Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Why are cheapo Tikkas so frigg'n accurate

Not short actions
Plastic cheapo stocks

So why do they out shoot the higher end Remy sucks 700s?

They aren't so cheap anymore. But I'd guess it's the stiff action combined with quality assembly.

i'd say three reasons - stiff action (a tube with a small slot for a cartridge), a finely constructed barrel, and made by a company known for accuracy (sako). however, their price has caught up with their reputation for accuracy, so "cheap" no longer applies imo.

I don't think they trump ALL Remies but historically speaking, the "Finns" have had it going on for a very long time....

It's rare day when a SAKO or Tikka don't perform and the price for the Tikka is starting to be in line with it's performance.

You want to knock the price down, everyone should start saying they suck...

They are free-floated and had decent triggers out of the box. At least the two I once owned had these features.

1B

One good reason is they do not say KIMBER on them anywhere..... (Oh man, had too.... I am just feeling cantankerous this morning)

lock time?

They use the same barrels as Sakos.

Magic Finnish pixie dust....

Quality components held to tight tolerances and assembled with precision = accuracy.

Besides the stiff action, very good barrels and triggers, and decent lock time, I will throw a wildcard out there to you.
My paternal grandmother was first generation from Finland to this country. She was very practical and exacting on just about everything she did. If she was going to put in the effort to do something, she was going to give it everything she had. From a family of 14, she had to work hard just to help keep food on the table for all of the family just to survive. Communities worked together sharing goods and services to a common good.
When Finns made tools they made them to last. To them a rifle was a tool that you and your family relied upon for your very surival, both for food and for defense. With generations of fighting with their neighbors, just to keep what they had, they are/were justly paranoid. That is probably how the Sako's, Tikka's, and other smaller arms producers in that country came to be so exacting on how their products worked. Just look how they reworked Russian type 91's. They never did make their own actions for those rifles, just made what the Russians produced work better, usually much better. Just a couple of thoughts.

Guys - you might want to also start considering the Marlin XL/XS7 bolt rifles. The two I have shoot as well as the Tikka's I have owned/own. For ~$300.....

equals precision Not cheap but money well spent!

I own two cheapo Tikkas and neither shoots as good as any, yes any, 700 I've dealt with. I have a safe full of 700s and have loaded for many others, all have shot below MOA. My Tikkas shoot moa or slightly over on a good day. They shoot acceptably accurate, but they are by no means in the league of 700s IMO. After buying two, I would not purchase another. They are good for what they are, cheap rifles that will do the job. Not to mention the ridiculous mag length, factory scope rings(replaced mine with Leupie and Talley), poor recoil pads, and plastic everything.

loder

I couldn't agree more with your post Reloader!

My experience is the same as yours.

I will add that although the Tikka T3 remains a cheap rifle it is no longer an inexpensive one.

I have owned four M700's, and all were just average shooters. My Tikka consistantly shoots bugholes. Maybe I just got likely, but doubtful...

I think it's all a crapshoot. I'd heard the Savage Siren Song long enough to try a Mark II .22lr, and I loved it. Figuring it would extrapolate to their centerfire rifles, I bought a plastic stocked 7mm-08, that would scarcely go under 2" with anything I fed it.

I suppose it comes down to each rifle being an individual. I'd probably agree that some mfgrs turn out more consistent "individuals" than others. However, after getting 1 crappy-shooting rifle, I find myself loathe to go buy a statistically significant number of other rifles from that mfgr to see just how crappy their average rifle is. So, I'm left to read everyone's sample-of-one accounts, & make up my own mind.

FC

I agree. I have never shot a more consistantly accurate gun than my XL-7 in 30-06. One hole groups with 180gr bullets, and under .75" with any decent 165gr bullet.

Marlins, Savages and (God forgive me for saying this on here) my used, cheap azz, heavily cussed Mossberg 100 ATR .270 are too.

I don't know much about Tikkas, but I know accuracy is about consistancy.