Savage 111 or Tikka T3

[Clever]

TRG is made by Sako. Excellent quality and very accurate rig.

Tikka is the cheaper versions of rifles made by the same parent company. As I understand they have use the same bolts, actions, and barrels.
Berretta imports them into the US.

There is a lot of people who like shooting Tikkas and there are lots of replacement parts and items that can be bought and installed or replaced on Tikka rifles. There are even web forums dedicated to people who shoot Tikka rifles. TikkaShooters.com is one that I know of off the top of my head.

I have a hunting rifle in each (Tikka and Sako) and think that they are excellent choices for out of the box accuracy and the fit and finish is top notch.

+1 for a Great choice..

 

[Clever]

I am interested in one of these rifles and have read a lot on the savage 111(not the cheaper hunter xp which comes with a scope) and have heard some on the tikka t3. Both will be synthetic. I DO NOT have lots of money so this is basically it and I cannot afford to pay for anything to add to them so whatever I get will be hunted with in it's stock form. I was heavily leaning towards the savage...comes with the accutrigger and Savages seem to have out of the box great accuracy as well but what scares me is it also comes with the Accustock which seems to get mixed reports. The newer accustocks do not have the wedge thing that was causing some accuracy issues in the original accustock. Some say the newer accustock is a great improvement over their flimsy other stocks...others say its simply the old flimsy stock with some flimsy aluminum bedding. I know that either way it wont be as good as a custom stock but are these newer(post 2011) accustocks that bad or are they decent? I am simply looking for a decent hunting rifle that shoots decent groups. I know I probably cant go wrong with either but again...I read some horror stories and it worries me.
The savage 111 I have on hold is 650$ while the tikka is 750$. This is New york so prices are basically set in stone and it's very hard to find anyone to do an FFL transfer so ordering a gun online is out of the question.
I have looked at other rifles such as a remington 700SPS but I wasnt to thrilled with them.

Tikka Shooters | Tikka T3 Tactical - Sniper Central
Tikka Shooters | Tikka T3 - By Dave Anderson

 

[cohunter14]

Just to play devil's advocate for a second, I know you also mentioned the Remington SPS. With the price point of these rifles you could buy one along with a Bell & Carlson stock and you would have one great setup. Sell the original stock for a few buck and buy a timney trigger, and you still might be out the door for about the same price as a factory Tikka. Just an idea...

 

[ChrisAtl]

I don't think the OP really wanted to buy a rifle and then start taking it apart and swap parts (stock and trigger). He mentioned that he wanted to hunt with it in stock configuration.
Even if swapping the stock and trigger are relatively easy tasks for most hard core shooters it doesn't mean everyone wants to tackle such a project.
How much cash do you think you can get for a new take off factory stock? I would assume not very much??

 

[cohunter14]

Replacing the stock is easier than mounting a scope, so I didn't think it was much of an issue. No need to replace the trigger, but it doesn't hurt and isn't very difficult. You can sell those original stocks for $50 or so from what I have seen. Not a lot, but get's you on your way to a Timney if you want to, or makes the B&C that much cheaper.

BTW, replacing the Tikka stock and bedding the Savage stock has been mentioned as well in this thread, so I don't think I am that far off. Replacing the stock is a lot easier than bedding it.

 

[Flare]

I would get the Savage if it were me. I have had a Tikka T3 lite in Stainless. I had it less than a year. Every time I took it off my shoulder I found that the safety had be flipped off, not good on a loaded rifle. Accuracy was good at first and then it went away. I bought a Savage (used) 111 in 7 mag to use a donor rifle and shot it first. It has been an awesome shooter. Shot better than the Tikka both with handloads.

As was mentioned before the Tikka kicks hard (mine was a 30-06). I also had to replace the factory rings because they broke, in less than a year. Not had that problem with my Savage with light weight rings on it. Every one calls Savage cheap rifles but you know what, I'm on my third one and every one of them shot really well. Better than Winchesters, ,Remingtons, and Tikkas that I have had.


Corey

 

[Clever]

I would get the Savage if it were me. I have had a Tikka T3 lite in Stainless. I had it less than a year. Every time I took it off my shoulder I found that the safety had be flipped off, not good on a loaded rifle. Accuracy was good at first and then it went away. I bought a Savage (used) 111 in 7 mag to use a donor rifle and shot it first. It has been an awesome shooter. Shot better than the Tikka both with handloads.

As was mentioned before the Tikka kicks hard (mine was a 30-06). I also had to replace the factory rings because they broke, in less than a year. Not had that problem with my Savage with light weight rings on it. Every one calls Savage cheap rifles but you know what, I'm on my third one and every one of them shot really well. Better than Winchesters, ,Remingtons, and Tikkas that I have had.


Corey

You are entitled to have your own opinion, I disagree. Savage cannot keep up with a Win model 70, Remington 700 and more importantly a Tikka..I have heavy trigger time behind all these. The post was about a well made stock rifle. We have a Savage and it holds its own but it is not quality. Lets face it.. Shooting it has more to do with the person behind the trigger than the rifle. In hindsight the Tikka will shoot lights out with a newbie behind it, specially the Tactical models compared to the Savage tactical. Since you had one (Tikka) did you even realize how smooth it cycles? how smooth the trigger break (adjusted to 3.5LBS), the truly high grade vaulted action and bolt. These are made by Sako the same people that manufacture the TRG models, which are considered the best Rifles in the world. Picked over custom builds and are as if not more accurate.. Your 30-06 was a great rifle which for some reason you decided to sale it and go with a Savage. More power to you it's personal preference I would imagine.. Just as a side note: The stock on the Tikka has an aluminum block sitting under the recoil lug, When torqued to proper inch pounds it will out shoot a Savage lights out.

 

[LightfootE]

another interesting thing I've found with my tikkas is that they will shoot anything. I have not created a load that would not shoot under and inch when I do my part. I just pick the bullet I want to shoot, load with a caliber appropriate powder, close to a max load and shoot. Never had to tinker to get the accuracy I was after.

All three I have loaded a handful of diff bullets and they all shot well. Mean while my buddies with newer winchesters, savages, and 700s all struggled to shoot tight groups.

Now I load both VLDs and Barnes TTSX for each rifle with the same powder/grains and they have nearly identical poi @ 100yrds, steating depth is the only difference.

 

[Flare]

You said it everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Corey

 

[Clever]

You said it everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Corey

Never saw things any other way..
Good Luck

 

[Varberger757]

I have to confess that I've got no experience with Savage guns. They are not popular in Europe, but the Tikkas' are and especially in Scandinavia. That by reason. Very good performance out of the box, reliable, great value for the money and good to tune if somebody wants to. The Tikka Lite can have strong recoil if the calibre passes 308 W due to its weight. However, muzzle brakes, suppressors could easily tame the unnecessary recoil. No problem. If I were you, I would go with the varmint model. Later on, you might add a decent Mc Millan stock f. ex. and a match barrel from Krieger. That gun will outperform a lot others so called semi customs.

 

[Clever]

I have to confess that I've got no experience with Savage guns. They are not popular in Europe, but the Tikkas' are and especially in Scandinavia. That by reason. Very good performance out of the box, reliable, great value for the money and good to tune if somebody wants to. The Tikka Lite can have strong recoil if the calibre passes 308 W due to its weight. However, muzzle brakes, suppressors could easily tame the unnecessary recoil. No problem. If I were you, I would go with the varmint model. Later on, you might add a decent Mc Millan stock f. ex. and a match barrel from Krieger. That gun will outperform a lot others so called semi customs.

+1 for a Great choice

 

[FEENIX]

You said it everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

Corey

BTW, according to this thread http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f17/sub-1000-gun-not-custom-120459/index7.html (#45), the OP already purchased a Remington Mountain SS in .30-06 on 7 Sep (at the the post date) to add to his Browning .300 WSM, unless he's looking for another.

 

[Tikkamike]

I didnt read all the replies and obviously you know which way I am going to sway if you read my name. But here is my experience. I have owned more savages than I have Tikkas. I currently own 0 Savages and several Tikkas. I have seen 1 savage that shot lights out and that was a 116 Weather Warrior in 300 win. the rest have been less than impressive including a 110FCP-HS in 338 LM which is supposed to be the be all end all. Not saying they were all horrible but some were. and not all of them were accustock models but some were. Overall I think they are a pretty decent rifle for the money. the accutrigger isnt bad either.

The Tikka I have never had one that didnt shoot fantastically, granted I have spent a lot more time than I would have liked in load development on a couple of them. the trigger can be set under 2 lbs safely and they are 0 creep and very crisp. The Polymer stock is pretty rigid and is about as good of a plastic stock as you can find. That being said I prefer Tikka

HOWEVER Tikka has its short comings! Magazine length! if you want a 300 win or a 7mm etc the magazine is no longer than the absolute minimum so the longer cartridges require seating the bullets to saami spec. now if you want a short action caliber like the 243 or the WSM's or even the 30-06 based cartridges (which are long action) you are in luck because Tikka only makes one action length. and you can modify your bolt stop and your magazine by taking the spacer out and you have an extra long magazine if you so desire. The other down fall is tikka and sako like the slower twist rates for some reason, so sometimes the heavier bullets arent an option. I dont know what Savage offers in every caliber but I do remember I have a savage 11 in 243 and the twist was like a 9.25 or something and I would have preferred faster but the rifle didnt shoot worth a crap so it didnt end up mattering much.