Sako 75 or Tikka T3x?

From a bloke that has a 75, I’d recommend a tikka.

Same. I love mine and have it in a mcmillan, but unless you are after a classic stalking rifle and find a minter (barrel scoped) then I might err on the side of caution, If an upgrade is in mind then the t3 is the only option.
 
Nothing I’m them accuracy wise, just bought had a sako 75 in 223 years back then sold it for a tikka as they had a longer barrel which back then I thought would be better for longer range stuff, how silly was I. I always regretted selling that rifle, and all because of a little ballistic masturbation which was silly in the end.
I do now however own a 75 in 308 and love it!
 
I have a mildly military background and only got into civvy shooting a couple of years ago, my Sako 85 Carbonlight from Ed, .308 would do the business in any situation, it shoots .25 MOA at 100 metres with 123gr Sako Gameheads, now a bit less with my Lee Classic loader setup which I can't get my head around, but it is light, very accurate, top loads into the mag, controlled feed, great safety, trigger superb, Richard Near picatinnty, and just very pointable in all shooting stances. Wasn't cheap up front but the bargain factor increases by the month owned and shot. A rifle that makes me smile. Sakos and Tikkas are a bit special and can just do it.
 
A stainless Tikka T3 was an eye opener years ago to my view on the rifles.
After owning finnbears and all the other models of sako up to the 85 you start to see the differences.

I think if I had a choice of them all from new including tikka I would have an original Bofors steel early sako (earlier the better), a Sako 75 and TRG/s (in the world of sporting rifles).
Would I sell up my Sako 75's for a something special? Yes, but only if I knew I could always get a fairly fresh sako 75 again at a later date.
Have I found a "something special"? Kinda, but not very special to sell ALL of mine....

Would I buy a Tikka T3?
Not for Scottish weather.
 
Had both.

75 is prettier and feels nicer.
T3 is easier to get the best accuracy out of, and much, much easier to customise.
Eventually got rid of all my 75s and only have T3s.
 
Had , sako 75, custom tikkas and custom remmy clones with stiller and deviant actions, and straight pulls.

You don't get many "bad" rifles these days and be surprised if anything bought with he sub MOA, all mine have been sub .5 moa with the right hand loads

Depends what you want to do with it , sako 75 will have less stock choices

Tikka and remmy/custom actions will generally have the same after market stock options as most manufacturers offer both as they are the biggest % of the market

Both will work with AICS mag stocks for that choice too, if wanting AW mags less options

Personally tiika or a good remmy custom action will serve you equally well
 
The finnbear and A3 will always have a special place for me. Btw the barrels stayed bofors long after they stopped marking them as bofors.

Iam in love with my cz550 tho, it needed bedding but after that its a dream.
 
Of all the rifles I have owned and all the calibres I have reloaded for, one rifle was by far the worst to sort out - a Sako 75 in 22-250.

I now own a Tikka T3 but, like others have said it's now far from standard and it's .222. Lovely rifles.
 
Still using my first CF rifle bought in 1995 - a 75 in .243. Moved into a synthetic stock and the barrel shortened to 20” by Mike Norris, it’s a dream to use and is normally my summer go to for roe/muntjac. I say normally, as I have just replaced a .270 X-bolt with another Tikka T3X Lite (I have one in .308 too) and “out of the box”, its stunningly accurate at range using the same load as I used in the X-bolt. Both my Tikkas have Sako S20 triggers to match that on my S20 (also in .308) and the 75. The .308 one now sits in a MDT carbon fibre chassis.

So, have the best of both worlds - get a 75 and a Tikka. Both are great rifles but as others rightly say, the Tikka has many more ready options to modify whereas with a 75, there’s a limit to what you can do although frankly, not much does need to change IMHO.
 
If you're a buy once and be happy then a 75 is a nice option. If however you are the sort of person to want to change stocks, scopes and how you use the rifle then the Tikka makes much more sense.

I started off with a T3 then a Sako 75, then a Tikka Tac A1 (now in a UPR stock) and I also have a Howa 1500.

I do miss the top loading of the 75 compared to the Tikka but that alone isn't/wasn't enough to keep it as I wanted an adjustable stock which was very limited at the time. The Tac A1 has the same bolt/safety set up as the 75 so that's no longer unique to the 75 over a Tikka.

If you like the idea of a 3 position safety and top loading the rifle through the action then a Howa 1500 ticks those boxes and has all the aftermarket options of the Tikka too.
 
I bought a beautiful Sako 75 Varmint in .223. Accuracy? Minute of garden hose with multiple factory loads and reloads.

l traded it in for a Tikka T3 Super Varmint in the same calibre. Accuracy? Sub-half MOA to one-holers.

Tikka are IMHO the best bang-per-buck option available in centrefire rifles. My only qualm is the crappy mag in mine, but a replacement with steel inserts has resolved the feeding issues.

maximus otter
 
I’ve not owned either brand so I can’t help there but a very experienced rifle builder once told me that although a Sako is a very nice piece of kit, I’d be better of getting a Tikka for the customisation options… Now that could well be because he wanted to sell me said customisation options!

Personally I’d go for the Tikka, simply for the aftermarket bits as I like making something my own. 👍🏻
 
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