Tikka vs. Savage in .30-06?

A

anw

Inactive
Hello out there,

I’ve just registered, and am a rifle noob when it comes to anything above a .22. The first two decades of my life I spent hunting, plinking, skeet shooting, and just all ‘round seeing what I could hit, but mainly shotguns, handguns, and a .22 Remington semiauto. I hunted a lot, but only birds, squirrels, & rabbits. I’ve fired higher-powered rifles, lots of folks had ‘em, but never regularly and never hunted with one. And, bear in mind, “the first two decades of my life” was ‘way more decades ago than I’d like to think about, so, while I have done a fair amount of handgun shooting over the years, it’s been decades since I’ve been in the woods with a long arm (Wow! Interesting- my computer marks “longarm” as misspelled, and when I go to dictionary.com it’s not found, nor Is “long arm”, except like a pole, extension for reaching, or “long arm of the law”. Does anyone still use this term?).

Always wanted to hunt something bigger, then three Thanksgivings ago this Nov, out of the blue, I got two separate, hands-on sessions in field dressing a deer, plus several days of shooting all sorts of rifles, and now I find myself in Colorado (from my home state of Florida) for several months, all alone, meeting new folks that include a rather large percentage of shooters here, and that did it- I’m taking the plunge, and now trying to decide which rifle to buy. Whew! What a way to make a short story long!

This will be my “beginner’s hunting rifle”; therefore, I’ve been shopping around for something relatively inexpensive, yet not so much a piece of junk that you can’t get a group in a garbage can lid. For this initial rifle, I’ve decided on .30-06, being the most versatile, universally available, and least expensive all-round caliber, and a bolt action. Amazingly, I have been very pleasantly surprised to find that these days you can get a pretty good gun, brand new, and scope for under $700. I thought for sure I’d be buying a used gun, but there's a brand new one in my immediate future. I do wish I could get something that I could swap between the scope & iron sights, though- it’s just so retro & nostalgic, ya’ know, but, apparently, not to be had in that price range.

So, I’m now down to the wire, and have been to several shops here in the CO Springs area, and, until last night, had narrowed my choices to a Tikka, Savage, or Remington. After cruising the forums and reviews, I’ve dropped the Remington. A lot of the reviews are mixed, and, while it appears that people who actually own and use ‘em are pretty happy with them, for this first rifle I’m not taking a chance.

The dilemma now is that the reviews for the Savage and Tikka are universally outstanding- haven’t seen one bad one, which makes my choice hard. I DO NOT want to start some religious battle here between the Tikkites and Savagites, but would appreciate any insight anyone has regarding some discriminator between these two rifles, particularly from anyone who owns or has extensively used both of these guns. Needless to say, I’m probably talking the bottom of the line models here, given the price, but I can’t believe the reviews on both the rifles are so universally good.

Both rifles are in the high-400s price range, but the Savage comes with a scope (forgot to note the make and model), the Tikka doesn’t. I’m too much a noob to evaluate the scope quality, other than to just plug it into Google, but at the price, it can’t be some super top-of-the-line model. I’ve dry-fired both, and like the trigger & bolt action on both, and I’m willing to dump the money into a scope for the Tikka if I decide on that one. Actually, a salesman, a really nice guy who seemed very knowledgeable, showed me both, and kind of sold me on the Tikka. They’re essentially the same price (within my rounding error), except for the included scope on the Savage.

And, here are a few specific questions:

  1. One thing I did see on a forum or review was some reference to the scope rings on the Tikka- something about they weren’t universal, or would only take certain scopes, or something like that. Ring a bell with anyone? What’s up with that?
  2. I’m left-handed. Don’t supposed there’s even a chance of a left-handed bolt action in that price range?
  3. Why don’t they make after-market magazines for these rifles (the Tikka in particular)? One complaint I’ve seen for the Tikka is the plastic magazine. That doesn’t really bother me in the least, since I saw no postings by anyone who had actually had the magazine break or wear out, but it’d be nice to get a magazine with a higher capacity, say 10 rounds, for the range, and a spare 4 or 5 shot to take into the woods. You can get after-market mags for practically all the semiauto handguns I own; why are they so rare for rifles?
  4. Any recommendations on factory ammo? High accuracy (and presumably more expensive) vs. shoot 'em up volume ammo for the range?
  5. Scope recommendations in the $150-$300 range?
OK, this has been rather long-winded, I know, but I’m fixin’ to join the club here and want to make sure I get something that doesn’t spoil the whole thing. In closing, I might also mention that I have a skeptical wife; at this point, she’s hardly a cheer leader for this new avocation, and I’m only going to get one shot at this until I actually start putting meat on the table. After the meat starts coming in, she’ll come around and be much more supportive, and that’s when I start looking at my next “upgrade”:).
 
Hi. Which brand Savage put on their package depends on the package these days. They have, however, stopped using cheap low end scopes though. They use Nikons and Weaver's now.
Savages are the same money, left or backwards. Doesn't really make a lot of difference for hunting though. Managed with backwards bolt action rifles for over 40 years myself. Very hard to beat any Savage for out of the box accuracy too.
Tikka's do use proprietary scope rings and bases. Not really an issue as they're readily available and no more expensive than anything else. Roughly $50 for the rings. Bases are extra.
Since you're new and likely are not yet reloading, you'll have to try a box of as many brands of ammo as you can to find the ammo your rifle shoots best. Price of it means nothing.
For an '06, think 165 grain bullets. A 165 will kill any game in North America you care to hunt and the '06 loves 'em.
"...Why don’t they make after-market magazines..." Not enough demand. Extra mags can usually be had from the maker anyway.
With scopes, you get what you pay for. For $150, you'll get junk. Although there are such things as 'Sales' like the one Nikon has on right now. The Nikon scope Savage puts on their 10/110 Trophy Hunter XP is currently running $149.95.
She’ll come around a lot faster if you get her shooting too. Just don't get mad when, not if, she out shoots you.
 
Tikka does com in a lefty model. I do get rid of the aluminum rings and replace with steel. All new Tikkas I've seen come with the aluminum rings in the box. Both Savage and Tikkas are good shooters.
 
One thing I did see on a forum or review was some reference to the scope rings on the Tikka- something about they weren’t universal, or would only take certain scopes, or something like that. Ring a bell with anyone? What’s up with that?
Click to expand...

Their rings are proprietary, not a big deal as so are Ruger, Leopold and some others.


I’m left-handed. Don’t supposed there’s even a chance of a left-handed bolt action in that price range?
Click to expand...

Both make left handed rifles.


Why don’t they make after-market magazines for these rifles (the Tikka in particular)? One complaint I’ve seen for the Tikka is the plastic magazine. That doesn’t really bother me in the least, since I saw no postings by anyone who had actually had the magazine break or wear out, but it’d be nice to get a magazine with a higher capacity, say 10 rounds, for the range, and a spare 4 or 5 shot to take into the woods. You can get after-market mags for practically all the semiauto handguns I own; why are they so rare for rifles?
Click to expand...

Higher capacity mags can be had for Savages that have the mag release on the mag well, not the mag. They are pricey though, very pricey. I've never seen any for the Savage that has the release on the magazine, nor any for Tikka's.


Any recommendations on factory ammo? High accuracy (and presumably more expensive) vs. shoot 'em up volume ammo for the range?
Click to expand...

You won't know which ammo is best until you try it in your rifle.


Scope recommendations in the $150-$300 range?
Click to expand...

You can get a decent scope in that price range, especially if you catch a good sale or closeout. Leupold and Vortex to name two are great hunting scope and have a great warranty in that price range.
 
Had both, much prefer Tikka, especially in a long action. Savage long actions are insanely long and difficult to mount scopes on. Your choices are limited to longer scopes or you have to use extension rings. The short actions aren't too bad. The scope that comes on the Savage is garbage anyway and not a factor in the decision.

30-06 is never a bad choice. A quality 165 gr bullet will do it all. 150's are all that is really needed for deer and a lot of guys use 180's on elk. But 165's are a good compromise that will do for either, especially if you opt for premium bullets. I'd settle on one and use it for hunting. You can pick up cheaper stuff for playing around at the range, but use better ammo for hunting.

You can replace the factory rings if you just want spend money, but with a $3 modification they are as good as anything else. The screws they use are soft and shallow. The hex wrenches will round out the inside of the screws if you're not extremely careful. A trip to a hardware store and $3 later I had 6 new hardened steel screws that worked great.

Can't help with magazines. They are overpriced, just one negative you'll have to accept. No need for more than the 4 round mags in a hunting rifle, they just get in the way. But I do prefer to have at least one spare. If the magazine can come out, it can get lost or left at home.

No scope under $200 I'd recommend. At $200 the Burris FF-II is my top choice. A Leupold VX-1 is a good choice for just a bit more. If you can afford a $300 scope a 3-9X40 Leupold VX-2 is all the scope you'll ever need. No reason to spend any more money unless you just want to.
 
Forgot to add that you can buy a used rifle. Isn't like buying a used car. Takes a lot of abuse to damage modern rifles and scopes.
Usually, you can get a higher end, scoped, rifle for about the same money as the lower end stuff, BNIB. Wait until after your local deer season though. Guy misses the shot, blames the rifle and sells it or puts it on consignment in a local shop for normally seriously lower prices.
Dealers base their used buying(unusual for a dealer to buy, but they might take something they think they can sell fast as a 'trade-in'.) prices on their wholesale price of the firearm. Scopes, etc. don't add much.
 
Well between the 2 listed (Savage and Tikka)
I'd recommend the Savage hands down. For one reason only.

I am a full time gunsmith working from my own shop, but I also do the gunsmithing for 3 gun stores in the county. In the last 3 years I have had 3 Tikka come in for the same problem. All had the bolts break. Not the bolt handle, but the bolt bodies. The handles are dovetailed into the bolt bodies and the rear of the dovetails broke out of them, leaving the bolt non-repairable.
That would be bad enough, but the real kicker is what the folks at Tikka told me on the phone when I reported the problem.

Tough luck!

They offered to sell the customers a whole new rifle at full price. No repairs were offered at all and no other service was to be granted. Not even a reduced price on the new gun.

So in other words, there was NO (I repeat NO) customer care whatsoever.

I guess they believe that the American market is not worth their effort. Buy if you like -------and don't if you like.
So I "don't like".
Savage on the other hand is great when you talk to them. They WANT to please you!
 
I'm trying to buy American made products whenever possible so, Savage. Beyond that, Savage is known for OOTB accuracy, my 110 in .270 is very accurate. By the way, I find reports of Savage being ugly to be untrue, others may disagree.
 
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