Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 6.5 Swede ..... CZ or Tikka ???

TIKKA! I have a Tikka T3 with the wood stock. Great action, trigger, and the accuracy is excellent. I had a CZ 550 - heavy, action on load and extraction was rough and the acuuracy was not as good as the Tikka. It went down the road with no regrets from me. If you want CRF - find a Winchester with CRF and rebarrel to 6.5x55.

I have a CZ 550 in 6.5x55. I love CZ's. I also have a nice Tikka that is all steel. It was imported by Ithaca. Very nice gun. Just can't get into the newer Tikka's, although I'm sure they shoot nice.

Had a T3 Swede HG for 5 years and loved it right out of the box, NO tuning NO tweaks Just load it and slayed an ark full of critters. It shot bugholes with no issues even with my hasty reloads, but I traded it (and a M70 300WMg) on 2 for one & a No Cash deal for a SAKO M85 killer looking HG 260 I'm just getting started on.
The T3 Swede experiences has about convinced me to make the jump from the 243, 25'06 & 270 to all .264's, just gotta get past a 50 year love affair with a 270 and owning almost 1K of .277 boolitz that the T3 Lite can put 3 under a dime @ 100 yds if I do my part. Just hope the SAKO 260 shoots as well as it looks and feels.

I also have run a old style CZ 9.3x62 American for about the same 5-6 year time frame ... kept the 9.3 during thelast 6 months trading frenzy that has also brought a M70 Fwt 300Whizzum in the house for the first time, and am saving my nickels for the CZ's trip to see Wayne If I wanted to do a 6.5'06/264WMg to replace the 270 with. I'd/I'll start with a CZ American in 6.5x55 and have it rechambered & a basic cleanup tweak job by AH to bring it up to Tikka/SAKO standards of final finish out...and is way cheaper to do than a full custom.

Daylight and dark 'tween the 2 guns in weight & finish out, but both have their uses. JMHO ...I WOULD NOT plan on shooting a 9.3x62 often in a 6lb 2oz T3 Lite or even a 6lb 10oz Hunter without doing something about the recoil lug, lack of a Limbsaver and/or switching the stock in the Lite to a B&C Medalist & Pach pad.
JMHO & YMMV
Cheers
Ron

Alot of info to digest. Thank you. Was not aware that Howa made a swede. How do they compare to the Tikka?

No offense to the CZ, but the last one I held really didn't impress me for what they cost. Thanks again.

Have two and am happy with mine. Hey, whatever feels good when you shoulder it! Maybe I have been lucky over the years but haven't had a problem with a rifle that won't shoot. Minute of deer at least.

HOWA Vs Tikka ??
Howa is an inexpensive knockoff of a SAKO AV? series...and heavier. No flys on the Howa's shooting ability and priced right for the US market...but no distinctive personality IMO.I sold S&W Howa's for 6+ years as a distributor in the late '70's & early '80's and never had any returned. Very dependable but boring.

Today's Tikka T3 is a high tech CAD designed and manufactured product that is totally hand finished to the SAKO tradition and standards ...again no personality except as perfectly fitted product that is guaranteed to shoot MOA out of the box....and most do I'm told..all of mine have.

In a 6.5x55 Swede I would buy ANOTHER Tikka Swede ...again... all day ...any day... every day...'cause mine shot better than I could...just like my T3 270 does with no tuning tweaking or sweat...just boringly accurate & dependable within it's design paradign. Tikka's will never look like a claro walnut MkV 'bee...but Howa's can & do with more bright shiny $#@% on 'em than a Browning.

IMO CZ's are no comparison in fit & finish out of the box to either a Howa or Tikka. CZ's prices are at a severe disadvantage because of the discrepancy in the value of the US vs Czech currency's. Once upon a time that discrepancy was reversed and we all lined up and complained about not being able to buy ALL the CZ's we wanted 'cause they were allways out of stock...that'll change again IMO someday and mebbe I'll finally get to buy the KrautKar SUV of my dreams at a Ford price...just not today.

IMO CZ's are built like a tank for extended hard use in 3rd World Countries but lack the final delicate hand finishing we Americans all demand. My 9.3x62 550 American shoots fantastic...but will eventually get sent to AH for a cleanup & bolt bending makeover at their "CZ Spa". Prettyfying a CZ ain't like putting lipstick on a Savage...both of them shoot pretty good to begin with but a slicked up CZ looks great to me and a Savage will always be a Savage. BTDT too.
Ron

HOWA Vs Tikka ??
Howa is an inexpensive knockoff of a SAKO AV? series...and heavier. No flys on the Howa's shooting ability and priced right for the US market...but no distinctive personality IMO.I sold S&W Howa's for 6+ years as a distributor in the late '70's & early '80's and never had any returned. Very dependable but boring.

Today's Tikka T3 is a high tech CAD designed and manufactured product that is totally hand finished to the SAKO tradition and standards ...again no personality except as perfectly fitted product that is guaranteed to shoot MOA out of the box....and most do I'm told..all of mine have.

In a 6.5x55 Swede I would buy ANOTHER Tikka Swede ...again... all day ...any day... every day...'cause mine shot better than I could...just like my T3 270 does with no tuning tweaking or sweat...just boringly accurate & dependable within it's design paradign. Tikka's will never look like a claro walnut MkV 'bee...but Howa's can & do with more bright shiny $#@% on 'em than a Browning.

IMO CZ's are no comparison in fit & finish out of the box to either a Howa or Tikka. CZ's prices are at a severe disadvantage because of the discrepancy in the value of the US vs Czech currency's. Once upon a time that discrepancy was reversed and we all lined up and complained about not being able to buy ALL the CZ's we wanted 'cause they were allways out of stock...that'll change again IMO someday and mebbe I'll finally get to buy the KrautKar SUV of my dreams at a Ford price...just not today.

IMO CZ's are built like a tank for extended hard use in 3rd World Countries but lack the final delicate hand finishing we Americans all demand. My 9.3x62 550 American shoots fantastic...but will eventually get sent to AH for a cleanup & bolt bending makeover at their "CZ Spa". Prettyfying a CZ ain't like putting lipstick on a Savage...both of them shoot pretty good to begin with but a slicked up CZ looks great to me and a Savage will always be a Savage. BTDT too.
Ron

The CZ are excellent rifles. The wood on my several CZs was beautiful and nicely finished. The blueing was smooth and deep. They were completely reliable and very accurate, even the FS 7x57. They're kickazz rifles. Battue got me on a light rifle kick so I parted ways with mine and I now have a kevlar stocked all custom FN 30-06 and a Kimber 7-08. Apart from weight, neither is better than the CZs, just different. I haven't had a Tikka but the above reports speak volumes. I never thought the Howas held a candle to the CZs and for some reason the 6.5x55 Howas always seem to have velocity problems in everything I've read. Those owners who have written about themn said they shot slower. I have no idea if that is established fact or loose opinion. But I never saw a reason to buy one. My 6.5 CZ shot right with reliable published load data without being pushed and killed deer with great predictability. Nice rifle/cartridge combination. Same with the CZ 7x57s.

Another vote for Tikka T3 in 6.5x55. I've had a few in this cartridge, all great shooters. When it comes to light recoiling cartridges such as the Swede, I'd pick the light weight, smooth operating, accurate T3 (1 in 8 twist) over the heavier CZ (1 in 9 twist) every time!