Need advice on a 22 250

[keithja]

Hey guys...need some advice on a 22 250. I have narrowed it down to the following:
- Tikka T3
- Savage Model 12
- CZ 550
- Sako A7

They are all in the same price range (within $100). Savage is reknowned for accuracy due to the barrel to reciever fit method (headspace) and the new accu trigger is sweet. CZ is well respected for value and accuracy. Sako...well...you can't find very many used Sako's...nobody gets rid of a Sako...but the A7 is new and made under Berreta (not bad, but it lacks history). Tikka is the Sako's sister...same quality..some say better than a Sako.

Crap, I should buy all three...LOL. Anyone out there who has experience with a few of these to help out a guy "stuck on the fence".

I'll be buying from Whittakers...they are only an hour and a half drive for me to the "center of the gun universe".

I have good personal experience with CZ pistols and Sako rifles. I have seen great stuff about the Savage on TV. Lunch table talk says the Tikka is one of the very best quality for the $ buys available. I need a broader perspective from y'all!!!!

Thanks in advance.

 

[bowhunthard88]

Here's a review I wrote on my 12LRPV, don't know which exactly which one you're looking at, but... Savage model 12 long range precision.

It's shooting better since I switched to the 52 gr. Bergers, but I haven't updated the site in a while. Average is about .3 4-shot groups.

I have a few Savages, and so does my buddy. I believe they're gonna be hard to beat. And so easy to upgrade barrels, etc. on.

 

[ottsixx]

Ill second his advice......................

 

[britz]

There is a big difference between what he is talking about and the LRVP...

The Sako A 7 is a wood stock... I don't know if the recoil lug is the same as in the T3, but if it is attached to the rifle I'd go w/ the A7. Savage doesn't hold a candle to sako IMHO. Savage has many good qualities... low price, floating bolt head, reasonably good trigger, barrels are OK for factory. Most will shoot very good. I do think the barrel quality of Sako (and Tikka) is much better than savage, the Tikka trigger is IMO better than the accutrigger, and the action is much smoother. CZ is also very good. IMHO savage is by far the last on the list (I am a minority on this site however) I am not happy w/ my 12 lfv savage but I'm very happy with my Tikka T3.

Take it with a grain of salt

 

[Live Oak]

I just finished building and breaking in a Savage Model 12 Varmint Low Profile 22-250 with a 1 in 9 inch twist barrel. I have about 14 shots through it so far and it is shooting 1/2 groups at 200 yards with Privi 55 grain SP's.

I plan to explore reloading with the Hornady 75 & 80 grain Amax bullet and the Barnes 50 grain Varmint Grenade. Just need to assemble some more brass and primers.

I own some Sako's and Sauers which are indeed very nice rifles but for the dollar spent, the Savage Model 12 just can't be beat in my opinion. VERY accurate, reliable, and well built. Very low recoil as well. My gun weighs in at about 18 lbs. fully loaded and it very mild on recoil.

 

[Leupold308]

Like many before me have said Savage is the simplest, least expensive to upgrade. Also I think the LRPV and the like have been in production long enough for most of the bugs to be worked out. Personaly id go for the single shot LRPV with 1 in 9 twist. I own a 6.5 x 284 in Model 12 F class nice gun, wish i had a LRPV stock for it. As the F class is worth a crap for varmints (to poor to own multiple setups) imagine that! Like geargrinder says easy to make gun work for whatever need arises.

 

[geargrinder]

I'd also vote for the Savage.

I own two long action Savages and about 12 barrels.

I have one action with a standard boltface and another with a magnum.

The barrels are 22-250, 22-250AI, 243, 25-06, 270, 30-06, 308, 300wsm,300win, 7mag, 7wsm, 284win.

I can swap barrels in about 10 minutes. If I need to swap bolt faces for some reason, it will add another 5.

I will also swap stocks around. I use the factory plastic for walk-around hunting, a tactical A5 clone for long range hunting, and I'm working on a heavy benchrest stock for target work.

 

[Ackley Man]

Keith,

Over the years we have had all of the guns that you are considering come through our shop at one time or another. We regularly inspect barrels and chambers with our bore scope. Many writers claim that the trigger is the heart of any gun but I am here to tell you that it is not. You can have a Arnold Jewell bench rest trigger and if the barrel is a sewer the gun won't shoot for a hoot. This should be a major consideration for you as to have a rifle rebarreld with proper attention excercised in the chambering and fitting process is not nearly a inexpensive as bedding or changing out a trigger. I can't comment on the new Beretta/Sako actions but before Beretta acquired Sako their actions were very good. The bolt faces were always square as were the locking lugs that always engaged 80%+. I seriously doubt that the newer Beretta/Sakos exhibit the same quality simply do to the current pricing. Savage has really improved their barrels, bedding, extraction and ejection over the past few years. We believe that their barrels are probably the best of major production gun makers. The Tinka barrels that we have inspected were indicative of what you would expect from a production rifle - but not on the same level as a Savage. All things considered, the Savage has an adequate trigger. Their barrels are on a whole better that the rest. Some models even have an relatively good bedding system. Hope this info helps.

 

[foreign]

+1 on geargrinder. just starting to get into the barrel swap thing. love it.......get the savage

 

[flyin lizard]

+ 1 many many times over get the Savage. I love my 12 fv 22-250.