I had heard of them and while buying my hunting & fishing license in 2005 I asked the salesman what kind of rifle that was in the rack? He said Tikka, they're made by Sako. I said I had a Sako and it was heavier than I liked. He handed it to me and I said it feels lite and good, but I don't need a rifle today. Go ahead and snap the trigger a few times, I did and I wanted it!
The action was so smooth! The integral scope base grooves were straight which I liked because it would allow me to fit any kind of scope and spread the rings tow here I wanted them. After I bought it, I felt lucky to get an accurate one. As they became more popular I realized they were all accurate and I bought another in stainless.
Between my Tikka's and M700's (with replaced trigger assemblies) they have replaced my interest in M70 completely.
