Help Me Choose - BSA - PH - VOERE - TIKKA

[Dimner]

Greetings everyone,

Recently I traded away my Tikka T3 Hunter .308 for 3 black powder muzzle loaders and a pile of ML equipment. Heck of a deal that I couldn't really pass up. All three of the front stuffers are unique, and I can go out and get a Tikka any old day to replace mine. So now, I'm in need of a scoped stalking rifle. I love(ed) my Tikka. Nice light/medium weight, great action, great looking, super accurate. Since I have the option to look far and wide for a new scoped stalker, I have been finding all kinds of rifles and manufacturers that I really have not looked into much before. So I need some help sorting them out and figuring out what is good and what is trash.

Here are my requirements.

Caliber - of choice is 30-06. I could be persuaded to go back to 308 if an amazing rifle/deal came along (like I found with the T3 Hunter), but I like the 30-06 better because I find it easier to use cast bullets with the 30-06.

Stock - Must be wood. And monte carlo with the roll over cheek piece is almost an absolute.

Barrel - 22" or 24" preferred , 20" minimum.

Weigh - Must be similar in weight to the T3 Hunter. I believe that was around 7 or 7.5 lbs.

I'll be using this for shooting from 100 to 500 yards. Either paper, steel or game. (Okay, I wont be shooting anything living past 300 yards, and even with that I have never even had a chance at a shot that long)

The Tikka T3 Forest in 30-06 is my fall back. I can get one of those for $619 brand new shipped. Not a bad fall back plan. I know I'll love the rifle. I just need some help sorting out the others that I have found. I'm nut for a vintage rifle.

So here's the list so far kind of in order of my current preference. The big thing I cannot figure out (since I cannot hold these in person) is the weight of these rifles. All of these visually and feature wise are acceptable to me.

BSA Monarch Deluxe 1st pattern - $400
BSA CF-2 - $350
Voere Austrian 98 (1977 mfg) - $500 (too expensive?)
BSA Monarch/CF-2) - $425 (barrel is 23.5" but the serial is a 7R prefix)
Parker Hale 1200 - $400
Parker Hale LTD Safari - $375
BSA Monarch 1st pattern - $400
Voere Austrian 98 (1968 mfg) - $325 (less nice looking stock)
BSA Majestic - $500
Voere Shikar - $575 (absolutely gorgeous stock)


So if we could have a discussion on narrowing these down and talk about experience with them and possibly the weight of them. Anything I should avoid or make sure to look for? I can post pics of these as requested after a few more posts.

Thanks!

 

[VSS]

Parker Hale Safari, for no reason other than I've got a Safari (deluxe version) and I think it's a lovely rifle.

 

[Dimner]

Parker Hale Safari, for no reason other than I've got a Safari (deluxe version) and I think it's a lovely rifle.

Does the rifle weigh very much and shoot well?

 

[VSS]

Does the rifle weigh very much and shoot well?

Initially I thought it quite heavy, but at that time I had very little to compare it to other than my rimfire. Now that I've handled some other centrefire rifles I realise that it's lighter than other traditionally styled rifles of the same calibre.
It shoots well enough for both my daughter and myself to have passed our DSC 1 shooting test using the minimum number of shots, which is more than can be said for some of the other participants with far more up-to-date rifles.

I can post up some pics of it if you like.

 

[tusker]

I have a PH safari de lux in 270win love it. Get a Timny trigger well worth it
Tusker

 

[Dimner]

Initially I thought it quite heavy, but at that time I had very little to compare it to other than my rimfire. Now that I've handled some other centrefire rifles I realise that it's lighter than other traditionally styled rifles of the same calibre.
It shoots well enough for both my daughter and myself to have passed our DSC 1 shooting test using the minimum number of shots, which is more than can be said for some of the other participants with far more up-to-date rifles.

I can post up some pics of it if you like.

Yes! If you could that would be very helpful. Thank you!

 

[Dimner]

Here are a few pics:

BSA Monarch Deluxe 1st pattern - $400

BSA CF-2 - $350

Voere Austrian 98 (1977 mfg) - $500 (too expensive?)

Parker Hale LTD Safari - $375

 

[alberta boy]

I'm going to be of no use to you , I like all of them . I've owned a few PH's over the years , great rifles , but so are the BSA's and Voeres . The only factor for me would be condition . From the look of it , you'll be buying online , so a hands on examination is out ?
I'm biased towards PH's , but that's just me . Another factor is after market accessories , like Tuskers Timney trigger , and spare parts . PH's and Voeres are 98 Mausers , parts everywhere . BSA's , great rifles , but parts can be hard to find , something to keep in mind . Any of these rifles in good condition would make a great all round hunting rig . I used a PH Safari in 06 for many years up here , it worked perfectly on everything from 200 pound White-Tails and Mule Deer to 1000 pound Moose , that covers a lot of ground . Keep us posted .

AB

 

[VSS]

Yes! If you could that would be very helpful. Thank you!

I'll see what I can do later, when I get back from taking the rifle for a walk around the mountain...

 

[Heym SR20]

These are all older 2nd hand rifles. All well built and solid. But whether or not they are any good can only be determined by looking at them and handling them. Bolts will be a bit sloppy - that’s the Mauser 98 for you - the slop allows it to work even when full of dirt. If the bores look crisp and sharp chance are they will shoot well. But you may have to play with the bedding, crown etc to get them to work. A lot of older rifles were pressure bedded, which works, but many will have been rebedded in fashion that looks like a chicken has shat on the inside.

You can only determine this by removing the stock.

A new T3x or Ruger American or Mauser M18 will be a known entity and should shoot well enough to put venison on the table. But they will be more money and I doubt whether they will be discussed on forums in 30 years time as these current older rifles are.

 

[Dimner]

Well, just to update everyone.... I went with the Voere Austrian 98.

All of these rifles were well described on the website. There was no way for me to go to the store and handle them in person, it's a 6.5 hour drive one way (about the same as driving from London to Edinburgh). So I narrowed it down to a brand new Tikka T3 Hunter, The Voere Austrian 98, and the Parker Hale Safari. First choice was the Safari. Turns out the Safari had something odd going on with the trigger and the bore had some worn rifling in places. I decided I didn't want to have to add more money into the rifle for a new trigger right away.

So the sales guy gave me a bit more info on the Voere and said it looks like it has rarely been shot. Excellent bore. Smooth action. Stock is is great condition too. So given that it's a Mauser 98 with easy parts to find and the bore is in great condition, I decided to take a chance on it.

I love the Tikka T3 Hunter for it's looks and out of the box accuracy, but the 70's BSA/PH/Voere rifles really have that vintage feel to them and great looks. I'm a sucker for a rosewood grip cap. If I can get this Voere to shoot under an inch at 100 yards, I'll be a very happy man. Oh and it's a 1977 vintage, which is the same vintage as myself.

I'll post pics when it shows up at my local store.

 

[VSS]

Pity the P-H wasn't up to the mark, but glad you got sorted with another rifle from your shortlist. Looking forward to hearing more about it.

 

[Dimner]

Well, I received the rifle at the end of last week. Very nice looking rifle! Although the finish on it is almost no finish at all, seems like it's just left natural. Makes for something that is very easily gouged. I will have to work out how to put some sort of protection on it. I don't want gloss or anything, just want it to retain it's looks. I can easily scratch it with my thumbnail. Something like danish oil perhaps will work.

Also, the front sight was removed in a rather barbaric way. So I'm looking for suggestions on how to remedy the situation. The discussion can be found in the thread here: Rear Barrel Sight Terminology Needed - Page 2


Now on to the shooting. So far here is how it stacks up.


180gr Remington CoreLokt. @ 50 yards. Not all that great.

But then I tried some hastily thrown together cast bullet loads.
Lee 312-155-2R - A 155gr Gas Checked bullet, tumble lubed with 17 grains of Unique. I'm guessing this sends the bullet around 1850fps.

Now that's more like it! I was expecting much larger results. I also was shooting at a 1" bull at 50yards. What happens if I aim at a 0.3" bull at 50 yards?

Very pleased with the rifle so far

 

[Roro]

You could use truoil on the stock and finish with very fine steel wool or a fine scotch pad to knock the high gloss off the finish.

 

[Backdrop Bri]

Your gun looks in fantastic condition a very good buy to me. I've just bought a BSA CF2 .243 its in very good condition a few knocks on the wood but the barrel is mint. It's a 23" barrel and its weighs just 6.8 lbs with a nice rose wood stock . The bolt actions is nice and slick & very smooth. I'd of thought you would of gone for the BSA myself with you shooting a Tikka. After all Sako did copyrighted the BSA after there went out of production.