Tikka or Bergara

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Dakota79

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Oct 18, 2012
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What would make the better 22–250 and why? This would be for prairie dogs, varmints and just messing around.

Tikka T3X Lite or a Bergara Hunter. I found one of each in comparable price ranges but have no experience with either.

Anything else in that category I should be looking at?
 
Dougfirtree said:
I might lean towards the Bergara for a heavier target rifle. If I wanted a lightweight rifle for big game hunting, I'd probably lean Tikka, due to weight. Just my $.02
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This is good feedback right here. I have shot both and you can't go wrong with either, but for prairie dogs I would want a rifle that is a bit heavier than a T3X Lite.
 
for 22-250 and prairie dogs best plan is a rifle with a medium to heavy heavy fluted barrel that will dissipate heat to minimize mirage, I don't know whch has a model that fits that description. Short stiff bbl (20-22 inches)and cryo relieved along with proper break in will minimize both fouling and throat erosion and keep you shooting longer with a varmint rifle. I have a 6PPC on a Remington 700 single shot with a heavy bbl and a 556 Ackley heavy bbl varmint on a Model 70 that are still tack drivers after several thousand rounds. When we shoot a bunch I usually bring 2 or 3 guns to keep one cooling off, particularly when a suppressor is involved as the heat mirage can be a real problem at 3-4-5 hundred yard dogs. I have no experience with the Tikka but shot a 222 mag, 222 Rem and a 6X284 SAKO extensively and the action quality was excellent. I handled my first Begera last weekend and it was very well made and was shooting 3 shot cloverleafs at 100. The young man who owned it killed a nice bull at 425 yards with a 7 mag in second season in CO.
 
The T3X CTR would be a good choice for a heavier barrel, and I like the vertical grip. The Bergara B-14 Ridge is a nice choice too, I’ve shot one and liked it a lot.
 
Durango Mike said:
for 22-250 and prairie dogs best plan is a rifle with a medium to heavy heavy fluted barrel that will dissipate heat to minimize mirage, I don't know whch has a model that fits that description. Short stiff bbl (20-22 inches)and cryo relieved along with proper break in will minimize both fouling and throat erosion and keep you shooting longer with a varmint rifle. I have a 6PPC on a Remington 700 single shot with a heavy bbl and a 556 Ackley heavy bbl varmint on a Model 70 that are still tack drivers after several thousand rounds. When we shoot a bunch I usually bring 2 or 3 guns to keep one cooling off, particularly when a suppressor is involved as the heat mirage can be a real problem at 3-4-5 hundred yard dogs. I have no experience with the Tikka but shot a 222 mag, 222 Rem and a 6X284 SAKO extensively and the action quality was excellent. I handled my first Begera last weekend and it was very well made and was shooting 3 shot cloverleafs at 100. The young man who owned it killed a nice bull at 425 yards with a 7 mag in second season in CO.
Click to expand...
Since I'm in a wheelchair and paralyzed from the neck down it takes me quite a while to get on another prairie dog using my chin to operate a joystick to aim my rifle I'm not overly concerned about getting the barrel to hot but great points.
 
I have the Bergara in .22-250 and .270 and absolutely love them both. They are both tack drivers. I primarily use the .22-250 for coyotes. Just plinking around, I’ve shot it out to 600 and been impressed with the accuracy. It’s better balanced than some other synthetic stock rifles I’ve handled and has enough weight to it to feel very steady. All around feel like very well-made guns. Smooth actions and nice triggers.

No experience with Tikka.
 
Dakota79 said:
Since I'm in a wheelchair and paralyzed from the neck down it takes me quite a while to get on another prairie dog using my chin to operate a joystick to aim my rifle I'm not overly concerned about getting the barrel to hot but great points.
Click to expand...
glad you are getting out shooting! I worked with a paraplegic in a wheelchair many years ago and he was shooting faster than me so keeping his magazine changed had me hopping. He had a bracket that mounted to the chair and a pivot that attached to the sling swivel, got him into shooting bench rest matches and he loved it.
 
I have two Tikka. Both shoot under 1" groups. .243 and .270WSM

I am sure the Bergera are nice and heard good things, but I would buy another Tikka if I needed another gun.
 
I'll add to what others have said. I own a Bergara B-14 Ridge. Awesome rifle, but a mountain rifle it is NOT. I took it deer hunting this year in SoCal. We have some pretty steep and rugged mountains here in CA. We hiked in about 2.5 miles up hill and that rifle was already sucking the life out of me. Mine is the 6.5 CM and weighs (as advertised Bergara) 7.5 lbs, but I think they may be fibbing a bit on that number. With Leupold bases and rings, VX-5HD scope, loaded mag and a cotton Garand style sling, thing weighs close to 11 lbs. Based on what those items weigh individually, weight should have been just under 10, which is still too heavy. My buddy was hunting with a Tikka T3x lite and I had a chance to handle it.

I am now looking for a T3x lite or superlite myself. Having a hard time deciding on which one though. I won't be selling the Bergara, but I won't be using it on mountain hunts in the future either. It's a gun for hunting the flats and plains. The Hunter I believe is the same rifle as the Ridge, just with a different colored stock and without the threaded barrel. If I get a T3x lite or superlite and set it up the same way, it should weigh between 8.09 and 8.6 lbs. I will likely be using Warne rings, which don't require bases on the Tikka, so the respective weights would be even less. Whoever said that ounces translate into pounds as your humping through the bush wasn't lying.
 
Last edited:
Dougfirtree said:
I might lean towards the Bergara for a heavier target rifle. If I wanted a lightweight rifle for big game hunting, I'd probably lean Tikka, due to weight. Just my $.02
Click to expand...
Agreed. I have a tikka hunter in 6.5 and a bergara hunter in .270. Both awesome, highly accurate rifles IMO. The tikka seems like it’ll be a nice antelope and deer gun and is really lightweight. The bergara has a little more weight to it, I love the synthetic stock on it. It feels awesome and has a nice grip to it. Am planning on using that as my elk gun. If I was planning on doing more serious extended back country hunting I might go with a tikka because of the weight, but I personally like having a bit of a sturdier gun for elk. The recoil is not noticeable on either. I’ve heard of you go bigger than a 6.5 in the tikka lite the recoil can start to be felt a bit more-if you care about that at all.
 
Dakota79 said:
What would make the better 22–250 and why? This would be for prairie dogs, varmints and just messing around.

Tikka T3X Lite or a Bergara Hunter. I found one of each in comparable price ranges but have no experience with either.

Anything else in that category I should be looking at?
Click to expand...
If you’re going for small stuff, just go tikka. I might even go Ruger if you want to save some extra bucks.
 
I have a B14 Hunter and a T3x. Both are really accurate, but the B14 is a little more picky with ammo. I've been impressed that the Tikka pretty much shoots anything well. I do like the heft of the B14 and I think I actually shoot it better than the lightweight Tikka. Also, the Tikka seems a little more sensitive to what the fore end is rested on. Just my experience. Can't really go wrong with either.
 
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