Savage 110 ultralight or Tikka T3x lite in 6.5 PRC? Worth semi-custom?

[david2duck]

I haven’t reached out. I really only use the rifle for practice so it doesn’t bother me as much as it would if it was my hunting rifle.

Thanks for the info I might have to see what savage and the other guys have to say.

 

[jimh406]

I think it's important to distinguish preferences from facts.

Some seem to have a preference for Tikka which is fine. That seems to convert to slamming Savage for some. However, Tikkas aren't perfect. You can easily search the forum to find "issues" with individual ones.

That being said, I don't personally know of anyone with a bad Savage, but admittedly that's a small sample. If your Savage (or any gun) won't feed or eject, you should contact customer service. Calling all Savages unreliable isn't factual.

Finally, saying the Savage Ultralite is a $400 rifle is obviously a false statement although some may think it is funny. The reality is Savage is one of the oldest manufacturers in the US. There is a reason why they are still around although you may not like them.

 

[david2duck]

I think it's important to distinguish preferences from facts.

Some seem to have a preference for Tikka which is fine. That seems to convert to slamming Savage for some. However, Tikkas aren't perfect. You can easily search the forum to find "issues" with individual ones.

That being said, I don't personally know of anyone with a bad Savage, but admittedly that's a small sample. If your Savage (or any gun) won't feed or eject, you should contact customer service. Calling all Savages unreliable isn't factual.

Finally, saying the Savage Ultralite is a $400 rifle is obviously a false statement although some may think it is funny.

Where did I or anyone else for that matter say all savages are unreliable in this thread. I must have missed that.

I think it’s important when reading through posts to be able to read through what is actually written and people’s poor reading comprehension or bias.

 

[jimh406]

Where did I or anyone else for that matter say all savages are unreliable in this thread. I must have missed that.

I think it’s important when reading through posts to be able to read through what is actually written and people’s poor reading comprehension or bias.

I'm not sure why you think I was referring to your post, but you did miss the comment in a previous post by Nobody. I don't think it was due to you having poor reading comprehension or bias.

"why leave the moment of truth up to a rifle with a spotting reputation for reliability?"

 

[PineBrook413]

I've run many tikka's as well as many savages.

Current examples are 28 nosler savage ultralite and factory tikka 308 & tikka 300wsm w/ manners stock and proof research carbon barrel (hunting buddies rig that i've shot a lot).

Both are SUPER reliable and both are 1/2-3/4 moa guns all day with reloads. Tikka action is way smoother but it doesn't affect performance. Out of the box I'd take the savage since it comes with a proof research barrel, adjustable stock and threaded muzzle for only a few more $ than the tikka.

If you want to build something and add stock, barrels etc I'd choose the tikka due to the precision smooth action.

 

[david2duck]

“That being said, I don't personally know of anyone with a bad Savage, but admittedly that's a small sample. If your Savage (or any gun) won't feed or eject, you should contact customer service. Calling all Savages unreliable isn't factual.” My fault thought this paragraph was written about my feeding/extraction issues and then it went into the unreliable part.

Still didn’t find where it says all savages are unreliable. Doesn’t really matter. Have a great day.

 

[jimh406]

Still didn’t find where it says all savages are unreliable. Doesn’t really matter. Have a great day.

Again, I wasn't referring to your comment. I was referring to the user "nobody" who wrote "spotty reputation for reliability". Spotty reputation for reliability means unreliable.

You have a great day, too.

 

[nobody]

Where did I or anyone else for that matter say all savages are unreliable in this thread. I must have missed that.

I think it’s important when reading through posts to be able to read through what is actually written and people’s poor reading comprehension or bias.

“That being said, I don't personally know of anyone with a bad Savage, but admittedly that's a small sample. If your Savage (or any gun) won't feed or eject, you should contact customer service. Calling all Savages unreliable isn't factual.” My fault thought this paragraph was written about my feeding/extraction issues and then it went into the unreliable part.

Still didn’t find where it says all savages are unreliable. Doesn’t really matter. Have a great day.

Pretty sure he's referring to my post (#18) where I gave multiple examples of poor performance and feeding issues in both custom and factory savages in multiple cartridges and flavors.

Again, I wasn't referring to your comment. I was referring to the user "nobody" who wrote "spotty reputation for reliability". Spotty reputation for reliability means unreliable.

You have a great day, too.

OP asked for examples and opinions, that's all we can offer. He can choose to ignore them or he can choose to weigh them out in his decision making process. All the rest of us can offer here on the 'slide is additional data points for him to consider.

I've seen enough issues with Savages, between guys I've shot with over the years as well as dealing with warranty claims while working at Sportsman's Warehouse, that if I were to build a black and white list with "Reliable" firearms in one column and "Unreliable" firearms in another, I would personally put Savage at Numero Uno in the "Unreliable" column.

I will say, when we did send Savages in for warranty, I can't remember any of them being sent in for accuracy issues. In fact, the only one I would deem "inaccurate" would have been my old hunting partner's 6.5 PRC, but I'm pretty sure that had more to do with the stock geometry. Other than that, I've never seen one that didn't shoot well from near to far, with multiple flavors of factory ammunition. All warranty claims we ever dealt with were with other aspects of the rifle, but never accuracy.

 

[david2duck]

@nobody I saw where you said the guns you had been apart of were unreliable. Just never saw where anyone said “all Savages were unreliable”.

We can put our experiences out there and everyone can do with it what they want. My Fierce thread is a perfect example. Does Fierce make a great shooting gun, definitely can. Will I buy one ever again, nope.

I’d buy another Savage though. My limited exposure to them has been good. All 3 were shooters but mine has some miners issues. No joke I shot a .125 3 shot group with it (my best group ever). I’ve shot multiple .5 or better 5 shot groups with it. Still like my tikkas better.

OP buy whatever feels the best in your hands and use the experiences posted to help guide you in your decisions.

 

[Turkeytider]

I haven’t reached out. I really only use the rifle for practice so it doesn’t bother me as much as it would if it was my hunting rifle.

Thanks for the info I might have to see what savage and the other guys have to say.

Sure can`t hurt to see what they might have to say.

 

[Blackdog317]

Now, I have heard some complaints about the stocks feeling soft and floppy, but that’s an issue that could be addressed down the road.
I also worry about the felt recoil in a 6.5 PRC in a gun this light. Is it gonna absolutely wallop? Manufacturer specs put it around 5.8 pounds and I believe it!! Thing feels like it’s made of air.

Regarding recoil...

In my opinion, yes. I have a Weatherby Ultralight chambered in .270 Win. It's 5.75 lbs bare, 7 lbs scoped. With 130s over 60 grains of powder (similar case capacity to the 6.5 PRC) if slaps the snot out of me. It's a pleasure to carry for miles and miles and the recoil is not an issue when hunting. But range trips are not super fun.

I still love the rifle, but shooting it for an extended period of time is a chore.

 

[Turkeytider]

@nobody I saw where you said the guns you had been apart of were unreliable. Just never saw where anyone said “all Savages were unreliable”.

We can put our experiences out there and everyone can do with it what they want. My Fierce thread is a perfect example. Does Fierce make a great shooting gun, definitely can. Will I buy one ever again, nope.

I’d buy another Savage though. My limited exposure to them has been good. All 3 were shooters but mine has some miners issues. No joke I shot a .125 3 shot group with it (my best group ever). I’ve shot multiple .5 or better 5 shot groups with it. Still like my tikkas better.

OP buy whatever feels the best in your hands and use the experiences posted to help guide you in your decisions.

@nobody I saw where you said the guns you had been apart of were unreliable. Just never saw where anyone said “all Savages were unreliable”.

We can put our experiences out there and everyone can do with it what they want. My Fierce thread is a perfect example. Does Fierce make a great shooting gun, definitely can. Will I buy one ever again, nope.

I’d buy another Savage though. My limited exposure to them has been good. All 3 were shooters but mine has some miners issues. No joke I shot a .125 3 shot group with it (my best group ever). I’ve shot multiple .5 or better 5 shot groups with it. Still like my tikkas better.

OP buy whatever feels the best in your hands and use the experiences posted to help guide you in your decisions.

Tell you what, perhaps not on this site, but you can find folks who will smear an entire brand (guns, cars, refrigerators, doesn`t matter ) just due to hearsay or very limited experience with a given brand. I try not to do that myself. Because of personal experience, I personally won`t buy another Jeep Grand Cherokee. Does that I mean I think ALL Jeep products are " junk " ? No, I don`t have experience with ALL Jeep vehicles. I`m sure that there are those who would drive nothing else.

 

[Turkeytider]

Pretty sure he's referring to my post (#18) where I gave multiple examples of poor performance and feeding issues in both custom and factory savages in multiple cartridges and flavors.


OP asked for examples and opinions, that's all we can offer. He can choose to ignore them or he can choose to weigh them out in his decision making process. All the rest of us can offer here on the 'slide is additional data points for him to consider.

I've seen enough issues with Savages, between guys I've shot with over the years as well as dealing with warranty claims while working at Sportsman's Warehouse, that if I were to build a black and white list with "Reliable" firearms in one column and "Unreliable" firearms in another, I would personally put Savage at Numero Uno in the "Unreliable" column.

I will say, when we did send Savages in for warranty, I can't remember any of them being sent in for accuracy issues. In fact, the only one I would deem "inaccurate" would have been my old hunting partner's 6.5 PRC, but I'm pretty sure that had more to do with the stock geometry. Other than that, I've never seen one that didn't shoot well from near to far, with multiple flavors of factory ammunition. All warranty claims we ever dealt with were with other aspects of the rifle, but never accuracy.

They`ll flat bring dinner home, that`s for sure!

 

[EMAZ]

I was recently able to put hands on a Savage 110 ultralight in 6.5 PRC and a Tikka T3x Lite in 6.5 PRC. After a lot of research I’ve kinda narrowed down my next hunting rifle to one of these.

Let’s state the obvious first - the actions. The savage was a little rough. I’m curious as to it getting better with some use, if people have experienced jams or malfunctions in critical moments, etc. Other than the action, it feels like a really nice gun. Super light, balanced, great accuracy (allegedly) all for about 1300 USD.
Now, I have heard some complaints about the stocks feeling soft and floppy, but that’s an issue that could be addressed down the road.
I also worry about the felt recoil in a 6.5 PRC in a gun this light. Is it gonna absolutely wallop? Manufacturer specs put it around 5.8 pounds and I believe it!! Thing feels like it’s made of air.

Now for the Tikka - the action was BUTTER (obviously.) BUT, that rifle felt insanely front heavy. It’s like it didn’t have enough weight in the ass, or the barrel was just way too heavy. Both of those are also fixable problems. What are everyone’s experience with that?

If I had my way I’d take the tikka action and put it on the 110 but, clearly that’s not an option. So, what are everyone’s thoughts on a semi custom in one of these rifles? Is it worth it to swap a barrel or stock? Or would I just be better off shelling out the extra 750 to get a fully custom rifle.

Prior to anyone suggesting other threads, I did read through 110 pages on semi custom tikka builds

Thanks in advance everyone.

see Orange above
Recoil will be similar to a .270 if you’ve shot one in a similar setup before. I don’t see what the intended use is for…but a 6.5CM will get similar performance, be cheaper to shoot/find ammo for, and recoil more in line with a .243 (referencing more long standing cartridges). Hornady makes an 143 gr ELD-x round that with proper placement will perform well in hunting in normal ranges (out to 400 yards).

As far as actions, Tikka/Sako are known to have that smooth like butter feel, and lower degree bolt throw which helps for clearance with mounted scopes (although plenty of custom actions are built/clones on the REM 700…so might come down to a preference). Fierce also built more semi-customs on the Sako 85 action clone (newer models I believe are all REM 700 actions though); Mauser uses a 70 degree bolt throw in most of their actions; Winchester Model 70’s too. (Mauser and Winchester are own actions not Sako based)

Personal experience with all manufacturers listed…all are great feeling and my personal examples were accurate. No direct experience with the Savage, but I have a Christensen, and prefer the action on all the others I have more than the Christensen (had to change out the bolt knob just to get better clearance and action is grittier—it does shoot well though)

 

[william schmaltz]

I've killed a zoo worth of animals with Savage rifles. Have killed sheep and goats with a $400 axis and have done well over a dozen fly out trips where a Savage rifle is the only weapon in the plane. I also have a T3 I use from time to time. Everyone has covered the actions. There is clearly more play in the Savage action, but it doesn't bother me because none of my rifles have ever had a feed issue. Both my Savage and Tikka rifles shoot far better than I will ever be capable of. After looking into numerous options, my next rifle purchase will be a 110 Ultralight in 7PRC to double as my wife's moose gun and a mountain gun for myself.

If you are appropriately familiar with your rifle prior to a hunt, any feeding (or other) problems would have already shown themselves during your range and practice time. That goes for any brand. I take my Savage rifles to the field with the same confidence I do any gun in my safe.

 

[rrbailey]

I went down the same road 1 year ago. I ended up buying a Tikka Veil in 300 win Mag. That model gun comes with fluted bolt, stainless action coated with Cerakote, threaded muzzle and slightly larger crown barrel than the standard T3. It shoots just under 1/2 moa out to 600 yds and 1/4 moa at 250 yds with stock ammo. If your deadset on a Carbon barrel; I would buy a Tikka action and slowly start buying pieces to build. My brother has the same exact gun that you want in 6.5prc. He built it off tikka action, proof prefit barrel, mesa precision stock, zeiss v4 scope. That gun weighs 8lbs 5oz. My 300 veil with a Nightforce Nxs 5.5x22x50 is 9.1 lbs. I'd say his semi-custom shoots 1/4 moa better than mine at 600 yds; but both really nice guns. In the end, get what you want, not what saves you a little money. I love my factory Tikka, but also will build a carbon one someday. In addition, a factory Tikka trigger with an aftermarket spring are some of the best triggers out there. They brake like glass. Savages definitely shoot well, but there actions are definitely rough. Good luck.

Mind if I ask what your brother has spent on his semi-custom tikka to date? I’m leaning towards his build but leaning towards a NF scope vs Zeiss.