Observation about factory rifles

As a true conservative, facts and figures have always meant more in any circumstance than rhetoric...

So I went to my local gander mountain for their bankruptcy sale. 20% off all firearms. Of all the brands of bolt action rifles they careried; Remington, Winchester, savage and river American amongst others. All sorts of ranges of all brands. Guess which brand of bolt rifles was completely sold out? That's right, No Tikkas to be seen.
I won't say it's the best of whatever, but people speak louder with their wallets than their mouths.

I've been there a few times while visiting family in area.
There were never more than two Tikkas in the store at any time I was there.
There were lots of other brands though.

That doesn't mean anything other than they were not there when I was.

How is that lack of any kind of facts suppose to prove anything? All it says to me is you support your own agendas.

I BEEN SAYIN IT!

Essentially, the Tikka supporters will approve of this sort of "science," and the rest will not.

That place sucks

Supply is lower with Tikka.

I have a hard time find Tikka's anywhere. They are constantly sold out.

The last 2 I bought were on Gunbroker from out of state.

Tikkas are dependable and they shoot lights out, what more could anyone ask for?

The only thing missing from a good Tikka rifle is a FFP scope!

Yes, Tikka's shoot very well. But Tikka is transitioning from the older T3 to the newer T3X models. Gander wouldn't be buying any of the newer T3X models since they are closing, so they would only have the older T3's available. Every gun distributor I buy from marked the T3's down to FFL's, so FFL's would be selling them for less than normal prices already. I don't think that the conclusion based on retail availability at a closing Gander Mtn would mean the Tikka's are the best factory rifles.

But, yes, if I am buying a factory rifle, I'm buying a Tikka! I bought my son a compact Tikka in 308 Win, and it's a hammer. I have shot it out to 700 yards with great results.

Interestingly enough I've never hunted with anybody or had anybody come out to hunt that shot a Tikka so I could just as easily say they're not well liked by the masses. When something is not in stock you can look at it two ways, they sold out or they didn't sell enough to warrant keeping in inventory.

Tikkas are priced affordably with good value so they sell


I personally think they have a cheap feel so I would never buy one.


They don't sell because they are awesome, they sell based on features that you can get at a price point

I was all set to buy one, was going to order off gun broker and wanted to handle one before I ordered. Went to a gun shop and from the second I picked it up I just felt like I was holding a plastic pos excuse for a gun. It felt and looked cheaply made and I just like a gun with some heft to it. Yes I'm positive they make a quality gun, but I just couldn't live with the feel/finish.

I bought a savage model 14 classic wood stock with dark stock cap, stainless barrel, and detachable magazine for a little less. Pretty gun, solid feel and the screw holes for the scope base aren't aligned straight

Should have followed my real gut and bought a vanguard.

Weatherby makes a rifle called a mark V you may want to check out...

Weakley Watson in Early had a bunch last time I was in there. They ran a special last fall on the T3 stainless in .223 for $499

The wood/blue ones are better. But I agree that the Weatherby Vanguards have a better "feel". Certainly the higher end Weatherbys and Sakos do without doubt.

The GM expansion wasn't met with open arms buy all the brands they sell, so orders where scaled back by the mfg's. Toss in that and tikka is an importer that seldom does a lot of rebating, I bet GM got very limited stock to begin with

Sometimes it is hard to describe the difference between two rifles when one feels so much better than another. I looked at a new 77 Mk.II in .25-06 one day years ago, and it was fine---I could find nothing to dislike. But when the man handed me a Model 70 Classic in .25-06, there was an instant perception of quality in that rifle that the Ruger lacked. I couldn't begin to explain it. All subjective, of course.

Ruger lost quality when they went to the Hawkeye line and discontinued the Mk. II

Not a ton, but a noticeable difference

May seem silly, but for rifles it's all about the "feel" for me. I like solid, tight lock up, balanced.
Stock fits rifle to my eye when I raise the rifle. That sort of thing. As you say, can't describe it but I know it when I see it. Or "feel" it. For me at least.

That said, I have a cheapo Savage Axis for a truck gun in .308 that "feels" like doodoo but shoots lights out.

I've been shooting Tikkas for almost 20 years now, starting with the 695's up through the T3's. If I were betting the farm on a factory rifle that will shoot bugholes, with factory ammo, no mods whatsoever, just take it out of the box, mount scope, shoot, I'm betting on a Tikka. You may get lucky with a random sample of other brands that occasionally do it, but that is the norm for Tikkas. I can, however, understand how someone would not like the ergonomics.

Nogalus, I know that feeling too...

My rifles in order of purchase: howa 30-06 (solid rifle, like the Hogue stock for grippiness, never shot perfect and I think I jumped the trigger a few times but just didn't give me the laser beam shooting I was looking for)

savage axis xp .243 (kids rifle bought ofr the kids and shoots great out to 100-150 yards, have shot it at 200 but don't like to push it that far. Will print MOA shots all day long at the 100 yard mark and I know it is a consistent hitter. Timney trigger made a big difference to feel but not accuracy, but still has the feel of a plastic stock)

Cooper model 52 25-06 (instant feel of greatness when I cheeked that rifle, good form and fit, just felt like it was made for my body. Shoots sub moa all day long and have had some groups at 1/3 MOA with factory ammo...love that rifle)

True, I looked for about 6 months before I bought my last rifle. Each trip to Gander in Arlington, they usually only had 3-4 on the shelves

Actually the truth is that Beretta along with a few other companies cut them off in mid 2016 so they had not been getting any Tikka rifles since then. The same with the Weatherby who I work for.
Just look up the list of how much they owe each company and you will see who the smart companies were that jumped of that boat before it sunk.
There are a few companies that are going to struggle to survive because of their willingness to ship Gander when the writing was on the wall and now are owed a million or more dollars.

Haha, I was just being a troll about the comments. The only true statement was what was still available. There are multiple explanations. I have been to that store in like 1.5 years and much has changed. For one, Gander Mountain wasn't bankrupt.

I have a savage, 700 and tikka rifles with the most money in the savage. They all have positives and negatives.

Haha, I was just being a troll about the comments. The only true statement was what was still available. There are multiple explanations. I have been to that store in like 1.5 years and much has changed. For one, Gander Mountain wasn't bankrupt.

I have a savage, 700 and tikka rifles with the most money in the savage. They all have positives and negatives.

I second the opinion about the Mark 5....The vangaurd screams attention Walmart Shoppers!

I would own a vanguard deluxe and will probably buy my wife the Camilla. Still, the vanguard deluxe is almost a $1k rifle and the Camilla is around $800....so you expect to get a little bit nicer rifle.

the S2's and all the low end synthetic models in that line are the ones I don't like.

My buddy picked up one on a trade, stainless synthetic S2. we shot it a few times one day before he sold it. Decent rifle, seemed ok in quality but its not anywhere close to my Accumark. Would have made a decent knockaround elk gun or loaner rifle, but not something I would buy personally

Well I guess I are a Walmart shopper!!!! Does that make me less of a person? or just make you look like an idiot? LOL

This is a Vanguard sporter delux, very pretty gun to me, I paid 6-700 for it. I wasn't sure at the time about going with the vanguard over quality issues instead of the Mark V, I feel like all I missed out on are bragging rights. Its a great looking gun I have received several compliments on it and it shoots fantastic.

That's a nice hawg.

Chevy if you take 50 guys that own vanguards maybe a handful will own the deluxe models. I get what the op was saying

Most guys don't even know they make a deluxe model vanguard they assume all the fancy looking ones are mark V's

Thanks Nog, is the first animal we killed on our place after we bought it. I took a mid afternoon break from clearing brush and plopped down in a lawn chair in the middle of big patch of pear overlooking a natural depression holding water. 5 minutes later he met a 200 grain partition from the 300 wby pictured. For 8 years he was the biggest one we shot and weighted 225 lbs. My dad shot one 20 or so pounds heavier about 20 yards from the same spot. The area we are in the picture is now a tank.

Or the price is so much higher on a Tikka, they don't turn as fast as some of the other factory rifles. Most merchants want items that sell quickly. Nothing wrong with the rifle.

Pretty good shot placement too

Yes, and I will concede that a .300 Wby. Mag was adequate firepower.

a .300 blackout would have worked better....

Tikkas are crappy looking guns. I did kill all of my deer last year with one and a bunch of coyotes and hogs. I bought a T3 light in 22-250. It's shot anything I've loaded for it under 1/2" at a100yds. It loves the 45grn. TSX @ 4000 FPS. There is no denying that they are the best shooting off the rack rifle available. The one I have is a true one hole gun @ 100yds. I won't ever trade it because it shoots better than any of the custom rifles have. But it's still ugly. I haven't missed an animal with it yet under 300yds.

Mmmm...interesting.

So, what's your take on ugly women??

It depends on how late it is. I'm with Micky Gilley on that one. Tikkas are a lot like ugly women. They can be great but won't impress your friends, unless they've tried them out.

Very well played.

Kinda like riding a moped....

I think Tikka's are excellent rifles. I also don't care for DBM's and small ejection ports. I know the new model Tikka's have larger ports but they still aren't as large as a Remington 700, Winchester M70 or Vanguard. So unless I'm buying a M70 I'll stick with a Vanguard.

The two T-3 actions I have are built into a 7mm-08 and a 6.5 Creedmoor. So because all Tikkas are long action they have zero trouble ejecting those two spent pieces of brass. Talking to friends, they've not had trouble, that I'm aware of, ejecting long action cartridges. Having come from weak, or absent ejecting Savage actions, the very strong ejection of the Tikka actions is one of my favor things about them.

Couple that with a great factory trigger, and a 70° bolt throw, and I've come to really enjoy shooting them. I'm somewhat hard wired to that 70°, now. So much that when I break out my one Rem 700 action, I always think "daggum I've gotta lift this bolt handle a long ways.