Looking for a new rifle - Recommendations

[nobody]

Owned both brownings and tikkas, I would take a tikka over a browning. trigger, bolt and barrel are better on the tikka by far, brownings have nicer stocks. Not a bad rifle at all but, not my first choice

I'll agree with this assessment. Owned an X Bolt western hunter for awhile, it was a hammer. Extremely accurate. Loved the ergonomics on the stock. But I traded it in last month on a Tikka and have no regrets. The X Bolt gets a lot right, but it has some fatal flaws in critical aspects (trigger and scope mounts), I just always "wondered" about it on hard hunts.

 

[ROKnROAL]

Owned both brownings and tikkas, I would take a tikka over a browning. trigger, bolt and barrel are better on the tikka by far, brownings have nicer stocks. Not a bad rifle at all but, not my first choice

I had completely the opposite experience, only thing I’d give the Tikka over the Browning was the trigger and that’s a quick fix. Personal preference I guess. Browning also has loved any ammo I throw in it, have friends with Tikkas where that is not the case.

 

[atmat]

Browning are really great and fun rifles. They’ve been their own Achilles heel though. They used to have non-standard threading on barrels; scope mounting design failures; etc. This has led to a lack of aftermarket support.

 

[Mountainrancher]

I love xbolts and will never not own one. That being said there is not another rifle on the market that offers what a tikka does at any price point twice less for 800 bucks.

 

[aftriathlete]

Tikka T3x in 6.5CM
SWFA 3-9 milquad in mils
Sportsmatch TO84 rings
Hornany factory 147 eldm or 143 eldx

Easy button.

That’s my exact setup except I’ve been using the 140 ELDMs.

 

[Hnthrdr]

I had completely the opposite experience, only thing I’d give the Tikka over the Browning was the trigger and that’s a quick fix. Personal preference I guess. Browning also has loved any ammo I throw in it, have friends with Tikkas where that is not the case.

See same exact opposite experience with my browning it was super picky on ammo and my tikka shoots sub moa with everything, but that’s why there are a bunch of choices out there. I was looking at the suppressor ready versions browning was supposed to release last year but haven’t been able to find one in production yet

 

[BCD]

I would take a Browning over any Tikka. That said I know Tikkas are fine rifles but I just can't get past their looks and would never own one.

 

[Unckebob]

Keep the 270WSM for potential use on bigger game.

Get a 6.5CM in a solid rifle that has a stock that fits you best. Most companies now make rifles that will shoot if you do your part. Poor fitting stocks = a bad shooting experience.

The least accurate rifle I have ever had was a Bergara. I suspect 90% of the excess inaccuracy was due to fit. I never really felt comfortable behind the rifle.

In contrast, my Kimber Hunter is a freaking tack driver because that plastic stock fit me perfectly right out of the box.

 

[SkHunter92]

Well, after some careful consideration, I've been swayed by the Tikka army here.. lol. However, I think a 7mm-08 would make a great addition to the gun cabinet. Anyone here hunt with one or shoot with one before? Ammo seems in good supply with lots of good quality bullets around (and probably most important of all, won't drain my wallet).

 

[ZAK13]

Have you thought of getting a rifle in the reliable 270 Win? Same great .277 caliber, and only a 10% ,( 100-150 fps less), reduction in velocity across the board,(130-150 grain). If you don't reload, ammunition should be plentiful, and you'll have to deal with less recoil as well. Just a thought, but as others have mentioned, the .308 is just as good. Good luck with your choice.

 

[SwiftShot]

Since you like to target shoot. Get the Tikka in 6.5 Creedmoor. It will handle everything as long as you do your job. Quality bullets as well. I cannot stress that enough Quality Bullets.

Oh, upgrade the reciol pad on the Tikka. You could get it in 308 but the 6.5 will target shoot better for you with the reduced recoil.

 

[MCS]

Why do so many people like Tikkas? The barrels have too slow of twist for heavy bullets. The stock sucks. The barrels shoot slow. The mag is too short. I've seen that about 30% of them don't shoot very good. They do have a good factory trigger.

 

[Ernie]

Well, after some careful consideration, I've been swayed by the Tikka army here.. lol. However, I think a 7mm-08 would make a great addition to the gun cabinet. Anyone here hunt with one or shoot with one before? Ammo seems in good supply with lots of good quality bullets around (and probably most important of all, won't drain my wallet).

I have killed 6-7 elk, two of them were bulls with performance of the 7mm-08. Have a good friend who has taken a lot of African plains animals with a 7mm-08 as well-Good choice.

 

[EdP]

I bought a Vanguard Sporter (walnut & blued steel) in .30-06 back around 2016 on sale at Cabelas for $599 ($200 off MSRP). I don't know about them doubling in price as I have never seen them for $300.

The rifle shoots as advertised (1 moa/3shots/quality ammo) and does better than that with custom handloads. I am very happy with it. As someone else mentioned, It is not an ultralight rifle. It also doesn't have a bunch of plastic parts on it that you will want to "upgrade from" over time like a Tikka. A laminated stocked vanguard would be awesome but perhaps a touch heavier. At 5'8" and 150 lbs, I appreciate the recoil moderation provided by a little weight in a rifle. For target shooting, hunting with pack stock, or from a blind/stand, the weight doesn't matter. When carrying it on my shoulder in the mtns it gets heavy over time.

If I were going to buy another rifle I think I would try a 7mm PRC. As a handloader I could load down to 7mm-08 or shoot full power loads. The Tikka fans on here would have me thinking hard about a Sako (Tikka already upgraded) but Sako/Tikka rifles are not offered in 7PRC at this time.

 

[Ryan K]

Well, 7mm-08 is about half way from a 308 to a 6.5 creedmore. But again, the only advantage is heavier bullets available. Recoil is also in between those two. But, factory 7mm-08 ammo has nowhere near the selection and availability of the 308 or 6.5 creedmore.

 

[atmat]

Why do so many people like Tikkas? The barrels have too slow of twist for heavy bullets. The stock sucks. The barrels shoot slow. The mag is too short. I've seen that about 30% of them don't shoot very good. They do have a good factory trigger.

I’ve seen very, very few that don’t shoot great.

They’re light, cheap, great trigger, tons of aftermarket support, very smooth action, dovetail scope mounting, hold up very well to inclement weather, and lack the R700 trigger safety issues.

The stock leaves something to be desired from a feel standpoint, but it doesn’t impede accuracy. For $20, the vertical grip makes it a much better ergonomic.

I had never shot a Tikka until this year. Now I own two and will be picking up a T1x soon. In fact, I sold some expensive R700 clones to move over to Tikka.

 

[Dust Rider]

Tikka .308 stainless. They are light and shoot good. I bought 2 of them for the kids and they are sweet rifles. I actually sold 2 of the Remington 700 after getting the Tikka’s.

 

[Ernie]

Factory Tikka: 3-shots at 500 yards just using the reticle for MOA correction.

 

[SkHunter92]

Factory Tikka: 3-shots at 500 yards just using the reticle for MOA correction.

What was that rifle chambered in Ernie?

 

[Ernie]

6.5 Swede
Dan was on the gun for those 3-shots.
We were practicing shooting just using the Veracity reticle (FFP)
After getting our drops confirmed, I made a shot at 5, and you can see the far right aiming point, where I hit at about 2 O'clock. We drove out, took some pics, painted over the hit, and then drove back, then Dan took three shots.
I just hardly ever shoot rifles, so last year I sold it to a friend in Texas.