Thread: Tikka T3 to Begara B14 Extreme Hunter

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 &#128521

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

Thanks for the reply! I think the extreme hunters are stainless under cerakote

Originally Posted by clueless-stalker

Thanks for the reply! I think the extreme hunters are stainless under cerakote

Well there you go...I learned a thing.
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.

Originally Posted by clueless-stalker

Thanks for the reply! I think the extreme hunters are stainless under cerakote

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.

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

Beautiful, currently use 150gr Winchester Deer Season XP and it blows holes so fingers crossed it goes well in the Bergara

Originally Posted by clueless-stalker

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 150gr

Originally Posted by clueless-stalker

Beautiful, currently use 150gr Winchester Deer Season XP and it blows holes so fingers crossed it goes well in the Bergara

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.

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.

Originally Posted by clueless-stalker

Thanks for the reply! I think the extreme hunters are stainless under cerakote

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.

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.

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.

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.

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)

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?