Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rifle Dilemma

A couple years ago I bought a Kimber Montana in 6.5 Creedmoor and it's been a great rifle.....I just have always had a soft spot for the 7mm-08.
So now I'm in the market for another rifle and prefer a 20" barrel and have narrowed it down to these three (other suggestions welcome) and would like some assistance in deciding.

1. Tikka T3X Superlite. It has a 22.4" barrel but it can be cut and threaded. Accurate, smooth action, but not a hug fan of the stock. Roughly 6lbs. Most economical at under $800

2. CA Mesa FFT. Not yet available but have handled the regular Mesa and like the fit. It seems like Kimber there is a love it or hate it group as I've read about possible quality control issues. Expected to be around 5.5lbs but the original Mesa if I recall was normally over advertised weight. Comes with a 20" threaded barrel and break. Roughly $1600

3. Fierce Fury. High quality control, smooth action, accurate, nice stock, 20" thread barrel and break (available via email correspondence). It's the heaviest out of the group and over 6.5lbs and by far the most expensive at roughly $2300. I guess at over $1500 more than the Tikka it may be hard to justify.....but it's definitely a nice rifle.

Overall, common sense tells me to go with the Tikka even though it would get shortened as it's a very accurate rifle for the money...and will do everything as well as the other two in hunting situations. That said not taking common sense into account the Fierce is an aesthetically pleasing and accurate rifle.
So, of these three what would you go with and why?

Thanks

A Tikka with a new stock should still come in less than the Fury. Can't say anything back about the Tikka's and with a McM or similar they are pretty handy.

Its not a dilemma.. at all!

I would buy a Tikka.. and put it into whatever stock you want.


You are getting a top notch trigger, a Sako barrel, a very stiff and smooth feeding action.
Made by highly trained unionized workers.

I would also get the Tikka. Cut it down, put it a Mesa Precision stock with Mountain Tactical bottom metal and you will have a rifle that looks almost as good as the Fury, shoots just as good or better, and still costs $900 less.

Either way don’t buy the CA. You will regret it.

No dilemma at all, especially if you like the Kimber Montana you have now. Order one of Darrik’s custom 84M profile or factory 84M dupe barrels from Lilja (or factory dupe from the maker of your choice) in .284, and send it out to Shaen to chamber, cut to length and bed it. You’ll have your 7mm-08 Montana, and it will definitely be a shooter, all cheaper than buying another rifle. You can trip the manbun barrel here if you want, and that will further reduce the overall cost. Only prob is the wait, and the fact that you’re not getting a second rifle.

I'd look for a second kimber.

This will work too, if you can find a 7mm-08 Montana for sale (a nice one was sold here this week). If not, and you don’t mind plastic all that much, the Hunters normally shoot well.

Get a Hunter in 7-08

Yep

Wrong from the get go. I believe the Tikka T3x superlite chambered in 6.5 creedmoor has a 24.3" barrel. May want to double check.. So, if you are wanting to shorten it even more than the 22" (to 20"??? why anyways????) you thought it was, you may run into the flutes and it would look like chidt. Just sayin...

@BSA: You'd be correct if I were looking at the 6.5CM....but the Tikka T3X Lite or Superlite in 7mm-08 come with a 22.4" barrel length.

Thanks for all the feedback.....although I do like my Kimber Montana would like to go with something different and very likely will try and find a Tikka T3X Lite as the barrel isn't fluted...or a T3X Lite Compact as they do come with a 20" barrel (the compact in 7mm-08 do seem hard to find however).

I'm a fan of both the Kimber Montana and the Tikka; but, if I'm spending your money, we're getting the Fury. Why? No reason other than I've always wanted to try one as I've heard, so far, only good things and I haven't tried one yet..

I had a Kimber Montana 7mm08 and it was a joy to carry but could never get it to shoot as well as I wanted. Sold it and bought a LH T3X Lite Stainless in 7mm08, trimmed the barrel to 19.5" (usually run suppressed) and am very, very happy with it.

Great answer.....my irrational side says get the Fierce Fury just because I haven't tried one :-)

My brain says more likely than not I'll try and find a Tikka T3X Lite (unfluted) in 7mm-08 and have the barrel shortened.

Given the current market, I suggest you take your time and find just the one you want, as you’re likely to pay dearly for whatever you get, and don’t “settle”. I’m kinda “over” specific cartridges for the most part, and more likely to look for the perfect rifle, cartridge selection being secondary. If you have a good Montana, that’s gonna be a tough act to follow for whatever else you buy.

Good choice man. I love my stainless lite 7mm08. It is actually becoming one of my favorite rifles. I love the cartridge. Shot a bull with it a few months ago and that cartridge and the 140gr TTSX worked well. Pretty much bang flop. Straight through penetration with the Barnes. A very good choice IMHO. The Tikka has some strong points that we don't talk about, but its worth mentioning: Excellent feeding and extraction, along with super smooth, excellent trigger for a factory rifle that is very easy to adjust. It doesn't need a special spring or anything, just adjust it down to the pull weight you want and your are good to go. Accuracy out of the box is excellent and hard to be surpassed by any factory rifle at any price. Balance and weight is excellent, which aides in handling. Ergo's are great and things like the grip can be changed with inserts to fit different hand sizes. Did I mention they are accurate? This is the first group I shot with my rifle after glass bedding and freefloating the barrel:

Right at moa for 10 shots. Very consistent shooter for such a lightweight rifle. I bought this one used for a dang good deal, so that may also be a consideration. Don't overlook the used rifle racks, they are out there. I also bought a 308w that is basically the same rifle. Both of them came with scopes and rings and around $500. Good luck with it man. I hope you find what you are looking for at a decent price..

Thank you for the advice and am definitely taking my time. In regards to cartridge I'm pretty set on the 7mm-08 but am less set on the rifle (hence my looking at the three above among a few others).
I'll be relocating from SoCal to NC later this year so ammo selection should be better as there is no copper/monolithic mandate, which is one of the main reasons I chose the Montana in 6.5CM over a 7mm-08 a few years ago.

I do prefer the Fierce 1:8" rate vs the CA 1:9" and Tikka 1:9.5".....but as I don't hand load as of now (maybe in the future) current manufactured ammunition weights should be stabilized perfectly fine in any of these.

For those with a Tikka Superlite with a 22.4" barrel, what is the length of barrel from tip to start of fluting?

Thanks

#15653990 01/14/21
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Northman
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At least 3 GOP House members has been implicated in helping the Terroists who attacked last week.

One was even tweeting where other House and Senate members where hiding.... so the terrorists could find them.

I have four CA rifles, they have not disappointed me in the least. For quality control, Tikka seems to be a good bet.

I'd get a Tikka and use the remaining money for a scope, then put whatever is left towards a hunt.