Remington 700 vs Tikka lite

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Brettdag

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Hi I have been looking into a new hunting rifle. I hunt mule deer in southern Oregon where it is pretty open and I hunt elk in western Oregon where there are lots of hills and thick timber. I have decided on a 7mm mag. I have narrowed down my two options to a Remington 700 SPS Stainless or a Tikka T3 Lite Stainless. What are your opinions on the two?
 
well it depends on the actions? which one do you like better? the Tikka has a better action. also, it has a cool recoil pin on the top to help with reducing any movement and stress on a picatinny rail or scope mount. that's a nice feature, especially with magnum cartridges.
R700 is great, weighs a tad more, accuracy is hit or miss, depends on what day of the week it was assembled. also, is there a major price difference?
 
Both are fine rifles, but I prefer the Tikka these days. The action is very smooth, the stock trigger is great, and out-of-the -box accuracy is great. I have a T3 Lite Stainless in 260 and have pretty much quit hunting with any of my other rifles. And...I like the synthetic stock (some don't).

This past Saturday I was working up a load for the 120 gr Nosler BT and Reloader 17. I knew I had found my load when I put 5 rounds into one hole. And it gets better. On Sunday I shot one round of my favorite 100 gr Nosler BT load and one round of the 120 gr load and they shared the same hole.
 
I would take the Tikka over the Remington - in fact, I did! - as you're not always sure of the quality you will get with Remington. My Tikkas are my go-to rifles.
 
The Tikka's with synthetic stocks are pretty light. I held one. The 7 Rem Mag has stout recoil. I own a 7mm Rem Mag in a 700 adl. I would have preferred a Tikka but the Remington was cheaper, I was already over budget on my firearms purchases for the year lol. If you can swing the price of a Tikka get it, they are nice rifles. Although, the Remington won't do you wrong, they are proven accurate rifles as well.
 
Tikka has a better, adjustable trigger. Will probably group a tiny bit better than the 700 from a bench.

It will kick harder than the the 700. My .308 Tikka kicks like my rem 700LSS in 7mm mag.
 
Both have a problem with the bolt handles coming off now and then, but on the Remington the handle can be re-soldered on and all is good.

With the Tikka the handle comes off fine, but the bolt body itself breaks at the dovetail and Tikka will not stand behind it at all.
Not replacement part. No service. No new rifle.
NOTHING!

Now the Tikka does have a far better trigger than the Remington and also a better extractor and as a rule can be a bit more accurate.

So my chose would be. (A drum roll please.................)

Winchester
Ruger
CZ
Merkel
Savage
Howa
or Weatherby
 
Those would be two of the last manufacturers I would look at these days. Tikka has the worst service in the firearms industry, and Remington has a hard time making a rifle they don't have to recall. It's up to you, but I would most definitely look at alternatives.

If you've got a hard price limit, I'd look at a M77 hawkeye. If your budget is flexible, I'd add Winchester model 70, montana rifle company, and Kimber to the list of possibles, although Kimber doesn't make that many 7mm mags.
 
An SPS($629.99 at Cabela's) is an entry level hunting rifle. The Tikka T3(starts at $899 at Cabela's) is a bit higher end. Otherwise, it's which one you like best. Commercial hunting rifles are pretty much all the same.
 
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I'm a Remington lover, but I have to agree with what a lot of you are saying about Remington Production guns the last 5 years. If your gonna keep the gun stock out of the box tikka, if you plan on putting some money in either one I would still go Remington they are easier to customize and get work done on. But my T3 lite 223 is a nail driver out of the box.
 
Tikka all the way for me IF I had to pick from those two. May I ask why other contenders have been weeded out? For me it would be between Savage and Weatherby, not Tikka (overpriced for what you get) and Remington (as someone has said, it depends what day of the week it was slapped together if its a new one...and there was that whole trigger fiasco - honestly I just don't know what they're doing). Savage 111 or Weatherby Vanguard...both psycho accuracte out of the box with no work required, both independent companies, these two guns are in my opinion and experience the best you can get for your money's worth.
 
Iv,e got a SPS in 7mm rem mag and I,ve done nothing to it, but shoot and clean it.
It must have been built on the right day,because i,m very pleased with it.:)

Iv,e looked at Tikkas before,I like the feel of them,but always put them back after looking at the price tag.
 
I don't know if my opinion matters since I really do not own a Remington 700 series to compare, but I do own a Tikka T3 lite in stainless that I bought in 30-06 a few years ago. I must say that the action on my Tikka is verrrrrry nice and it is so easy to adjust the trigger as well. Needless to say it is better than MOA out of the box using cheap Remington cor-lokt 150 gr bullets. But what was more amazing to me was lugging it around during deer season all day was nothing and the recoil was extremely tame for such a light rifle. Good luck in choosing your rifle.

I am thinking of buying my first 700 series Remington in 30-06 the long range model with a 26 inch barrel. I love 30-06, bullets are so cheap.
 
I'd find an SPS or an ADL on sale - wait for a deal.
Also check out the BDL to see how that stock feels to you; you might want to pay more for the BDL.
 
Feel and fondle, and give consideration to which one feels best; which fits your own body dimensions as you mount it to your shoulder. Makes a big difference when shooting off-hand or from a hasty-rest position in the field.
 
I have a M700 ADL in 7 mag. bought at walmart in 92. This one has composite stock. I replaced the trigger with a Timney in the first couple of years. I love this gun, and have killed about 20 deer with it, all hunting in stands. I have neglected to weigh it, but it's heavy. It shoots sub 3/4" 100yd groups.

Last summer I got an itch for a 26-06, and looked at Winchester, ruger, remmington, and Tikka. Kept coming back to the T3 lite, stainless. Finally went into a lgs, and he had one on the shelf, so I bought it. Put a zeiss terra 10 x 42 scope. Picked up a couple of boxes of American whitetail ammo, and went to the range. Couldn't shoot much cause I don't like getting the gun hot. didn't like the accuracy much. Got some brass and loaded 30rounds as a ladder setup with the nosler 115gr. ballistic tip. At about a 40 total round count, the groups tightened up. Didn't matter at what load, but got real tight at the highest loads (sorry I will have to check notes, I cant remember what powder and weight), with holes touching each other. Even went back to the American whitetail and grouped under an inch.

If I was going mule deer hunting, and maybe elk, I would take the Tikka if it will shoot a partition near as well as the ballistic tip, as it weighs 6lbs 1.5oz. unloaded. I need to weigh the M700, but it feels like 9+ lbs.
Sorry for the long post, but I recommend the T3 lite. As for recoil at the range, just wear a recoil pad, you wont notice recoil with an animal in the crosshairs. I use a PAST magnum recoil pad at the range.
 
Ok thanks everyone for all the help! Also I did look at other rifles and was strongly considering the Winchester model 70 extreme weather SS but I've heard some people talk about the quality issues that Winchester is having. The price of the extreme weather SS is roughly $1,200, while a Tikka super lite is $699 and they both come with stainless fluted barrels. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the Winchester is a great rifle but I'm not sure what the extra $500 is getting me. The Kimbers are awesome rifles but a little bit too pricey for me. Also I like the accuracy guarantee on the Tikka's. I'm starting to lean towards one of them.
 
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