My buddy has the Sako Finnlight in 30-06. It has the 20" barrel and he has mounted a stainless Leupold 2.5-8x in stainless Sako mounts.

He does not reload and just uses the cheap Remington 150 Corelokt factory ammo. It shoots under 1/2" in his gun at 100 yards. Most groups he shoots with this factory load have 3 shots touching at 100 yrds. He is actually a firearms instructor for the LAPD and a pretty good shot with almost any weapon he picks up.

Below is a pig he took this spring on his first "big game" hunt (he mostly hunts birds). We spotted the pig feeding across a small valley. We lasered the pig at 318 yards. Chris used a fallen branch for a solid rest and I told him to hold on the pigs spine. He fired and the pig ran down the hill. A perfect double lung shot.

Here is the result of what the Sako Finnlight can do:



Seems to work for him.

Tim

I love both Sako's and Kimbers, my suggestion would be to buy a finnlite for rainy days and a Kimber for sunny days where you can admire the wood.
Finnlite's can shoot pretty well:








- Some of you will note that there was 1 1/2 to 2" of left wind blowing that day...

The 270 with a 20" barrel shoots a little below normal velocity but not bad. For some reason the 300 WSM shoots about 100fps slower than my other 300 WSM's with the same load even with a 24 3/8" barrel (I think the bore may be a little fat).
I think that people who like to shoot with a tight cheek weld will find the Kimber fits them better those who shoot with their head more erect will fit the Sako. Good Luck.......DJ

I've shot and admired both rifles. I'd go with the Kimber. They are classy, accurate and use a tried and true action, there's really no downside. The Sako, is more expensive, an ok action, and a really weird way of mounting a scope. Both are accurate, so that's a wash. I've seen .22s with better scope mount arrangements than the Sako. My shootin' pal and I have had 2 Sako Finnlights, both are gone, that should tell you something. Sako rings and mounts are far too high, even the lowest ones, and cost $120 for the set. Leupy rings for Sako, mount like .22s, and can slip, and cost $70. I will admit the Sako does feel good, UNTIL you start looking through a scope on it. We've had 3 Kimbers, and still have all of them. They use traditional scope mounts, with no problems with height, and the fit and feel is MUCH better, at least that's the way we both feel about it. I realize, though, that's why they make Ford and Chevys, because we're not all alike, so "you milage may vary".

Good luck in you decision.

I can't comment on the Sako because I haven't owned one. I looked at Sako recently when looking for an ultra light rifle, and narrowed it down to a New Ultra Light Arms rifle at $2700, or a Kimber Montana at $865. I now own a beautiful little Kimber. The Kimber kevlar/graphite stock was designed by Malcom Forbes, of New Ultra Light Arms, for Kimber. As stated in an earlier post, it is pillar bedded and free floated. I spoke with a tech at Kimber and he told me that it was reasonable to expect to find a load that would go half MOA. We'll see about that. He also suggested that the trigger could be safely adjusted down to 2lbs, which it has. So far I've not had time to do any real load development with this .243, but I have high hopes for it as an above timberline marmot rifle. If it won't shoot half minute it will go to Pac-Nor for action trueing and a new match barrel. Which ever way you chose you are sure to have a good rifle.

Bobby'

What,s wrong with the Sako scope mount system? Its absolutely rock solid and foolproof. I have both Sakos and Tikkas and have had the scope in the mounts off several times (for transport) and when refitted them the scope has even returned to the original point of impact. And I have never had the mounts or scope move under recoil.

Also the rings are very strong and come with a synthetic sleeve which protects the scope. I will admit that the low are a little high but then I personally have no problem with that.