Your varmit rifles.

[mitchell koster]

Hi all.

I'm 18 in about 5-6 months and am want to start saving my money on a varmit rifle that will be my present to myself. I was wonder if people could post some pictures of their varmitters with a brief description of what it is and what load its in.

At the moment i'm leaning towards a Tikka T3 varmit or the reminton 700 varmit both in .243!! With a high power scope on top.

THanks in advance.

MK

[10mmAuto]

I see you're in Australia so unfortunately I can't give you any personal guidance because all my rifles are semi-automatic which are tightly controlled in Aus.

I'd go with the Tikka over the Remington. Stock Remingtons, especially the low end ones, have poor QC.

[mitchell koster]

Yes very disapointing not being able to have semi's haha I really like the tikka's but i see the accuracy of the rems is awesome!!

[viking499]

I would also go with the Tikka over the Remington.

[BusGunner007]

I would choose a Remington 700 BDL over the Tikka.
I haven't seen any poor quality from Remington other than in internet forums...

I don't believe the Tikka can be 'top-loaded' through the port, as the Remington can.
The Tikka must have the magazine removed to load it up.

Try both at the gunshop.
You may like one over the other when you're actuall holding it.
I find Remington's 700 rifles to be of good quality, with the features I like.
They work for ME.

Good Luck.

[Fat White Boy]

If you don't mind a single shot rifle, look at the Model 1885. Mine is a high wall in .22-250. You won't be disappointed...

[phil mcwilliam]

A mate bought a new Tikka in 22-250 6 months ago & Ive had a few shots out of it & it impressed me. I have a sako 22-250 heavy barrel & this works well as a varmit gun, but is a pain to carry around if stalking through the mountains due to the weight of the barrel.
My prefered caliber for varmits is 22-250, but you may want the 243 to hunt fallow deer as well. The only caution I would give is the heavier barrels of a varmit rifle make them heavy to carry all day if you decide to use them as a dual purpose stalking rifle.

[Rob96]

I'd go with the Tikka over the Remington. Stock Remingtons, especially the low end ones, have poor QC.

I purchased a new 700ADL Varmint from Dick's last November in 308. With the factory synthetic stock, Mueller APT tactical scope and my handloads this rifle consistently shoots .55 to .59moa. The bolt is smooth. The X-Mark Pro trigger needed no adjustment. The matte finish is nice and even. All in all worth more than the $419 I paid for it.

[shanzlik]

Since you asked for pictures, here's the one I would use if I couldn't use my semiautos. Remington 700 SPS stainless with heavy barrel in .223. Bushnell 4200 Elite Tactical 6-24x50 with mildot. It's setup as a less expensive to shoot trainer fo my .308, but it would do okay for varmints.

[precision_shooter]

I don't believe the Tikka can be 'top-loaded' through the port, as the Remington can.
The Tikka must have the magazine removed to load it up.

Wrong...

I load my Tikka through the port 1 at a time every time i'm at the range. You have to leave the magazine in the rifle so the round does not fall out the mag well, but it can be loaded very easily through the ejection port...

The accuracy of the Tikka's is very good as well. Tikka guarantees a 3-shot 1 inch group at 100 yards and makes sure every rifle will shoot this prior to it leaving the factory...

[billnourse]

Tikka is very accurate, very smooth, and has a good trigger. I have had and seen Rem that just would not shoot to my standards, and I have not seen a Tikka that wouldn't.

Bill

[mitchell koster]

Thanks guy for the replies. I really want this to be a good that i can work loads up to be able to shoot under an inch with. The reasoning for the .243 is so that i can use it for deer. I would get a .223 or the .22-250 but they're not legal in terms of shooting deer with.

I really like both rifles but haven't heard heaps of reviews about the tikka. Do savage make a good Varmit rifle???

Thanks all.

MK

[mitchell koster]

I wouldn't get a single shot because if something when wrong while shooting deer I would want a quick follow up shot.

MK

[shanzlik]

Savage makes good rifles. I'd check and see if they have .243 in their model 10 lineup if that's the caliber you want.

[BrthrB]

No experience with the Tikka but the heavy barrelled Rem 700's I have shoot under 1 inch all the time and generally stay in the .5 to .75 range. I have a 308 and 223 but no 243.

I have also had good luck with the Savage 10p series in 223 and 308. Savage 223 was much better than the 308 but both are under 1 inch.

[GeauxTide]

I've owned Remington 700s for more than 40 years and have never had one issue. I still own three. Savage has made great strides in their rifles and I just acquired a 16FLHSS Weather Warrior in 260. The Accutrigger and Accustock have been getting rave reviews and the price is very reasonable. I'm with several others - check the fit and decide which one you like and fits you the best.

[Jhedges]

These are my two varmint rifles.
Remington VTR-----.308 win, with hs precision stock, TPS rings and bases. (it no longer wears the Nikon Prostaff) shoot Hornady 150 superformance for now, looking into a nikon monarch 2.5-10x42 mil-dot.

Thompson Center Encore Prohunter- .204 ruger, 3-9x40 nikon prostaff. shoot Hornady 32 gr. V-Max

[Abel]

I wouldn't want to stroll too far from the truck with a bull-barreled target rifle. I would rather have a sporter weight rifle in a varmint caliber. The Tikka T3 Lite in 243 with a 3-9x40mm scope would be the ticket for a lightweight varminter capable of downing deer-sized game.

[sc928porsche]

My varmit rifle is a custom 98k mauser in 22-250.

[Ideal Tool]

Hello, mitchell koster. Since you are from Australia, I would recommend one of the very nice custom martini sporters, perhaps in .222 rimmed?

[Doodlebugger45]

I agree wholeheartedly with the .243 cartridge. In the varmint class I have a .223 and the .243. The .243 is way more versatile and useful. Personally, I have a Savage and like it. But if I was starting from scratch, I would take a really long look at the Tikka and the Marlin XS7.

[nathaniel]

I have Savage Model 10 FCP in 308 topped with a BSA Panther 6.5-20x44mm.

[pythagorean]

The first varmint rifle was the .22 Hornet.
To date I would think of this caliber in a rifle as my first choice.

[Picher]

I just had my Rem 700 ADL re-barrelled to .243 Win and love it! Just finished pillar-bedding it last evening and will try it again today. The bedding had to be modified after installing the new barrel. It had been many years since bedding with Acraglas and it wasn't pillar-bedded, which I feel is a big improvement.

Trying it as it came from the gunsmith, it seemed to string shots slightly diagonally upward to the left. Shots were touching, but strung out 0.7" at 100 yards. Ammo was reloaded, using new cases and Barnes TSX 85 grain bullets ahead of 39 grains of IMR 4064. Seating depth was 0.05" off the lands, as Barnes recommends as a starting point.

I realize that 7/10" groups are pretty good for hunting bullets, but I'm determined to eliminate stringing. I think the rifle is capable of close to 3/8" with good-shooting bullets, like my favorite Sierras spitzers.

The new barrel is a Pac-Nor super-match stainless, 1/9 twist, target crowned, and lightly bead-blasted. It's kinda pretty.

With it's prior barrel, a .22-250 Rem factory, it won so many turkey shoots, it was banned, and that was shooting offhand at 50 and 100 yards! It also helped me win the "Best Damned Shot in Maine" match several years ago.

If I didn't have so much history with the rifle, it would have been sold or traded to get a .243 Win, since I don't hunt chucks or crows much any more and needed a combo coyote/deer rifle that could be used by the grandkids. This one will definitely fill the bill.

I hope to shoot it today, though quite windy, to re-sight it in after bedding. It may not have changed significantly, but you never know.

I'll keep you posted.

[Picher]

It was way too windy (20 mph) for group shooting today, but the .243 Win was within 2 moa of the previous zero and groups were round instead of strung out. It grouped under 1 moa at 100, but not a fair test.