Hello all!
It’s time for me to make a decision. A couple of years ago I bought a Thompson Center 6.5 Creedmoor because it was too good to pass the deal up. My grandson to be killed his first deer with it last year so I gave him the rifle. I have recently purchased a couple of Tikka compact rifles in 308 and 7-08. I think I need another 6.5 Creedmoor. I handled a Bergara in their 22” barreled version and liked the rifle. I know they offer an 18” barreled version which is what I would want.
So, what do my 3,000 to 4,000 friends on the fire say? Should I chase down another Tikka? Or wander out to the Bergara?
Thanks for your opinions,
Rick

Just my opinion, but if you like the Tikka, I'd likely stick with them.

Tikka, chop barrel to 18”.

Can’t be choosers?
😜

I just recently shot/ sighted in another heavy Bergara for someone. If you like how they feel I'd say buy it.

What model was you interested in? The entry level hunter feels pretty good. The stock is fairly rigid and is grippy in the hands.

I personally don't like the weight.

Couple mods and that 18” Tikka can hit 5lbs bare. Depending on your goal.

Coming from your neighbor down the road, I’d use that 338WM lol. I have 3 Tikkas and 0 Bergaras. I’d go with a Bergara. Weight doesn’t bother me for the way we hunt around here.

Beggars and Begara's can be hit and miss. I've seen a couple of them that had to be fixed. These questions always seem rhetorical for some reason..

Tikka

Keep ‘em coming guys and gals, if any. So far I think the Tikka is winning. The compact comes with a 20” barrel.
Rick

PS. Don’t you just live spellcheck!

What had to be fixed?

Tikka any day between those two.

Now if someone would get a .243 or 7-08 LH Tikka in stock I'd have another one.

Stainless Tikka...

I know I've been pretty impressed with my brother's 30-06 Tikka T3 lightweight....

If I bought the Tikka it would be the compact for the 20” barrel and I would try to find a standard stock for it like I did the 7-08.

IMO, there are only 2 good things about a Tikka..........they are cheap to buy & they shoot well.

Other than that, they are ugly as sin & have no soul, they look & feel cheap.........which they are.

And as for an 18" Creed............really? Really?

But to each his own.

MM

MM, These things are all true but damn them Tikka's shoot good ( just like a pile of other rifles do) 😁.....Hb

No experience with the Bergara but I did have a stainless 6.5 Tikka T3 Lite and it shot fantastic.

Steve......

Tikka is the easy button….cut to 18” and it would look similar to my daughters 18” rifle below.
She is surgical with it shooting 120 NBT for deer and pigs.

I’ve owned a Bergara Ridge in 308 and liked it. Just never loved it.

Sweet rig right there. Those 120's seriously kick some asss. I prefer the Tikka and it ain't even close.

What he said...

I've tried hard to like Bergara. I've had 3. One of the 3 was a shooter, the other 2 disappointed. I even sent one back to Bergara to see if they could tweak it to shoot better. They returned it with a sub 1/2" group shooting 168 gr Federal Gold Match. I couldn't find any Federal Gold Match ammo at the time and wouldn't pay $60 a box for it if I could. Somewhere around 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" was the best I could do with it with any of my handloads. The Tikka was 3/4" or less with the same loads. I suppose that Bergara would shoot with one specific load if I ever found it. But the Tikka was the easy button.

Buy a Tikka.

Tikka, I have a couple in left handed stainless steel, I agree they aren’t the prettiest gun out there but they have a very smooth action, shoot great and never had any failure to feed problems

If tikka will chamber the 7 PRC in the compact that's what I will be getting. There NOT the prettiest but IMO there the best tool for the job.


Trystan

All you need to know right there.

And they are operational every single time! The bolts don't freeze up, triggers don't freeze, always go bang. I've seen to many rifles that won't do that in bad weather

Trystan

Tikka, Tikka, Tikka! I handled a Bergera just for $hit$ and giggles before I bought my last Tikka… it felt like a railroad tie it was so heavy. Seemed to be awful front end/barrel heavy too, not as balanced as my Teekers are for me. Of course if you’re going with a super short barrel that shouldn’t be an issue. Whatever works for you though, it’s your money. Good luck!

Doc_Holidude

I’m a Tikka fan boy…. Personally, I’d opt for the 20” 7mm-08 if you are wanting short and handy. Don’t see the advantage with the 6.5. We still have a youth model 7mm-08 with an 18” barrel that the boys like because of its compactness. It shoots Remington 140s at a chronographed 2730fps. 6.5 140 loads I’ve chronographed were shooting 2650 out of a 22” barrel…. Yea, I know the 6.5 have a higher BC, but you’ve got to shoot a lot farther than most hunters do to ever see the advantage. Just my .02.

I've spent a lot of money trying to build a a rifle that is lighter and shoots better than a Tikka.... My conclusion, the Tikka superlite is the best deal going. I had one Bergara that shot well but was heavier than I wanted. It went down the road.

Couldn't agree more, and I tried a Bergara as well and arrived at the same conclusion. I never realized "pretty" and hunting rifle were ever mentioned in the same sentence.

Umm…

You have a .308 and a 7mm-08 and you want a 6.5 CM?

You do understand that you’ll have 3 rifles that are essentially identical?

Rifle loony Pharm..

hey...i resemble that remark. i'd go teeker every day of the week and 2x on sunday. man, if they only made a factory stainless 20" compact....that'd be the shiznozzle fo sho.
Big Ed

Thanks everyone. I agree with all of you. May hold off on the 6.5. I have a pretty good stock of 6.5 bullets and need to keep the grandson to be stocked and loaded. I have a CZ 6.5 Grendel I’ve never fired. Had it for a couple of years. I recently bought almost a full box of Hornady 129 grain round nosed bullets. They should work in the Grendel. I’m a big fan of round nosed bullets in the woods. Take care all!
Rick

Yes! A factory Tikka Superlite compact stainless steel, 20” barrel, camo synthetic stock in .257 Roberts!!! Bliss, sheer hunting bliss! 😎

Tikka is hard to beat. Tikka stainless 8 twist 223 and 6.5 creedmoor would make a great combo. Might not even need a 6.5...

If I could find a good deal on a t3x in 308 win, with a 22 in barrel, I'd buy the thing just to try it out.

Well, I hate to beat a dead horse, But, a Tikka T3x lite stainless in any caliber is hard to beat. Imo you get a lot of bang for your buck. I think in its price range its the most consistently accurate (out of the box rifle) available on the market today.

I'm not sure what constitutes a good deal on these currently but .308's are available.

T3X lite

T3X Hunter 308

Does anyone have experience with the Bergara Mountain 2.0? Lightweight and accurate from what I’ve heard.
Thanks

The one Bergara I had shot extremely well, little heavy but eventually it went down the road. Had 3 tikkas and every one shot sub MOA but I never could fall in love with the stock, they went down the road too. Now I mainly hunt with a Remington model 7 and a kimber Montana.
If I were to choose between the two, tikka would get the nod and then invest in a better stock. My 2 cents

I was getting ready to start an identical thread. I found a deal on a couple cases of 168 gr 308 match ammo a while back and want a new 308 to punch paper with. I would prefer an 8+ pound rifle without a muzzle break, so the weight of the Bergaras doesn’t bother me. I love the look of several Bergara models but have noticed mixed reviews on accuracy and an abnormal amount of “like new” used rifles for sale that don’t seem to have great resale value. Tikka reviews are near unanimous positive so I’m leaning towards a CTR, but I’m tempted to take my chances on a used Bergara just because I think they look sexy.

Soul? Lol ok...

Drop that Tikka in a nice Laminated wood, wood, or composite stock. Replace the trigger spring. And you have an extremely accurate rifle that no longer looks & feels cheap.

Pass me the Tikka please

LOL

Pass me a Browning Hells Canyon. I have one and would not hesitate to get another. I did put a Timney in mine. A VERY accurate rifle.

I have begun to think more about muscle memory and what that looks like with the same rifle in a variety of calibers. I believe it will add to improve my overall shooting, as its the same basic gun. Flame away, but with less and less shooting opportunities, it seems like a step in the direction of maintain skill and safety. It also helps, in your case, that Tikka is known to be high quality and strong shooting.

Tikka for me

No need to start a new thread. There are many threads here already with similar questions. First off, I have to say that the Bergara's are nice rifles. I have been tempted by them a few times, but every time I handle one I think the same thing. They are heavy and not well balanced. Now, you say you don't mind the extra heft and you want a stainless 308w. Look at a Tikka varmint. While there is absolutely no need to pack the extra weight around in the deer/elk woods, they do offer an edge in accuracy. For a big game hunting rifle, it's not enough of a difference to make it worth while for myself. Here are some pics to keep it interesting/real.

Tikka T3 stainless Varmint @ 7 7/8 pounds (bare) 5 shot group with factory ammo:


Stainless T3 lite 308 with 22.4" barrel. Weighs 6.4 pounds bare. 5 shot group with handloads. Same bullet as what was fired in varmint model above:

Not even enough difference to write home about.. ^^^

Now, I realize you say weight doesn't bother you and you prefer an "8+ pound rifle". Personally I'd take a lite or superlite before considering using a "varmint" model for big game hunting. To each their own though. That is what makes the world go round... I've been reaching for my stainless lites more and more over the last few years. They are damn good rifles.

I just went the bergara route for the first time. Wanted a factory threaded 708 rifle for my new can. A threaded tikka 708 is like finding a unicorn, and I've read its iffy to have their lite barrels threaded to 5/4. The veil widelands sure is a good looking rifle, but just felt to cheap for a 1200 dollar gun...and not gonna spend 300 plus on a stock on an already "budget" gun. Anyway, ran across a lnib ridge rifle in 708, joker had even bought a magazine kit for it and left the original bottom metal in box. I figured for 700 bucks its worth a try. Much more solid feeling gun than the tikka. My main rifle has been a model 7 in 708 for several years so its an adjustment weight wise. Dont get me wrong, I love a tikka and know they shoot, I have two of the t1xs.

Not trying to stir the pot but are alot of the Tikka fans the ones that were on the Savage bandwagon?

I ran across a Bergara Ridge and Scope combo I couldn't leave on the used rack. It has the oversized bolt handle and a dark gray looking stock. The barrel is threaded too. Its kinda chunky but not terribly balanced . The trigger imo is better than a Remington. The overall fit and finish looks better to my eyes also than any newer Remington I've had.

I’d take a Tikka over the Bergera. I’d take a Winchester EW over either.

A lot of it is personal preference. Everybody seems to like what they have. No wrong choices here. Most folks here on the Fire are Hunters. A rifle that shoots moa is certainly good enough for most hunting applications. Its just nice to shoot a rifle out of the box and have it really impress you. For me that has been my experience with the last 4 Tikka's that I unboxed and took to the range. The Damn things just shoot. I'm getting ready to order another one. Most guns can be made to shoot good after working up a load. I no longer reload. Its just easier for me to buy factory ammo. My Tikka's shoot factory ammo better then my Rem 700 and Win M-70 shoot reloads.



Tikka T3x lite 270 with factory ammo at 100yds




Tikka T3x lite 6.5 Creed 100yds factory 130gr Hornady eldm's

Easy button. They will repeat it every time.

I own a Bergara, in their Mountain 2.0, Premier series. It is chambered for 6.5 PRC, and will put 143 gr. ELD-X bullets inside .5" at 100 yards repeatedly. Action is undoubtedly the slickest of any bolt action I own, and the carbon fiber stock is very stable. Fit and finish are perfect, IMO. Rifle weight is 6.3 lb. without scope or mounts.
The Premier series rifles are pricier than Tikkas, but the quality, accuracy, and light weight of this Mountain 2.0 is hard to beat.

Tikka for me.

By the looks of the grass in that picture.....Looks like the PGA needs to water the lawn of the HQ in Frisco mebbe just a little bit more....
Ron

Lol….although I live in Frisco about 3miles from PGA HQ, that pic was taken near Junction, TX.
All of the Bermuda is dormant here now. The golf courses look like a tan carpet at the moment.
But the greens are…well….still green:)

I’ve owned two Winchester EW’s. One in 308 and one in 7mm-08. The 308 was accurate enough, but I couldn’t get the 7mm-08 to shoot worth a damn. Neither was as accurate as a 7mm-08 TX3 Tikka I traded the latter for. Give me a Tikka.