Browning vs. Savage, Tikka

MINOOKA

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How does browning bolt action rifles compare to tikka and savage for out of the box accuracy with factory ammo
 
You will not see much bad press about any of the three, as far as accuracy. Everybody has their preference and desired cost level, but all three will give you great accuracy.
 
I own all three brands. I have an X-bolt in 270 with a french walnut stock, a tikka superlight in 308, and a savage 110 also in 270 with accutrigger and a wood stock. The x-bolt shoots nice tiny groups with 130 grain accubonds and barnes bullets, the 308 also shoots very good with barnes bullets, and the savage shoots lights out with 240 grain accubonds that have been discontinued, but I've bought enough to last me quite awhile. I don't see any one of these guns having an advantage over another in terms of accuracy. They all shoot great.
 
I think the Browning is slightly better quality. If you plan on replacing the trigger, it beats both hands down. The trigger is the only complaint I have about the browning. I shoot .5 MOA groups with handloads in mine. I have a tikka that I like alot as well, and I have owned Savage in the past, but sold them all if that tells you anything.
 
I personally was not a fan of the Savage accutrigger. The Savage 7mm I owned shot fine, but I could not get used to the trigger setup. I have never owned a Tikka. The Browning X-bolt stainless stalker in 300 wsm is shooting MOA with factory ammo and Leupold VX-6hd scope, which is the best I have ever shot.
 
I am a lefty and shoot Savage because that used to be the most affordable lefty rifle. I am not particularly thrilled with the triggers - even the accutrigger. I change the trigger on my 110 to a Timney trigger. One thing I really like about the Savage is that it allows you to rebarrel the rifle yourself. You just need a action wrench, barrel nut wrench and go and no-go gauges. If you are a handy person, it allows a lot of flexibility in changing the caliber or going to a better barrel.
 
I am impressed with Browning's X-bolts. My buddy has one in 7mm. He replaced his Savage axis with it. I was at the range with him and walked away impressed! Between the three, you can't go wrong. I'd suggest handling them a and comparing them. Which caliber are you looking for?
 
6.5 creedmoor or 7mm-08

I own a 7mm08 Tikka T3X SS lite and a 7mm08 Savage 116 Stainless. Both are tack drivers out of the box, but the Tikka is smoother, more refined and has a better trigger. Strong preference for Tikka. No experience with Xbolt, but have also heard no so good things about the trigger.
 
I have 3 Xbolts and 1 savage. The x bolts are 7mm-08, 6.5 creedmoor and 308. The savage is in 7mm WSM and they all are very accurate. The Savage shoots everything to around 1”. I guess what I’m saying is you can’t go wrong with either. I never shot a Tikka but everything I read says they are a great rifle. Good luck in your decision.
 
The Browning is the "nicest" of the three. I think it has the best features and best finish quality. I have 2 tikkas ( 270WSm, 243) both shoot under 3/4 groups with several types of ammo.
I personally am not a fan of the way the Savage looks
 
You’ll be hard pressed to ligitimately beat the Tikka for accuracy. As mentioned the Browning triggers are pretty heavy. Browning’s primary focus is beauty. On that front, they win hands down. Personally I’d lean Tikka if I was buying a factory rifle. Of course no one mentioned CZ, Nosler, or Sako which I would put in the same tier.
 
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I've not owned a Savage or modern production Browning, but have a Tikka CTR in 6.5 CM that's super accurate and I once owned a T3 Lite in .308 before my wife claimed it as her own. Fortunately, I'm still responsible for its food, cleaning and maintenance. Great rifles, both.
 
agree all 3 are accurate. I own a browning and a couple savages and both are very accurate. make sure you check out the other features that you may like or dislike. example. all Tikka's are long action even if you buy a short action caliber. I didn't like that so I passed on the tikka in .308. I also didn't like the Tikka T3's ejection port, was small and harder to load 1 rounds at a time. I much prefer the xbolts 60 degree bolt throw over the savage's 90 degree. savage's aren't as pretty and the bolts seem to have less scope clearance than other brands but they are accurate and dependable. don't just focus on accuracy because they are all so close
 
I'd also recommend you take a look at Bergara. They're building some really nice rifles that are as accurate as anything out there. Also they are a Rem700 footprint so lots of available aftermarket stocks, triggers etc.
I have the B14 Ridge in 6.5cm and the thing shoots wonderful.
If you're on Facebook there's a 15k+ member Bergara group on there with lots of good info
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1028610370606263/
 
I'd also recommend you take a look at Bergara. They're building some really nice rifles that are as accurate as anything out there. Also they are a Rem700 footprint so lots of available aftermarket stocks, triggers etc.
I have the B14 Ridge in 6.5cm and the thing shoots wonderful.
If you're on Facebook there's a 15k+ member Bergara group on there with lots of good info
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1028610370606263/

+1 on the Bergara. I have a B14 HMR, and it is a great rifle.
 
I found the xbolt to be not adjustment friendly as far as triggers go.
 
FWIW, I have not found my xbolt hells canyon speed in 300WM to have a heavy trigger at all. With factory ammo it was shooting MOA. With handloads, I cloverleaf. If you can find one, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. I have no desire to have anything else for my primary biggame rifle.
 
On the x-bolt hells canyons: I saw someone mention something about the cerakoted bolt getting 'sticky'. Has anyone had a problem like that with the hells canyons?
 
I have Tikka T3's and a Savage 111 and both the Tikka and Savage shoot well. No experience with the Browning although they do look really nice.
 

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