.243 Rifle choice

I'm exclusively a Sako user too....looked at the A7 but it looks like the ******* love child of an 85 and a T3, not impressed. I think Beretta have been sticking their oar in too much and focusing on the all mighty American market to the detriment of Sako.

I have 3 75's and will be buried with them (not too soon I hope).

I shot and owned Brownings, BRNOs, Sauers and Winchesters but the Sako is just the right tool for the job.
 
Have a look on the inside front page of the current Sporting Gun, GMK are offering a T3 Lite in .243 with Optilock mounts and a Burris Four X 3-12X56 Ir scope for £1,200.
 
To been honest I think you need to get your hands on as rifles as poss because how it feels is half the battle .
Lets face most of the rifles mentioned will do the job you need them to do. Good luck with the mine field of choice
gaz. :???:
 
long_range_rob said:
I'm exclusively a Sako user too....looked at the A7 but it looks like the ******* love child of an 85 and a T3, not impressed. I think Beretta have been sticking their oar in too much and focusing on the all mighty American market to the detriment of Sako.

I have 3 75's and will be buried with them (not too soon I hope).
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The A7 is a Sako 75 action with screw on weaver bases and a plastic mag’, much cheaper to manufacture that the old taper mounts and stainless steel mag’ of the original 75.

I have had all three makes mentioned and all will get the job done, I like the 3 lug bolts on the Browning and Sakos but not the plastic mag’s on T3, A7 and X-Bolt.I like the tang safety on the X-Bolt, The Howa is a solid rifle well made by traditional engineering methods. T3s have too much plastic for me but shoot well, if you want a DM on the Howa again it will be plastic. If you want to buy once without compromise I would look at a Second-hand Sako 75 or 85. Neither will be shot out by any means. The others are good rifles which will not shoot you any less deer but you will always hanker after a Sako, the other choices I would consider if you can find them is a good Tikka 595, Swiss Hunting Rifle, SHR, or a A-Bolt, the A-Bolt to my mind had the best magazine arrangement for a stalking rifle only down side is the safety has to come off to open the bolt. All three are top notch rifles and the manufacture only stopped due to political considerations.

Try them all and then find which one you like best.

ATB

Tahr
 
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I like the Remington 700 as its so customisable which to me was a big thing as it allows me to make the rifle 'my own' rather than the same as everyone else's. so far I have upgraded the stock but will be doing the trigger and bolt in the not to near distant future :)

It's great fun and teaches you quite a bit about the workings!
 
I see that Howa is getting mentioned, I am only coming to my choices through reading reviews and not through experience. Do you think that there are other better choices in synthetic/stainless that I could look at.

Cheers
 
Push the boat out and get a sako 85 finnlight,failing that get a T3 s/s lite,iv"e got both and love em.
Atb John.
 
Ive shot a Sako 85 and I must say it was very nice, if I had the money I would get one. I currently own a Tikka T3 in stainless/laminate in 6.5x55 and it is a very nice gun, good trigger, lightweight, looks smart, no frills, accurate and well built rifle. I also own an m595 in .22-250 and if I am honest I would say the 595 is a better built and feels more refined. Look out for a second hand one of these but as others have said and I will also say, go out and handle some guns, if you like the feel of something then go for that, otherwise you will be buying for the sake of a name rather that what feels nice/right for you.
 
Have you considered a Sauer .202 Outback, Elegance or Wolverine?

I have three Sauers and they smash the pants off of anything I've had... EVER. So lovely to use that I binned my Armalon .308 for a fancy .308 Elegance and now use it as a target rifle. Sauer do a 202 in full synth stock, its called the outback, I have one in L/H .243 and its simply epic, may be worth a thought. I must add that I can guarantee this message will inspire a foray of negative comments about the Sauer safety catch solution, I personally find it a very elegant and well engineered safety catch.

J
 
MONGOOSE said:
You won't go wrong with the T3 mate its the best value rifle around in its price range IMO , you can get a brand new one for £700 ish and a bit more for the stainless stay away from the browning if I were you, if you can afford the sako 85 they are an awesome rifle but are they worth nearly double the price of the T3 I don't think so I've got a T3 and a howa 1500 but I really love the t3 the trigger is absolutely awesome and the bolt is as smooth as silk it's an absolute cracker IMO....
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+1 with Mongoose i have three Tika T3 hunters had them for years no problems.

Jimbo
 
jodi said:
I see that Howa is getting mentioned, I am only coming to my choices through reading reviews and not through experience. Do you think that there are other better choices in synthetic/stainless that I could look at.

Cheers
Click to expand...

I have a Kimber Montana in .243 and I love it. Stainless, synthetic and weighs only 5 pounds 4 ounces. I wouldn't swap it for a Sako.
Kimber America | Montana
 
My advice would be to go to Macleods in Tain; speak to Gregor, explain what you are looking for and your budget, and allow yourself plenty of time. See which rifle feels right for you. Macleods have a good reputation, and they also sell a lot of second-hand scopes.
 
jodi said:
Hello, I am looking to buy my first new .243 rifle for fox and deer stalking (just got my FAC), I have been looking at tikka T3 lite s/s and x-bolt stainless fluted synthetic. I have also started looking at the sako A7 as I like the safety that lets you open the bolt when the safety is still engaged, same as the browning. Is the A7 worth the extra money? or do you think it's better to save up a bit more dosh and go for the sako 85 s/s. This is my first rifle and I don't won't to buy again so if I have to wait a while longer I don't mind. There are a lot of reviews on these rifles, does it just come down to what feels right or is one technically better than the other

Thanks'
Click to expand...

youll never go wrong with a sako
 
Can't go wrong with a Tikka T3!! Shoot well, good trigger pulls and good price. What more can you ask in a first rifle
 
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