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Tikka T3x lite vs Bergara B-14 Wilderness Hunter

Red_7.08

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Tikka T3x lite vs Bergara B-14 Wilderness Hunter. Next whitetail rifle and why?
 
Bergara uses flat bedding pillars in their stocks. Torquing the bolts doesn’t stop them from walking the action around inside the stock. They tend to throw a random flyer when your shooting good groups. You need to bed them to stop that flyer. Once bedded they are good rifles.
 
Both are great rifles. I have a T3x superlite and a Bergara B14 hunter. Both shoot lots of ammo very well. Tikka will be lighter by a considerable margin, which, depending on what you like, can be a benefit or not. The one thing I have noticed is that the Bergara is quite a bit tougher to clean thoroughly. Especially getting the copper out.
 
From my perspective Tikkas have better triggers (by a reasonable amount), have a shorter bolt throw, smoother actions and are considerably lighter. Bergaras are shooters as well but these little differences add up.

I had my choice of the shop and for value I spent MY money on the Tikka Roughtech.
 
Both are good guns, but a tikka t3x in a better stock is more comparable in fit, finish, accuracy, and operation to Bergara's Premier line of rifles.
 
Between my Tikka t3x and my Bergara B-14, the Tikka is lighter and has a better stock trigger. For me, and some others, the cheek weld on Tikkas is way too low and requires a riser or comb of some sort. If you are a reloader, Tikka actions can allow you to load heavy for caliber bullets and eke out a touch more powder capacity. If you want light I'd go Tikka, if you like the aftermarket choices of a Rem 700 action go Bergara.
 
Never had a Tikka but its on my short list for a lighterweight setup In 7mm08. I would probably go with the Tikka of the two due to the overwhelming amount of positive reviews on forums like this one.
 
What problems have you had with Tikkas?

I haven't had any problems with function.

They don't fit me very well. So, I don't get the accuracy that most seem to think they have. The mags are crap, and the same action size for every cartridge bothers me. When they were $600 they were a decent buy. But now that they're $1000 they do nothing for me that I can't get out of lighter, better built rifles that fit me and give the accuracy I'm looking for.
 
I haven't had any problems with function.

They don't fit me very well. So, I don't get the accuracy that most seem to think they have. The mags are crap, and the same action size for every cartridge bothers me. When they were $600 they were a decent buy. But now that they're $1000 they do nothing for me that I can't get out of lighter, better built rifles that fit me and give the accuracy I'm looking for.
I get the fit thing... I have a hard time with Weatherby rifles, just a poor fit.

I do not understand the mags complaint... I shoot a .300 win mag and my load with 7828 has my bullets seated pretty much as far out as the mag will allow... so when popping the mag in I have to make sure the bullets are correctly seated, but compared to my rem BDL it's 1000x easier to reload/unload. I'm not really sure what could make the mag situation 'better' ?


@Red_7.08 I went with the tikka veil over the tikka lite. I was going for a one quiver rifle and IMHO the upgrades were worth the price bump.
 
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My buddy had a bergara. Accuracy was just so so. He did a lot to get it to shoot but it was just marginal. And this guy knows what he's doing. He got rid of it. It was a heavy barrel 6.5 creemoor. Interior of the barrel was just so so.
 
I haven't had any problems with function.

They don't fit me very well. So, I don't get the accuracy that most seem to think they have. The mags are crap, and the same action size for every cartridge bothers me. When they were $600 they were a decent buy. But now that they're $1000 they do nothing for me that I can't get out of lighter, better built rifles that fit me and give the accuracy I'm looking for.

What is wrong with tikka magazines? Besides some COAL constraints and the fact that they don't sit flush with the stock, i've found no negatives.

I've seen the complaint about being plastic but it's 2021. Composites are lighter, quieter, and wont corrode so give me plastic every day.
 
Tikka T3x lite vs Bergara B-14 Wilderness Hunter. Next whitetail rifle and why?
Just my $.02

I hate the way the Tikka feels in hand. I had a rifle built on a different frame for that reason.
I liked the Bergara in hand and the Wilderness Hunter felt nice. I heard you have to be really careful with the bluing as it will rust easy but the coating on the Wilderness Hunter should help.

So for me - Bergara because I just don't like the feel and the look of the Tikka.

You should go pick them both up, manipulate them in store, and see which one you like better. Bergara is getting a great reputation and a Tikka is just a less tested Sako in an ugly getup. HAHA. Let us know what you do!
 

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