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Paul Townlian

Hello, first time poster, avid reader of this site and Nathan’s book series. Please bear with my long introduction on question. I like being thoroughly and I want the appropriate context to be laid out for me question.

I’m torn on a specific rifle to buy, specifically a Tikka which I have settled on, for my introduction into long range practice and eventually hunting if the opportunity of long shot present themselves.

A little background info: I’ve been shooting for fun most of my life “aged 32”. I already know a great deal about rifles, calibers, ballistics, etc..Please take this into consideration when answering my question, any response will not have to be dumbed down for my comprehension. I Just got into hunting 4 years ago. I’m from the Midwest near the Mississippi in the USA but as of a few months ago lived near the Rocky Mountains and will be returning occasionally. All of my hunting has been for White Tail in the Midwest this far. Hills and dense forests. Out of 7 deer my longest shot has been about 70 yards. I’ve used a Ruger Scout rifle fitted with a suppressor, and a conventionally mounted Vortex Razor 1.5-8x36 scope. I’ve been using factory loaded ammo with heavy/soft bullets to accommodate the slow 16in barrel. This year I have a good sampling of 168g Amax and TMK to put to the test. My personal limit with the ballistics of this rifle is 250 yards and thus far the performance has been exceptional with the compact size proving optimal for tree stands and ground blind work. For this close range ambush niche, I am happy with my current setup.

However over the last year I’ve been bitten by the long range ballistics bug and have been interested in pushing my limits. I’ve read all of Nathan’s books except the ones concerning reloading and rifle smithing in particular because I feel they are out of context until I can get a reloading system and a rifle with tools to do my own custom work. I’m looking to get a general purpose/hack rifle capable of long range performance for practice and game within reason. I’m also an archer which gets the blunt of my practice because of cost and ease of locations to shoot, so I’m limiting my initial spending on a rifle due to my funding being split with archery and I have narrowed i my decision down to 3 models of Tikka. I believe this is my best bet to get my feet wet with a high likelyhood of an out of box rifle with acceptable accuracy and ergonomics.

I have acquired a Vortex Razor LHT 4.5-22x50 optic (First focal; adjustable parallax; zero stop elevation turret and capped windage; MOA). For mounting I have aluminum Hawkins Precision hybrid rings (20moa). These rings should be bullet proof durability wise. I also acquired a tikka beaver tail overmold that beefs up the tikka forend for improved recoil management per Nathan’s recommendations on stock design. My rifle choices are:

T3x Lite in 308 (1x11 twist; 22.4in barrel; stainless; roughly 8lb finished weight)

T3x Lite in 30-06 (1x11 twist; 22.4in barrel; stainless; roughly 8lb finished weight)

T3x CTR in 6.5 creedmoor (1x8 twist; 22in barrel; stainless; roughly 9.25lb finished weight)

Unfortunately I cannot for the life of my find a CTR with the 20in 308 stainless configuration, limiting me to just the 6.5.

My 90/10 rule for the foreseeable future is 90% white tail “100-200lb”; whole the 10% is the real possibility of a Rocky Mountain elk, mule deer, or antelope hunt in my future. And if I can convince my father in law, a Texas pig hunt next year.

My concerns:

The heavier rifled 6.5 would clearly be the best for practice and building my skills, also excellent for 90% of my use. But I don’t feel the 6.5 delivers the bullet mass necessary to depend on it for a possible elk hunt. This would force me into another rifle before a possible trip which I don’t want to do. I’d prefer to be thoroughly familiar with the rifle I practice with on an expensive rifle hunt in the mountains. .

The Lite is a much easier rifle to carry however it will slow practice down a bit. I understand Nathan’s reasoning with learning to deal with the heavier carry weight of a more stable platform, but I would favor a 30 for its versatility, I can’t seem to find a 20in ctr in a 30, and I have enough shooting experience that I feel with this heavier scope the 8lb all up weight of a Lite would be manageable.

Between the 308 and 30-06 I’m torn. I do not reload but hope to be able to get the necessary items to do so in the future once they become more available. Given my meticulous nature I know I will love it. Because of this 308 shows promise as it seems to be the easier option of the two to acquire factory match ammo. It will share ammo with my short and slow suppressed 308. It would streamline my needed supplies and brass when I take up reloading. It will supposedly have less recoil for long range accuracy in an equal weighted rifle to 30-06. It would handily take 90% of the game I expect to take with it. It would also be a touch cheaper and possibly easier on the shoulder for practice.

However I keep coming back to the 30-06. I have a love for that old cartridge and it’s about as high of recoil as I enjoy shooting. I can take more but I know I won’t put in the reps practice wise if it is much more. It seems to be a perfect middle ground for a hack. With reloading it can do everything a 308 can but more. Is better for potential elk and anetelope, and with in reasonable ranges loses out very little terminally to a magnum. Also frankly, my OCD likes the idea of filling that medium/long action tikka with a long cartridge. If the space is there why not use it?

My 30-06 concerns are I lose out on a lot of the benefits I listed with 308. Chiefly ammo commonality, and potential practice efficiency. Recoil will be a touch more in a relatively lightweight rifle. The short tikka magazine doesn’t seem to be able optimize the 30-06 when reloading large high bc bullets, especially with those heavy 208g ELDm which is a fascinating load to me. I’ve also read of the tikka 1x11 twist struggling with the heavier 30 caliber projectiles that the 30-06 brings to the table over the 308. Perhaps the tikka is just not the best fit for a 30-06? Perhaps with this “handicap” the gap between 308 and 30-06 in a T3x Is not great enough to make justify the 30-06.

If I chose 308 would I be leaving much on the table not choosing the 30-06. Is the T3x Lite an optional platform for 30-06 or is it a bit too long and but too much recoil? Would the mild recoil of the 6.5 offset its lack of bullet mass for things like elk? I certainly wouldn’t want to carry around a 10lb rifle that I would need to get within 200 yards of an elk and it still be the bare minimum.

Given these above details, I don’t see myself shooting game over 500-600yards. I’ll practice beyond that, but for personal reasons that is the range I would like to work up to and become comfortable with. It’s my set goal. For the 10% of big creatures like elk, if 400 becomes a more practical limit due to my ballistics I will square with that. It’s the same principal I use with archery. I practice at 70 yards (sight elevation maxed out) but keep my shots at 25 and in. But when you make 70 yard shots on the regular, 25 yard shots are cakewalk in all but the most absurd shooting positions.

Wow that was long, but there it is. I do want to reiterate, given my research and available funds, I am set on a Tikka. I hope that gives context to my dilemma and allows for a more educated advisement by you all who are further along in your journey. I’ve read poured over the details on these calibers, rifles, and etc in the books and the forum but nothing that has been specifically a comparison of these cartridges, in these rifles, for my specific needs. I look forward to your responses.

Please note, that I’m a bit busy bow hunting at the moment so if I don’t promptly respond I apologize, but just know that I do appreciate your time and will give you mine when I have the opportunity.