Tikka Products or Marketing is missing me…and maybe you?

nksmfamjp

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2004
Messages
3,200
I like what Tikka is…IMHO, they are a relatively precision machined action, smooth 3 lug bolt throw, pretty good barrel, generally accurate enough to meet most hunter's requirements and fairly tunable to be a semi custom rifle with a stock, barrel, etc.

They are marketing essentially to the bubba that will spend a bit more than a Savage or Ruger American, but they are ignoring all of the people spending $1500 plus. They are ignoring all of the people buying new Tikkas to build off of that would be thrilled with a rifle built to take that accuracy guarantee from 3 shots to 10 shots. They have the following, but are losing out to Browning, Bergara, Christianson, etc.

They need a couple of premium models. I'm not looking to spend $5000, but I can see $1500-$2500 pricing. Since they are close for $700-$1000 rifles, I think they can do it.

Model 1: comes with med budget M70 shaped stock(like B&C ) with a decent quality tuner brake, metal or BDL type mag, and a trigger that adjusts 1.5-3lbs as well as creep and overtravel.

Model 2: Brand name barrel, brand name McMillan or Greyboe stock (bedded or aluminum block bedding), 3.7" long action mag length and trigger as listed above.

Both should come in lightweight steel, med weight steel, med weight carbon, heavy steel, suppressor, hunting and long lengths

Some caliber thoughts….6mm Creedmoor, 6.5 Creedmor, 270 Winchester 8 twist(throated for 150-170), 280 AI 8 T, 7 Rem Mag 8t (throated for 160-175), 7 PRC, 300 PRC, 338 Federal, 9.3x62
 
Tikka is sakos equivalent to the ruger American to the Hawkeye. They went hey we need a budget rifle because we're competing in the mid-tier space, optimized it for accuracy and modern machine types and voila you got the Tikka. Was such a good idea everybody else did the same thing after about 5 or 6 years and now we have a bunch of modern optimized budget bolt rifles.

In the American way we decide to start putting barrels custom stocks and better Triggers on the budget rifle. A lot of times it doesn't make any sense but it's an American cultural phenomenon, billions of dollars of car culture tells us we like to put turbo charges and high-end rims on Honda Civics. But I digress.

Upscaling a mid tier trim of a budget rifle owned by a company that sells mid tier rifles under another brand makes little sense for the parent company.

Far easier to let the aftermarket do its thing so you don't have to have a pile of models trying to facilitate every little Nuance that the mid-tier market would want.
 
Just add an aftermarket barrel and the stock of your choice and you have what your looking for and the way you want it for the money your talking. I've done it with many tikkas
 
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