Haven't shot a Winchester for years, but grew up on them. I do check them out and Sako (Tikka) at SHOT each year though. As for the Tikka, I have three T3's, and can only say one bad thing about them - keep reading. They have an 1 MOA guarantee (very few brands offer this), detachable magazine, are lightweight, have a super smooth action, come in stainless, offered in left hand, and are inexpensive. The accuracy is no marketing gimmick. Literally the only rifle brand I've shot where I didn't have to mess with it or ammo. getting it to shoot well. Put a scope on it, picked my favorite ammo. and got a 1" or less groups. Like that easy. I personally can't stand integral magazines as it seems no matter how I open the floor plate, the cartridges are guaranteed to fall on the ground. Plus, they are pain to unload/reload every time you get on/off an ATV, which during Colorado elk seasons, can be multiple times a day. (As others have said, the mags. do cost more than they should.) It's light, it's durable, it's accurate, and it's inexpensive. What's not to like? One thing...the actions are all long actions. Tikka keeps it's price point low because of mass production, the bolts are all the same, the magazines are all the same (they just add spacers for shorter rounds), the stocks are all the same, and the actions are the same. All long action. If you select a short action round, like a 308, it will still have a long action, which means long bolt cycle, full size magazine, and extra weight (though it's pretty light to begin with). It's not really a detriment in any way other than it seems inefficient in my analytical mind. If I had to make a comparison to pistols, I'd call the Tikka's a super-match grade Glock. Simple, reliable, easy to clean/maintain, durable, inexpensive, and extremely accurate.
