I used to shoot highpower rifle but got old and quit. After being out of shooting for years, I rejoined my old club. I'm trying to keep it informal. They have a league called the Belly Shoot. It's basically a 200yd prone match on a B8 target. I want to buy a new rifle to shoot it. I want a .223 and I'm going to put a VX3i 4.5-14x40 scope on it. What are the pros and cons of the Tikka T3x Varmint and the Remington 700 SPS Tactical? While price isn't that important, I can get the 700 for $150 cheaper. At 200yds, bullet weight isn't as critical as if I was shooting 300-600yds, Any other ideas?

I would recommend the Tikka since they have a good easily adjustable trigger, and are generally out of the box accurate with no tweaking needed. Also for $15.00 you can get the vertical pistol grip which is more suited to prone shooting, there are also "no-gunsmithing" required extended round magazines for them if that is needed for that style of shooting.
The Remington is a bit more of a crapshoot as far as out of the box accuracy and the $150 you save by not buying the Tikka will have to be spent on a decent trigger for the Remington.

p.s. - operate the bolt on a Tikka and then operate the bolt on a 700 SPS and that alone will probably make the decision for you.

drover

Remington 700.

Enough said.

JamesJr: if Rem 700's are so great why is there a whole industry built around 700 Rem replacement Parts?

The Tikka will be ready to go right out of the box.

kinda the same reason that there is an entire industry for the last 60 plus years on parts to build up Small Block Chevy engines..

They are plentiful.....

myself, I'd probably get buy with my Savage 12 BVSS.....

with a 100 yd zero, just shot a 30 caliber sized hole with 10 shots, at 200 yds with it...

I was doing my part for once in a blue moon....

load was 24.5 grains of Benchmark, S&B primer, and a 73 grain ELD Hornady...
point of impact at 100 yds, was the very same at 200 yds...

scope was set on 8x, on an old Tasco World Class Plus, 8 x 32 target scope...

smacking little gongs set up by the range at 300 out to 500 meters has been no problem..
as long as I don't get crossed and jerk the trigger after 4 or 5 shots per usual...

the Savage and that load seems to shoot a lot better than its owner can...

What are the barrel twist rates? Knowing that might help inform your decision if you have a specific bullet you want to use.

In my experience, every Tikka I’ve seen has shot remarkably well. R700 is pretty hit or miss. For my money, it’s Tikka.

What Seafire said...they are popular to the point of being ubiquitous.

Check out aftermarket parts for the much Revered 1911 pistol....which I wouldn't own on a dare...so it basically boils down to personal preference.



For me, I own both the Tikka and Remingtons in .223. Obviously like them both but have not put enough rounds through the Tikka to really give an opinion....( less than 3000) whereas Ive had and still have Remingtons with over 20K rounds and on their 2nd or 3rd barrel....so I know they stand up to some hard use.

Tikka vs Rem 700 ?

T I K K A ......

Well duh, you're obviously not a Remington nut........lol.

Uphiker: I say get out and look for a used but in great condition Remington 700 PS (Police Sniper) in the aforementioned 223 Remington caliber.
I own one of these Rifles and it has been sensationally accurate since I bought it new.
Also I have helped three different Varminting buddies buy and set-up Rifles in this model and each and every one of them was/is VERY accurate!
None of these Rifles needed to have a replacement trigger or modification (bedding, re-crowning etc etc etc) to attain this notable accuracy.
I did adjust my Remington 700 PS's trigger to my liking and I did inch/pound torque adjust this Rifles action screws to my specifications.
Interested in accuracy - go heavy barrel Remington!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

700!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Tikka is a 1:8 while the 700 is 1:9. That's why I'm leaning towards the Tikka. I can basically shoot any bullet that I want in it other than the super heavies.

no down side to your dilemma... either way, there isn't really a wrong answer...

as I've gotten older, I tend topull a barrel off an action I have and then put what barrel and specs I want on it,
vs trying to find something off the shelf, that fits what I would like the closest.....

Tikka.--right out of the box, as several others have stated.

The only "downside" on a Tikka in .223 is the magazine length for heavy bullets. If planning to shoot something like 75gr ELDs, you'll need to consider after-market magazines due to OAL.

77 TMK works great in the Tikka magazine

UPhiker...Negaunee Rifle Club? Shot HP there many times..also the paper "yote" 300 yrd matches..
Someone mentioned it, but I shoot and would go with the Savage Mod. 12 BVSS, 9 twist. I`ve shot up to 80 grn. Sierras with no problems. You may want to consider the heavyer bullets, cause sooner or later you are going to shoot to 6, tho I`ve used 55 grn. there too.
Also, if needed, the mag spacer is easy to modify should you want longer bullet seat depth.

Good Luck.

Savage.

How about a .22-250 with a fast twist? It would be FAST, FLAT....FUN!!!



I have done the same as Seafire.

Pulling barrel and making what I want is what I do now.

I look for Savage rifles in pawn shops all the time. Usually the 110 in .270 and the .243 win. is common.

If off the shelf, the Savage mod. 12 BVSS that has been mentioned is going to work very well.

Best

Heavy

I purchased a Rem 700 sps Tactical 20" 1:9 .223, Houge over mold stock, back in September, thinking it would be a donor to build off of. This is only the second brand new in the box rifle I have purchased in the past 20 years. I am amazed that a off the shelf, out the box rifle shoots this well. I, usually purchase used rifle to get the action and have a rifle built, but this thing shoots so well I plan on just shooting the barrel out before I do much else.

Been doing load development for the past few months and have shot several .5 or less 5&10 shot groups with this rifle. The 10 shot .5 groups were after I put a Trigger Tech Primary trigger on it. The stock trigger while not bad would not adjust low enough to suit me, Best groups to date are with 52 SMK and Hornday 68 match and N133 powder.


Issues with this rifle: the anodized finish is thin, and developed surface rust within a month. I keep the barrel and receiver will lubed now and stored in a gunsock in the save with a golden rod so far so good. I do not really care for the stock either it is soft in the forend area not very rigid. I read somewhere that the barrel on .308 version will make contact with the forend when fired from solid rest or bipod. Have not had this issue with the .223. I knew all this going in but as I stated in the first paragraph this was going to be a donor. The issues I mentioned and others are well known and can be found with a little google searching.

Just my recent experience with the 700 SPS. Take it for what you will.


Have a good day.

arky65

Tikka - all you need is a scope and some duct tape.