Hi, I am plannig to get a new riffle. I am going to get a Tikka T3 lite stainless/Tikka T3 laminate, in 6.5x55 or a Sauer 202 in 6.5x55. I have a old Carl Gustav in this caliber and I like it very much. I hunt raindeer in Zone 8 in Iceland and there are long walks and heavy hauling involved.
I think the lite T3 in going to be a good hunting riffle for me, BUT there is another angle.
As I plan to hunt Muskus ox in Greenland and maybe wild boar in Poland, I want a bigger caliber also and thats were the Sauer 202 comes in. Now the Tikka cost about 2/3 of the Sauer but the Sauer is of modular design and you can buy 9.3x62 barrel on it.
So the question is what would you buy. The Tikka, a great mountain riffle and weather proof, and worry later about the bigger caliber or get the Sauer and get the barrel later and have good riffle and the same stock, trigger and feel in both calibers. The 9.3x62 would not be used much.
Advance thanks
Sherpi

Hello Sherpi,

I have hunted reindeer in Iceland several times with Icelandic friends of mine in various areas.
My friends use Sako's in 7 MM STW because of the longer distance shots that are not unusual when hunting reindeer on the plains.
That is why I cannot understand your choice for 6.5 x 55. Besides, this cailber is too light for wild boar.
If you want an allround caliber, go for a 30-06. It offers you bullets from 150 to 220 grains

Tikka is a good rifle, but Sauer 202 is a different class and a different price as you know. If you want the possibility to change barrels, you can't go wrong on the Sauer. If you want a solid one piece rifle, the Tikka is good, but I consider the Sako stainless steel better!

Hi Sherpi !
Given those two choices in guns you mention, I would absolutely go with the Sauer. The T3 is a large step backwards from the earlier models of Tikka in terms of quality in my mind.

There is nothing wrong with the 6.5x55 as such, but it would never be my choice. As reindeer points out, the ranges can be long but it has more to do with shot-placement than the absolute superiority of the 7mmSTW.

If you are bent on the 6.5mm bore in a Sauer, consider the 6.5x68. Other calibres like the 7x64, 270Win or simply the very proven 7mmRM are feasible.
A muskox is basically a huge shaggy sheep, never hunted one but I would rather take my 7mmRM than a 6.5x55 to hunt one.

Regards

Thanks for the answers, but as I said I plan on using the 6.5x55 in Iceland and I am not going to hunt in zone in the plains but rather in the mountains where the range is more like 80m - 150m. I am not a fan of shoting from the road as in zone 2 (fljotsdalsheidi). I like the the mild 6.5x55, great penetration and if the Tikka is taken, very light riffle. But the option of to get a 9.3x62 as a extra barrel on the Sauer fashinates me. The Sauer with a aloy reciver is only 300g heavier than the Tikka T3 lite.

I think the sauer would fit your bill nicely, so would a Mauser M3..
I had a Tikka T3 lite in 300 win mag and altough its a cheap rifle it did shoot really well and was a joy on the shoulder, and that glass smooth action is great..
Im waiting for my new Rem 700 cdl Lh in 30-06 that i will take with me to Greenland for Musk ox this summer or the next.

But have you talked to the police about that 9,3mm barrel? That could be difficult to get with our stupid laws..

Regards

Go for the Sauer, I have three barrels for mine:
308 + iron sights
308 + moderator
7x64 for long range and travel through France etc.

Not only will it save you money with a new calibre second barrel but also you dont have to by a new scope and mounts and the zero holds quite will from calibre to calibre.

Hi Sako, I talked to the UST, veidistjornunarsvid, who said that going to Greenland or Poland (to shoot larger animals than raindeer) would be suficient to get licence for the 9.3x62. But I have another question is the 3.0 kg Sauer + scope and sling to light for the 9.3x62?

Hello Sherpi,

There is another alternative, leigtweight, very reliable, very accurate, modular system, price from euro 800 to euro 1100 for the Luxus model.
extra barrel about euro 250!

This rifle is produced for the German RWS company in Austria by Rossler

Check this link!
http://www.jagd-shop.at/products.htm

.

I have a Tikka T3 light in 6.5x55 topped with a Swarovski 3-9x, it weighs 7lbs 4 ozs and is a joy to carry and shoot.
The 2002 may be a better rifle but as a combination the T3/Habicht is very good and more than sufficient to kill any thing I'm going to shoot here in New Zealand. That includes wild pigs.
My advice is save the extra money you would have to put to the 202 and put it towards a top quality scope.
The Swarovski cost more than the T3 but I don't regret spending one cent on it.
Were I limited to one deer stalking rifle, I would be quite happy to stay with this combination.

Just my 2c worth.

Hi again Sherpi, did they say you could order the barrel before you would go abroad or when you came back?
When i sent an inquiery for a 9,3mm barrel they just asked what i was gonna do with that kind of a cannon and then said i would need to go on atleast 2 registered hunting trips abroad before i could apply for it??

Sherpi,

I own both, A Tikka and a Sauer 202 there is absolutely no comparison between the T3 and the 202, the overall quality of the Sauer is far more superior.

Roland

The cost of a Sauer 202 barrel was so expensive here in the states ($1,000) that I decided I would rather just buy a spare rifle than a spare barrel! (I haven't done either, though.)

quote:

Originally posted by Roland1:
Sherpi,

I own both, A Tikka and a Sauer 202 there is absolutely no comparison between the T3 and the 202, the overall quality of the Sauer is far more superior.

Roland

As Winston Churchill once observed, and I paraphrase, "The Americans and the English are two nations devided by the same langauge.

Roland, I grant you that the 202 is a better crafted rifle but it will not kill any better than the Tikka, indeed with the Swaro on top the Tikka is likely to be more usefull than the 202 with an inferior scope.

Although Tikka's are usually accurate and functional rifles, they have too much plastic on them for my liking ie ie bolt shroud, trigger guard and magazine housing ect...The Sauer 202 really of a much higher quality which of course refects in its price...

One other advantage of the Sauer which shouldn't be over looked is it takes down for easy transport..You can use a far smaller guncase if you intend flying with it..

Hi Sako, update on the lisence for 9.3x62 barrel. I was talking to a guy who has been 10 times abroad to hunt and the "Rikislogreglustjori" will not grant his lisence for 375 H&H so I quess the 9.3x62 barrel on a Sauer is out of the question.

A bit unfair really to compare a T3 to a Sauer. Here in Australia we could buy almost 4 T3s for the price of one Sauer.

No doubt the Sauer is a superior rifle - after all you normally get what you pay for.

But the T3 is a very practical rifle and I bet that a lot of T3s will shoot just as well as a Sauer, maybe better - lots of threads around confirming how amazingly well they do shoot out the box!

At the end of the day, the T3 will get the job done just as well for a lot less money. And the synthetic bits on it are very strong and do not rust! As a result the rifle is also lighter than a Sauer if that counts!

At the end of the day its horses for courses!

Update. I just bought a Sauer 202 classic in 6,5x55 SE with a discount. But then I went little crazy and blew the discount on a apel swing off scope mount. The plan is then to get a 9,3x62 barrel with "forest" sights. I think the 9,3x62 and the swede will be a good pair to have. And if the money is flowing then maybe a 22-250 and 30-06 barrels.
Thanks for all the respones.

Sherpi, Thats a good choice the 6.5x55 and the 9.3x62 swop barrel should cover most animals you are likely to encounter.

Congratulation,

A wise decision, I’m sure you will love the rifle.

Good luck and great hunting

Roland

Congrat's,enjoy .

lucky you. if i'd see a sauer for 1500 i would buy it now.the modular models are freekin expensive around here. around 5000 for a nice one.

Til lukku með nýja vopnið. (Congrats with the new rifle)
Kv. Ingvar Johann