tikka or savage
 

I am getting ready to purchase a new rifle. I am looking at a laminated stock stainless tikka t3 or a synthetic stock stainless savage. the savage comes with a muzzle break that can be turned off- not sure how i feel about it, anyone with exerience with it is welcome to weigh in. thanks ya'll

RE: tikka or savage
 

I would go with the Tikka. I love mine (T3 Lite). The laminated/stainless version is really nice, but out of my price range. My T3 Lite was on sale, but the laminated versions were not.

Mike

RE: tikka or savage
 

Just for the record- the rifle will be a 7mm wsm. Weight isn't a factor and niether is recoil, so a heavy rifle or a light one is fine. I am looking for stability in inclimate weather. accuracy, and reliabilty. this rifle will be used for shooting deer over bean and cornfields and for elk hunting out west specifically colorado washington and oregon. I haven't heard anything bad about either of these rifles. the savage is the 16FCSAK. And I as i said the tikka is the laminated stainless T3.

RE: tikka or savage
 

SAVAGE !:D

RE: tikka or savage
 

First off I am big Savage fan. The savage gets an upper hand from the get go, due to the accutrigger. That will save time and money by not requiring any work in the trigger dept. This will be especially important to accuracy if you are bean fielding.
However, I despise muzzlebreaks. First off they are built to tame recoil. That is not even an issue in this case, there is no real need. More importantly, they severely increase the damage done to your hearing every time they are shot without proper ear protection. Unless you wear ear muffs while you are hunting, they do little more than save you from mild recoil, while increasing the permanently damage done to your ears from muzzleblast.
For that factor alone I would not recomend this model of Savage.

RE: tikka or savage
 

For sure I would go with tikka. They shoot great, have a shorter bolt lift, awesome trigger right from the box and the action is smooth as silk. The savage shoots ok, is very ugly, trigger needs work and the action is very rough. I have bought 3 tikka's in the last 2 years. In there price range nothing else comes close.

RE: tikka or savage
 

Huh?....

RE: tikka or savage
 

oh you mean this trigger....

Right Out of the box the trigger was nearly flawless. It took eight ounces of pressure to fully depress the AccuRelease tab. After a few trials it was hardly noticeable. The trigger itself is a single stage design. With virtually no perceptible creep or overtravel, the trigger broke cleanly at 24 ounces (1 1/2 pounds). A couple of dozen trials produced exactly the same weight every time.......RIFLEMAN MAGAZINE.......

RE: tikka or savage
 

Pick them up and see which one YOU like the best. The Savage will be hard to beat at its price. I have a model 16 in 270 wsm and it is proving to be a very accurate rifle and despite what handwerk says, the accutrigger is great. My trigger breaks clean and crisp....just as advertised! I would look at the Savage models without the muzzlebrake if I were you for the same reasons stated earlier. The synthetic stock on the Savage will not even compare to the laminate stock on the Tikka, so that is not really a fair comparison.

RE: tikka or savage
 

Makes no sense to buy a short action cartridge in a long action rifle such as the Tikka. Savage makes a short action rifle. Savage is American made, Tikka isn't. Savage may not be the prettiest gun around but it is probably the best value for your dollar you will ever see in a rifle.

RE: tikka or savage
 

I have the tikka T3 laminated stainless in 338 Win Mag. The tikka is an excellent rifle, accurate, good trigger, great fit and finish. I've never been much of a savage fan, good guns but ugly, very ugly, and I can't stand that barrel nut. They just feel cheap to me. Get the tikka you won't regret it.

RE: tikka or savage
 

Tht barrel nut lets me change barrels in less than 15 minutes. Can you do that with your Tikka?

RE: tikka or savage
 

First of all, I've found that my Tikka's trigger is every bit as good as my Savage's Accu-Trigger once I adjusted it. It was as simple as inserting an allen key through the magazine well and giving it about 3/4's of a turn counterclockwise (and it is a "user-adjustable trigger, with the directions in the manual). The fit and finish of the Tikka is better than any Savage, and the composite stock is a far cry better then the Savage. Yes, the action is a fixed length with the bolt stop used to vary the bolt throw length. Mine is a .300 WSM, which means that almost all of the action length is used and I can cycle the bolt without breaking cheek weld.

I'll let the accuracy speak for itself. This is a load workup that I shot today. It was the first time I tried the "ladder method," so there is no one discrete group for each load. I labeled the shots on order they were fired. The "big" group has six shots in it.

Mike

RE: tikka or savage
 

CT JERRY,

Check out this post left a while ago. That answers the question for me.

I agree with handwerk, they are ugly.

http://forum.hunting.net/asppg/tm.asp?m=854440

RE: tikka or savage
 

The accutrigger is fine but obviously you haven't shot a Tikka. Trust me the Tikka has one of the best and most easily adjustable triggers to come standard on any factory rifle. You will not have to have any work done to a Tikkas trigger. Both are fine guns however. If money is a concern the Savage will probably be cheaper. For all around features and looks I would take the Tikka.

RE: tikka or savage
 

TIKKA I have a T-3 Lite blue in 300wsm it is the best out of the box rifle I have ever had It shoots great has great trigger from the factory with out any gagittery. As for savage NO THANKS a buddy resently had a problem with one of his and had little or no help from there factory repair shop. as for american made I have really had a hard time latly with that term in the firearms busniess. guns with flaws from the factory, POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE, triggers that need work to start, amoung other things. The last few guns Ive bought have been tikka FN and CZ all are excellent.

RE: tikka or savage
 

If money is an issue, get the Savage. If you can get a fair deal, get the Tikka. I like the Tikka. Larry

RE: tikka or savage
 

ugly I think not...........

RE: tikka or savage
 

..375" and .52" outta the box!!!! accuracy issues........i think not.

Savage 111 in 300 RUM. NO modifications to trigger, action, barrel!!

RE: tikka or savage
 

SAVAGE!

RE: tikka or savage
 

I would go with the tikka because they are great guns and some of my friends have shot savage rifles and tehy said that they would never buy one again because of the way it performed and tehy have shot tikkas and they said they were one of the best guns they have shot.

RE: tikka or savage
 

CT, I would go with the Savage also!

RE: tikka or savage
 

Nothing will outshoot the Savage out of the box. Also they don't blow up on you.

RE: tikka or savage
 

examples????????? what performance issues??? before you make a statement like that, please have some data to back it up. I have NEVER heard a person say, "I owned a newer Savage bolt action, and it performed horribly" granted some of the older Savages get a bad wrap, (I have heard some bad feedback on the older lever actions) but as far a the new 110, 111's...........all positve.

RE: tikka or savage
 

mossyoak is exactly right....give some details instead of pure hearsay.

RE: tikka or savage
 

Put a fancy stock on a savage and it looks pretty decent from 25 yards away or so, but the closer you get the worse it gets, blocky, ugly barrel nut, goofy looking trigger (accutrigger), it just looks cheap to me. Sorry don't mean to hurt your feelings, tastes differ. If I wanted to change calibers, I'd use my encore, and do it in 2 minutes. I think the tikka is a better rifle out of the box. I don't have anything against them, they will easily do anything you want them to, and are accurate and usually a good bargain.

RE: tikka or savage
 

I've seen some ugly pictures of the tikka blowing up and some angrey owners that were not satisfyed on how the company was backing up the problem. I don't own either one of these brands of rifles however I do know plenty of hunters out there that stand by their savage no matter what model they own. Based on the info that I've read or have wittnessed my vote would go to the Savage because I like the best riffle for the honest dollar, which means quality does not take second place, and pretty does not always mean first.

RE: tikka or savage
 

Savage over ANY Tikka! Bill T.

http://www.helsinginsanomat.fi/engli.../1101978285825

RE: tikka or savage
 

Depends on whether you handload or not and also if you care about accuracy. I know the Tikka comes with a 1 MOA accuracy guarentee. I doubt the Savage does. If you handload you MIGHT be able to get the Savage to shoot as well as the Tikka but if you want a rifle that will shoot that well out of the box guarenteed, want a smooth-as-silk action, and a trigger that is as good as any I've tried you will be happy with the Tikka. That's why I bought mine.





Here's a 5 shot group with Partitions. First shot was fouling shot.

RE: tikka or savage
 

Take those Tikkas with smooth as silk bolts, and let them ride in the back window of a truck for hundreds of miles on dusty roads and see how smooth it is when that coyote jumps out in front of you!

My point is this, the Savage rifles do not have the smoothest or tightest fitting bolts, they are not the prettiest looking guns on the market, BUT they don't cost a lot, can shoot pretty darn good, have very strong actions, and you don't have to be afraid to get a little dust on them or put a scratch on the stock. I have an older 110 (bought in 1999) and it has been through some of the nastiest tangles you can imagine. It sits right next to me when I head out deer hunting. I would be afraid to do that to a Tikka, they are just too good looking.

RE: tikka or savage
 

Its what they are made for. I like to get the best quality rifle I can then try to wear it out. They dont' do much good looking pretty in a gun safe.

RE: tikka or savage
 

What part of Savage rifles shoot great right out of the box are you having trouble with?

RE: tikka or savage
 

hey frizzellr, maybe its good that alot of people think this, that way they dont become hot items and jack the price up!!!!! I like the fact that I can still buy Savages for under $400!!!:D

RE: tikka or savage
 

Wow, everyone is pretty passionate about this topic huh?

I'd say just go with the one that makes sense to you. Here's a quick rundown of the pros;

Savage:
-less expensive
-accutrigger is very popular and has received many good reviews
-(sorry, I don't know more about the savage and their reviews)

Tikka:
-1" or better written guaretee out of the box
-smoothest action I've ever felt
-removeable external box magazine (big selling point for me anyway)
-excellent, crisp trigger with no overtravel with factory instructions on how to adjust between 2-4 lbs. (1 allen wrench/nut adjusted).

I have read really good reviews about the newer Savage rifles so I believe they are very good too. I just don't know as I've never shot one or tested one (I do get a chance to shoot an ol' 250-3000 on occasion but that's older than I am).

Kinda comes down to what you need your rifle to do too. If money is really tight and you don't need to shoot over 200 yards the Savage might be perfect. If you need to shoot further you'll want to be aware of accuracy differences unless you handload and like dialing in the rifle with just the right load. I'm not saying the Savages aren't accurate, I'm sure they are. I just don't see it in writing and after being frustrated with my Browning A-bolt, even after sending it back to the company, I went with the Tikka. Just my personal experience though.

RE: tikka or savage
 

You know Weatherby has a written guarantee as well, but I have never in my life seen one that would shoot worth a damn. The things I don't like about the Tikka are the detachable magazine (something else to forget at home or in the truck), the one size fits all action, and the feel to me is all wrong.

RE: tikka or savage
 

I see how that could be both a blessing and a curse...I keep mine in my rifle unless I'm loading or unloading the rifle. I found out that the darn things cost $60 for a little stinkin' 3 round plastic magazine, for cripes sake! I checked into it because I thought I wanted a spare to hunt with, both for the extra ammo, and "just in case." Well, the $60 price tag turned me off to that idea really fast! That's my only real gripe with the Tikka.

Mike

RE: tikka or savage
 

Tikka!
American Rifleman had a review of the Savage factory about 7 or 8 years ago and showed a picture of an old man with a mirror bending barrels to straighten them! It probablysounded like a novel concept to many readers but to me it raised some serious red flags.

1. Bend barrels means that the barrels are cheaplymade and straightening them will add more stresses to them.

2. An old man with with nothing more than a mirror and years of skill straightening barrels is not exactly ISO 9001. When the old man retires, that piece of skilled labor is gone and some union worker with a lot of years in doing a job that a semiretarded orangutan could be taught to do will post for the job and get it. Nothing is better than a gravy job in a Union shop with no heavy lifting.


If quality is the drive behind your purchase decision the Tikka is far better. If utilitarian purpose of the rifle is your aim the savage will be good enough.

RE: tikka or savage
 

I have to admit I don't like the T3's as much as my Whitetail Hunter. They aren't quite as nice but still a good rifle in my book.

RE: tikka or savage
 

SAVAGE DOESN'T SEEM TO NEED TO GUARANTEE 1MOA RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX BECAUSE MOST OF THEM DO IT ANYWAY. SAVAGE 110 PACKAGE GUN WITH BORESIGHTED SCOPE AT "WALLY-WORLD FOR 339.95. THE SAVAGE IS WILL BE OUT THERE DRIVING TACKS FOR YEARS. NUF SAID.