerings. This may or may not be an issue for the OP.

 

[Seamaster]

I can not imagine a general purpose hunting rifle chambered in 30-06 would "suffer" from it's twist rate.

 

[TxxAgg]

The tikka stock is incredibly functional. Even better when you add the vertical grip.
The trigger is great also.

 

[Firehole Hunter]

Frankly I would just put a nice stock on the Winchester and call it good.

I might be leaning towards that. It isn't really that bad of a whitetail rifle. I just got to get the right combination to not ruin too much of WT meat.

 

[Seamaster]

If you reload you could cut the speed, or use a heavy and/or tough bullet that does not expand too quickly. With a heavy bullet there is not much difference between a 7mmRM and a 30-06.

 

[Montana Slim]

Nothing at all wrong with your 7! Put a new stock on if you want, or buy a new rifle if you want? The lowly 7mm rem mag is somewhat out of fashion I suppose, but that rifle is about as good of a do everything rifle as exists... if you want lighter get lighter, but if that gun shoots, it's "a good'n".

 

[ianpadron]

I have a rifle from each of the makers you are looking at.

If I could only keep one, it'd be the Kimber. Best stock, best trigger (although the Tikka trigger is very good), and almost a pound and a half lighter than the others.

Cons with the Kimber are that they can be finicky with ammo, and the customer service is questionable to non-existent at times. QC used to be an issue with mag box/well tolerances and bedding inconsistencies.

I knew all of that before purchasing a Kimber and still ended up with 2 of them, they really are THAT good if you like a lightweight rifle that just feels like a mountain rifle should.

As for the others, the Savage is a LWH that is ugly as sin and has the worst stock I've ever seen...yet it pumps 5 shots into one ragged hole at 100 lol.

The Tikka has the smoothest action, a very good trigger, and is boringly accurate, but the stock sucks and is still a touch heavy for my liking.

Wouldn't want to shoot the Kimber or Tikka in .30-06 without a brake with any regularity.

Hope that helps!