Bergara, Savage, Tikka or Browning

[NMbackcountry]

Hey guys,

I'm looking at purchasing a 6.5 creed and I'd like a little more info on anyone's experiences with the makers listed above (average groups and consistency with factory ammo). My hope is to have a good muley gun that I can feel comfortable with out to 600 and practice/plinking at farther distances. I am leaning towards a browning or bergara but I would also consider a tikka or savage.

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[eod.mickelson]

I can't say anything for the 6.5 or the other rifles, but I have a Tikka t3x in 7mm rem mag, and I've been consistently hitting 10 inch plates at 775 almost too easily. It's an amazing shooting rifle! At 100 I'm easily sub moa using Hornady precision hunter ammo.

 

[wind gypsy]

Savage is overmatched in this comparison.

Tikka devalues some of their rifles by not having ideal barrel twists or mag space. They did the creedmoor right so that is the direction I would lean. Xbolts are nice and its good to have options with muzzle threads but the plastic stocks aren't as rigid and triggers not as nice as tikka. Bergara are nice but unless you are springing for the premium mountain version they are a little heavier.

 

[wakedye]

I have an A Bolt in 30-06 and a tikka t3 in 270 that both shoot great with factory ammo. I think you will find that either of those two would shoot well regardless of the caliber. The trigger on the brownings is a little heavy so may have to buy an aftermarket spring if you like a lighter trigger.

 

[Evergreen]

I have a Browning X Bolt Western hunter in 6.5 and it consistently shoots sub MOA with Winchester Long range 142g ABLR and Hornady 143g ELDX.

 

[JimCraig]

Here's a copy and paste from another thread with my experience:
Rifles I've owned around the $1000 mark:

Remington 700 sendero, 300 win mag. About $1200, unimpressive trigger, never shot much better than 1 MOA.
Renimgton 700 5r milspec (just what it was called), 300 win mag. About $1100, OK trigger, 3/4 MOA at best, mostly 1 MOA.
Tikka T3 stainless superlight, .308 win. $700, incredibly smooth action, great trigger, 5/8 MOA best, consistently 3/4 MOA.
Tikka T3 CTR stainless, .260 rem. $900, incredibly smooth action, great trigger, 3/8 MOA best, 1/2 MOA pretty common, never grouped over 3/4.
Tikka T3X CTR stainless, 6.5 creedmoor, $900 smooth action, great trigger, 1/2 MOA best, usually about 5/8 MOA.
Bergara HMR 6.5 creedmoor, $800, smooth action, great trigger, 5/8 MOA best, consistently 3/4.
I had the easiest time getting good groups with the Tikka CTR. Keep in mind I don't spend much time grouping, I'd rather just shoot.

 

[NMbackcountry]

Thanks for the replies guys! I've only heard great things about the tikkas but I don't have any personal experience. It seems like I may have to look into the CTR.

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[Scottyboy]

Bergara’s have always shot well for me. They have the ridge series now that comes threaded 5/8x24 if you run cans or brakes

As mentioned earlier they are a tad heavy, but they are shooters with factory ammo.

 

[JollyRoger]

I’ve got a T3X Lite in 6.5 and it’s great. It’s shot everything I’ve tried through it really well. Best group I ever shot was 9 rounds in a ragged hole... and one maybe 3/4” away from the rest ( the infamous ‘one’ to ruin a perfect group!). Overall it’s consistent, smooth, built well, and lightweight.

The others you mentioned make solid rifles too. It really comes down to what features you want and how they feel to you. For me any Tikka or the Bergara HMR would be my top two choices based on feel (haven’t shot the HMR yet)


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[Hiwayman92]

The Tikka is a great option. The only issue I’ve come across is the extremely long throat, which seems to be common among 6.5 CM guns. With the 143 ELD-X but coal is 2.940”. That’s .140 longer than SAAMI. Luckily it shoots .25-.5 MOA at Mag length, 2.901, but it doesn’t feed well at that length, and the bullets in the mag get flattened tips under recoil. The action and trigger are smooth as silk though. I think I’ll rebarrel to 26” with a better reamer design. 143’s at 2900+ with RL-26 and no recoil sounds pretty inviting. PRC velocity with less powder and better brass.


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[Mackay Sagebrush]

I have owned Savage, Tikka and Browning. No experience with Bergara. With that said, hands down, I would opt for the Tikka. The out of the box accuracy is better than some of the guns from big name "custom" shops.

 

[notchfir3]

I own all three brands. I have an X-bolt in 270 with a french walnut stock, a tikka superlight in 308, and a savage 110 also in 270 with accutrigger and a wood stock. The x-bolt shoots nice tiny groups with 130 grain accubonds and barnes bullets, the 308 also shoots very good with barnes bullets, and the savage shoots lights out with 240 grain accubonds that have been discontinued, but I've bought enough to last me quite awhile. I don't see any one of these guns having an advantage over another in terms of accuracy. They all shoot great.​

 

[manitou1]

All my X-bolts have shot great. I have two .280s that shot 1/2" groups with the first handloads I developed for them... and the first time firing them.

 

[2five7]

If your budget is around $1000-@1200, hard to beat one of the Hells Canyon X-bolts. For lightweight, the "Speed" is under 6.5 lbs, and the "Long Range" model is about 7.5 lbs. Both have factory removable brakes with thread protectors included. Factory cerakote on all the metal.

If you don't mind waiting a little bit, the new X-bolt Max looks pretty awesome. Street price should be right around 1k.

https://www.browning.com/products/f...t-production/xbolt-max-long-range-hunter.html

 

[jhm2023]

I've owned all of the ones you mentioned except a Bergara. The Tikkas I've owned (3 or them) all shot between 1/2 and 3/4 MOA, triggers are top notch for this price point, and the action is smoother than some rifles that cost A LOT more. One important thing to me personally on the Tikka is the fact that the bolt locks shut. It's never fun pulling up your rifle after busting brush to find your bolt open and a round missing. Also a lot of after market stuff out there to modify it the way you want.

EDIT: Forgot to mention that Tikka superlites have the same barrels as the Sako finnlights if that tells you anything about the quality.

 

[cornfedkiller]

Not much to add to this thread other than I and a few friends have Bergara B-14 hunters and have 0 complaints about it, other than I wish it was a half pound lighter, but at 7.05#, its not bad. Groups are all around 1/2 moa with 143gr eldx.

I was torn between the bergara and tikka (Didnt love the action on the browning), but settled on the bergara after liking the stock and the blind magazine better than the tikka, and I have no regrets.

 

[3sdad]

I have 2 tikkas in 6.5 creedmoor, 1 ctr, and 1 superlite. Both shoot 1/2 - 3/4 moa with 143eldx handloads. Great trigger, smooth action, and shoot good. Fair price. Tikka gets my vote.

 

[Firestone]

Ive got a tikka ultralite in 6.5cm and it will shoot moa all day. Its a great mountain rifle for the price