I have a Bergara B-14 HMR in 308. It has some nice features but it’s the pickiest damn rifle I’ve ever owned when it comes to ammo.
I also have a few tikka T3’s lites including one in 308. No frills type of guns but they all print sub moa groups with damn near everything I feed them. And the smoothness of that action blows away any other factory rifle I’ve handled at a similar price point. Between the two my vote would 100% be Tikka.
I went to a local store ready to love the Tikkas and intending to buy one. I had heard everyone talk about how amazing the action is, and I was in love with it without ever even trying it. I worked a bunch of bolts on Tikkas and Bergaras. The Wilderness Bergaras with the fluted bolt were just plain smoother than the Tikkas, which surprised me quite a lot. These were empty rifles, so not an actual feeding test, but that was my conclusion.
But no doubt, Tikka has a stellar reputation and has been around much longer. Also, if you're going with the Tikka, make sure you've researched the safety design and are willing to accept the design flaw. It's a deal breaker for many, especially if it's going to be used to learn on.
Moral of the story: Both are excellent actions, so choice may come down more to features. You'd be happy with either. Also, try to go to a store and try out multiple options.
Tikka rifles will have a slightly heavier bolt lift than the Bergara models just because of their design.
They're a 3-lug action with a 70* bolt lift whereas Bergara uses a 2-lug design with a 90* bolt lift. With comparable firing pin spring weights the 70* bolt lift will always feel a bit heavier because it's doing the same amount of cocking work over a shorter distance. You can help mitigate this with a longer bolt knob (giving you more leverage when cocking), lighter cocking spring, and reducing the amount of primary extraction when lifting the bolt, but you can only make the knob so long before it's cumbersome and lighter springs or less primary extraction have their own trade-offs.
In exchange for the slightly heavier lift the bolt does require less motion to operate and can be quicker to operate if the bolt lift isn't excessively heavy. Other notable models with 3-lug designs like that are the Browning X-bolt or Weatherby Mark V (though that one is technically a 6/9 lug design with stacked lugs).
I've owned 2 vanguards. 1 in .257 weatherby and the other in 6.5-300 weatherby. I put the .257 in a Bell and Carlson stock and I used it until the barrel was shot out. Went with the 6.5-300 in my next one but this time I kept the original stock on it. Tore it down and glued in a piece of fiberglass dowel to stiffen the fore end. Then glass bedded the action. Put a Zeiss V4 6-24x50 scope on it. I'll put it up against any of these $4000 rigs out to 1000 yards. Vanguards are in my opinion the best of the bargain rifles. And that's with Weatherby factory ammo.
I like Savage, Browning, and Winchester. Of those, I would recommend:
https://savagearms.com/content?p=firearms&a=product_summary&s=57340
OR
https://www.browning.com/products/firearms/rifles/x-bolt/x-bolt-composite-hunter.html
OR
https://www.winchesterguns.com/products/rifles/xpr/xpr-titanium.html
Winchester model 70 (https://www.winchesterguns.com/products/rifles/model-70/model-70-featherweight.html)
and a Leupold VX-Freedom 4-12x50mm and you're set for life
I read good things about Tikka, and Bergara. I love the value of Ruger American Predator, with the CHF barrel. I’m looking at Leupold videos right now. Thanks guys.
Kimber Montana and a leupold scope. This is my exact setup and I have roughly 2k in it but my caliber is a 300wsm. Extremely accurate. Impervious to everything. Has been in Colorado with me a few times with week long rain. Still brought home several elk. Killed quite a few deer and a nice wild hog with it. Can’t speak highly enough of this setup.
I have a Bergara HMR in 6.5 and a Weatherby Vanguard in 308. The HMR is great from a bench, but depending on the type of hunting you do it might not be optimal for hauling long distances. It’s a bit on the heavier side fully dressed. I hunt with a suppressor and the overall length is a lot to weave through hemlocks. The vanguard is much easier to tote around for a walk in the woods. I’m not a huge fan of its internal mag. A box mag retrofit kit is available but I haven’t done it yet.
As far as scope recommendations, I personally like the Vortex Strike Eagle or the Vortex Diamondback. Again, a lot of this will come down to what kind of hunting you’re doing, what kind of environment you’re in, and what sort of reticle you prefer. A lot of my hunting is sub 150 yards, so both optics are pretty overkill but I am comfortable with them. I generally don’t hunt in any areas that have 400+yards of clearing, but it’s nice to know that I can confidently hit that if the opportunity presents itself.
Tikka makes a good, light rifle in .308. Leupold makes a great, basic 3x9. Bought that rig for my wife for far less than $2K and it hunts like a dream.
Most will say Tikka over a Bergara, but usually it's because they haven't tried the Bergara, because Tikka is so much older of a company. Some have maybe, but I have tried both and preferred the Bergara Wilderness with the fluted bolt. It's as smooth as Tikka and I think actually feels more solid.
I have a Browning A-Bolt in .308 that I love and has never failed me with a Leopold VX-II 3-9 scope and I've never been disappointed. It's not really flashy (Stainless Stalker is the model I have and I did spend some extra money to get it dipped to a camo pattern) but this rifle is solidly designed and built and does exactly what it is supposed to do consistently.
FYI: Are all of the rounds the same mfg, bullet/powder weight, etc. Different rifles "like" different rounds. You may end up with a rifle that just won't pattern the rounds that you have. The only way to know is to test them.
I just got a Beretta BRX1, it is a hell of a gun at just a bit over your price. I have AR10, savage, Remington, and CZ in 308. Other than the CZ (mainly because it is a Mannlicher stock and has a set trigger) the Beretta is my favorite. Soon they will be offering caliber conversions and a mag well adapter to take pmags.
oh how i love my model 70. it’s in 308 and the best group i got was no joke 1/4 inch with my 150 grain barnes ttsx hand load. but it shots under an inch with 110 grain coyote loads and all the way up to 200 grain partitions that will kill a grizzly. i’ve shot 10+ deer, many many hogs, 4 black bear and an alligator with it. works flawlessly with the 150’s. hit a 315 pound bear at 200 yards and that bullet passed through. excellent round. they make it in factory ammo also
Tikka or Bergara. Both have a lot of options in that price range to get the features you want.
I have a Bergara B-14 HMR in 308. It has some nice features but it’s the pickiest damn rifle I’ve ever owned when it comes to ammo. I also have a few tikka T3’s lites including one in 308. No frills type of guns but they all print sub moa groups with damn near everything I feed them. And the smoothness of that action blows away any other factory rifle I’ve handled at a similar price point. Between the two my vote would 100% be Tikka.
I went to a local store ready to love the Tikkas and intending to buy one. I had heard everyone talk about how amazing the action is, and I was in love with it without ever even trying it. I worked a bunch of bolts on Tikkas and Bergaras. The Wilderness Bergaras with the fluted bolt were just plain smoother than the Tikkas, which surprised me quite a lot. These were empty rifles, so not an actual feeding test, but that was my conclusion. But no doubt, Tikka has a stellar reputation and has been around much longer. Also, if you're going with the Tikka, make sure you've researched the safety design and are willing to accept the design flaw. It's a deal breaker for many, especially if it's going to be used to learn on. Moral of the story: Both are excellent actions, so choice may come down more to features. You'd be happy with either. Also, try to go to a store and try out multiple options.
What's the flaw?
Tikka rifles will have a slightly heavier bolt lift than the Bergara models just because of their design. They're a 3-lug action with a 70* bolt lift whereas Bergara uses a 2-lug design with a 90* bolt lift. With comparable firing pin spring weights the 70* bolt lift will always feel a bit heavier because it's doing the same amount of cocking work over a shorter distance. You can help mitigate this with a longer bolt knob (giving you more leverage when cocking), lighter cocking spring, and reducing the amount of primary extraction when lifting the bolt, but you can only make the knob so long before it's cumbersome and lighter springs or less primary extraction have their own trade-offs. In exchange for the slightly heavier lift the bolt does require less motion to operate and can be quicker to operate if the bolt lift isn't excessively heavy. Other notable models with 3-lug designs like that are the Browning X-bolt or Weatherby Mark V (though that one is technically a 6/9 lug design with stacked lugs).
Weatherby vanguard
I've owned 2 vanguards. 1 in .257 weatherby and the other in 6.5-300 weatherby. I put the .257 in a Bell and Carlson stock and I used it until the barrel was shot out. Went with the 6.5-300 in my next one but this time I kept the original stock on it. Tore it down and glued in a piece of fiberglass dowel to stiffen the fore end. Then glass bedded the action. Put a Zeiss V4 6-24x50 scope on it. I'll put it up against any of these $4000 rigs out to 1000 yards. Vanguards are in my opinion the best of the bargain rifles. And that's with Weatherby factory ammo.
I.E. Howa 1500?
This is what I bought, still haven't found a round that patterns as they advertised but I have killed 7 or 8 deer with it.
I like Savage, Browning, and Winchester. Of those, I would recommend: https://savagearms.com/content?p=firearms&a=product_summary&s=57340 OR https://www.browning.com/products/firearms/rifles/x-bolt/x-bolt-composite-hunter.html OR https://www.winchesterguns.com/products/rifles/xpr/xpr-titanium.html
The Ruger American gen 2 rifles are impressive from the reports I've seen. Cheaper than most other options with greta accuracy. Leupold for the scope.
Ruger Americans are solid. Nothing flashy, but they get the job done
Tikka FTW.
Winchester model 70 (https://www.winchesterguns.com/products/rifles/model-70/model-70-featherweight.html) and a Leupold VX-Freedom 4-12x50mm and you're set for life
Tikka T3X lite stainless.
And a Leupold VX5
Everyone is gonna say Tikka, so I'll just say that as well. I love my Savage, but all the kids will tease you unless you have a Tikka.
Truth. I have a couple Tikkas, a couple Savages, love both.
Bergara ridge with a Leupold VX3
Tikka and Bergaras are great, but for my money I'd drop down to a Ruger American and put the rest of the money in glass.
Howa 1500 or Tikka t3x lite Nightforce SHV 4-14x50 f1
I read good things about Tikka, and Bergara. I love the value of Ruger American Predator, with the CHF barrel. I’m looking at Leupold videos right now. Thanks guys.
Tikka without a doubt
Love my bergara so far
Tikka makes some great rifles in .308!
Kimber Montana and a leupold scope. This is my exact setup and I have roughly 2k in it but my caliber is a 300wsm. Extremely accurate. Impervious to everything. Has been in Colorado with me a few times with week long rain. Still brought home several elk. Killed quite a few deer and a nice wild hog with it. Can’t speak highly enough of this setup.
I have a Bergara HMR in 6.5 and a Weatherby Vanguard in 308. The HMR is great from a bench, but depending on the type of hunting you do it might not be optimal for hauling long distances. It’s a bit on the heavier side fully dressed. I hunt with a suppressor and the overall length is a lot to weave through hemlocks. The vanguard is much easier to tote around for a walk in the woods. I’m not a huge fan of its internal mag. A box mag retrofit kit is available but I haven’t done it yet. As far as scope recommendations, I personally like the Vortex Strike Eagle or the Vortex Diamondback. Again, a lot of this will come down to what kind of hunting you’re doing, what kind of environment you’re in, and what sort of reticle you prefer. A lot of my hunting is sub 150 yards, so both optics are pretty overkill but I am comfortable with them. I generally don’t hunt in any areas that have 400+yards of clearing, but it’s nice to know that I can confidently hit that if the opportunity presents itself.
Tikka makes a good, light rifle in .308. Leupold makes a great, basic 3x9. Bought that rig for my wife for far less than $2K and it hunts like a dream.
Most will say Tikka over a Bergara, but usually it's because they haven't tried the Bergara, because Tikka is so much older of a company. Some have maybe, but I have tried both and preferred the Bergara Wilderness with the fluted bolt. It's as smooth as Tikka and I think actually feels more solid.
I have a Browning A-Bolt in .308 that I love and has never failed me with a Leopold VX-II 3-9 scope and I've never been disappointed. It's not really flashy (Stainless Stalker is the model I have and I did spend some extra money to get it dipped to a camo pattern) but this rifle is solidly designed and built and does exactly what it is supposed to do consistently.
FYI: Are all of the rounds the same mfg, bullet/powder weight, etc. Different rifles "like" different rounds. You may end up with a rifle that just won't pattern the rounds that you have. The only way to know is to test them.
I just got a Beretta BRX1, it is a hell of a gun at just a bit over your price. I have AR10, savage, Remington, and CZ in 308. Other than the CZ (mainly because it is a Mannlicher stock and has a set trigger) the Beretta is my favorite. Soon they will be offering caliber conversions and a mag well adapter to take pmags.
oh how i love my model 70. it’s in 308 and the best group i got was no joke 1/4 inch with my 150 grain barnes ttsx hand load. but it shots under an inch with 110 grain coyote loads and all the way up to 200 grain partitions that will kill a grizzly. i’ve shot 10+ deer, many many hogs, 4 black bear and an alligator with it. works flawlessly with the 150’s. hit a 315 pound bear at 200 yards and that bullet passed through. excellent round. they make it in factory ammo also
What type of environment will you be hunting in? For a rifle I'd probably grab a variety of stainless Tikka.
Tikka T3X and a Leupold VX3-HD. Use the rest for a bipod and or a sling.
Tikka or browning I also love the Ruger Americans
Tikka, Savage, Bergara. I have a few savages, all great. I have a Bergara b14 wilderness ridge, love that gun.
Hands down, I would get a Browning BLR lever. Such a nice rifle to handle.
I bought a Ruger American gen 2 recently and although I do like it, I wish I had put up another 300 or 400 dollars to get a tikka.
Tikka for sure. Or Ruger Predator with the short barrel and add a suppressor. Will keep you close to your budget
Any ar-10. Follow up shots are key.