The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Small Calibers Weatherby Vanguard vs. Tikka T3Go | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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Gentlemen, I did a search for this topic first and didn't find what I was looking for. I am thinking about a .22-250 for a walking varminter/fun rifle (with Seafire's Blue Dot loads), and am looking for input on which you would pick and why. I have considered the caliber option sufficiently, and am pretty well set on this one. I had a chance to handle both this afternoon, and both felt pretty good. What are your thoughts on triggers, feeding, bbl length diffs (Weatherby is 24", Tikka is 22"), amount of plastic, ease of finding a good load, etc. The Tikka is a stainless with a grey laminate stock for $920. The Weatherby is blued with a tan "spider-web" stock for $700. Thanks for your thoughts, Regards, Graham | ||
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The Tikka will have the better trigger out of the box. Tikka triggers are excellent. You won't want to mess with it. There are a couple of good aftermarket triggers for the Vanguard, which aren't bad to begin with, but they can be improved. Also, I question the utility of a 22" .22-250. Isn't that just a very loud .223? If you want a .22-250, the barrel length of the Vanguard would seem to suggest it is the better choice. So I haven't answered the question but maybe given you something to think about. LWD | |||
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I dont own either rifle but my friend has the Vanguard in 22-250. The trigger is heavy and a ton of creep.With reloads I was never able to get the rifle to shot much better than 1 inch. The stock is cheap and your better off the the Tikka or a Savage. NRA life member,Colt Armoror | |||
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Thanks for the quick replies. I like the Weatherby stock shape, but the Tikka material better. The Barrel length issue did come to mind, which is why I mentioned it. Thanks for the help! Please keep it coming, Regards, Graham | |||
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I don't have any experience with the Wby but I have a Tikka T3 Lite. I very much like the rifle and it shoots well. The trigger is very good right out of the box. The lite barrel heats up quite quickly with the 22-250 loads so it probably is not one to do high volume varmint shooting. The only other drawback as far as I am concerned is the detachable magazine. I much prefer a conventional integral magazine with a hinged floorplate. I have driven 40mi. to the range only to find that I left the mag on the work bench and had a hard to load single shot. I now make sure before each trip to the range that all Tikkas have the magazine in place. Still I worry about loosing a mag in the field. This is not an issue with Winchester, Remington, Ruger..... I have never had a feed issue with factory loads or my reloads. The T3 will come with extruded aluminum scope mounts. I change mine to steel during the barrel break-in process and the groups tightened up after resetting zero. I am not sure if this is due to barrel break-in or the better scope mounts. ******************************************************* For every action, there is an equal and opposite malfunction. | |||
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Graham, Just as a note, if you use Blue Dot loads, the shorter barrel will not be a handicap.. nor the longer barrel and asset.. Remember Blue Dot is traditionally a shot gun or magnum pistol powder.. therefore performs in short barrels as maximum pressure builds much quicker than slower powders, hence a longer barrel is neither benefit or deterent... Cheers seafire  Life Member: The American Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Jan 20, 2009.. Prisoner in Dumocrat 'Occupied America', Partisan in the 'Save America' Underground Beavis..... James Beavis..... Of Her Majesty's Secret Service..... Spell Check Division "Posterity — you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." John Quincy Adams A reporter did a human-interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him "Why do you carry a 45?" The Ranger responded, "Because they don't make a 46." Duhboy....Nuttier than Squirrel Poop... | |||
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Seafire, Thanks for the heads up  I was sort of hoping for a longer barrel length so as not to limit myself for shooting "full house" loads, thought much of my shooting will be close to 200-300 yards (only occasionaly beyond that.) The consesus seems to be leaning toward the Tikka, here and on the Varmint forum. Just to throw in another variable, I have an option to look at a Stevens 200 in .22-250 for $280 or so. That is an option, for what it is worth.Thanks for the replies, Regards, Graham | |||
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Graham, I can't vouche for what stores are available in BC.. but at least stateside, if a Walmart is around... for just a little more than the Stevens, you can pick up a Savage Package rifle with the accutrigger which would be worth the extra few bucks.. even if you have to take the disposable 22 Long Rifle scope they throw on top and call it a "package" series... Life Member: The American Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Jan 20, 2009.. Prisoner in Dumocrat 'Occupied America', Partisan in the 'Save America' Underground Beavis..... James Beavis..... Of Her Majesty's Secret Service..... Spell Check Division "Posterity — you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it." John Quincy Adams A reporter did a human-interest piece on the Texas Rangers. The reporter recognized the Colt Model 1911 the Ranger was carrying and asked him "Why do you carry a 45?" The Ranger responded, "Because they don't make a 46." Duhboy....Nuttier than Squirrel Poop... | |||
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We have a walmart here in town, but I rarely go into the place, prefering to spend a bit more at the local gun shop where I know that quality will be more "guaranteed". I had not thought of a package gun. Also, Walmart up here does not seem to carry firearms (Canadian regulations, I think). I will have to take a look at that possibly. Thanks. Regards, Graham | |||
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I beg to differ with the concenses! First of all, the person who stated that his buddy's Vanguard had a cheap plastic stock on it failed to realize the version you are looking at has a nice Bell and Carlson stock on it, hardly a cheap plastic stock. Furthermore, who in their right mind would want a cartridge like the 22-250 in a short 22 inch barrel? Hello! Trigger creap, go stick a 69 dollar Timney on it. And who wants a clip on a nice bolt rifle over a bottom plate? You need to get the Vanguard in my opinion, and I do have one. The stock on the vanguard is classic Weatherby, the stock on the Tikka is typical European BS. My two cents. Socialism works great until you run out of the other person's money...... | |||
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AggieDog, Thanks for the input. The Vangard I looked at here at my local gun shop had a pretty decent stock on it, and when I shouldered it, it felt pretty good. What do you get for accuracy our of yours? Regards, Graham | |||
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AggieDog, I like the clip's on my Tikkas, I find them easier to use when moving around a lot in a vehicle from spot to spot and I have to unload and reload the gun often. Why do you feel the bottom plate is superior? I do feel the replacement price of the clips is a bit outrageous but luckily I havent broken/lost one yet, they seem to be well made. | |||
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I have the Stevens 200 in 22/250 and for a gun to carry in the truck or ORV and bang around it is the ticket. I have lightened the trigger down to about 3.5 lb. and have a 3-9x40 Leupold VX-II on it. It is not set up or purchased for long range varmits just coyotes and small feral hogs on the farm. Very light and handy. So far it is most accurate with Hornady V Max 55gr. and moderate load of H-380. Have used 4 Tikkas and they are all great, very accurate with no tuning and a great trigger. Cheap looking rifles that will shoot with any high dollar rifle and sometimes outshoot them. I own one in 7-08 and it is a shooter with 120 NBT's loaded at moderate velocities with Varget. I would recommend the Tikka to anyone. Merg | |||
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Actually it was developed specifically for the U.S. market where you fellas love those slab sided "classic" style stocks (with no drop at the heel) that fit few people properly. Typical European is Monte Carlo or Hogsback. Look at the previous Tikkas - most had Monte Carlo or semi Montecarlo stocks. | |||
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I have a couple of problems with the detachable mag on my Tikkas. First as I said in my post above, you can run off and leave your magazines at home. You can also loose them in the field if they fall out of your pocket or vest. You can't run to your local Wally World and pick up Tikka mags.  The other thing is that you have to remove the magazine from the gun to top it up. This can lead to some fumbling as you are trying to keep hold of rifle magazine and cartridges all at the same time in a tree stand. You can treat the gun as a single shot and simply lay each cartridge on top of the mag and throw the bolt home, but you can't top up the magazine without removing it from the gun. Ganted, these are not major drawbacks till you have to pay $50-$70 for a Tikka magazine, and the rest are inconviences but I personally prefer a integral double stack magazine with a floor plate. ******************************************************* For every action, there is an equal and opposite malfunction. | |||
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I have had far more trouble with internal mags than I have ever had with detachable mags. I particularly dont like internal mags in cold weather and find them almost impossible to load with cold fingers or with gloves on. I have used detachable mags now for over 30 years and will no longer buy a rifle without one. My tikka T3 has well over 4000 rounds through it and the mag still feeds as slick as snot between your fingers. I firmly believe that the Tikka T3 is better quality than the weatherby vanguard. The Tikka with its excellent Sako barrel and trigger will shoot very well indeed, straight from the box, without any problems. The Tikka's are the best value around as far as i'm concerned | |||
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[/QUOTE]First as I said in my post above, you can run off and leave your magazines at home. You can also loose them in the field if they fall out of your pocket or vest.[/QUOTE] Exactly the same thing can be done with your rifle bolt, or your ammo, or your car keys etc........ Whilst it may take a little getting used to, detachable mags have their advantages too - like vertical stack feeding - the best & most reliable way, and the ability to quickly reload another mag if you are organised... | |||
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I went thru military training at a young age and my 1st center fire rifle was a .303 Lee Enfield. Detachable mags are like 2nd nature to me. I have them on 3 of my rifles and have never lost a mag or had a single failure due to them. I think they will be common before too long, prolly supplanting the floorplate mag eventually. | |||
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I have 3 Tikka T3, one is 22-250, love them all and hard to beat for money. Ozarkguns.com have had the best prices for every Tikka I bought. http:www.ozarkguns.com/ | |||
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sorry try this link http://www.ozarkguns.com/ | |||
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Gentlemen, Thanks for all the insight! I have been off the computer for a couple of days, and this has been a great help. Thanks all very much. Good shooting, and small groups, Graham | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Small Calibers Weatherby Vanguard vs. Tikka T3
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