If you search the internet even minimally you will find posts denouncing just about every affordable rifle, handgun, shotgun and optic as being not as good as claimed because theirs was a POS. So goes it with my beloved Tikka. I researched my Tikka purchase for months prior to buying and found reviews running about 95-98% favorable. No other sub $1000 let alone $800 rifle I can remember ever having that level of satisfaction from it's buyers. That is why I bought one. The purpose behind my purchase was to build very lite weight an affordable medium long range hunting rifle.
Well now people are espousing the famous internet term "The Fatal Flaw" of a potentially week aluminum recoil lug in rifles cambered for magnum calibers. I also spent the same amount of time researching the optic it would wear and got a great deal on a Zeiss Conquest HD5 3-15x42 with the RZ600 reticle. Sure enough I now find people claiming the HD5 can not withstand magnum recoil and will fail in relatively few firings. Lastly brass for the 300wsm is not all that available so I bought what I could find that being mostly Winchester brass, which is often decried as garbage.
Well my so far my rifle and my scope are around 500 rounds old with zero issues and my reloads using Winchester brass are maintaining 1.5 MOA or better out to 500 yard, and I'm absolutely certain as my level of longer range shooting experience increases (shot to 500 only once so far) my groups will shrink accordingly. So much for internet lore.
Now before anyone starts, I know Winchester brass will NEVER be the equal of Lapua or Norma and I admit there are reasons why competitive shooters, especially long range shooters rave about Lapua and Norma brass, but for my present application, Winchester and Hornady brass have served me very well.
