Tikka T3 Hunter or Howa/Hogue

buckhalljr

buckhalljr

New member
I am going to buy a new rifle in 22-250, and have narrowed it down to either the Tikka T3 Hunter, or the Howa 1500 with the Hogue stock.

Looking for accuracy without having to work on the trigger, bedding, floating, crowning, etc. I have owned or do own Remington, Winchester, Savage, and Ruger, and wanting to try something different.

Any pros and cons on these two?

Thanks
 
I have recently bought a T3 Hunter in 223/8 twist and really like it. 12 twist is also available but I like the option to use a little heavier bullet. Feel/Action is very smooth (nicer than my Browning A Bolt)and it is probably more accurate than I am. It wears a 5-15 Bushnell Legend and the combo works great at 100/200 yards. After 2 or three boxes of ammo, have never had an issue with non firing, non ejection, feeding, etc. I like the detachable mag feature.
 
Really like my howa 22-250 mine has a 20 inch bull barrel and is very accurate. The trigger is a factory set 2 pounds and the barrel is free floated from the factory. I really don't think you would be upset if you went with the howa
 
My friend has a Howa .308 it's a good gun but you can't beat the craftsmanship of the Finnish rifles. They are super accurate and are built really well
 
I have one of each. I got the Howa used, and it came with a nice Timney trigger, so I cant speak about the factory triggers. Its a 24" Heavy barrel. The Tikka would get my vote for out of the box accuracy and ease of trigger adjustment. Either way you would have a good rifle IMHO. Good Luck
 
Do you like a DBM, or not? That is the biggest concern between the two. I love DBMs, so I went cheap and bought an Edge. If you prefer an internal box, the Howa is the way to go. If you have any thoughts on wanting a new stock, get the Howa. Tikkas, just like my Edge, have a recoil lug integral to the stock not the action. It makes restocking quite a headache. I doubt you would be upset with the performance of either one.
 
i'm shooting the .223 tikka t-3 lite now. Its really driving tacks. Its easily MOA. I really like it with the 1.5-5x20 vx3 on superlow leupold std rings and bases.

make sure you handle a hunter model in the store. I think their wood feels cheap and I haven't seen one yet that had a real nice look to the wood. I usualy prefer wood stocks but in the case of the t-3 I think the Lite models are the way to go.
 
Tikka.

My father has the T3 Lite in .22-250 and I have one in .243.

The accuracy of these guns straight out of the box and with factory ammo is nothing short of fantastic. First time out with the 243, I shot numerous groups at 100 that you could cover with a quarter and that was with low-end Federal ammo.

With a little adjustment of the trigger for a lighter pull (you can do this with an allen wrench and it takes just a minute to accomplish) it gets better.

And if you handload, it can get even better. We dialed in my father's .22-250 with a lot of load testing this summer and the accuracy is just fantastic and I'm sure the weak link is still the guy behind the stock.

Now I don't have vast experience with hundreds of rifles, but my sense is that you would have to look very long and very hard to get the accuracy of the Tika in another gun at the same price. And further, I think there are probably quite a few guns on the market today costing hundreds more that cannot under any conditions better the Tika as far as accuracy goes.

Grouse
 
Five shots at 100 yards with my howa 223 gets covered by a penny. I dont have a tikka so I can't speak to their accuracy but they get a lot of votes. Can't really make a mistake with either one just make sure you do a proper break in.
 
Originally Posted By: quicknickFive shots at 100 yards with my howa 223 gets covered by a penny. I dont have a tikka so I can't speak to their accuracy but they get a lot of votes. Can't really make a mistake with either one just make sure you do a proper break in.

Tikkas have hand lapped barrels, so there is no need to break
it in. Just start shooting tiny groups.

As for the original question, I have two Howas, and two Tikkas.
All are nice accurate rifles. If you want to fool around with
new stocks, different triggers, etc. the Howa is a better
choice. If you want to just buy it and shoot it, as is with
maybe a trigger adjustment, then buy the Tikka. I do like the
Tikka for the detachable box magazine. On the Howas, make
sure you get the three position safety model, that locks the
bolt on safety. On the older two position safeties, the
bolt is not locked shut on safety, so the brush can grab the
bolt, and unload the rifle for you. My main complaint on
Howa rifles.

Squeeze
 
I have a Tikka T-3 lite in .308 also the Howa Ranchland Security rifle in .223.

They both are very accurate but if I was limited to one, it would definitely be the Tikka.
 
Appreciate all replies.

Looks like this group leans heavily toward the Tikka. My neighbor has a Howa I am going to shoot this weekend, then I need get my hands on the T3 Hunter and Lite based on what tripledeuce said.

Thanks Again
 
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