New rifle help; Tikka again? Ruger Ranch G2 or…

[sasquatch308]

I’m looking to get another rifle for the purpose of being lighter weights than an 11lb all in 300 WM. My son and I are headed west for Mule deer and he also has an elk tag. As much as I love the 6.5 PRC, this will be 6.5CM so we share the same caliber and I reload a ton for it already. I was looking at the Tikka specter being a 20” factory threaded gun and my sons Tikka Veil is a shooter. I really like the new Ruger American Gen 2 both normal and really rhe ranch having that 16” barrel sure seems handy. MY LGS has new savage Ultralights for about $1000 and a good deal on an sig cross. I know the cost is half when looking at the ruger but I’ve never shot any of them yet besides Tikkas. Any ideas or first hand experience comparing them to the Tikka?

Goal is up to 600 yards, be about 7.5-8lbs or so fully dressed. Being a 6.5CM we shoot 140 ELDM and also the 143 ELDX. His gun flat out shoots and the confidence level with that vs the 300 in my opinion is night and day.

I have a spare Vortex Razor HD LHT that will go on what ever one we pick up.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ferrulewax]

I think you will get a pretty unanimous response for the tikka. Why not get the t3x light in 6.5 and then just have it chopped and threaded whatever length you like? tikka also has a 75$ rebate right now. You can probably get one around 800-1000 chopped and threaded if you shop around. No way I would pay the extra 600$ for the paint job on the specter.

 

[TimberHunter]

I recently went through the new rifle dilemma. I already had a tikka roughtech 6.5 but wanted a smaller cartridge (22cal or 6mm) to reduce recoil and increase hit/miss spotting

I ended up going with Tikka. I was looking at the Rugar, Howa, Tikka, and a few others. The main reason I stuck with Tikka is because of the high praise they get on here, especially from people like Form/Ryan A/Jake that actually use their stuff and know where the faults are in most rifles.

With a simple trigger spring change, tikkas are really hard to beat. I wish they threaded the standard lite options but the more pricey models do come threaded

On the Rugar, for the money it’s hard to beat. They do shoot well. But the trigger is mediocre at best (if you’re used to decent triggers), the drop of the buttock means spotting impacts will be more diffilcut (see rokstok or other stock with little to no drop) and the acrion is less than stellar. But again they shoot well, I owned for a few years back

Never owned a savage ultralight but for less or equal money you can get a tikka

For weight, my 18" roughtech is just over 9lbs before any muzzle devices, that is with a 5 oz bipod and SRS hunter rail

For the lite tikka I just bought, plan to cut and thread at 20", without a muzzle device, it should be close to 8.5lbs

Keep in mind, light guns are fun to cary, but harder to shoot

It also sounds like you’re coming from a long distance away to hunt. May want to look into the drop test reviews of those LRHT scopes under the long range hunting. They have a nasty ability of losing zero when dropped


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[sasquatch308]

I kind of had an inclination as to how it will go and my decision after posting. I do appreciate it and noted on all points. I’ve also thought of a normal stainless Tikka and try to find a local gun smith who will do that work. That Roughtech/veil models are really nice I am still in disbelief how great my son’s rifle shoots. With the standard model, what threads do most go with?

And Ive seen that test with the scope and own 3 that have been great.

 

[TimberHunter]

I kind of had an inclination as to how it will go and my decision after posting. I do appreciate it and noted on all points. I’ve also thought of a normal stainless Tikka and try to find a local gun smith who will do that work. That Roughtech/veil models are really nice I am still in disbelief how great my son’s rifle shoots. With the standard model, what threads do most go with?

And Ive seen that test with the scope and own 3 that have been great.

If you want a shoulder on the barrel for a muzzle device, you’ll have to go 1/2-28 or maybe 9/16. I do know that Form made a post a while back about being able to get 5/8-24 and they worked with muzzle devices. This is for the standard lite tikka model. Veil/RT/Ember have a thicker barrel and you can use 5/8-24


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[sasquatch308]

Understood. I only care for threading as I’d like to put the scythe on it. Cost is more on the ember and specter but it’s done. And I wouldn’t have to coordinate sending it out for threading etc. ideally from the looks of it, I’d like to get a stainless lite and thread but I’ll have to check on who does it, if they have availability, and time frame. I’d buy another S20 but the way I like it set up, it’s heavier than a Veil/Roughtech by good bit. Th3 prices are tempting.

 

[TimberHunter]

Understood. I only care for threading as I’d like to put the scythe on it. Cost is more on the ember and specter but it’s done. And I wouldn’t have to coordinate sending it out for threading etc. ideally from the looks of it, I’d like to get a stainless lite and thread but I’ll have to check on who does it, if they have availability, and time frame. I’d buy another S20 but the way I like it set up, it’s heavier than a Veil/Roughtech by good bit. Th3 prices are tempting.

Saw a post today about the ember coming threaded in metric with a thread adapter from tikka. Many others commented that their ember was threaded 5/8-24 from tikka. Just something to be aware of


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[Ferrulewax]

Understood. I only care for threading as I’d like to put the scythe on it. Cost is more on the ember and specter but it’s done. And I wouldn’t have to coordinate sending it out for threading etc. ideally from the looks of it, I’d like to get a stainless lite and thread but I’ll have to check on who does it, if they have availability, and time frame. I’d buy another S20 but the way I like it set up, it’s heavier than a Veil/Roughtech by good bit. Th3 prices are tempting.

Thread it to 5/8 and have the gunsmith add a shoulder. That's what I will do on my next tikka.

Threading a .30 cal Tikka t3x superlite or lite

My tikka 3006 lite is cut to 20in and threaded 1/2x28. I just measured a superlite the other day and it was .630 at the muzzle. .635 just before the flutes. It's not possible to put 5/8 threads on a tikka forward of 16in. So at 16” it would be ok to thread 5/8x24? Want to build a super short...

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[mtnbound]

I have an Sig Cross and I am very happy with it. I also have Tikka’s and yes they are better but often I find myself grabbing the Cross first.