Thompson Center Venture vs Tikka T3 lite

[matt_3479]

My little brother is in the midst of buying a gun that will be his main deer and coyote gun. The gun will need to have enough knock down power to kill whitetail and mule deer, yet be small enough to be legally used where i live which states nothing larger then .275 which for those who may not know, a 270. win is actually .277 so has to be smaller then a 270. win. We want ammunition to be easily accessible so nothing like a 264 win mag. I told my brother to look at either a 25-06 or 243. win and he wants it to be in the TC Venture or Tikka t3 Lite. What are your thoughts on the guns he choice and which is better

 

[diriel]

Either one would be great. Personally I think the TC Ventrure looks pretty good. It has that MOA guarantee as well, which is nice. 25-06 is a good choice for sure. Personally, I would choose the 25 over the 243.


Good Hunting,
Gary

 

[rem300ultra]

Have him look at the .260 Remington caliber in whatever rifle brand name he prefers.

 

[diriel]

Good point on the 260, Lapua just released brass for it too! Truly and excellent hunting round.

Gary

 

[M_freeman]

6.5 x 55 or the .260 rem

 

[mcseal2]

I don't think you would go wrong with either rifle or either round. I've taken quite a few deer with both cartridges. To me it would depend alot on where and how I was hunting. On a broadside lung shot either is plenty of gun and I'd feel fine with a 243 for stand hunting. If I was stillhunting where I may have to take shoulder or quartering shots the 25-06 offers a little more bullet weight and penetration. The 260 mentioned earlier is another good one, all the choices will do the job.

One thing to consider is barrel length. All will produce more velocity with a longer barrel, but the 25-06 really needs at least 24" in my experience. I had a Tikka 25-06 with the 22 5/8" barrel and my velocity's averaged 200fps less than my friends 24" Ruger. I think the T/C has a 24" barrel, but I don't know for sure. I think there is around a pound weight difference between them also if that makes a difference. Check the specs on both and see what fits you best.

 

[matt_3479]

i have heard that multiple times that a 25-06 will suffer from the missing 2" of barrel. But nobody has every said the 243. win would and i would like to know why?

mcseal2 said that his 25-06 was 200 fps slower then his buddys with a 24" barrel and i have heard multiple times i would loves around 200 fps. Now what about the 243. win

 

[mcseal2]

The 243 will be slower from the short barrel also, but won't lose as much as the 25-06 with it's bigger case. The more powder you burn behind a small bullet the more barrel you need to burn it in. I haven't tested the velocity difference in the 243. I get within 100 to 200 fps of the velocity posted in the Nosler book with any bullet weight with my 20" barrel 243. The Nosler book uses a 24" barrel.

Here is what I get on average with the 20" gun with max loads of 4831

75gr 3450
85gr 3100
90gr 3000
95gr 2950
100gr 2850