You are in the minority these days, but quite a big margin.

Wood and blued that is. Most people do not want that combo anymore.

Could be. Every other forum I am on related to guns people like me are the huge majority. Either way, Ruger makes the Hawkeye in blued and wood. Tikka makes the T3x in blued and wood. Bergara makes a B-14 in blued and wood. Savage makes several models in blued and wood. And I wasn't even the first one in the topic to mention the Ruger is ugly ... nor the second.

Nearly everything in the sub-$1k price range these days is ugly

I’d love to have a stainless/synthetic mini 14. Fun ranch fun for sure. I like blued and wood stock too - but more on shotguns than rifles these days

Jgraider, what are you using as a unit of measure for the butt kicking? Folks vote with their wallet and while I'm not looking for the data, my guess is, Ruger sold more American's than Tikka sold CTR and T3. Keep in mind, I'm talking about Average Joe, not guys like us. Average Joe doesn't even think of rifles 9 months of the year.

I will take wood and blued steel all day every day. Even the most plain and cheep beech stock, with a blotchy stain, I would prefer to anything synthetic. And would be a huge upgrade to any of the tupperware stocks they are putting on the base model rifles these days.

Form vs function, the wood has the advantage in both compared to those thin, hollow plastic versions. If the Ruger American was available from the factory with a plain wood stock I would definitely have one. Sorry I am average joe and don’t feel like investing as much I would in a higher quality weapon that comes in wood, to put Boyd’s or something on a Ruger American.

Sorry the American will never be a Tikka killer. People buy it because it is a decent rifle made in USA, not because how it compares to Tikka. People buy Tikka because it is the best thing going dollar for dollar.

People buy Mossberg Patriot rifles too, because priced right and made in USA. Not based on how it compares to Tikka.

Nothing in current production compares to a Tikka (edit- in the price range) But I don’t own one of those either. Sold my American long long time ago. Perfectly happy with my old inherited Remmy 700 ‘06 and my little 30-30 that has tripled in value in the past 5 years! Afraid to pull that thing out of the safe.

If I found one on clearance priced very, very competitively i might buy an American in .308. If i went shopping for a new rifle its gonna be wood and blued unless it is an Ar15. But i might not be the average, average joe.

I might also save up for something very nice. All these rifles in the sub $600 price range are aimed at people buying a first deer rifle. Tikka is the first upgrade

Actually most of the newer polymer stocks are not like the ones made in the 90s. They are usually engineered with additional support and/or materials to minimize flexing. Some have aluminum bedding and cross support molded in the for-end.

I was really liking the look of the grey splatter gun pictured, then I got to the butt stock. I understand the versatility of it, but it’s definitely not made to look beautiful. Great thing about this country, if you don’t like something, you don’t have to buy it! If they made one with a straight buttstock, I just might buy one.


It’s not like any of us really need more guns…

Street price for the Ruger is looking to be around $550. To get a comparable Tikka it would cost $1,200+. It’s just hard to justify a rifle that cost 2-3x.

Tikka’s are great rifles, I’ve owned two. But the competition is getting stronger with great options from Ruger and Bergara that are half the price. It will be interesting to see if Tikka tries to innovate or not.

It sure is a great time to buy a rifle! So many outstanding options these days.

Curious what features push the Tikka equivalent to $1200?

I just picked up a stainless T3x lite for $500 like new in box.

If you picked up a comparable Tikka that had a spiral fluted barrel that was threaded and had a muzzle brake, a pic rail, an ai mag setup, that had a ceracoat finish, it would cost upwards of $1100-$1200 easily. A plain CTR is north of $900 now.

That’s fair

For $1200, you could just about have a factory Tikka action and a Bartlein which would be like comparing a Camaro (Ruger) to a Bugatti (Tikka/Bartlein) that goes 300+ mph.

The $500 Tikka is the Corvette z06 of the gun market as it is.

But I like the Camaro. Good value. But it’s not sending the Corvette anywhere

I don’t disagree with your stance on the Tikka though. I would much rather have the tikka than the Ruger. But the tikka is considerably higher priced for the options you get. Although I do have a Ruger Predator that’s a nice setup but is not nearly the action the Tikka is.

You can pick up a Tikka Roughtech Lite on sale right now in a 308 or 6.5 for $879. With the added $75 rebate from Tikka, that puts the gun at $804 before tax. One of the better sales I’ve seen on a Tikka.

Yes.

Having owned a base American and having looked at many other brands base models, imo this isn’t accurate. The fore-end was about as stiff as a stick of butter, and is on much of the entry level competition. Some do have bedding systems, but that’s not helping the front half. A bipod would be a waste of time.

I've handled OEM production synthetic stocked rifles and there is nothing appealing about them to me. If that makes me backwards, that's okay. Now the really weirdo looking spaceman high end composite stocks? No, I have no experience so those might be super awesome.

A spot review of the Gen II...

Ruger always ends up offering a wide variety of options so I'm sure there'll be non fluted barrels and wood stocks eventually. I think a better comparison would be with Weatherby Vanguards/Howa 1500s, how will they stack up? The Weatherguard Bronze is hard to beat at its price point for features and quality. Slav Guns was saying they seem to be moving from competing with Savage Axis to Savage 110s which seems a more apt comparison too. It would be nice if Tikka started threading most or all of their barrels, sort of surprising they haven't since suppressors are standard equipment in most of Europe.

I'm actually a Ruger shareholder, so do please buy these and all other Ruger products!

For a while, I was looking for a lefty CTR in 6.5CM. They list them on the Tikka site, but seems like they are as rare as hen's teeth. I even emailed the US importer (beretta?) and got no response at all. If this one turns out to be of decent quality, and they offer a lefty config, it may get my attention.

A standard rail that isn't forged/milled on top of the receiver make these more attractive as well IMO.

I gave it a second look. I still wouldn’t call it a Tikka killer, it’s just a different market. But for sure a Savage and a Mossberg killer all day long. The Gen II American Ranch in 300 Blackout is pretty darn attractive. You can buy a cassette with weights in it for the stock, add like 1.6 pounds with a genuine ruger factory accesory. Instead of just pouring rockite in there or something else that is pretty much permanent. LOP is adjustable down to 12”. 16”-ish barrel. Nearly perfect for my needs.

Berreta and their refusal to import certain Tikkas is why i finally found a gunsmith to build what I wanted. Shooting left handed has drawbacks to be sure.

Anyone handled one of these? Definitely conflicting reports from those who have picked one up regarding action feel.

That is because the manufacturing of the bolt is fairly inconsistent for a CNC rifle, and the best example still sounds like a zipper from the factory.