Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Sako,Kimber,or Browning

I have not had A Browning that would not eject a spent 30-06 case, however I did have a 85 finnlight that did just that. Im not sure how that makes the Sako better though, And I sure as heck wouldnt want to hunt Brown bear with a weapon that wouldnt allow a follow up shot...

1. If you hunt dangerous game without thoroughly verifying the functioning of your rifle, you get what you deserve.

2. ANY Sako rifle is built to a far higher standard than an A-Bolt or X(crement) Bolt. There is much to be said for using steel and quality wood.

If there high standards include the rifle failing to eject spent cases, they can keep them. If a rifle costing more than the other rifles doesnt function at least as well, and should be better, what is the point?

Your complaint on the Sako 85 is not uncommon with rifle actions using blade-type ejectors. They don't fling the empty brass out of the action unless you cycle the bolt with sufficient authority. If you manipulate the bolt like you're holding an h'orderve fork, you're going to have problems.

One lemon does not make all Sakos bad. Maybe you cannot work a bolt properly, who knows. Fact is, there has been a bunch of Browning A-Bolt horror tales posted here, and elsewhere. Some involving high dollar hunts. Having examined both rifles, Browning's A-Bolt is not fit to be in the same sentence as Sako. I have owned a few Sakos, all were as good out of the box rifles as it can possibly get. My only issue at the time I was playing around with them, was they were heavier than I wanted for my personal uses, and I don't want a chopped barrel like on the Finnlight. Otherwise, they are darn near perfect.

ULA24, most of the 85 Finnlights I've seen have same length barrel as the other 85's. The 75's were the ones that often had 2" shorter shafts.

I have a Kimber and a couple of Sakos, among a bunch of other rifles. The Kimber is pretty, handles nicely, I'll give it that. It has also given me more headaches getting it to work right (including a trip back to the factory) than any production rifle in that price range has a right to. The Sakos are pretty (to my eye)and function absolutely flawlessly. They shoot bugholes. The only Brownings I own are a BT-99 trap and a Belgian .22 auto. Since Browning went to Japan their rifles look, to me anyway, like a collaboration between a French-Canadian interior decorator and a Japanese filmmaker. I just can't warm up to them.

I think that most of the lengths are appropriate now, except the 22-3/8" barrel oon the 25-06.

I can't understand why the 6.5x55, 30-06, and 270 all have the same action, yet the 6.5x55 has a 24-3/8" barrel and the others are 22-3/8"

They must be perceiving some European vs. American barrel length preference.

Again, if you need to think about how you are working the bolt in order for it to eject the shells properly, why is it better? I want a rifle to work when and how it is supposed to, and not have to think about if I am working the bolt fast enough, or hard enough to do what every other bolt rifle I own does. As far as A-bolts, dont own one of them, just several x-bolts.

So he doesn't know how to manipulate the bolt properly?

And you know this how?

I've shot hundreds of animals (Hogs, yotes and Whitetails) with A-Bolts and haven't had any problem.

Laffin'

I have two X-Bolts - .243 for coyotes and 7-08 deer rifle. Both shoot under an inch with most ammo, from day-1. Great trigger. I like the light weight and the rubberized stock. Very easy rifle to handle. Also like the 4-screw bases. I think they are well made rifles. TJ

Seems to me that there have only been a very few horror tales regarding Brownings on this site, but the haters just love to retell them constantly and lots of people refer to these horror tales, having no first hand knowledge or experience. Not pointing at you specifically, just a generalization.

Kimber on the other hand, has hundreds of bad stories on this site alone. Sako is out of my financial reach and probably a lot of others.....I am sure they are nice rifles.

I personally love Brownings and among my immediate family, we have about 15 a-bolts (some for 20+ yrs) and now 4 x-bolts. I can't say we've ever had a single problem except a burned out barrel from shooting too hot handloads. Some of the a-bolts (including mine) have killed 300+ whitetails and go afield 50+ days a year.

I asked for suggestions and thats what I got, and then some. I can't say that I have made a difinitive decision yet, but I am leaning toward the Finnlight,with the X-bolt in second place. I have a friend who is a dealer and I have been trying to contact him to see what my price on all three would be. The best price on the Finnlight over the phone I have been able to get is $1399, and $849 for the stainless stalker. If his prices aren't much better than these I am going to have to do some soul searching. Logically speaking, would the Sako be so much better than the X-bolt that it would be worth $550 more. The problem I have is logic rarely ever influences my gun decisions.

Miguel,
I once owned an A-Bolt. It was accurate, but there is more to a good gun than that. The Browning is not in the same league as a Sako or Kimber, but then it doesn't cost as much, either.

Between the Sako and Kimber, I'm with others who've previously chimed in and recommend that you try each to determine which fits and feels the best for you. Shooting them would be really nice, as the light weight of the Kimber might produce more recoil than you'd be comfortable with for longer sessions at the range.

Also, I agree with others and suggest you look at a Win 70 stainless Featherweight or EW or a Tikka T3. Pricewise, they are more in the league of the Browning, but a better design IMHO.

I have read the Kimber tales of woe also, and I am not discounting them. Mainly they seem to revolve around accuracy issues and that is all. I am willing to bet that 80% of those issues are caused by guys that cannot shoot period, don't try other loads, cannot handload, etc.. Whereas, the A-Bolt issues are caused by poor design and cheap materials, leading to serious problems, with examples of catastrophic failure in some instances. Accuracy is just one part of a good hunting rifle. Savage makes highly accurate hunting rifles, but I personally would never own one. Howa makes fine accurate solid rifles, but some guys just won't hunt American game with a Jap rifle. In factory rifles the Model 70 and the Kimber have the most time tested reliable design to many, but they are often not stellar right out of the box. I think it is hard to beat Sako for pure out of the box perfection, without having to play around with the rifle. I have had great luck with Weatherby's myself, but some have issues with them too. Hunting is supposed to be fun, so you should use whatever rifle brand brings you happiness. The problems start when poor rifles designs are compared, or said to be as good as proven rifle designs. That's when the sparks fly.

I've had and hunted with all 3. They were all accurate and reliable. I'd rank them in the following order:

1) Sako - The most accurate of the three for me (although by a very small margin).
2.) Kimber- Very, very close second. As a matter of fact, it may be a tie with the Sako. Very nice package and mine shot ~ 2" 5-shot groups @ 200 when I held up my end of the deal. I love the Montana stocks, as well.
3) Browning - I got a good deal on one and used it a season. It was also very accurate, but I bought the Kimber above from a forum member and liked the Kimber significantly better. I've read about poor materials used in their production that have contributed to premature failure, but mine never failed in its limited use. I can't comment on possible design flaws as I'm in a completely different engineering field, but a lot of people more qualified than me believe the flaws exist. Mine functioned flawlessly, albeit under limited use.

It's really a shame that you won't have the opportunity to compare them in person. Maybe there are some features you can compare that are important to you (i.e. stock, magazine type, etc). Maybe one edges out the rest? Based on your list, I'd choose between the Kimber and Sako. Good luck and enjoy your purchase!

Since you want a stainless synthetic rifle, I would strongly consider the Kimber, with it's high-quality synthetic stock.

The Kimber Monana stock compares favorably with the $500 McMillan's that everyone drops their 700's into.

The Browning at a fair bit less money has the injection molded stock common in its price range.

The Sako has an injection molded stock too. I cannot understand how Sako continues to offer this stock on a $1400 rifle. I don't know who buys them, but I wouldn't. For that money, you should get a quality stock IMHO.

The Sako stock while injection molded, is a very high quality stock. Very little flex and the rubberized texture is very nice. From a pure carry/hunt point of view it compares favorably to my McM's. I agree the Kimber stock is very nice too although a bit perch belly on some models.

The design of the Sako isn't to eject a cartridge when you shoot a pig or a squirrel, it is designed to mechanically eject the casing with a complete rearward pull on the bolt that ejects the casing reliably every time. A plunger/spring loaded ejector works when there is no grit or debris in the plunger, the Sako extractor will work even when dirty...

I have decided it will be the Finnlight, preferably in .308, but a 7mm08 wouldn't be bad either. I have always wanted a Sako and the time is right. I remember when I was a kid, some gun writer, I think the recently deceased John Wooters, said when someone asked what rifle do you recomend that will do it all, give good accuracy, be dependable,etc.,he always told them to get a Sako .308 and you will not be dissapointed. Funny how I remember that after all of these years. Now to find one. My dealer is looking, and I have called a few places but no luck on a .308 yet.