Your thoughts on the Tikka T3......

[Another Dang 9]

$600, you got BONED!

[kevinbear]

Had over 20 700's, one was unacceptable in the accuracy dept.

[Gator]

Yep no good reason to keep any manufacturing here in the U.S. by buying their/our products anymore, no one shoots Remingtons anyway, couldn't been more than a couple of them on the line last year at nationals, I'm sure the winner in both classes was using a Tikka, their the only ones that are accurate enough. Of course your job doesn't rely on how American gun mfg's in the U.S. are doing financially so WTF, why should you care? Just keep on buying products from oversea's {while you still have a job}.

Geezzz Kevinbear, I feel I have stomped on baseball, hotdogs, Mom and apple pie. The man asked a legitimate question and I offered a truthful answer. No my job doesn’t rely on US gunmakers. Being retired, I am just trying to hang on to what I set aside while I was working. But not to worry, I evidently am invested in such great US manufacturing intuitions as GM and some US banks.

After having feeding problems with 2 new 700 BDL DM rifles in ’03 (one in .243 and one in .270 and a seeing a .260 in the future) and finding out EVERYONE I asked at Nationals that year had a similar problem, I experimented and discovered a fix that was so elementary Fred Sanford could have figured it out. Thinking it was so simple it was unbelievable, I called Remington to discuss and see if they were aware of the problem and the fix and they refused to allow me to discuss it with anyone and only wanted me to return the rifles. Never got past the operator.

I promptly sold both rifles and purchased my Tikka in 6.5x55. No other .260’s available much but Remington. Nothing but good experiences since and haven’t had to fix or change anything on the Tikka. Not really saying anything negative about the 700 except the problem with the DM model. I am saying the company’s customer service sucks. After having my own business for 20+ years I found customer service to be as important as the product. Give a good product and having one pissed-off customer can be a losing situation.

BTW – to make it worse, I drive a Subaru. Best vehicle I have ever owned. They are put together in the US if that counts.

Sorry to ruffle your feathers and GOD BLESS AMERICA.

Gator

[Dee]

I didn't ask what your take was on Gun makers in the US or manufacturing in general in the US. I used a 30-06 700 BDL for hunting deer and it was a fine rifle. I have a Remington Model 12 pump .22 that is also nice.

That being said I am not going to be trading in my GERMAN MADE ANSCHUTZ anytime soon for anything made in the US. Nor will I be looking for US made quality airguns that have a high quality build and great performance as they do not exist.

No one has to tell me about manufacturing I have a degree in Industrial Engineering I know plenty about the manufacturing sector and work for a pharmaceutical company at a production plant. I try to buy American when I can or when they offer something of value in what I am seeking. Things are very different now from the past last heard something only needed a small % of it to be made/assembled or simply designed in the US to be called Made in the USA. Most companies have gone overseas to make more crap to sell US consumers demanding cheap crap in truck loads they do not even need.

I totally understand that in order to succeed as a country you have to make things no two ways about it. Unfortunetly there is not a damn thing I can do about that and so long as I am spending my hard earned money on something I am going to buy the best I can at the best price I can. I assure you Remington is thinking of how to sell you the least amount of rifle for the most money they can.

Besides I still have not made up my mind I was just asking about the Tikka. I may end up with a pawn shop 700 who knows.



Dee

[timbertoes]

There are American employees being paid, when you buy a Tikka.
No guilt involved.

[kevinbear]

There's a good representation of foriegn made guns in my safe as well, Anschutz, Feinwerkbau, Browning and RWS. None of those guns have comparable American made counterpart, sad but true.
I just want people to start thinking about the choices they make on buying products made out of the U.S. from a more serious perspective. BTW, I had a Sako that was a POS, every company turns out a turd occasionally.

[Another Dang 9]

After having feeding problems with 2 new 700 BDL DM rifles in ’03 (one in .243 and one in .270 and a seeing a .260 in the future) and finding out EVERYONE I asked at Nationals that year had a similar problem, I experimented and discovered a fix that was so elementary Fred Sanford could have figured it out. Thinking it was so simple it was unbelievable, I called Remington to discuss and see if they were aware of the problem and the fix and they refused to allow me to discuss it with anyone and only wanted me to return the rifles. Never got past the operator.

Gator, what type of feeding problem did you have?
And as far as customer service with remington you are not alone. I sent a rifle back with a fudged chamber and it came back as if there was no problem. But the gun still shoots well so its going to stay that way till I can get it fixed by someone else.

[lone ringer]

I sent one Remington 700 with a 308 Varmint barrel that had a section of a land missing and they sent it back to me saying they shot it in their tunnel and that accuracy was within their standards. Same think happen on a new Merrill pistol now XL or something else and they replaced the barrel no questions asked. That is what I call service and standing behind your product.

[Finprof]

In a Tikka T3 I would rather have a 6.5x55 instead of a 7mm-08 since the Tikka is made in both calibers. I think Remington makes the .260 only in the model 7 and not in the 700. There aren't a lot of inexpensive factory rifles in 6.5x55 or .260 and I can't think of any in 6.5x47. The Howa 1500, Tikka T3, CZ, and Sako are the only 6.5x55 basic factory rifles I can think of that are made currently. About the same for .260.

The 6.5x55 is also a good hunting caliber. It kills like a 30-06 and kicks like a .243.

[kevinbear]

Well, here's what I think boys, if you sell more rifles than anyone else the 1 or 2% or whatever the percentage is of bad barrels or other problems translates into a much higher number, add to that a significant number of those people have a much higher expectation {read silhouette shooters}of a Remington 700 than they might of another brand results in the perception that 700's quality control is poor. The aforementioned situations result in people bashing Remington on online forums like this one, all the while the same people forget about the 95% of the 700's they had without any problems.
Here's my personal anecdote, back in the late 90's I bought a VSSF in 308 that wouldn't group smaller than 1.5 regaurdless of what i did to it. The odds were against me, I had some great shooting 700's before that one.
Skip ahead to about 4 years ago, one of my shooting partners and I bought 4 rifles 2- .223's and 2-7mm saum's , all four of those rifles group around .5 an inch. The 223's will hold that group for 10 shots, and they are cheap SPS's, try that with any other 425.00 gun.

[Bob Mc Alice]

Dee, one of the guys I am traveling to AZ with, Ed P., shoots HP with us regularly. He started out with a .243 , not sure what brand. He was stuck in A class simply because he lost half or better of his rams consistantly. I will admit our range is tough with the ever present winds but he had no better luck in Wyoming or Arizona. After two short lived barrels he switched over to the .260 in his Std gun. Scores started to go up quick. He is now a solid AA shooter right on the verge of breaking into AAA. Ed is a lawyer and one of the nicest guys I know. He is down to earth but loves to hunt sheep across the Americas. Apparently, defending the innocent pays well. His rifles are custom made to his specs.

This past weekend he brought out a new .260 hunter gun he will use at the AZ state. http://bighornarms.com/about.php Built by locally famous Mark Chanlynn and some other partners. Ed is left handed and pretty limited in gun choices out of the box. This rifle is really nice with it's Chanlynn 24"SS barrel, Bighorn action, Jackson trigger and McMillan hunter stock. The cost ...$2400.00

After a month of barrel break in and load development it is 3/4 " gun at 200m. Not bad at all, but a Tikka at 1/4 the price will shoot just as good. I have handled and fired several of them. They are of excellent quality and top notch accuracy. You wont be dissapointed with one.

Naturally, I would suggest going with the 7-08. But I fully agree with Finprof, the 6.5x55 is a great dual purpose cartridge. If Remington offered a 700 in either .260 or 6.5x55 I would say go for it......but they DONT!! Stick with the Tikka.


By the way...welcome to High Power. Your gonna love it.

[Bob Mc Alice]

Tony, the Remington stainless takeoff barrel I fitted to the M70 (aka Remchester) was in my opinion a reject that got through without any QC at the factory. I did not notice it at the gunshop when I bought the SPS stainless 7-08. I went to clean the bore is when I discovered that midway down the bore you could feel chattering tool marks with a tight patch. For about 6 inches the carbide button was skip chattering while it was being pulled thru. A bore scope view was dissapointing. I called Remington customer service... "Send it back, we will look at it". The dealer would not make good either as all gun sales final. Call Remington he said. I had nothing to lose by firing it. My pet load of Varget and a 130MK produced 3/4 inch groups....at 200m! Needless to say, I kept it. It shoots just as well on the M70. It is a perfect loaner / plinker/ hunting gun.

[Jim Beckley]

Get it right, McAlice. Ed Pabst, defender of the innocent and wrongfully accused!

[BCloninger]

If Remington offered a 700 in either .260 or 6.5x55 I would say go for it......but they DONT!! Stick with the Tikka.

By the way...welcome to High Power. Your gonna love it.

And that is why I have a Tikka instead of a Remington! Remington only has a 6.5mm anything in the Model 7 and I wanted a 6.5mm. In defense of Savage, they would have chambered a barrel in Remington .260 for a nominal charge, and a Shilen barrel is readily installed so it was a very attractive choice. In the end, I selected the Tikka because the durability of the Savage was a concern.

[kevinbear]

You guys are right, those 700's are crap, barely worth their weight in scrap steel, but as always I like to help out my fellow shooters, I'll buy any of them you want to get rid of including the ones that are not accurate, won't feed, creepy triggers, wrong caliber, wrong stock or whatever for 200.00. I know their are hundreds of unwanted ones out there but for right now I can only buy 10, please email me if I can help.
Kevin