Would it be worth it?

[singleVI]

Hey all. My current deer rifle is a weatherby vanguard .270. Ive reloaded for it, and tried a few factory loads and i can get mediocre accuracy. 1.5" at 100 yards. Okay, but not preferable for long range shots. Now Im currently sitting on a thousand rounds of bulk .308 that my brother left me. Its just begging to be shot. Ive read great things about the Tikka T3 Hunter in .308. It sounds like its accurate enough for long shots at deer if I needed to. Should I give in and buy the Tikka just 'cause?

[bobg]

  I have a vanguard in 270 Win.  1 1/2 grains below max. of H4831 topped with a Sierra 130 gr. bullet gives me 5 shots at 100 that i can cover with a quarter. The 6 whitetale sized animals i have shot with it died quick. Have to admit the longest shot was a little over 100 yds.
  Not sure what long range is for you.
  If i had 1000 308 bullets i would either give them away or buy a 308.   Good luck with what ever choice you make.

[deerandduck]

It always is a good idea to buy another rifle, especially if you have a good reason.     I do like the Tikkas and a 308 would be great. 
But really, if the 1000 rounds of "bulk" 308 are not that good ammo, say maybe mil surplus, then you are never gonna see the accuracy out of that Tikka.  You will probably have to handload to get the best out of it.  Blasting ammo can be fun.
IMHO you will not see any difference in the "killing" power between the 308 and the 270.  And both are more than accurate for most reasonable ranges, say 300-400 yds.  Most folks don't need to be shooting at that range anyway.
Just some thoughts....
Deerandduck

[charles p]

I hunted whitetails for 40 years before picking up a Mod 7 in 308.  It's one of my two favorite rifles now.
I enjoy reloading but the results I get from 150 gr factory CoreLokt on paper and deer, have gratified me.

[singleVI]

The bulk ammo would just be used for break in and plinking. I handload, but dont currently have a 308. My father reloads for his 308 though, so I have access to accurate handloads. I figure theres always room for another rifle.

[Empty Quiver]

Honestly assess your shooting. Is your ammo as good as the gun? Is your ability as good as the gun? I say this because many will argue that the Vanguards are every bit the gun the Tikka is.




The Tikka would be a very solid buy. It might not be as pretty as some rifles, it might not have the broad acceptance of some brands. You will never be ashamed of it's shooting performance, end of the story there. I have one in .300WM and it makes me smile every time I walk down to the 300 yard berm. It will consistently put rounds into a CD. Now that may not impress some folks but that is way beyond my expectations of what I'm capable of. It does this with Federal Nosler Partitions, Winchester Failsafes, and Remington Corelokt. It has shot multiple groups with each of them, not flukes by any means.

[Harry Snippe]

 
 
The bulk ammo would not have much value "If " the new to be tikka does not like the load .
 
              Would you then pull all those rounds and start over ?

[singleVI]

Im not expecting the bulk ammo to be worth a hoot accuracy wise. But hey, it was free, and shooting is fun! I like to think of myself as a decent shooter. Im not a stranger to small groups. While not being match accurate, I could still get a whole lot of practice from that thousand rounds, and load up some handloads when deer season rolls back around. I just really like that rifle after handling it!

[hillbill]

if yu like the rifle and can pay cash then buy it. shoot a couple 100 of the bulk rounds and yu got plenty of brass to reload.maybe sell the rest to get some powder and bullets?

[abolt-fan]

I have had a T3 30-06 for several years and didn't think I needed one in .308.  My catalyst was I gave my a-bolt .308 to my daughter.  After trying several different brands and styles of .308s I finally said to heck with it.  I love the Tikka so I bought a stainless .308.  What I did different though is I had the barrel cut to 19 in. to make it a carbine.  So far I've used two factory and one 165 gr. handload.  All have shot groups under an inch easily.  I used it this year in Vermont to take a nice buck on opening day.

My advice is don't over think it.  If you think you want it, buy it. 

I bought 500 rounds of Hot Shot brand 6.5x55 ammo for five dollars a box from a dealer going out of business.  It's not as accurate as my handloads that I hunt with but it's pretty accurate and good for practice.  I can't handload for five dollars a box.  Free ammo is even cheaper ain't it.  Later, Robert.

[dougk]

If your getting the gun to shoot the bulk ammo, why not look at a AR or AK variant in 308?

I have a Tikka White Tail Hunter the m585 in .270 with is fantastic.  This model is older than the T3.

Good luck

Doug

[singleVI]

Ive got an unfired 24" stainless DPMS AR10 in the gunsafe already. Im not sure but Im thinking the ammo I have is corrosive and I dont want to run it through that rifle. Bolt actions are easier to clean. I havnt tried it yet, but I'd imagine it to be somewhat cumbersome to lug around the woods during deer season.