Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires Ruger American Rimfire vs Tikka T1X

Taking a look at a few Ruger rimfire offerings, and I'm interested in the 8334 model specifically.



The adjustable LOP is nice with a growing kid in the house, and I know that Ruger American triggers can be made to be very nice. The heavy-ish barrel profile also seems desirable.

I've seen these in the $300-350 range, which is $150-200 less than the Tikka T1X. On paper the two rifles share several features in common - barrel profile, threaded barrel. Is the Tikka worth $200 more? I feel like I've been hearing a lot lately about Ruger stepping up their accuracy game, but I don't know if that applies to rimfires as well.

They are both very nice rifles. The stock on the ruger is the weak link but for the extra $ the tikka commands you can drop it into a Boyd’s.
I have not experienced any of the extraction issues some have with their rugers. Accuracy with both is very good but I’d give the nudge to my tikka in that dept.

Buy the Tikka. If you sell it you can get what a new Ruger costs and more out of your investment. I had a Ruger 22 magnum for a while and it did shoot very well but the little zipper sound as the bolt slid over the very rough finish inside the action really turned me off. However the guy who bought it from me put a suppressor on it and has killed all kinds fo vermin with it.

I had two of the Rugers, the ,22LR was just like your picture, the .22WMR was stainless and black stocked. Both gave me extraction issues, so I gave them to some deserving kids

. I've heard nothing but good about the Tikkas, however, usually to the detriment to my CZs. I have no reason to disbelieve them, either.

The Rugers have excellent handling characteristics, and I like the modular stocks, but the extraction issues pissed me off real badly, and they didn't shoot to par with the several CZs I have. If the rumors are true and the Tikkas shoot better than my CZs, they are some really great shooting rifles.

The Tikka is made in LH the Ruger not

Pretty much spot on. You left out better magazines in the Ruger. Action is much smoother on the Tikka. That was one of the things that drove me nuts about the Ruger American. Well, not that it was not smooth, it was noisy. I've heard about some issues with the Tikka mags. A rifle can be the most accurate sob in the world, but it if doesn't operate 100% reliably, it might as well be in the trash can... As far as extraction issues with the Ruger American, never had any issues with that. Nor have 2 of my friends that use them. Those are 22 magnums and they work flawlessly.

Bsa.. to be honest I left that out on purpose😂
Everybody knows the ruger mags are great no doubt there...
but the one area I was very pleasantly surprised on the tikka, was the mag. Tho it’s not flush fit clean like the ruger it drops free and feeds like a charm.
I don’t have as many rounds thru the tikka as the ruger (.22) but neither has given me a lick of trouble with feed/function

I have the Tikka T1X and my son is 11 and has had the Ruger compact ever since he was 6 years old. I really like my tikka but his ruger will honestly outshoot it. The ruger is not picky on ammo what so ever and seems to shoot the cheap stuff the best.

I've had a 8334 and currently have a t1x. My 8334 couldn't hang with my cz 455 or an old win320 I had. Plus the stock was all twisted and the mag well was real tight, always fought with taking mags in and out and they had to be seated perfect to feed well. Whitakers had a sale on the 8334s way back when, I think I got it for 275 after shipping and ffl fees. A lgs store gave me that for it used so I wasn't out anything.

The short answer is "Tikka."

I have a Tikka T1X and a CZ 452 Ultra Lux... the Tikka will outshoot the CZ with cheaper ammo.

Triggers are nearly equal and for a factory trigger, the Tikka is very nice. For the extra $$ I don't believe you will be disappointed in the Tikka at all.

I have no experience with the Ruger rimfire but do have a Ruger American Predator in 6.5 that is extremely accurate for the $$.

Keep us posted on how you turn out!

Thanks guys, I'm leaning pretty heavily towards the Tikka. Sounds like the Ruger can shoot with the Tikka if you get a good one. There is a huge amount of negative feedback about the Ruger on other websites, however, and that's enough to scare me away, I think.

You can get lucky with any decent .22. Buying a better grade increases the chance you’ll do well. After one RAR, I’d go with the Tikka, though it’s not what I bought. I wanted walnut, which while not impossible with the Tikka, would take more doing than I was willing to do. To top it off, there are oodles of RAR problems reported, I don’t recall any with the Tikka.

Good luck.

The Tikka is more likely to be accurate than the Ruger in my experience. I have posted this before - here is my experience.

Ruger Amercan Standard version in 22 LR - 2 owned by myself and 2 owned by my brother. None of the Rugers could consistently put 5 shots into an inch at 50 yards, even with good quality match ammo. We both tired any accuracy tricks that could be done and they were to no avail.
I went with a Tikka and he went with CZ 452, both will shoot 1/2 - 5/8 five shot groups at 50 yards consistently even with lower grade ammo.

But I do have a Ruger American Standard version in 17 HMR that is exceedingl accurate - however I think that it is the outlier rather than the norm.

Havng owned 2 Tikka T3X in 22 LR I will have to say that they are the most accurate out of the box reasonably priced 22 that I have ever owned. To get similar performance it is usually necessary to spend two to three times the amount of money the Tikka costs.

drover

Human pine tree: I have three Ruger American Varmints currently and LOVE them!
NO issues what so ever and the accuracy in mine (two in 22 L.R. and one in 17 HMR) is excellent plus - with quality hollow-point and V-Max type ammunition.
My Rifles have the heavier barrels and laminated stocks.
The rotary flush fitting magazines of the Rugers are FAR superior in my estimation to those being offered in the Tikka.
I have NEVER had an extraction issue with any of my Ruger Americans!
Best of luck to you with whichever you choose.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

My Tikka thoughts, having owned one. Accuracy is amazing. Makes it a really fun gun to shoot. I have a feeling that if you want better accuracy you'll need to step up to Vuudoo (I am saving up for one).

The stock is very nice. I like the shorter LOP but I believe you can put a Tikka recoil pad on it if it's too short for you. The ability to add the vertical grip is really great. Really is a great compromise between a field rifle and a target rifle.

The magazine works very well but is ugly as sin. It's the epitome of Euro-trash design. DIP Products makes a I am not a fan of magazine bottom that will make it closer to flush and way better looking, but it reduces capacity to 6 or 7 and will cost you $20 plus shipping.

It ought to come in stainless. It's wild that it doesn't.

I do not have experience with the Ruger but I know that the forum user Big Stick has liked them in the past. He has.... strong opinions. But they are usually based in reality from what I can tell.

I have a 8334 and a T1X, but it’s a 17.
T1x for me.

The Rugers sole advantage is a great and easily available Mag. The T1x Mag is perfectly fine but you don’t see them at every gun shop.

I like the action, trigger, and stock better on the Tikka. The more polished finish on the Ruger barrel is a bit more durable.

I’m waiting to check out the Bergara bmr.

In facing the same comparison as the OP I opted for a Tikka. Ended up being about $125 more than I could get the Ruger for locally. I've yet to find fault with the T1X. For me the price difference was worth it.

Had the 22" barrel "original" RAR pretty much since they came out. So guessing 4 or 5 years now? No LOP interchange on this one, just higher comb, if desired? I never swapped it out, suits me fine with the lower comb. Went with scope bases, not a big dovetail fan

$265 from a LGS Ruger nut amigo. Liked the trigger much better than the CZ455 I already had. Ruger is far more accurate and suitable with a wider range of ammo, so the CZ went to auction. Pretty rifle, not all I'd hoped it might be.

Already had a mess of 1022 mags, so that was another plus. My RAR will shoot five shots into an inch or less at 50, with just about any ammo. Even better with Mini Mags, which typically hold closer to a half inch. Doesn't like CCI SV at all. Surprised with that, as they usually shoot pretty well in my other rifles.

It really likes Tac 22, but I'm down to my last two boxes of that stuff and haven't seen any around here in ages. Front rest/rear bag @ 50 with that ammo, has often turned in less than half inch groups.

Never any issues at all with the RAR.

These 2 in 22 LR shoot very well, just needed to test a bunch of ammo to find what they liked.