Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Sako 85 Finnlight User Opinions Please

A close friend of mine that reads but doesnt post on the forum asked me if I would post these questions on his behalf. He is considering purchasing a pair of Stainless Sako 85 Finnlights in .270WSM and .300WSM with the fluted barrels. He had one briefly in hand at a gun store and really likes the feel and balance of them. What he would really like to know from those that have them and are using them is; Are they pretty accurate rifles? Is the synthetic stock soft or stiff enough for consistent performance or have some users been disatisfied and turned around and replaced them with an Edge or other brand? Do they feed, fire and eject without any problems? and what are your general overall impressions of your Sakos.
Thanks for your responses,
BD

BlackDog,
the Finnlight is everything you could want in a rifle and more. I have one in 270Win. Perfect. On top, a Zeiss Duralyte 2-8 x 42.
I havent got a problem with the magazine set up or the stock - all work as required.

A 270WSM for your pal would be ideal IMHO.

Gus

My girlfriend uses a Sako 85 finnlight 25-06 and loves it. It functions perfect and never an issue. It's very accurate and I am not sure it could get much better. I did replace the stock on it though with a McMillan to cut some weight and so it would fit her better since she is small and the LOP was too much for her. Nothing really wrong with the original stock and it would have worked fine if it fit her. I know she loves and you can't pry it out of her hands.

I have one in .338 Federal. Seems to do everything right. It's just a good working rifle, where everything flows together smoothly. You won't regret getting one.

The stock is one of the best synthetic stocks that I've put to my shoulder. The only thing I did to change mine was to raise my cheek rest, so I have a more natural eye alignment with my scope. It's a small 2X7 scope, so there is more drop to the stock I feel over American stocks.

I would double check the recoil tables before I purchased either one of these calibers, as I am right at the limit in recoil for my .338 Federal. Any more & I would probably be selling, but for it's intended use I think it is about the perfect caliber. I.e. hunting blacktail deer in Brown bear country.

Thanks for the much appreciated responses thus far, for those who have already responded and to those that might, one other question I neglected to ask in addition to those I asked in my OP, how are the triggers? were they easily adjustable to your desired weight, did they hold the weight adjustment without further work and did they break clean and crisply?
Thanks again,
BD

The trigger adjusts down really nice and breaks clean on both of my Sako 85's, no further work needed or wanted.

I have a few of them in various calibers and they are great rifles. The only thing that would concern me when stepping up to a WSM caliber is recoil. They are designed as lightweight mountain rifles so there is not much mass to hold the recoil down. They do have a decent recoil pad and if your buddy is not particulary recoil sensistive it may not be a factor. All of mine have been consistent less than MOA rifles. The triggers are adjustable between 2 and 4 pound and break very cleanly.

I have one in 30/06. At the range a couple of days ago I fired two 2 shot groups (2 different loads) to verify the sights.

The first two consisted of 165 Rem. CL over 58 gr. of H4350. The pair landed exactly 3 inches high at 100 yards.

The second pair consisted of 170 Hornady FP (30/30 bullets) over 47 gr. of R15. This loading is intended for short range deer hunting. This pair landed exactly 1.5 inches high at 100 yards.

The spacing - 5/16 inches for both loads!

No need to burn up any more barrel life with groups like that.

Jim

I have one in 308Win.One rifle I never had the need to modify.I have the original(non-soft touch)stock on mine.So far so good.The trigger is outstanding.Functions perfectly,never a burp.Very accurate and a breeze to carry.As far as the WSM goes,I have a Montana 270WSM.The Kimber is lighter than the Finnlight and the recoil is not all that bad.

buy a new one. there is no warranty to the second owner. be sure that the gun is purchased from a sako authorized dealer. pray to god you never have to deal with their customer disservice. don't ask me how I know.

ps, in the event you do need service, do all dialogue via email.

I had a lame one, and I understand it happens, but they are piss poor to their customers to the point that I sold every beretta, burris franchi....etc.

I have a Finnlite in .270 Win. It is every thing I could hoped for. Pretty pricey, but you get what you pay for. The ST (soft touch) stock feels great. It is the best factory synthetic stock that I have ever owned. It just feels good. I put Leupold's QD bases and low QD rings on it.

Here is the ONE PROBLEM I discovered. The fixed ejector is located at the 6:00 o' clock position. I had a Nikon Monarch 3x9 that I had planned to use. However the windage adjustment turret on the Nikon sticks out further than a Leupold. When I ejected rounds the ejected rounds hit the turret, making marks on the bottom of the turret. Pulled the Nikon and put it on a Tikka, and bought a Leupold VX 3 3.5 X 10 put it on the Finnlite and problem solved. If I had not wanted low rings I could have used medium rings with the Nikon, but I want my scope as low as possible.

I would suggest that you choose your bases, rings, and scope carefully. STILL LOVE THOSE FINN'S AND THE RIFLES THEY MAKE!

G2

Cannot speak on the Winchester Short Mags, but I Love the Sako in standard chamberings. As noted, you may run into ejection issues if you crowd the port by using a bulky bodied/big turret scope along with too low a set of rings. I do believe a few posted having such issues when they tried running such combinations. These are generally the exception and not the rule, most rave about these rifles and their exceptional "out of the box" performance. Excellent rifle!!

Best

Thanks again for the responses, It sounds like no one has really ever had a real problems or issues with their Finnlites and are very pleased with them.. If enthusiasm is infectious, my friends interest in the 85 Finnlite has now got me looking seriously at them. I knew that the earlier Sako's had different action sizes based around short or standard length cartridges but, I didn't realize until after looking at Sakos online tech manual that the Finnlite has 4 action sizes and seem to be sized around the cartridge much like the NULA's. Any rcommendations on a good Sako dealer?

Blackdog,
Yes they are infectious. I want to add an 85 in 243Win (stainless synthetic) to match my 270 Win - but with the used gun market the wau it is in our neck of the woods, I am better served to hold on to my current 243 - and maybe drop an EDGE stock into it!!

Good thing about the Sako - seldom do they depreciate as much as other rifles.

Gus

Eurooptic or Whittakers.

Yes Sako rifles are infectious. I bought my first back in 1997 - Sako m75ss 300WM..thought I would be a 1 rifle guy...nope!! After 2004, now I have several Sako m75 SS and Greywolf rifles!!!

I have two, one in 7mm-08 and the other that started life as a 30-06 and now is a 280 Rem. Both shoot very well and no problems

BlackDog1,

Purchased mine from www.ableammo.com out of Huntsville, Tx. They are good about having what you want. Or you might find what you want on GunBroker or Gun'sAmerica. You will be out around $1,500 + or - for a new 85 Finnlite ST.

G2