Tikka T-3, Remington 700, or a savage in a 300 win.?

[baranx4]

I am looking at purchasing a 300 win in one of the three listed brands. I've done searches on this site and am still having difficulty deciding on which one. The gun would probably remain stock and be used for deer, elk, etc on backpack trips.

I already inherited from my father in law two custom rifles in a 25-06 and a 338 win. So I'm more interested in a rifle that shoots well out of the box or with little low cost mods. I was trying to keep the costs down with the most I was interested in spending was the cost of the savage long range hunter 11/111. To be honest I am not very familiar with savages and don't own any but have read a fair amount here about them.

I can also get my hands on a 74 win 70 in a 300 win that was mildly customized. My father in law had purchased it new and has seen little use over the years. Whats interesting about that one is that it's stamped 300 wsm, but I believe it is just a win mag that my father in law had customized. The gunsmith that did all of his work died in the 90's. Plus I never found any wsm bullets. I guess the easiet was to find out would be to put a win mag bullet in it and see if the bolt closes.

Sorry for such a long first post

 

[WildRose]

I am looking at purchasing a 300 win in one of the three listed brands. I've done searches on this site and am still having difficulty deciding on which one. The gun would probably remain stock and be used for deer, elk, etc on backpack trips.

I already inherited from my father in law two custom rifles in a 25-06 and a 338 win. So I'm more interested in a rifle that shoots well out of the box or with little low cost mods. I was trying to keep the costs down with the most I was interested in spending was the cost of the savage long range hunter 11/111. To be honest I am not very familiar with savages and don't own any but have read a fair amount here about them.

I can also get my hands on a 74 win 70 in a 300 win that was mildly customized. My father in law had purchased it new and has seen little use over the years. Whats interesting about that one is that it's stamped 300 wsm, but I believe it is just a win mag that my father in law had customized. The gunsmith that did all of his work died in the 90's. Plus I never found any wsm bullets. I guess the easiet was to find out would be to put a win mag bullet in it and see if the bolt closes.

Sorry for such a long first post

If it were me I'd start with the FITL's model 70 and see how it shoots.

If you can't get to 1.5-1 MOA with it, look at the remington's as they are the one that most smith's know well and for which there are literally a plethora of aftermarket parts, stocks etc at reasonable prices.

Now if you plan on a dedicated LR rig, then your focus needs to be on sub MOA accuracy as that's what you'll need to be really effective beyond 600yds in delivering clean one shot kills.

 

[backwoods83]

You may want to give the Savage model 12 vlp dbm in 300wsm, based on the varmint series the model 12s are typically unbelievably accurate. As for the 74 model 70 that you have be carefull, some of the older gunsmiths called the 30x338win mag a 300 wsm because at that time it was one of the shortest magnums with a case length at 2.5" (same as 7mm rem mag, 264win mag, and 458win mag) the 6.5 and 350 rem mags were the only other common magnums shorter. If you want a rifle that should not need much work ever id stick with the savages and tikkas, on a good note though if you buy a remington and end up with a $hity one, there are millions of parts out there as wildrose mentioned, its like having a small block chevy engine, everyone has parts for them and every smith can work on em.

 

[steelshooter]

I am dissapointed with remingtons, I have had a couple of bad ones and I wont buy another one. Tikkas get the thumbs up from me, I'd get a laminated stock version though as I am very happy with both of mine. In my opinion they are the best value for money although I haven't owned a Savage yet and would definitely like to try one on a custom build.

 

[jpfrog]

Can I ask why, with your other already owned options (such as the .338), do you want to purchase a new rifle in a similar caliber? I am just curious- if the others are custom and somewhat heavy, and you say you're looking for a backpacking rig, that makes sense. But if the others shoot good and are light enough for the job, I'd just focus on load development for those and spend the rifle money on practice and better backpacking gear.

That said, I'm also willing to accept the "I just want a new rifle to play with answer" any day of the week!

If lightweight is your answer, you may want to check out the new Savage Lightweight Hunter. I saw a review of it on "The Gun Nuts" the other night...lootks to be a pretty good option at anywhere between 5.5-6 pounds without a scope. They don't have a 300WM, but you could get a new pencil barrel and bolt head and fix that easily enough.

I don't have a LWH, but I've shot my Savage 111 in .270 for 5 seasons now and never missed my targeted game, although I've never pushed it past 215 yards or so. At the 100 yard range, it'll do sub MOA all day long, and it's completely factory. Maybe I got lucky, but they have a pretty good reputation for out of the box accuracy.

If you do decide to build, I'd start with a 700ADL and strip it to the action...you can get a whole ADL for about $375 and sell everything but the action for about $100, and use that to get more parts to build up from. I did this just this year and build a .300WM for long range hunting where weight wasn't an issue...very fun project!

Good luck, and sorry for the book...even more sorry if it doesn't help you at all.

 

[bigry26]

I have all 3 and I like my tikka the best for out of the box performance. But if you want to modify it later use the rem or savage as there is a lot more parts available for them

 

[WildRose]

You may want to give the Savage model 12 vlp dbm in 300wsm, based on the varmint series the model 12s are typically unbelievably accurate. As for the 74 model 70 that you have be carefull, some of the older gunsmiths called the 30x338win mag a 300 wsm because at that time it was one of the shortest magnums with a case length at 2.5" (same as 7mm rem mag, 264win mag, and 458win mag) the 6.5 and 350 rem mags were the only other common magnums shorter. If you want a rifle that should not need much work ever id stick with the savages and tikkas, on a good note though if you buy a remington and end up with a $hity one, there are millions of parts out there as wildrose mentioned, its like having a small block chevy engine, everyone has parts for them and every smith can work on em.

I'm predisposed to go to Remingtons even though I/'ve had a couple that were junk.

Throughout the majority of my young life Savages were pretty much junk with over half the people I know who'd bought one being very unhappy with them.

That company has changed hands I don't know how many times and through all of that changing the problems just got worse.

The last decade or so though the company has been very stable and producing some really great rifles.

If I had bought my first rifle a decade ago and two or three since and they were all savages I'd probably be a rabid savage fan.

The truth is though I love the Model 70 winchester actions and I just don't feel right unless I own at least one or two of them.

Winchester for whatever reason though doesn't seem predisposed to trying to appeal to the LR or LRH folks and they keep sticking to their tried and true light sporter rigs.

If I were in charge of Winchester's marketing and development departments I'd go very hard at competing with the senderos by producing one just a little lighter with just a slightly lighter contour with 26"bbls finishing out at around .750", and in nice stocks similar to the standard sendero stock but a pound or so lighter.

/side track.

 

[Long Time Long Ranger]

Tikka T-3 Light. The Tikka T-3 light is the lightest, handiest rifle on the market at an affordable price. There is nothing that can compare with it in that price range. Nothing but a custom rifle will shoot with it on average. The action is far superior to the savage and better than the remington. Sako actions are the best actions out there over the counter in that price range. If you are hunting for a hunting rifle this is a no brainer.

 

[Magnumitis]

To be honest I am not very familiar with savages and don't own any but have read a fair amount here about them.

Go with Savage. You will not be disappointed.

 

[baranx4]

Can I ask why, with your other already owned options (such as the .338), do you want to purchase a new rifle in a similar caliber? I am just curious- if the others are custom and somewhat heavy, and you say you're looking for a backpacking rig, that makes sense. But if the others shoot good and are light enough for the job, I'd just focus on load development for those and spend the rifle money on practice and better backpacking gear.

That said, I'm also willing to accept the "I just want a new rifle to play with answer" any day of the week!

I've been looking to do a few backpack hunts in the future and want a gun that I don't feel terrible about getting it wet or bumped around. Both the 338 and 25-06 have hand carved stocks where my father in law picked out the block of wood. This is why I like the idea of a composite stock.Last year I purchased a 22-250 remington with a composite and it does well in bad weather

 

[USMCSSGT]

I have the Tikka T3 lite in 300 WSM. Two of my sight in groups were 3/4" and 1" at 200 yds with Winchester supreme 180 bonded bullets. We hiked in 10 miles on a hunt with all our gear. My buddies were VERY envious of the light weight of my rifle.

If I was to do it again, I would choose the same rifle in 300 WM, so I could use heavier bullets.

 

[baranx4]

Thanks,

Unless my view changes I am going with the Tikka, just need to wait till one goes on sale.

 

[WildRose]

Thanks,

Unless my view changes I am going with the Tikka, just need to wait till one goes on sale.

There will be lots of sales between Jan 1 and Tax Day. Retailers hate getting stuck with inventory tax.

 

[Tikkamike]

I vote tikka, the only down fall In a tikka are the slow twist rates, other than that they are pretty unbeatable