Best light .308 for the buck? Tikka?

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eldon519

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I've been looking around at light weight rifles, and I am really getting attracted to the Tikka T3 Lite in .308. Not much more than 6lbs with a ~22" barrel and MOA accuracy for a little more than $500. Is there anything else that represents this kind of bargain and performance?

I've looked at:
Ruger Compact (I sure do like the handiness of the package even though I think the short barrel may give up some performance, and I'm not sure how accurate it is)
Remington Model 7 (considerably more expensive)
Savage 11 Lightweight Hunter (read the accuracy is more like 2MOA)
Kimber 84M (way more expensive)

Is there anything I should reconsider? In this category, what rifle would you go with?
 
eldon519 said:
Not much more than 6lbs with a ~22" barrel and MOA accuracy for a little more than $500. Is there anything else that represents this kind of bargain and performance?
Click to expand...

Ruger American. No doubt the Tikka is a great value, but the American does everything you listed here and for under $400. I absolutely love mine, the specs put it at 6.12lbs for the .308.
 
I don't have a 308, but do have a Tikka and love it. It is my #1 go to centerfire. Smooth as butter and easy to carry.
 
Tikka is the least weight for the dollar when you factor in quality. I had the Ruger and it isn't even close to the quality or accuracy you get with the Tikka. Actual weight on my scales was quite a bit more than Ruger advertises as well.

I used to have a couple of Tikkas's and liked them well. Since buying my Kimber I sold the Tikkas. The Kimber is a better quality rifle, better stock, better action and trigger, and almost exactly a pound lighter but almost double the price. I could afford it, and like the Kimber better, but would have no issues recommending the Tikka to someone, especially at that price diffference.
 
My buddy's Ruger American .243 shoots 3/4 moa. I'm not sure how accurate you need one to be.

Realize, we have come a LONG way in our expectations. 20 years ago no one expected most factory rifles to shoot that well out of the box, yet our grandfathers managed to kill plenty of deer with them anyway. Competition and modern manufacturing processes have tightened those groups a lot more than most of us can shoot anyway.
 
I have a T3 in 7mm08 and it is the easiest rifle to load for that I have ever had. a 140 grain Hornady sst and a good load of 4064 and wala sub MOA performance out of the first load I tried. Lucky, Hell yes but I'll take it.
 
There are other bolt actions as accurate as a Tikka, but they cost more and are usually heavier by at leased a pound. No question the T/C Icon, Savage 12 series, Kimber 84, Weatherby Vanguard, and Sako 85 are all fantastic shooters the Tikka seems to have the budget, featherweight, sub-MOA market in the bag.
That said I LOVE my Winchester 70 Featherweight 308 as well, it won't touch holes as frequently as my T3 but it is more then accurate enough for hunting, and the feel is as good as anything on the market today, including those ultra high end rifles.
As far as the other rifles you mentioed.
Ruger featherweight: Nice rifle, action is built like a tank, but superb accuracy is not their strong suit.
Savage lightweight hunter: Love my Savages, but they feel cheap in comparison to my Tikka, action is much more clunky and while the accutrigger is really nice the Tikka is every bit as good without the annoying inner trigger mechanism.
Remington 7: I simply will not waste another cent on a Remington rifle, their QC standards are a joke.
Kimber 84, Ahhh I can dream right? Love their rifles, hate their price tag. Right up there with Sako for top of the food chain rifles, but alas a working man like me has to save for a year to afford one.
 
a couple others beat me to it, but the ruger american rifle would get my vote. 6.12 pounds with a 22" barrel, user adjustable trigger, most that i have heard about are at least MOA, and all this for less than $400! if you really want to, i saw that wal mart actually has them in their black friday sale for $337. your choice of 30-06, 270, .243, or .308.
 
I would throw Browning x-bolts in the mix, they cost more than Tikkas, but not all that much more. The composite stocked x-bolts are only slightly heavier than the regular T3 lite (6 lbs 9 oz vs 6 lbs 3 oz), and my x-bolt shoots about as well as the two Tikkas I've had... which is to say very well.

While the Tikkas have pretty good ergonomics, I really think the x-bolts are great in this area, and for me the balance and feel of the x-bolt just "fits". If you're looking for a $500 - $600 rifle, I really don't think you can go wrong with a Tikka, however, if you're willing to spend a little more, the x-bolt would definitely be worth a look.
 
^ I recently purchased my first Browning, while it seems to be a decent rifle I cannot get it to group like my other rifles, maybe I just have not found the right handload yet, but I was hoping for a little more. Granted mine is an A-Bolt II not the X-Bolt. Holding 2" with factory fodder and about 1.5" with the handloads I have tried, but that is a long way from the many one hole groups I have shot with my Tikka and Savages.
 
How is the composite stock on the Tikka T3 and Ruger Americans? Is it sturdier than the crappy stocks on the lower-end Remingtons or like the old Savages used to have about 10 years ago? Those things you could flex the foregrip around without too much effort.
 
The new Savage composite stocks are much better than before. Compared to a friend's Remington 770 (which is junk IMO) the savage is nicer hands down. Even the cheap Savage axis series seem to be relatively sturdy, although I've only handled them, not shot them.

I've handled Tikkas, and they're a nice gun, and reported to be very accurate. I've always been a Savage fan though, and generally for the money its hard to beat a Savage for accuracy.
 
I rate synthetic stocks like this.
Savage (non-accustock) 6/10 functional and egronomic, but feels weak and flexy.
Browning 8/10 well made materials feel good, factory bedded, and checkering is good for plastic, ergonomics could be a bit better.
Remington 2/10 mostly functional is the only decent thing I can say about the 770, it feels like a generic Tonka toy. Rem 700 SPS gets a 6/10 better feel but still flexy much like the Savage.
Tikka 9/10 Very well made, fantastic fiber/matrix construction, only way to make it better would be better checkering, it does not feel as grippy as some of my others.
Ruger 7/10 better then the base Savage ONLY because of it's standard V-block bedding. It still feels flexy and cheap, the one I handeled was touching the barrel the whole way down so.
 
Tikka makes an excellent rifle but the price is what keeps me away. I have been taking a look at the Marlin X7 rifles. The short action tips the scale at 6.25 pounds and can be had under $350.
 
Kachok,

What caliber is your Browning? If its an aught six give H4350 and 165gr Gamekings a try. I settled on 59grs because my x-bolt would put 3 rounds into .5 inch, and 5 into .7 inch, which is about identical to what my Tikka would do with its favorite bullet (SST's). Either one is pretty stellar for a light weight hunting rifle in my opinion, and its hard to make an argument against the Tikka with economy in mind.

I will say that that I often scan gun broker for T3's in 6.5x55 and 9.3x62.... If I ever see one of them for a good price,I'll be back in the Tikka game post haste.
 
I've shot my buddies xl7 and have owned savage, in my opinion the Tikka leaves both of them in the dust when you look at the whole package. There is more to a rifle than pure accuracy and when comparing rifles of similar accuracy, those differences sure start to stand out.
 
Gtscotty said:
Kachok,

What caliber is your Browning? If its an aught six give H4350 and 165gr Gamekings a try.
Click to expand...
Funny tht you should mention H4350 and 165gr Gamekings because that is exactly what I load for my Savage 06 and yes it does work like a charm :) My Browning is an A-Bolt II 7mm-08 I tried factory core-lokts and Superformance SSTs both were sloppy by my standards. Tried a few handloads ranging from 140gr Ballistic Tips to 160gr SGKs with no luck yet. Hope one of the powders I just bought is the ticket, next time out I will be trying Varget and Hunter. I really like the rifle, it feels really good and fits me perfect with it's short LOP.
 
I love my Tikka. In my opinion it is the best rifle I have ever purchased for the money. Is my Kimber Montana nicer, yes! It it almost twice as nice... No.

Game Kings and H4350 or IMR 4350 or 4064 are perfect in the 308!
 
Thanks for all the opinions everyone. You've given me some very helpful feedback. I think the Tikka Lite is still at the top of my list, but I will have to check out the Ruger American.
 
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