Tikka-1, Remington-0

[lizziedog1]

Yesterday was a near windless day, a rare thing lately. So I decided to go to the range.

I arrived there at the same time as this other gentleman. We both set up targets at one hundred yards. We also both had bolt action rifles chambered in 243 Winchester. Mine was a Tikka and his a Remington.

After a few rounds of shooting we both walk down-range to check our targets. My groups are hovering around two-thirds of an inch, his groups are between three and four inches.

His groups would have been fine for an old battle rifle with iron sights, but a new, scoped rifle...no.

He asked me what brand rifle I had and I told him. He said he has had his Remington for nearly a year and has tried different combinations of components and can't get it to group. I don't know how experienced he is, but from talking to him he seemed not to be a rookie.

I realize that maybe I am a better shot than him. I also realize that with two different rifles from the same companies might produce very different results.

But this time, chalk one up for Tikka.

 

[beatledog7]

You might have suggested you shoot each other's rifles/ammo and check the results. That would have revealed much more useful information.

 

[lizziedog1]

Great idea.

But, he wasn't in too good of a mood. He kept looking at his target and my target and was getting disgusted.

 

[dubbleA]

I had a Tikka that shot 3-4 inch groups on a good day, oh well you can't win them all.

 

[Kachok]

My Tikka walks all over any Remington I have ever owned. More egronomic, better trigger, lighter weight, less expensive, WAY smoother action, much more accurate, and their fiber/matrix synthetic stock puts remingtons POS injection molded stock to SHAME!! Make that Tikka 2 Remington 0 My Tikka prints sub moa groups with boring regularity even with el-cheap bulk Prvi ammo. I have had this one for a couple years now and am more thrilled with it every time I take it to the woods, I will be buying another.
Tikka vs Remington is a no contest, if you want to compare it to another fantastic factory rifle try the Browning or Savage, they really are top notch boomsticks also.

 

[Marshall_Tx]

I have a Tikka T-3 7Rem Mag and it was my first rifle. One of the smoothest rifles I can say I have ever fired and very accurate.

 

[WTBguns10kOK]

Good choice to not buy a Remington.

 

[Kachok]

I just find it amazing that Remington refuses to get with the times, they still don't bed their actions or free float their barrels. I can buy an el-chepo savage that has all of that and a floating bolt head for half what a decent 700 costs. How long do they think their good reputation from years past will keep them afloat? In all fairness one of my 700s was a real shooter, but the stupid thing would not stop rusting despite regular cleaning and fresh oil. I am not talking about dingy surface rust, I am talking about couse deep down rust that makes you nervous to shoot the rifle, no it was not 30 years old, it was NIB in 2007, after only three months I decided not to keep it, I would have to completly sand every bit of exposed metal and re-coat to even make it remotly managable. What a piece of junk! Sure we have salt air down here on the coast, but none of my other dozen rifles do that, and I have had them for MUCH longer.
I won't touch another new Remington firearm until they fire their whole quality control staff, take down their lines, and start over. They are really THAT bad. As piss poor as my 700s were could you imagine how utterly horrable a 770 must be? Even the hardcore Rem guys don't like that one.

 

[LoonWulf]

I get the fealing the the steel reminton uses has i higher iron content then many others. ALL the remington rifles ive owned have been rust buckets, but then all the stainless rifles I own out here rust within a month or two unless kept well oiled. I still have my remingtons, and they all shoot as good or better then my other rifles, but they are also coated in spray paint.

 

[walt629]

I wonder if his scope is anchored properly and the problem is not the rifle or ammo. I did that to myself... once.

 

[Boomie]

No slight to Tikka, I hear they are great rifles, but I have two 700's. My 30-06 ADL is about 15 years old and shoots right at 1 MOA with basic store bought ammo. My 3 year old .308 SPS "Tactical" (which is free floated from the factory, btw) shoots under 1 MOA with boring regularity. All the other 700's I've ever shot (another 3 or so) have been shooters.

If your buddy was shooting 4 MOA I'm pretty sure it was your buddy, his ammo, his scope or his scope mounts.

 

[Kachok]

Here is my experence with Remington vs Savage vs Tikka
1st Remington 522 Viper, shot ok, but feeding was a constant issue. B-
2nd NIB Remington 700 CDL 7mm Rem Mag, Beautyful rifle, but it would not chamber a round. Remington would not fix. F
3rd NIB 700 ADL 7mm Rem Mag, the rust monster, shot good, but a total mess. Glad to see it go. C-
4th I bought an old 552 Speedmaster for cheap, built when Remington gave a darn about their quality, no complaints, nice rabbit gun. A

Now compare that to my experence with Savage.
1st Savage 110 270 win, solid moa shooter, never had a glitch. A+
2nd Savage MkII 17 HMR, best shooting gun I have ever shot (one hole groups all day no kidding), never had any malfunction. A+
3rd Old Savage 987, no complaints, the plungers finnaly wore out making it a full auto 22. I suppose you could call that an issue, but it sure was alot of fun B
4th Savage 11 270 WSM, scarry good accuracy, easly touches holes at 100 with 130gr BTs. Flawless function. A+
5th My new 110 30-06 "package gun", just took it to the range for the first time, before the barrel broke in it was shooting .75" with my 1st run of handloads and an el-chepo package scope. A+

And Tikka
1st and currently only Tikka T3 Stainless 6.5x55, super smooth, egronomic, most accurate featherweight centerfire rifle I have ever shot. Flawless function, my favorite gun of all time. A+

Now do you see why I won't mess with Remington anymore, they don't compare to the better brands, and cost more too. Remington 700s are genraly accurate enough for hunting purposes, but their reliabilty is sub-standard, the newer ones anyway. I actualy perfer my budget Marlins to the Remingtons I owned.

 

[Sniper66]

I have heard awfully good things about Tikka...would really like to try one sometime. I have 4 Rems..a 541S, and 3 700s; 2 VLSs .243 and .223 with 26" heavy barrel and a VSF .223 with 26" fluted barrel. All are very accurate. The .243 is a bit less in spite of numerous test loads, but I can still shoot 1.5" groups at 100. Both .223s shoot .5" at 100 on a good day and again that is with my loads. Not sure why I can't get the .243 to shoot tighter groups, but I still kill coyotes with it...the last one at 300 yds. Sure would like to try a Tikka sometime.

 

[Sniper66]

Oh...and I should add that I had all 700 triggers adjusted to a crisp 2 lbs...just right for me. Out of the box the triggers are very heavy and will really throw off your shooting if precision is your goal. But, I have a friend who feels safer with a stiff trigger and he kills more coyotes than I do...go figure.

 

[TwoEyedJack]

My experiences:

Remington 788 in .222. Most accurate gun I have ever owned. 5 shots with Winchester factory ammo at 100 yards left one ragged hole. Trigger was stiff, so I cut a few coils out of the spring. Ugly as a fence post. A

Remington Sportsman 78 in .270 restocked with an ADL walnut stock. 3 shot groups with my handloads 3/8". A+

Remington 7600 in .270. 3/4" with handloads, magazine hard to seat. A

Tikka T3 lite in .223. 1/2" groups with handloads. No issues. A+

To be honest, I have not bought a new Remington rifle in 5 years, so YMMV.

 

[Kachok]

Oh...and I should add that I had all 700 triggers adjusted to a crisp 2 lbs...just right for me. Out of the box the triggers are very heavy and will really throw off your shooting if precision is your goal. But, I have a friend who feels safer with a stiff trigger and he kills more coyotes than I do...go figure.

The Tikka has a factory trigger that adjusts to 2lbs with no creep or overtravel. Best factrory trigger I have ever used and it rivals the best of the customs I have tried.