which varmint rifle to get?

[ozhuntsman]

i'm currently looking to buy a new varmint rifle, the 2 i have narrowed it down to: (the prices in australia are very high compared to the US)

remington 700 sps varmint. $1315

or.

tikka t3 varmint. $1365

who owns/ has owned one or both of these?

which do you prefer?

how did they perform with accuracy out of the box?

what are the down sides/ upsides of them?

any helpful advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks.

 

[joed]

Tikka hands down! The SPS isn't worth $600 and I would never buy one after a friend bought one.

 

[DIM]

Tikka I would say, because you will get free floated barrel, with SPS you will have to do few modifications, and what varmint caliber are you looking for to get, if its .223 then Tikka once again, since they have very nice 1:8 twist barrel vs Remington which employs 1:12 which would probably work up to 300 yards - meters, lighter bullets which 1:12 can handle would probably keep you from taking bigger kangaroos, around here using 1:8 twist 80 grain bullets can be used on deer size game. As far as accuracy Remington doesn't guaranty anything out of the box, sometimes you can get very good shooter and sometimes not, just like in lottery you win or loose, Tikka on the other hand does guarantee MOA or less, they test fire their riffles before they leave their factory, Remington doesn't. However, I recently bought REM SPS in .223, I just couldn't resist give away my local store had, they were like $400, so I thought if it won't shoot I can always re-barrel it, turned out to be not bad, since I didn't require another deer riffle 1:12 is just fine for paper punching, it puts 7 shots under 0.5" at 100 meters. So the choices are yours. My friend owns Tikka T3 Tactical in .308, and with factory ammo it shoots 3/4" groups, I offered him some of my hand-loads using his fire-formed brass and accuracy improved to 1/2".

 

[627PCFan]

Tikka all day long.

 

[G27RR]

I haven't used a Tikka, so all I can offer is my experience with a 700 SPSS (stainless) in .223. The first day I had it, I shot five 5 shot groups under 1'' at 100 yards with plain old Hornady 55gr bullets. The best group was just over 1/2''. I imagine it could do better with match ammo and a free floated barrel. I looked at Tikkas but the 700 I bought was about 1/2 the price I would've paid for the Tikka. Based on the accuracy guarantee on the Tikka, I'd have gone that route if it had cost less. Someone else mentioned the twist rate, which is also a consideration.

 

[Bear 45/70]

Always build your own, rather than buy what everyone else can.


Custom Mauser 98 in 22-250 with match grade barrel, set triggers, 6-24X50AO scope and a custom made stock.

 

[jpwilly]

G'day!

For initial Quality the Tikka abso-bloody-lutely but the Rem 700 Action has more bolt on's and dodads aftermarket than Carter has pills...for aftermarket support I'd get the Rem or Savage (for me it's the Savage 10 - in the bag).

Hooroo

Read above in my best Aussie accent.

 

[ozhuntsman]

thanks for the input, i like the look and feel of the remington better than the tikka, but i have hearda few negative things about remingtons in general, where as the tikka i still like the look and feel but not as much.

they might be varmint rifles but they will be used mainly on deer, pigs and goats. though i will shoot longer range dogs, foxes, and cats with it.

 

[ozhuntsman]

also the rem only comes in short cals lie .308 and .243, so for the rem it would be the .308 as i already have a .243. but the tikka has a wider range but what i would probably sitll go the .308 but maybe the .270.

 

[DIM]

Some of your deer is size of an elk, like red deer or sambar deer which like 500 lbs, well then I would stay away from .243, it probably can put it down but in your case 308 or 270 would do it more efficiently, as far as rifle once again you have to choose between guarantee in quality or uncertainty and abundant aftermarket parts. Twist again can play major role, Remington offers 1:12 and Tikka 1:11 which a bit faster so you can utilize heavier bullets like 175 gr, I have rifle made by Thompson Center its called Icon, its in 308 it has 1:12 twist, where I use bullets from 150 gr throughout 168, by the way don't you guys have TC, or Weatherby, Howa, Savage?

 

[ozhuntsman]

yeah we do but those are the 2 i have narrowed it down to. i either didn't like the feel or look of the others. i already have a basic .243 howa which i like, but the stock isn't all that greater quality and the bolt isn't that tight. unless you spend a fair bit extra the weatherby's are just a howa, no one stocks savage or TC near to where i live. and the TC's are a little more expensive.

 

[ozhuntsman]

i was told today that you can't have the remington varmint stocks bedded,

is this correct? if so why not?

 

[DIM]

You can, there are video on yotube of the guy bedding SPS varmint in .308, its like 5 or 6 step by step videos, but you'll be better off buying another stock, I bedded my SPS, the material its made from is not very friendly it almost feels like its made of release agent, you would have to use physical locks to hold epoxy in place, once again if you choose SPS I would recommend getting either HS Precision, Bell & Carlson, or Choate stock with aluminum bedding block, o yeah Hogue makes aluminum bedding block stock for REM. You can also get wood laminate stock and pillar & glass bedded it, I would recommend glass bedding even if the stock is aluminum bedded.

 

[ozhuntsman]

thanks,

If i was going to spend the money to get it bedded i'd just buy a new stock. but i had asked the shop owner how much to get it floated by the in store smith, he said about $30 so i was going to do that but then the shop assistant added, but you can't bed them. obviously you can but it looks like a pain in the ass.

 

[TexasPatriot.308]

Tikka is great, Savage Varmint rifles are tack drivers at a reasonble price, I spent a good deal yesterday on my favorite rifle with my favorite varmint caliber and bought me a new Ruger #1 Varmint in .22-250, gonna put me a Bushnell Elite 4200 in a 5x15x50, good for hogs, deer and varmints. cant wait to get it...

 

[DRM]

+1 for Tikka

but neither are bad choices....