I want a short, light rifle in 7mm 08, or 6.5 Creedmore or, possibly .270.

Prefer the weight be under 7 lbs and barrel length 22", maximum.

Will be used primarily as a Midwest, whitetail gun but may on rare occasion be used for pronghorn or elk.

I don't reload so, from what I've read the 6.5 Creedmore is the nuts if you're going to be using factory ammo.

I'll probably go with a synthetic stock and stainless.

So, the two rifles on my short list are the Tikka T3x Lite and the Remington Model Seven Stainless Steel HS Precision.

Which would you choose, and why?

Is there a comparable rifle under $1000 that I'm overlooking?

Thanks.

I'm going to choose the Model 7 as soon as I can find one. Tikka's are okay, but I don't care for detachable magazines on a bolt rifle. Just me.

Tikka by a mile.

Smooth
long action, length can be changed by a file and buying a factory magazine.
You can seat long bullets if you want.

Safety locks the bolt. (Good or bad?)

Good trigger, no known problems, easy to adjust.

Pretty decent stock from the factory.

Tikka t3x superlite in 7-08 best suits your requirements(under 7lbs, 22" tube, possible elk). The mdl 7 you mentioned is a looker, but lacking imo because of the spindly 20" tube. If they offered those H.S mdl 7's with a fluted 22" lvsf sporter type bbl I'd be drooling over one.

I'll agree with the LVSF barrel. Best one Remington has ever made.

I'd get the Tikka without hesitation in either .260 Rem or 7mm-08 for the game you listed. Tikkas have a smooth action and generally shoot great out of the box with factory ammo.

Between the two I’d get the Remington 7. I think you’d be happier with a stainless mountain rifle though...or at least I would

Just curious, no love for the 6.5 Creedmore?

Who makes the mountain rifle you're referring to?

Remington does.

Oh boy! Looks good at first glance.... Add the mountain rifle to the list!

I'd buy a Model Seven SS by a mile over the Tikka. I bought one last year in 7-08 with a 20" barrel and it's been awesome.

Tikka in 7-08

Tikka by a mile. I'd go 6.5 cm though.. Good luck finding a mountain rifle that shoots better or even as good as a Tikka. A lot of guys have a hard enough time shooting a lightweight rifle as it is, now throw a rifle that barely shoots 2 moa off the bench into the mix. Have fun...

Yessir Remington 700 mountain rifle available in 270, 280, 7-08 and 260 iirc. I’d opt for a 270 but any would do

Tikka
IF elk is on the menu, 7-08

Oh boy! One of each? LOL

The only advantage to the Creedmoor is more factory ammo options right now. Other than that, the other two cartridges offer you a little more firepower with about the same recoil and accuracy. Any of the 3 would be fine for deer or antelope but you'd have a bit more power for elk or black bear with the .260 or 7mm-08 IMHO. I've shot both for years in Tikka, Rem., Savage, and T/C Encore and wouldn't trade either chambering for a CM. No love, no hate, just no need for it. 🤓

I have both. If I had to narrow it down to one, it would be the Tikka without a doubt. You would have to stay with the 7mm-08 to stay under 22" (actually just a hair over) as opposed to the 24.3" 6.5CM.

Tikka 6 votes

Rem 4 votes

Based on ckat's post I'm leaning toward the 7mm-08 with the 22" barrel. Don't want 24".

My only Tikka was a compact model in 223. It shot very good, and handled nice. I didn't care for the detachable mag, and the long bolt throw, but the action was very smooth. I had it with me when my 6 year old great nephew was trying to shoot a deer rifle, getting ready for deer season. They'd tried him with 2, and he was having problems trying to shoot them. I told them to try the Tikka, and he immediately started hitting with it. Loaned it to him, and he killed a deer. His daddy said he thought the rifle was his, and wanted to know if I'd sell it. I did, and the kid has killed a deer every year since, and so has his cousin. They love it.

I then bought a Model 7 Stainless in 223. It shoots as good as the Tikka, and fits me better. No plastic on it either. Between the two, I prefer the Model 7 an day of the week. Nothing against a Tikka, it's just a matter of personal preference.

Tikka..

Will not even touch a Remington after owning and seeing how poorly they are made.

I have a M7 in 260 rem that I do like a lot, almost as much as my finnlight in 7-08. However when I can save up the extra, I will have a new M7 HS model in 6.5 creed just because I “need” another rifle. Tikkas are a lot of bang for the buck hands down, I’ve had from 243 on up to the regular mags and short mags, all of them were some shooters.

I have both and like them both. Today I think I trust Tikka over the Remington as far as QC.

Those two options literally come down to which platform fits you better in the hand. Go pick them both up side-by-side and one or the other will stand out. They will both get the job done just fine. I've never had a problem getting any of my Sevens shooting inch groups.

Tikka, Remington lost me long ago for many reasons.

I own and like them both...but I'd probably opt for Tikka.....

I have owned a pile of both these rifles and Since you are looking for a short action cartridge id buy the Model Seven HS, i never have warmed up to the Tikka one size fits all action. If you were shopping for a long action cartridge i would chose the Tikka.....Hb

You have 2 choices:

A rifle that might shoot.

A right that will shoot.

Buy the Tikka.

Now add up the votes. I think tikka is winning by a landslide

I have never owned a Remington that was not an accurate rifle, and I've had number of them, and most have been in the last 10 years. I have been displeased with the way the recoil pad was screwed on, or the action not being as smooth as I liked, or with the trigger not adjusting down to where I wanted, but when it came to the way they shot, every single one of them has been a "shooter."

Now, did I "luck up" and just happen to get some good rifles........maybe, anything's possible, but I suspect my rifles were pretty much normal. A lot of the so called problems with Remington were limited to a few guns, but the Remington haters blew it out of proportion.

I became less impressed with Remington after I bought my Hill Country Rifle Harvester 7mm Rem Mag a few years ago. HCR did great work, as it was a very impressive shooter and overall fit and finish was superb. However, these Harvesters were based on a Rem 700 action. The project was taking longer than promised, so I asked them periodically for updates. Moral to the story was that HCR obtained and examined no less than 10 Rem 700 actions to find exactly one action that would meet their criteria, before the work started. Not a good testimony to Remy's quality of work IMO.

Tikka by a mile.

The Remington Model Seven SS HS has my attention. I have both Remington's an Tikka's, and there are things I like and dislike about both of them. I would honestly have to compare the two to make a decision. Sight unseen though, I'm going Tikka.

I have several of both too. Tikka by a mile especially if by new.

Tilkka advantages: excellent trigger, light, accurate, better extractor, lighter, bolt handle won't fall off, smooth action, better scope mounting (rail vs 4 small screws), no need to bed the action

Remington advantage: ADL(no detachable magazine) - if this really an advantage.

I'm going with Tikka. Now just need to decide on chambering and whether or not to go with a compact model.

Thanks for all of the replies.

Wise decision. You should check out the superlite in 6.5 creedmoor. It weighs in at 5.9 pounds. I let my buddy shoot mine last weekend, and right afterwards, he was at the lgs buying himself one.

100% agree. I have several Hill Country rifles and they are really fantastic. However, for the money hard to beat a Tikka.

I’ve always been super happy with Remingtons both 7 and 700s. They are consistently accurate and function well and any issues I’ve had have been easy to remedy. Tikkas are great too...I just don’t prefer the detachable magazines and I’ve had some serious problems with Berettas customer service in the past and I’ve had a lot of their shotguns.

Tikka. Remington. can’t go wrong either way. I just prefer the Remington

I own two Tikka 7mm-08s and load for two more. One of mine is a stainless T3, the other is a Superlite. I’m not going to post targets, I’ve done that enough, but those rifles shoot very, very well.

Nosler 140 gr Accubond or Hornady 150 ELDX factory ammo would be my choice.




P

I figured you wold have surely said Remington 700...

Tikkas shoot lights out. Remingtons have their flaws but they've been around forever for a reason.

Why not a Winchester Featherweight Compact? Also, 308 is where it's at if you really want factory ammo options, plus it gives up very little to the 30-06 if you use factory ammo in both.


Okie John

Thnx J G. That says something for new production Rem. Sad to say.
I am & have been a LOYAL Remington fan based on YEARS of excellent 700 BDL service NOT only mine but for several lease members &
shooting/hunting friends. I have several 700s all are Pre 1995 prod.


Now the M 7 & I don’t FIT each other plain & simple. It really is ergonomics of the stock
PLUS I’m not happy/comfy with SA. Go figure???

I know the op stated he’s going w/Tikka. I only have 2 Tikkas, a T3 Lite SS 270
and a T3X Lite SS 7 RM. I can’t be happier.


Jerry

Just a reminder.

I too struggle with the idea of shooting a SA cartridge in a long action. I'm also not a fan of detachable mags. So for the OP's criteria I would choose the Model Seven.

If we were talking long action though I would have to give a T3 Superlight some serious thought!

I've had a 7mm-08 for about 10 years now. Its the Remington Model 700 Mtn. Rifle. Absolutely love it.
Have never really shot groups with it to see how well it shoots (that will change very soon), but every time but once (my fault) the deer or hog or coyote all went down. And in my opinion, out performs all of the other calibers mentioned at least out to 500 yards. BTW, I shot a deer 3 years ago at a little over 500 yards. Ran 30 yards and fell over. I've always shot the Hornady Superformance 139gr SST to this point.

ok - you asked if there were other with comparable size\weight

No one mentioned them and they get poo-poo'd here but Brown X-bolt might fit your need as well. I have a Remington, CZ and A-bolt and my A-bolt gets the nod most of the time.

There is also a Savage lightweight Hunter that is a surprisingly handsome rig that is about a full pound lighter. I would surely check one out -and I am not big on Savages generally.

Food for thought.

Flame on!

Tikka for the rifle

If you're buying factory ammo 6.5 is a LOT easier to find than 7-08. There is nothing the 7-08 will kill that a 6.5 won't kill.

I'll agree with the LVSF barrel. Best one Remington has ever made.
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LVSF. Love that gun.

I shot a superlight Kimber 84M 6.5 today. It was very nice! I would like to shoot the remington model7 HS in 6.5!

just ordered my boy a tikka t3x superlite exclusive stainless/green syn stock in 308 win. we gonna sponge camo it. it will fit in with ALL the other tikka's in my safe. also, until the 31st of this month tikka is offering a $75 rebate. just a nudge maybe......grin!
Big Ed

I own both and like them both. I picked up a 700 CDL SF a few weeks ago. I am sending the bolt to Accutig , the timing is perfect, let him figure out the extraction part . This is a very well made rifle and better then previous ones I have owned.

I have seen a few of the green stock tikkas on line the past few days and really like them. Might give one a shot but already have T3X’s in 223, 6.5 Creed, and a Superlite in 308 so don't fully have a need for one.

yep, my son liked that one and its in his fav caliber. i just pray thats its as listed,the guy from buds assured me multiple times it most def was a stainless gun but when i questioned whittakers they said it was blued, we are gonna try the GAP camo and since its already drab green imma use tan and black as my colors then shoot a few coats of matte clear on it. my son is 15 and really wants to try this sponge camo job out with me and when they are that age its more than a camo job going on there.
Big Ed

My model 7 hs just showed up today. Waiting for a set of talleys to show up in the mail, have a vortex razor 2-10 on the shelf. After handling it a little bit, I don't think I made the wrong choice. Definitely falling in love with it and I haven't even come close to shooting it yet

He will love it! My son is only 9 but has a T3X compact 7/08. He can shoot 1.25 -1.5” groups all day with that gun and Hornady reduced recoil loads. Not bad for a 9 year old.

Oh and I have seen the green stock rifles in both stainless and blued. My superlite was a limited run that had a camo stock which I since replaced with a Mcmillan. That rifle is blued but it is more of a matte finish and looks really nice and the finish has held up well the past 2 years.