Why I won’t buy a Tikka

[Dave0317]

I do make it a point to routinely fill the mag and cycle while shooting, which oddly seems a rarity at the range these days. I've had and witnessed so many feeding issues surface when recoil is added that I wouldn't take a rig afield without confirming functionality first.

Yep, you don’t see many guys worried about this kind of thing outside of the military and police communities, and an extremely small percentage of preparedness minded civilians. And even amongst those groups, it’s only a few that truly test their equipment and themselves under any real stress.

Fortunately, most of us will only ever hunt non-dangerous game.

 

[flyfisher117]

That and the Rubbermaid cheap-ass stocks.

Like every other budget rifle comes with now days?

 

[jjjjeremy]

Like every other budget rifle comes with now days?

I’m a big fan of the stocks on the B14 Hunter. The stock on the HMR would be perfect if it had the same rubberized finish.

 

[JGRaider]

To each his own but I've never wasted money on any Tikka aftermarket parts, and have been shooting them since 1998. They are all stupid accurate. I currently own 6.

 

[TaperPin]

I probably won’t buy one for myself, but I’d buy one of our kids one if they get excited about it. There are so many that work well, it can’t be argued it isnt a good shooting rifle.

If someone like the looks, it should be on the top of their list. Some like Ford some like Chevy. I don’t care for plastic parts, but aluminum isn’t much better - I seem to replace bottom metal on any rifle. The grooves on top aren’t my cup of tea and always catch my eye as looking unfinished or odd - too bad they don’t have a better usable system or simply leave the grooves off.

I’ll probably look a little closer at the bolt stop, take the bolt out even, move the stop back and forth, check it for smoothness.

 

[Macintosh]

Yeah, fair enough on the bolt being a little sloppy when open, and no olastic stock is going to be great…luckily good stocks are easy to come by at not much $$ if thats something that bugs you, OR wood and laminate versions are readily available. My brother owned a newer winchester until a couple years ago, and I borrowed one on a hunt a few years ago as well—I appreciate some things about them, but short of a legit pre-64 m70, in large part for the nostalgia and feel, I would not trade any of my tikka’s for one. To me that slop is aesthetic, not functional, and those bolts were easy to get to bind—on function I’ll put any of my tikkas against any other rifle out there in the same class, and many that are a lot more $$. I’ll be the first to admit theres things about them that arent perfect…but its a good balance of qualities that is deservedly popular. if I wanted perfect I wouldnt be looking at a $759 rifle.

Bergara is a non-starter for me, from the handful Ive seen friends buy, and from dozens of threads on various forums, it seems their nickname is earned. Im sure there’s plenty of good ones, but I havent seen any functional reason to try one.

The good thing is…no one is forcing anyone to buy a tikka. If you prefer something else, buy something else!

Edit: also, I see that the list price on a new model 70 is more than double what a tikka costs. My stainless t3x sits in an alterra carbon stock, together those two items (gun and stock) cost me a couple hundred $ less than the list price of the equivalent m70. Given pricing Im going to call BS on the tupperware stock complaints, its easy to put a tikka in any of several totally fine aftermarket stocks for less $ than a new m70.

 

[RussDXT]

One of the best bolt actions I’ve run is the 303 British Enfield. I would love to get one chambered in a 223 and 6.5 cm.

I don’t find tikkas bad at all. Better than some Remington customs.

 

[Bugger]

The bolt slop. I can’t stand that wiggly rattle bolt slip that feels horribly cheap. I know they’re great rifles, I know the trigger is great, I know the accuracy is unmatched in consistency for factory rifles, etc etc.

But I just can’t stand the bolt slop. If you’ve handled a prewar W70 or W54 you know the feeling of having a cartridge firmly but smoothly guided into place. With no slop.

Ah yes the pre-64. There’s just no replicating that smooth, firm, controlled bolt push right before squeezing a trigger that breaks like a snail shell beneath bare feet, getting racked by a 60+ year old recoil pad that gets stiffer with age, and knowing for a fact the bullet is gonna be somewhere on that paper plate at 100 yards. Gotta love nostalgia.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Opinions are like

All I can say is do not try a Savage if you think Tikka's have sloppy bolts.

or a remmington… and probably most remmington clones

 

[justin davis]

I’m a big fan of them. Tikkas just plain work. Their triggers are great. Not a fan of the stock. Just the feeling of them. But they shoot. I threw all my tikkas in a chassis.

Good thing is if you don’t like them. Don’t have to buy them.

 

[SloppyJ]

I bought my first Tikka for my son. A T3x compact in 223. The bolt feels just a little but more sloppy than my r700 clone actions but it seems relatively smooth. What I did notice is that it's not as picky on running the bolt in terms of binding.

The stock doesn't do it for me but I knew that going into it. If it shoots like most others I see on here, I will be more than impressed.

IMO the only reason I'm not picking a Tikka over a clone action, I feel there's more value in an origin and being able to swap the bolt face. In the end, the cost savings isn't a lot going the Tikka route.

 

[Marbles]

Tell me, without telling me, that you don't know the difference between tolerance and clearance.

I'll take the tight tolerances with appropriate clearance of a Tikka over the inappropriate clearance of actions that feel tighter.

 

[Pharmseller]

Tikkas are rubbish.




P

 

[left hunter]

The bolt lift on all of my Tikka’s is very easy, granted they all are older and well broken in but I don’t remember them ever being difficult to open

 

[SloppyJ]

The bolt lift on all of my Tikka’s is very easy, granted they all are older and well broken in but I don’t remember them ever being difficult to open

The bolt lift is pretty stout on a new one.

 

[plebe]

I’ll bite. Which current production off the shelf rifles have the “lack of bolt slop” like a pre-war model 70 or 54?

Strasser, Blaser, Heym, Merkel, Sauer, Lynx, Chapuis Rols, Anshutz, Roessler, Steel, Beretta, Haenel. There’s some interesting and amazing actions to explore. Easier overseas, lol.

Have two Tikkas, don’t find them super smooth. They are fine, but not so amazing as sometimes made out.

 

[DangerRanger]

 

[plebe]

View attachment 758278

Helps to know the entire alphabet to get into such rifles.

 

[Macintosh]

Strasser, Blaser, Heym, Merkel, Sauer, Lynx, Chapuis Rols, Anshutz, Roessler, Steel, Beretta, Haenel. There’s some interesting and amazing actions to explore. Easier overseas, lol.

Have two Tikkas, don’t find them super smooth. They are fine, but not so amazing as sometimes made

Which is exactly what I suspected…ie this is comparing a honda to a bentley. Personally I am a tikka fan, but that doesnt at all mean I dont appreciate a nicer gun or that I’m not aware of some of the little things that allow a tikka to hit a price point. But theres a rack full of stainless tikkas at my local shop all priced under $800, and very, very few people find fault with them functionally. You do realize I can buy several tikkas for the price of any one of those rifles, right? At some point lots of people, me included, say “it doesnt make sense to pay more because this does everything I need it to do and more, at 1/3 or 1/5 or 1/8 the price (even after I add an aftermarket stock, etc)”. I appreciate nice guns, and I appreciate the difference…but we’re talking about entirely different classes of guns here.

Edit: the root of this is value, rather than absolute quality or absolute price. Most car buyers find the honda a better value than the bentley…it does everything they need, it is arguably just as reliable and “performs” well-beyond just “adequately”, even though if most of those same people did a side by side comparison they could easily find things they preferred about the bentley. If those things are important to you and you can afford them, by all means you should buy the bentley. Honda owners should not be surprised when some folks choose the refined fit and finish of the bentley. And, bentley fans should not be surprised when lots of people think they are crazy for spending triple or more the $ for something that is 1% (or whatever) better. No one that I consider knowledgeable about guns is saying tikkas are the best gun out there in all aspects, they simply represent a great value that accomplishes nearly all the important functional aspects of a rifle, at a fraction of the price of what it takes to make any significant improvements.

 

[turbo406]

Since we are airing it all out there...
I really hate how my tikkas all just shoot so well. I really hate how the triggers are so good with a 10 dollar spring instead of a 200 plus dollar trigger. I really hate how modular they are. I really hate that it cost me 16 bucks to put a vertical grip on one. I really hate how reliable they are when I'm in a coyote derby in zero degree weather and they continue to work. But the absolute worst thing about them is they seem to multiply in the safe.