Tikkas are better than....
- Thread starter Rapidaffliction
- Start date
Just as a suggestion, that rifle is probably not a good setup to "learn on".
Light rifle with a heavy recoiling cartridge might lead you to develop bad habits that will take work to unlearn.
That is a great hunting rifle, but if you want to do learning and shooting longer strings, I'd suggest you get something more in the .308 / 6.5cm / .243 or something in that class that you can enjoyably shoot at the range and put 20 to 40 rounds in the target without feeling beat up.
It was not sarcasm at all...
The waypoint is a viable entry.. interesting, and well....I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet...
I'm re-intrigued...
Sound the Charge.
@Moby
There is alot of truth to that .. and slightly dependent to how much experience you already have...nevertheless, it's good advice... and despite what other shooting experience you already have... Even the most experienced can develop a flinch...
In the meanwhile, you can get a vise...making sure to adhere to all other disciplines while using the vice... It doesn't have to be a super expensive one...
I was originally looking at a Christensen arms, but after messing with the waypoint and hearing horror stories of some warranty/ customer service issues, I figured I would give the waypoint a chance. I'm glad I did. They announced multiple caliber options but originally only released the 6.5 creedmoor. I loved it so much that I just had to have one in 308. But I couldn't find one anywhere. So I decided to build a 308 as similar as I could. For my build I used a:
defiance action $1,000
Prefered barrel blanks Carbon fiber wrapped barrel $830
Grayboe Phoenix stockwith M5 DBM: $886
Triggertech special trigger: $193
So for a base rifle, without optic like you would get an out of box waypoint... I paid $2,909 and that doesn't include all the shipping on parts, wait times, etc.
I forgot to mention earlier that the waypoint already comes with a Triggertech trigger from the factory.
So yeah, for a factory gun, it's expensive. But I can't build a rifle like it for cheaper or even anywhere near the same price.
Waypoint is in the center. My build is by itself.
Attachments
Seekins is another yet to be mentioned...I have no direct experience with them....
Absolutely. I've heard good things about these rifles. I have no personal experience with this gun. But i do with many of their other products and they are top notch!
It also depends on what you are looking to do with the rifle. The HIT is listed at 11.5 lbs whereas the waypoint is at 6.75 lbs. I wanted a light weight hunting gun. But for a competition, range gun only, I definable prefer a heavier rifle. I just don't want to huck around a 15 lb gun once I attach a bipod and optic, on a multiple miles long elk hunt in the mountains.
Yeah the Waypoints are good looking rifles...but I don't think they're available in left-handed... If so, I would have been more interested in them, since their initial release...you know, for diversity and all... And I've always liked the name... To be honest, I still just can't believe no one has brought this up yet... And you know what, I think they guarantee 1/2 out the box too, I COULD BE WRONG about that... Maybe it was .75...? At any rate...,
I like that LaRue....I always like to see an armalite pattern rifle...as opposed to, "the other"
How do you feel about that Ruger? Honestly, I've never paid alot of attention to them...
Seekins Precision HAVAK HIT Bolt Action Rifle 260 Remington 24 Black
The Seekins Precision HIT rifle is a perfect option for a variety of precision sports. The dust door over the ejection port allows the rifle to be...
www.midwayusa.com
SEEKINS HAVAK HIT 6.5 PRC 24' 3RD FDE BOLT ACTION RIFLE
<p>Seekins Precision HIT, Bolt Action Rifle, 6.5 PRC, 24" Threaded Barrel, Adjustable Aluminum Chassis, Folding Stock, Flat Dark Earth, ERGO TDX-0 Verticle Grip, Manual Safety, 3 Rounds, 1 Magazine 0011710105-F-FDE</p>
battlehawkarmory.com
And, Roger.Seekins Precision HAVAK HIT Bolt Action Rifle 260 Remington 24 Black
The Seekins Precision HIT rifle is a perfect option for a variety of precision sports. The dust door over the ejection port allows the rifle to be...SEEKINS HAVAK HIT 6.5 PRC 24' 3RD FDE BOLT ACTION RIFLE
<p>Seekins Precision HIT, Bolt Action Rifle, 6.5 PRC, 24" Threaded Barrel, Adjustable Aluminum Chassis, Folding Stock, Flat Dark Earth, ERGO TDX-0 Verticle Grip, Manual Safety, 3 Rounds, 1 Magazine 0011710105-F-FDE</p>
I have 3 of them. I was a long time 308 hold out. I spent alot of time behind 7.62 and thought it was one of the best cartridges. After shooting out the barrel in my M24 after 16,000 rounds, I sent it to Josh Kuntz at Patriot Valley Arms for a rebarrel. He asked if I was interested in 6.5 I respectfully told him no, that I wanted to keep my M24 as correct as possible.
However, his recommendation made me start looking harder at the 6.5 CM. So, the RPR was my first step into the creedmoor world.
It is definitely a long, heavy, pig that kinda grew on me. It is relatively comfortable once set up to match your length of pull. Shoots really well. Modular enough to set its hooks into you and make you want more than what it offers. It was a really good entry drug... I mean gun, into the chassis world. In the end, my wife liked it so much that she had to have one in 6.5 cm as well. She used hers to win a "half mile challenge" shootout against a number of other local shooters and take home the win.
That then lead me into getting one in 338 lapua that I still have new in box and have never shot. I was trying to be nice to a buddy and hooked him up with magnum primers for his hunting ammo.... I didn't look before giving him a stack of primer trays and accidentally gave him every one of my magnum primers, and now I haven't been able to find any more.
If it was just 300 wm, I would throw a LR primer in and call it a day... I don't think I want to do that with 338 lapua though. I better wait till I have magnum primers before I shoot it.
I say it's a good entry gun because as good as it is, I ended up figuring out what I personally prefer in a chassis gun. For some, it's perfect as is. For other, it's not. I ended up building a rifle around a MDT ESS chassis with side folder. Similar in format to a RPR, but alot more modular as far as parts and building it to your own liking.
You mentioned being left handed. We had a gun store here in Texas called Left Handed Guns. Unfortunately they just closed permanently on Tuesday, however Rock Island Auction House has come in and is purchasing all of the firearms. I don't know when they will post them, but they are about to have hundreds of left handed firearms. It was a really neat store. I had never seen left handed .50 cals or half the stuff he had in that store. It was incredible. Just a thought.
Attachments
Super nice... Yeah, I was familiar with left handed gun's website... I didn't know they were closing..
It's cool your wife is in it with you...but that's not without it's pitfalls..haha...
You definitely have some nice pieces to your credit.
We get the same c**p here in the UK "it has to be a Tikka" look at the target from my "TAC A1" it makes me want to puke ! yes Tikka's are decent but they aren't that good ! A local smith who was also fed up with the hype recently posted pic's of the problems he encountered when re barrelling Tikka's mainly tenon threads and action face's being well out of true. Their mags completely suck and not every Tikka is accurate I have seen a number that struggle to make 1/2 MOA with load development. I have also seen a brand new Tikka that had to be sold as a donor rifle owing to the throat being chewed up. Under $2000.00 I wish here in Europe thanks the the European price fixing Mafia they retail at $2300.00
For you lovers of all things Tikka . Great knives . Associated by name only , but a very cool Tikka .
ragweedforgestore.com
Ahti Tikka #9610
The Tikka, or "Woodpecker", is a neat whittling knife with a smaller blade but a full-size handle. This knife comes with a sheath that hangs from a stout strap. Item Details: Blade Length: 2 1/2" (62 mm) Blade Width: .68" Blade Thickness: .130" Handle Length: 4 1/4" Weight In Sheath: 3 oz.
ragweedforgestore.com
That`s totally unacceptable. I would have tried to communicate to someone "upstairs" at Savage about that. Any executive worth his/her salt in a company that sells products to customers understands that customer service AFTER the sale will make or break that company. American consumers understand that problems can happen with ANY product. They are amazingly forgiving IF they are taken care of and their issue is taken care of in a quality fashion.
OP, if you are left-handed
please know that your options with regard to a Tikka compatible chassis VERY limited
Unless you're OK with a KRG bravo, expect a slim selection with a long wait
If you're lefty, I would strongly consider an Origin lefty action for the R700 clone compatibility
please know that your options with regard to a Tikka compatible chassis VERY limited
Unless you're OK with a KRG bravo, expect a slim selection with a long wait
If you're lefty, I would strongly consider an Origin lefty action for the R700 clone compatibility
I haven't heard from anyone about how well their rifles kill. I just spent over a month in South Africa and Mozambique with a 50-year old (used on-line) Remington .458 Win Mag from their old custom department and a 10-year old CZ African Safari 550 in.375 H&H. Shooting reloads I came back with 15 very dead big game including a Cape, a Hippo, a Leopard, and most of the biggest plains game, some in duplicate and all in trophy categories. I had no wounded or missing, when I shot it it died. One could not have asked for more from a rifle, no jams, no sticky bolts or failures to feed. My rifles always seem to take a beating in the Land Cruisers and yet perform flawlessly. If your Tikka can do that then fine but the proof is in the killing not talking how pretty or range cool they are.
There.
There.
I like mine! T3x TAC A1 Yep it’s Left Handed and 1/2” at 200..out of the box, the wait on a custom action, good smith (not one in my area) I guess I could of waited a year to get a better put together if I could find parts…no this one eye guy probably ain’t going to shoot a mile unless I set up an a freeway somewhere lol…
If you legit hunted all those, I'm guessing just the permits alone for the animals were north of $200,000 and that's before you get into all the rest of the travel, lodging, guide and airfare costs as well as the costs for preparing and shipping trophies and such.
It wouldn't be hard to hit $500,000 or more for a month long trip doing that. Granted you could figure out how to do it all on the cheap for a fair bit less.
So going back to this, first off folks here on this thread are mostly talking about target / range rifles and probably hunting large deer at the most.
Also considering we are talking about $1000 to $2000 rifles, this is a thread for the poors / budget conscious / value minded etc.
Big game rifles are something much different than what is being talked about here.
There is also no point pulling out some .458 win mag to hunt a 200 pound deer unless you just want to.
Also many of these suggestions are for things that will be used for target shooting / shooting sports, and having a nice older Ruger in .458 Win Mag myself, at least for me and anyone that has shot it, the agreement is this is NOT something you try shooting prone or sent a whole bunch of shots downrange with just for fun.
We are pretty much talking about very different shooting / equipment scenarios.
Come on Man, I've been dealing with savage for over 30 years and even in the lean years I've never been told that by any CS personnel.
A friend sent in his daughters Axis rifle and he got it back in less than 3 weeks and it was repaired.
Compared to straight pull rifles, turn bolt rifles are so 90's and slow.
Last edited:
You've obviously never hunted Africa, you haven't talked to any of the safari guides or exhibitors at Safari International's show's, and are spewing jealous ignorant bull squirt. I'll be at the January Nashville show, will you? I guess I'm on the wrong forum.
This is such a strange take. If your rifle functions well and can place bullets in the vitals at the range you’re shooting it can kill. The brand stamped on the receiver has basically nothing to do with it.
Well, I have a stock 308 Tikka stainless lite and these are the 5 shot groups I am getting at 100 metres
Well, I have a stock 308 Tikka stainless lite and these are the 5 shot groups I am getting at 100 metresI'd much rather spend less than $500 more and get into something worth a crap.
ARC Nucleus with a prefit................
Bighorn Origin with a prefit................
Trigger Tech is the only trigger worth mentioning.............
AICS mags.
Anybody's decent bottom metal.
Lapua Brass (Finland Rocks!!)......
Rock on.
Bighorn origin 6mm ARC in a Bergara HMR Stock. Trigger Tech Primary (July 4th special).....1.5 lbs
First 50 rounds of Factory 105HPBT Horn Black.........
Avg group sub 1/2 MOA at 100yd
Total cost to me was $1900
200 yd groups with factory ammo in 5MPH left to right
100 yard break in groups
ARC Nucleus 2.0
22-250 Ackley 1/8 Twist "Savage Small Shank 26".....Wilson Blank Full Bull from "Urbanrifleman"...........shout out Brad" Hell of a barrel for $270 shipped.
This rifle cost me $1500 to put together.
Black Friday $750 Nuc..............gotta love it.
Attachments
All that is so true! My Tikka has pressed in dow pins that won’t move and the rail is pressed on and then two high grade torque screws that secure it to the receiver. Shit don’t move..yes that is the factory taking a few extra steps and a few more Pennies to do it right….
Zermatt sells complete rifles for under $900 bucks? That’s news to me.
Obviously there are better actions on the market than a tikka. But as far as a factory rifle for under $1K I don’t think my you’ll find much better.
Do you mind then letting us know how much you spent all told for your safari?
How much were all the animal permits?
Last time I went to the Dallas Safari Club expo and spent the day talking to exhibitors, the prices for doing all the big game in Africa were crazy expensive.
I've never done it because I simply can't afford it and probably never will be able to justify the expense vs. having a comfortable retirement.
...so you admit there's a large fanbase spewing the mantra: it has to be a Tikka ... And paying those boutique prices...
Incredible.
If there was 5x as many problems/problem rifles as you've mentioned here, with the number of rifles imported into England... I would say Tikka is still doing ok...
Thank you for your contribution.
Hey that is pretty neat...For you lovers of all things Tikka . Great knives . Associated by name only , but a very cool Tikka .
Ahti Tikka #9610
The Tikka, or "Woodpecker", is a neat whittling knife with a smaller blade but a full-size handle. This knife comes with a sheath that hangs from a stout strap. Item Details: Blade Length: 2 1/2" (62 mm) Blade Width: .68" Blade Thickness: .130" Handle Length: 4 1/4" Weight In Sheath: 3 oz.
That's a huge downside to the Tikka route... I fully agree with that... I wish someone made either a 1018, or a38 steel bottom metal for the Tikkas...
I still have a r700 going right now that I'm still putting some finishing touches on...
Well I dunno... This been kind of my position all along... If a rifle performs, it performs if you have confidence in the rifle for whatever purposes, well then you have confidence... But. ... Would I be utilizing a Tikka on a super badass African hunt... I dunno...maybe... I would probably be looking more towards a custom built m98 (commercial).... And it wouldnt have to be one of the $5,000 actions....OR, I suppose a Sako wouldn't be out of line.....maybe in addition, to the m98; for different plains game...
Would I have a properly outfitted Tikka on a Uber demanding euro hunt? Absolutely... But then we're talking about a little less investment as well...
I think my position is entire time has been..., When you strip a rifle down to its bare components, they are only components.. and each one of those components can get after treatments, that would in fact put them on par with the components of a much more expensive rifle... But. Some of the rifles and question do you have a better system or a better design than others, and in different regards than others... I wish I could do an African hunt, but right now my attention is in other directions...
Same goes for the range,...or for anything else..
Same goes for the derringer in my pocket... No one says, oh man I got killed by a Derringer, that sucks... They just turn, run away, and fall... Not necessarily all those things and not necessarily in that order... Ha.
That's the name of the game. Nothing wrong with setting up a rifle to be close to ideal for a specific purpose. When you try to force a rig to be good at everything at the same time you end up with something that may work but is kind of half assed at everything. This is why we have a wonderful excuse to buy multiple guns. It's just like fishing, there is no rod and reel that is ideal for every species and every type of fishing. The harder you might try to have one fishing pole for everything the more it's going to be a pain to use in almost every situation.
This isn't to say that a well rounded cartridge and balanced rig can't be versatile. But, this should be kept within reason. Not sure how African hunting rifles came into the same conversation as the Tikka on a forum that is primarily taylored towards long range/precision. The Tikkas do fine with the cartridges and animals in their respective class.
This isn't to say that a well rounded cartridge and balanced rig can't be versatile. But, this should be kept within reason. Not sure how African hunting rifles came into the same conversation as the Tikka on a forum that is primarily taylored towards long range/precision. The Tikkas do fine with the cartridges and animals in their respective class.
Thats an interesting entry... I love typically like Sauer rifles... Specifically the older Sauer 200... Gorgeous.
I don't think the Sauer 100 is available in left hand.. at least, not with a left-handed bolt/ejection port... I don't like discriminatory practices, such as that.... Haha.
I sometimes see the Sauers' sister rifle, the Mauser M18, as low as $399... That might make a great deer rifle, or general camp rifle for some... I like the fact that they're available in 8x57IS ....a very misunderstood cartridge.
I don't have any personal experience with either of those rifles.
Maybe he went through other channels, or already has business/other ties to those regions... Or some type of on going permit situation somehow... Iiiii duuuuno...
Being a sad bloke, I’ve read this start to finish, 5 minutes of my life I’ll never get back.
However the OP was a valid question, my 2 cents:
Ive shot 3 Bergara’s 2 in 308 and 1 in 6.5cm. All three shot well and were a decent fit for me. I put one in 6.5 on my list, did a bit of shopping around and got taken by a great deal in a new Tikka Tac A1 in 6.5 cm.
lighted the trigger spring, dropped an Athlonn Ares 4.5x30x56 and a Fortmeir Bipod. Off to Bisley a couple of weeks later and after 100 yard zero we moved to 200.
I just bought a Tikka CTR in 223, dropped it in a MDT Oryx, just waiting for my next days shooting.
Ive shot one of the 308 Begara’s recently and it still shoots well, I do better with the Tac a1.
I have a Ruger that shoots less well and a Lithgow that shoots almost as good.
However the OP was a valid question, my 2 cents:
Ive shot 3 Bergara’s 2 in 308 and 1 in 6.5cm. All three shot well and were a decent fit for me. I put one in 6.5 on my list, did a bit of shopping around and got taken by a great deal in a new Tikka Tac A1 in 6.5 cm.
lighted the trigger spring, dropped an Athlonn Ares 4.5x30x56 and a Fortmeir Bipod. Off to Bisley a couple of weeks later and after 100 yard zero we moved to 200.
I just bought a Tikka CTR in 223, dropped it in a MDT Oryx, just waiting for my next days shooting.
Ive shot one of the 308 Begara’s recently and it still shoots well, I do better with the Tac a1.
I have a Ruger that shoots less well and a Lithgow that shoots almost as good.
Attachments
Lol. Yeah, it's a bit of a trainwreck.. but I suppose I kind of wanted that. .
LITHGOW! that's a name I haven't heard in awhile..
I do like Bergaras too... They are nice rifles, no matter how you slice it.
Thanks for adding to the trainwreck.
I don't know the model number, but left handed guns had some left handed Sauer rifles in stock before closing. I would check with Rock Island. I'm sure they are still doing inventory. I wish I knew when the rifles would be posted. I will look and see if I have pictures. I took photos of some rifles and prices last time I was there. That's one I was interested in even though it was left handed. He had a hell of a price on it and I almost bought it even though I'm right handed.
They are slow with factory ammo. They are throated long. A handloader can just seat the bullet out further and fill the case. Takes care of it.
South of 100K US for two hunts with the same PH, 25 days boots-on-the-ground total. When you hunt on private ranches there are no permit fees (S.A.). Mozambique charges permit fees but the PH takes care of all that in the package offer far in advance. Mozambique package was specific on what was to be hunted, S.A. was many trips to different ranches (friends), first in Limpopo Provence (Thabazimbi area) and then returned after the Mozambique hunt to Mpumonga Provence again to large ranches (up to 18 thousand acres).
10 years ago a trophy Sable was going for $12-$16K US. Covid saw all prices drop like stones. The two Sables (under 45" on the arc) I harvested in early June from two different areas cost me $2,900 US each and in July when I left some outfitters were asking as much as $7,850 US each. Early Kudus under 55" were $2,500 US each up to $12,000 US each for horns over "60. Early Gemsboks were $1,500 US each. Buffalos under 42" across were $10,500 US. All of these prices change as per supply and demand changes.
There are plenty of good 7-9 day hunts available for $15-$20K or even less (not including air fare) but you need to talk to the outfitters and Professional Hunters at the shows. I have a PH that is a friend with whom I'll hunt at once a year (at least) and who will call me for special deals as they become available on various land concessions.
Last edited:
