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Hey guys
Looking at flicking off my Tikka T3 .308 20” (around 7 years old) and getting a Begara B14 Extreme Hunter .308, 18”
Reasons are Cerakoting as I often hunt in wet bush and the Tikka needs a bit of keeping on top of the corrosion, nice half cock design etc, shorter barrel, nice stock design (and it looks cool 😉)
Does anybody have insight that have used both rifles in the past on how the Begara stands the test of time compared to the Tikka?
Cerekoted rifles still need looking after, it's still Blued steel underneath.
I have owned a few bergara rifles and definitely prefer them over tikkas, nothing wrong with either just personal preference really.
You can get barrels shortened to whatever length you like and that's probably cheaper then trying to sell a rifle on the current market.
But don't let me deter you from buying a bergara :yaeh am not durnk:
Thanks for the reply! I think the extreme hunters are stainless under cerakote
Not sure if they use the same stainless on all Bergara however my BA13 stainless was surface rusting super easily compared to my Tikka. Even the chamber would surface rust in the safe if you would forget to oil it for storage.
Well there you go...I learned a thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by clueless-stalker
Stainless will still rust if not looked after. Is your Tikka blued ?
As previously not trying to put you off, I prefer bergara over Tikka myself.
I have both. T3x lighter, slicker bolt and a bit narrower in forend. I've found my Tikkas less fussy on the types of ammo
in general. For me my Begara 14 ext hunter points we'll, 18inch is handy, bit heavier but accurate with ammo it likes. I have a feeling the 1-10 twist might be better with 160 + grain weight but it shot good old rem cor lok 150 into an inch and below and some other ammo well too. Will try heavier bullets next
Def like bergara, triggers are crisp and if you want to load the high bc heavies, the floor plate is the go, especially if you're thinking to load high bc projectiles.
Mine has the drop down floor plate ( after market add ) which ups the round count to 5.
The weather proof coating is stainless with ceracote from memory. Comes threaded 14 x 1. There's alot good about it.
The bergara b14 xt hunter feels alot like a winchester m70 which works for me. If your tikka shoots, chop the barrel and ceracote it, or splash out and buy a berg.
Yes the Extreme Hunters are stainless. I've had both (only have the EH currently). I think that they are so close in terms of quality of manufacture and overall design there's nothing in it. Both have excellent triggers and stocks. Tikka has integral dovetails which I like but heaps of people then use Talleys which somewhat defeats the purpose. Tikka have 5 shot mags if that your thing.Quote:
Originally Posted by clueless-stalker
They both vary a bit from rifle to rifle even though they come out of the same run. When I bought an EH recently I ran the bolt in all the examples the shop had of each brand (mine is a 223) and the Bergaras all ran with less bolt lift effort than the Tikkas, and the bolt was noticeably smoother in the Bergara example I selected.
Good luck
I have both, a T3x in 223 and an EH in 308. T3x is marginally lighter but hard to compare as 2 very different scopes mounted. Both are 18in. I like the action on the Bergara more than the tikka. Cerakote is showing light wear around suppressor bush. But doesn't worry me. Mine shoots 150g and 165g really well.
Beautiful, currently use 150gr Winchester Deer Season XP and it blows holes so fingers crossed it goes well in the Bergara
That stuff is like using varmint bullets in 150grQuote:
Originally Posted by clueless-stalker
If you’re truly rough on gear, the tikka will be a more reliable option for you. Integral dovetails are a real positive too (as previously mentioned)
They rust worse than a stainless tikka. Mine and my brothers extreme hunter rusted through the cerakote in the safe. They must apply the thinnest coating in existence just get your tikka cerakoted then you actually have some recourse and will get a better job than some bulk rush factory cerakote job. They are also much heavier than a tikka. I honestly think its a huge downgrade once you consider the cost involved in swapping out.Quote:
Originally Posted by clueless-stalker
I've had both. Tikka less fussy with ammo. Stock feels like shit. Long action obviously. More accurate out the box. Berg stock feels bloody nice, rem 700 short action is beautiful. Slightly heavier. My berg didn't rust and I had it wet on multi day trips etc and just cleaned it when I got home. As said above I'd just get yours cerakoted and drop it in a sweet carbon stock so you don't feel like vomiting while you carry it.
Does anybody have insight on how the Begara EH goes in 6.5 CRM? Found a good deal on one of them, mainly do bush hunting some slip shooting Rusa/Red/Sika
Does the 6.5 still go well as a bush whacker?
The 6.5 is any bit as good as most other cartridges out there, you,ve just gotta put the boolit in the right place. And that aint too difficult with the 6.5.Quote:
Originally Posted by clueless-stalker
Yep stainless means it stains less, the only true no stain metal is glass, and glass barrels have other issues:omg:
@clueless-stalker. Might have a bergara extreme hunter for you. Send me a pm if interested.
@Pop Shot it's not too late for you either
Ammo that goes very well in my extreme hunter 308 is , 165gr nosler ballistic tip, 168gr sako powerhead 2 barnes tsx, norma 180gr bondstrike all at or under 1moa.Quote:
Originally Posted by clueless-stalker
As for weatherproofing, finish ive had mine for 4 years, in that time has done 3 sika roar trips which is normally 6 weeks in the bush no stripping for cleaning and often put away wet no issues whatsoever
only rust was abit on the magazine floor spring but i have fitted a fixed floorplate so non issue on yours, and bolt got lost for 1 day and survived 24hrs in the roar in the middle of clements mill road getting
run over and was pushed into the road itself dusted off and put in the rifle and then shot a 7pt stag so all works no issues tough as, note to self when you hear a ting, ting, bang stop and check what it was dont
just go huh weird noise it was the bolt rolling off the roof onto the road.
Have you found the heavier projectiles shoot better in your Berg Ex H?Quote:
Originally Posted by Carbine
Must say, the factory stock was primo for handling in the rain. Weatherproofing epic too.
What scope you running on yours?
Mate has one in 6.5. Nice light handy rifle. Speeds are a little bit pedestrian with the shorter barrel and 140ish grain pills. Other than that is a slick wee rifleQuote:
Originally Posted by clueless-stalker
Haha lucky to have found it!!! That’s great to hear mate, just picked one up the other day in .308 wee bit heavier than the Tikka but definitely more premium feeling it’s good to hear they are rugged as my main concern was that it would stand the test of time, especially with the nice soft touch stock etc.
I’ll probably try look for a floor plate too ( if anybody on here wants to swap their floor plate for a detach mag hint hint )
Go and see Dudley at Hamills Tauranga. He'll order you one in for you. Definitely the right way to go.Quote:
Originally Posted by clueless-stalker
Attachment 259608 Took it today, managed to group well @100m other than the one shot that was off the paper to the right, around 6 inches out which was a shot I put through with the hardy silencer on, not sure what caused it to do that whether it was the silencer, bullet or me!
Put 3 shots through, then put the jag through, then another 5 and put the jag through again until it come up clean.
Yeah mate bought it because of the 1:10 twist and that's what i wanted to shoot heavier copper/bonded bullets at close range. Scope was a vortex viper 2.5-10 hs recent changed to a Athlon Argos HMR 2-12x42 BDC600 to suit the farm shooting i do inbetween sika roar trips better.Quote:
Originally Posted by GSP HUNTER
once the sika roar trips over normally swap to using norma 170gr tipstrike for shooting red's on the farms i shoot on then come the sika roar back to norma 180gr bondstrike
Almost all stainless barrels are made from 416 stainless which is only truly stainless after it has been hardened, which rifle barrels are not. So most of them will be "rust resistant" at best. Surface finish has a large impact on how fast they develop rust spots. Tikkas have a pretty fine bead blast finish, so seem to do better than most for rust resistance. If you polished the outside, you would find it will rust a lot less, however, this is not very practical for hunting rifles.
If barrels were made from 316 or similar alloy, they could sit in salt spray for a year with no rust, but they would be almost impossible to make due the machining properties of the alloy.
A basic Remington 700 stock will do, but it may need minor adjustments. I have a few that are hinged floor plates if you're interested.
Thanks for the post. Recently bought a bergara extreme Hunter 308. Shoots great and got a .8" group with Norma Whitetail 150g.
Anyone got a Carbon wrapped B14?
Have been looking at them, I have a couple Bergara's and they shoot better than I do.
