I second Cptcurl,

I'm not sure what the outfitter was talking about. I've used my Chapuis for several years on annual bear and deer hunts in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska. And I've never had a problem with the rifle freezing. The only possible consideration I would have (and given that you are thinking about your Tikka) would be that some would not like draging their fine english double rifle through the weather you'd get in coastal Kamchatka or Alaska.

Take the 9.3 Nitro