Hello all,

I am looking to get my first gun and have settled on the 308 caliber. I have narrowed it down to either a Tikka T3 or a Savage.

The .243 bolt action I've been borrowing is a Savage and it has been a great gun, I really like it, so I'm leaning toward Savage. It is really the only gun I've used regularly though, so I can't compare it to anything.

This is the Savage I was looking at. http://www.internetguncatalog.com/Default.aspx?tabid=179&vp_url=http://www.internetguncatalog.com/igc/details.asp?ItemNum|14607~login|y

and this is the Tikka I was looking at. http://www.internetguncatalog.com/Default.aspx?tabid=179&vp_url=http://www.internetguncatalog.com/igc/details.asp?ItemNum|80563~login|y

I would really appreciate everyone's opinions on these rifles. Good experiences, bad experiences, I would like to hear about them please.

i have both savage and tikka rifles. Both are decent quality. i would recommend you go with the tikka over the savage...the gun you provided in the link was actually a stevens... the tikka's shoot lights out, and the action is silky smooth.

Put a decent scope on it, some steel rings and you will have a rifle that will last your enitre lifetime.

Oh, it has the Savage logo so I thought it was a Savage. But I see in the text description it says Stevens. That is weird.

Stevens is made by Savage. Its their lower priced version. Generally a good platform for customizing.

Thanks for explaining bjones2571, and thank you for your advice pitchin jigs.

I was looking at the Savage Axis and thinking it being in left handed was a good determining factor, but I see the Tikka Lite can be left handed too. I was looking at the manufacturer's websites.

I see though that the Savage Axis has a rate of twist of 10 and barrel length of 22, where the Tikka Lite has a barrel length of 22 7/8 and rate of twist of 11.

Would this make the Tikka significantly more accurate than the Savage? The difference doesn't seem to be that great absolute value wise...

Your welcome,

yes the tikkas come in LH. Alot more than twist rate and barrel length come into play in making an accurate rifle. For your purposes, (i am assuming a basic deer hunting rifle) ammo selection will play a much larger part in the accuracy of your rifle than your twist rate will.

if you are on more of a budget, you can buy the savage axis with confidence, its a great little gun. you will be happy with either of those two models...just stay away from the remington 770 or 710 series rifles.

One thing on the Tikka. It only comes in one action length. You might want to check it out. There really isn't a whole lot of difference, but depending on your size, a short action might be a bit easier to work. Just a thought.

also, for whatever reason, the Tikka stock just doesn't fit me. Nice rifles though.

I own a savage 110 in 270, and my bro-in-law has the axis in 308. Savage has a reputation for being very accurate guns out of the box. I like both mine and my bro-in-law's rifles vere much. You would be happy with the savage. As for the Tikka, I know absolutly nothing about them.