Help me convince myself choosing the "better" option

[Bugaboo]

Hey Folks!

I'm a new Hunter in the Market for his first Rifle, been reading and watching reviews for a while now. Caliberwise I'm pretty sure I'm going with a .308, since I'm in BC and can shoot pretty much anything except for brown bears.

But I have trouble deciding on a Rifle.. I don't have a set Budget, but since I'm still new to the Sport and everything I would like to keep it on the "cheaper" side...

That said, the Options I narrowed it down to are the Tikka T3x Lite (1100 CAD) or the Ruger American (599 CAD)

Clearly the Tikka is the Winner of the two, but I have a hard time justifying to myself to pay double the Money for the Rifle.

Until I hopefully get a good/better Shot down the Road, the difference in accuracy between the tikka and the ruger are probably not noticable to a beginner like me. the guns shoot sub 1-2 moa, I probably won't.

Somewhere torn between buy once, cry once and that the cheaper of the both is probably more accurate than I'll ever be and I won't notice a difference anyways...

What are your guys thoughts on it? Is it really worth for a beginning to drop the extra bucks on it? TIA!

 

[cjcavinaw]

I would say without a doubt the tikka is the way to go. I started with a savage axis and not even a year later ended up buying the tikka. Buy once cry once is the truth and we'll worth it in this case, the tikka is a rifle that will last a lifetime and though the ruger will get the job done, the same can't necessarily be said.

One thing to keep in mind especially as a new shooter is when you have a solid rifle set up (circle of components) it takes all the doubt and worry out of the system when something isn't going the way you think it should. It tells you that you have something to work on and you're no longer guessing if there is something wrong with the rifle.

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[Ice-kub]

Check out gunpost and filter by your location. Can sometimes find a "used" tikka for a few hundred less than new.

 

[Brandon.miller.4]

Had a ruger american as a truck gun. Would regularly have misfires with factory ammo and all the components including the stock have a rough finish and cheap feel. The tikka is a quality gun, and with the t3x stock you can swap out the grip for a vertical (must do). Out of the 9 I have personally handled, not one of them WASNT a shooter. All 9 ranging from 6.5 creed to 300 win shot under 1" for 5 shot groups. Same could not be said about my ruger. I'd also not be surprised if with a little practice you could outshoot the gun...it truly doesn't take years and years of shooting to get consistent on the bench at 100 yards. Before the BR guys get squirrelly I'm talking about "hunting" gun consistent and sub 1-1.5" groups.

Go tikka and don't look back. There's a reason you're seeing a million people build off of their actions. Also being that you're in BC I'd put some value on having a stainless gun!

 

[ElPollo]

You could buy a Ruger and save some money in the short run, but you will likely sell it at some point at a loss and buy the Tikka anyway. A friend of mine was thinking about buying a Ruger American recently because they were inexpensive and, by all the gun reports, accurate. My response was that an accurate gun is a thing that is not hard to come by in this day and age, but a reliable accurate gun is. The Ruger has a frustratingly rough action that doesn’t feed particularly well and it has a shitty trigger and stock. Out of those four problems, you can fix the trigger and get to about the cost of what you can buy a used Tikka for. I also don’t think stainless is an option for the Ruger. Tikkas on the other hand have the slickest and most reliable action, the best and most reliable detachable magazine, the best factory trigger you’re going to get and a very reasonable stock. It has a very robust aftermarket for additional parts that you will only really need if you get bored with what you have or on the off chance that you shoot it enough to need a new barrel.

 

[Moose83]

I've owned both. All my primary hunting rifles are now tikkas.

 

[Superdoo]

If you can afford the Tikka and still put some decent glass on it, then do it. You wont regret it.
If the tikka will make you financially uncertain or you won't feel like you have the money to buy ammo and get out, then buy the ruger. You won't regret it because you'll be having fun and also have the option to slowly save money for another rifle while you are still able to get out and have fun.

The main objective is to start. After that's accomplished the goal is to simply continue. Don't get in the weeds on gear decisions, because in the end you'll still need to find out what works for your individual style, fit and preferences. We all do this (hunting/shooting/the outdoors) differently.

 

[Fordguy]

Lol. So much Ruger American hate... I've handled and fired quite a lot of them in a number of calibers and have yet to encounter the feeding issues that people keep mentioning. The only issue I've encountered with the American is that the bolt handle can be bumped up and out of battery- resulting in a loud click and failure to fire when the trigger is pulled. If a guy pays attention this isn't really a problem. Ruger Americans can be difficult to find in stainless, but there are some out there. I've hunted in rain and snow with the standard Ruger Americans many times over the years and haven't had any rust. Every one of them that I've used has been capable of the accuracy you mentioned (or a good bit better). They aren't pretty, but they are a solid, functional rifle.
My experience with Tika is minimal, not enough of a sample to comment but they definitely have curb appeal.

 

[jjwise97]

I had a Ruger American briefly and I shot decent groups but the bolt would hang up if you didn’t run the action hard. I’ve heard many similar stories. Maybe just less QC leaving burrs in the chamber. But for the price, they do seem to be good guns. Though I’d still vote to go with the Tikka, it is more expensive but for what you get it still seems to be a great value.

 

[KenLee]

Not one of your 2 choices, but some unsolicited advice: IF you can find a TC Venture, the feel and accuracy is as good or better than the Tikka (to me). The price is similar to the cheap Ruger.

 

[Rich M]

What it comes down to is do you just want a hunting gun or do you need a gun you can easily modify and tinker with cause it can be modified and made "better". You may want to do this, I dunno.

I tend to buy guns and use em as they are. My Ruger American is a 1/2-inch gun. I like Ruger and would have no problem getting another.

Up to you - do you just want a gun to hunt with or do you want to tinker with it? You won't be able to tell the difference between the two guns at the target.

 

[Fordguy]

I had a Ruger American briefly and I shot decent groups but the bolt would hang up if you didn’t run the action hard. I’ve heard many similar stories. Maybe just less QC leaving burrs in the chamber. But for the price, they do seem to be good guns. Though I’d still vote to go with the Tikka, it is more expensive but for what you get it still seems to be a great value.

I have noticed that they all seem to have some chatter when you close the bolt. Almost a zipper like sound to begin with, but it smooths out and improves with use. I'm guessing it's just tooling marks that smooth out over time. While I've never seen one that was silky smooth, it's not something that I've found to make any difference in functionality in the rifles that I've used. Maybe I'm just lucky...

 

[SDHNTR]

No comparison. The Ruger is a POS. Go handle the two yourself. You will make up your own mind.

 

[Szwampdonkey]

Lol, IGNORE the hate on the Ruger man. As a beginner i strongly suggest you pick up the Ruger, put a half decent scope on it, then get it out in the woods and enjoy life. The Ruger will absolutely do the job you want it to do.

There are tons of other things you can spend your money on down the line or just hunt with what you got indefinitely. Rokslide guys like to push to what is perceived as the best, alpha glass, etc but that stuff absolutely isn’t required to hunt.

I started out 35 years ago with hand me down stuff from my Dad that was handed down to him. My first gun i purchased myself for Deer hunting in WI was a Remington 870 for like $200 bucks. Guess what, i still have those guns in my gun cabinet and i enjoyed hunting back then just as much as i do now.

 

[echampion8]

I have 5 Tikkas and 1 RAP. The Tikka is a better rifle for sure. Tikka has a better factory trigger. Tikka has a better finish (no pun intended). Tikka has a much smoother action. Tikka has better aftermarket support. Tikka has more models and chamberings to choose from. Tikka mags have more reliable feeding than the Ruger rotary mag, but I have found the Ruger AICS mags to be just as reliable.

However, the Ruger is just accurate. My Ruger, with the magpul stock, was a half minute 5 shot with factory match ammo out of the box. I added a JARD trigger to mine and that trigger easily rivals the Tikka trigger (have not shot groups since the install). The only person that can decide whether it’s worth the extra cost is you.

If upgrading down the road, Tikka. If fit and finish is your thing, Tikka. If you’re just using it as an accurate range/hunting rifle, either will serve your purpose, but Ruger will do it at a much lower price point. One big reason I have the Ruger is the price point. I want to have at least one budget minded setup. I won’t feel too bad dropping a $1000 setup off a bluff but would feel horrible doing that to a $4000 setup. Same if it got lost or stolen on a trip.


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[JPeters218]

I’ve been down this road. Even if right now you think your wants or needs aren’t going to change, they very well could. I’m on my 5th and 6th rifle in 3 years (I only keep 2 at a time. Still young so I have a limited budget). Just buy the Tikka, you’re not gonna regret it. It’s the better rifle. And if in a year or two or three you decide you want to tweak something, the aftermarket support is there for the tikka and you won’t have to buy a new rifle.

 

[CobraChicken]

A buddy has a ruger as his reliable coyote gun. They seem to shoot just fine. It's a ranch gun, it's seen abuse and it shoots great time and time again. Also shot tikkas. They shoot just fine.

I just didn't get either because at the time I got a screaming deal on a 300 weatherby vanguard. Out the door about 500$ (older model). I threw on a cheaper vortex diamondback tactical on it for another $350 or so. This was 6 years ago. Buried in the clearance rack.

Point is, I am positive there are better rifles out there. Probably better rounds. Definitely lighter setups. Probably better triggers. Probably better set ups as a whole but it has never failed me. Tack driver and always reliable. IMHO don't get suckered into paying thousands for a rifle. Shoot what you want and what you would feel comfortable with. Most modern rifle rounds will take most big game animals you would be pursuing. Plus if I break it, I'm not gonna have an aneurysm about how much the rifle was.

Just my 0.02

 

[SDHNTR]

I was raised to save your money and buy the best when buying a rifle. Rifles were something to be cherished. Passed down as family heirlooms. When you held one in your hands you admired the craftsmanship. They were hard to afford, but well built, and took lots of patience saving up to buy. Guess those times are gone. Cheap prevails. Sad really.

 

[Thinkingman]

I own Tikkas for the same reasons listed above, however I do not feel compelled to upgrade anything on them. People like to rag on the T3 stock but I have to say, other than being slight slick in cold weather, it provides a very stable platform to shoot tiny groups.
The Ruger might punch holes where it's pointed, or it might not.
It won't feel like a Tikka.
If you ever want to sell, a Tikka is going to be much more desirable than a Ruger.