I think JB and others have made note of the industry trend towards "budget" rifles like the Ruger American, and higher end rifles. But less interest in the mid-range.
Every time I'm in a local shop it seems like a RAR is being sold.
Its just like any other industry, you either need to be the lowest cost solution or offer the premium product. Overtime the companies in the middle are squeezed from both sides and lose out. I'm betting this Tikka will be cheap.
I wish it were true and they start selling the Super Lites at clearance prices so I can buy another stainless rifle that will weigh less than 7 pounds scoped ,shoot into less than an inch with factory loads,have a crisp less than 2.5 pound pull trigger straight from the factory(and easily modified to 1.5 pound with less than 30 minutes work and no cost)) and cost less than $700.00 Yes I am all in favor for discount prices on Tikka T3 rifles to make room for the new ones !
Maybe "new and improved" will mean no more one size fits all action length......My biggest gripe with the current rifle, also the abundance of plasteek is a turnoff.............I am looking forward to getting a look at this new model.................Hb
Aleks9210 - yes,IF the T3 is discontinued IT will return in the time honored tradition as a "new & improved" T4. It'll make coffee, brush your teeth AND fetch a brew - in your dreams! Homesteader
You didn't quite understand what I meant. There is a new rifle rumoured to be unveiled at SHOT 2016. Nobody said it has anything in common with a T3 at all, or that it is making any attempt to be a new/improved T3, or a T3 replacement. Think outside the box. I can't say anymore. Sorry. Hint.
4th_point - " local shop it seems like a RAR is being sold."
Not knocking SAKO/Tikka or the Finnish people BUT RAR's are American made and supporting American jobs. Just so happens Ruger products can compete in this rifle class on cost/quality. Homesteader
The only way Ruger could compete was to copy the T3 and try to make it cheaper. You'd never pay $600 for a RAR and couldn't buy T3's at $300 fast enough.
But this has been beat to death and now we can look forward to another year of election and Tikka threads....
4th_point - " local shop it seems like a RAR is being sold."
Not knocking SAKO/Tikka or the Finnish people BUT RAR's are American made and supporting American jobs. Just so happens Ruger products can compete in this rifle class on cost/quality. Homesteader
I've messed with 7 of the Tikkas and 3 of the RAR... those being a combination of my rifles and buds'. In terms of accuracy, I'd say it's a wash. Trigger and stock go to the Tikkler but you pay more upfront for it.
Both decent rifles... one for low cost, the other for a bit more. Keeping jobs here is a bonus.
Local gun shop guy told me that there will be no Tikka's on the Sako Select program for 2016. Supposedly Tikka is 'maxxed' out on production.
(Sako Select is an offering to certain Sako/Tikka dealers, and allows them to place a once a year order for certain Sako's and Tikka's. These select guns, are generally not standard offerings in the US, either in configuration or caliber selection, nor are they cataloged by Beretta USA - the importer.)
I never thought I'd grow up to be a grumpy old man, but I did, and I'm killin' it.
I see the point is a new model, but I don't see where this would fit. Sako/Tikka has the M85 for the high end, the A7 for the mid-range buyer, and the Tikka T3 for a budget rifle. I could see a update to the T3 for marginal manufacturing cost to make the T3 an even better value. A real recoil lug and two action sizes would go a long way. Options like a steel magazine could be a factory accessory at a premium price.
... Just so happens Ruger products can compete in this rifle class on cost/quality. Homesteader
Quality is a relative word ... they may be accurate, that I cannot dispute, but from the handful I've fondled at the gun shoppe ... there is not much quality & I like most things Ruger.
I understand most folks feel quality and accuracy are synonymous, I'm just not one of those folks. The rifles have not been on the market long enough for durability and ruggedness to tossed about.