Re: Tikka in Mcmillan A3-5 picture
HOGTOOTH5R,
The finish came off really fast. Pretty bad. I bought my rifle from Larry from excorioprecisionarms. I called him and asked him what the deal was wondering if it was just mine. He told me it is pretty common for Tikka. He refinished it for me for free. Great service. He also installed the break for me. I forgot the brand name. I wanted a Holland break but they kept sending him the wrong size so he picked another one for me. The break was a pretty big deal for me since I have a shoulder injury and was really worried about it. It works really well. The rifle kicks less then a 223 without a break.
The scope:
Side focus is very hard to move and so is the power ring. The knob for the illuminated reticle feels loose and wobbly. Turrets markings don't align just as the one described in the following tread (attached link for picture):
http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2731810
Over all, not a bad scope. Glass is clear and bright and she does what she is supposed to do and does it very well. In other words: At 100 yards, with a little effort, I can shoot one round through the hole of the previous round, and I can't shoot rifles for sh@t. That says a lot about the performance of the scope. And all that for only $1500.
I contacted SWFA. They issued me an return nr but had no new ones in stock at the time. This was last year and then life got very busy. It is not till now that I finally have found some time to spare and I will have to start researching what my options are and what I want. I am sure I can get it replaced but at this point I rather look for something else. Steiner just came out with a mid range priced scope and I am waiting for some reviews. S&B seems a good option to me as well but is at the top of the price range. S&B also makes a fixed 10x42 for around 2K and as it stands right now, I would prefer that over the SWFA.
It is hard to decide what you want if all you have is someone else's opinion. Every one is different and we all have our expectations. In an ideal world one could walk into a store and try any of them out and not buy until we have had a chance to form our own opinion based upon our own experience. I don't have that luxury, maybe you do? The forums have helped me make some very good choices thanks to the people here sharing their knowledge. More specific, The Tikka 308, the stock, the mags, the bottom metal, just not the scope. In the end it is all relative. I am in no way trying to bash this particular scope. It just doesn't meet my standard. I hope this helps.
