I want a lightweight rifle. The Finnlight, the Forbes 20b, and Kimber are all within a few hundred dollars and a few ounces of each other. The Forbes 20b would involve a long wait. The Kimber seems to have as many detractors as fans. So what about the Finnlight? Who has one? How do you like it?

Should I get one, or should I just get a Tikka T3 lite for a third of the costs and about 6 or 8 ounces heavier?

I have one in 30-06 chambering. Quite accurate, pleasant to shoot and carry. If you can handle the price they are a great gun in my opinion.

Jim

I had a 75 Finnlight in 300WSM. Should have never sold it....

The Tikka would work for you also, but its not near the rifle of the Finnlight.

I have a one in a 25-06, wife has a 7-08 and my dad a .243...I think they are great quality rifles and they fit us perfectly. The newer rubber coated stock is nice as well with the off centre palm swell and raised cheek piece...no need to replace the stock anymore with a McMillan.

How do they differ in terms of performance?


P

I have an 85 in 300 wsm. Smoothest feeding rifle ever. Good ergos. good fit and finish. Extremely accurate. Hard to beat

Don't they have a one inch accuracy guarantee? That is nice.

The stock is just injection molded no? Is it nice?

Sako 85 Finnlight 300 WSM

Accurate, weighs 7 lbs scoped, has had two custom stocks, looks stylish. They come with an injection molded stock which is tolerable. It won't need to be replaced unless you simply feel like it. Mine shoots the same no matter which stock it is wearing.

It would be my next choice again if I am tempted to buy another rifle. But, I have no reason to do so.

I'm thinking of selling nearly everything I have. I'll just rebore my FN 98 30-06 to 9.3x62, and sell off everything but my AR, AK, SKS, Garand, and some .22s and shotguns. Then, I'll buy a Finnlight or something like that in .308 or 7mm-08 and call it good.

It is just flat stupid having all these deer hunting caliber rifles that never even get taken out of the safe. Tweaking loads and the like just doesn't interest me anymore. I want something that shoots and shoots very well, is easy to carry, and will hold its value.

Sounds like you need a Finnlight!

Thats what I did, sold off the extras to get it and down to one big game rifle.

Well you mentioned 3 rifles, two of which are less expensive than the third and the first two come with great stocks. While I like the Finnlight, $1500 with a plastic injection molded stock is not Nirvana to me. Slip it into a nice McMillan edge and it would be perfect, of course that makes it a $2100 rifle. So a Montana or a Forbes for less than $1300 that doesnt require any modifying is a much more viable option to me. Though all 3 are fine rifles!

You can also look into the Tikka Superlight and the Cooper Excaliber, which will be about the same weight as the Sako in short action calibers. I've owned two 75's, still have a 75 and an L579. All are good guns with various pluses and minuses. I suggest handling and looking closely at all of them before making a decision.

The Finnlight is not lighter than the Tikka, they weigh the same and the sako costs twice as much. Both come with plastic stocks, so I am not sure where they figure the cost.

I don't like the closed top receiver on the Tikka. Yeah, it is a minor thing, but the natural way for me to carry a short light rifle is for my hand to go right around the receiver and for my thumb to go right under the scope. I can't do that with a Tikka. Is that worth a $1000? I don't know, but I'm not sure I would be completely happy.

I have a 75 finnlight in 270 wsm, 85 Grey Wolf in 300 win mag, and Tikka T3 Light in 22-250.
The Tikka is a great rifle and I love mine, but nowhere near the quality craftsmanship and feel of the Sakos.
Don't get me wrong, Tikkas are great, but you can tell they are on a different level of quality.

I have a good collection of Sako's and like them a lot. Two years ago I decided I wanted a short action,7mm-08 "lightweight " rifle for stand hunting and walking. There was no doubt it would be a Finnlight. In my search for one, I came across something in a pawn shop I had not seen at that point; a Weatherby MK V, 6 lug, Stainless Carbine, 20" barrel and bought it. If you see one, buy it; though they are rare. Lighter than the guns listed above and mine shoots. I put it in a Mcmillan Sako Classic stock and it is 7lb 1oz w/ scope and S&K rings. Don't overlook the 6 lug action Weatherbys; even with longer barrels than are lighter than most people realize and can be found at almost Tikka prices.

I have two finnlights, the 300WSM M75 for bear, and the 7mm08 M85 for deer. 7mm08 is under 7 pounds with a 1-5X Leupold. I just got a plastic hunter model in 260 for silhouette. I may get a 260 M85 Finnlight and sell the 7mm08 to have less brass. A M85 varmint in 223 would also be cool. It would be great to have only 6 or so calibers. Great triggers that are easy to adjust to two pounds, I also like the idea of one type of safety, and I like the Sako magazines.

Have a Black Bear, which is nothing more than a glorified black Finnlight with Recknagel sights. Ugly utilitarian gun, but it is pure perfection to carry and use afield. If the Finnlight fits you, they are outstanding. I for one am a fan of the factory soft touch stock. They handle great, are light, are strong, and the gun is insanely accurate. Had a nice M70 with a McMillan Edge technology stock, and as nice a stock the Edge, it would save little to no weight, would be no stronger, and would be no more accurate. For me, choosing the Sako boils down to fit.

Like boots and backpacks, you'll know if you like the fit or not when you mount the gun.

Best

Man I handled the BB at the last the EuroOptic booth and it will be one of my next guns. It felt great in the hands. I think that and .222 would accent my First year V action 300 WSM nicely and round out my collection. It feels amazing in the hands.

I just couldn't warm up to the soft touch two-tone finnlight stock and didn't want to wait on a Forbes 20B, so I bought two tikka Superlites. Both shoot and handle great...7lb scoped and very satisfied. The finnlight would most certainly hold it's resale value better than the Tikka's I predict. I see a 20B in my future one of these days, but I would not trade/sell my tikka(s) to get it.

I called about a Forbes 20b and was told a couple months, so I pulled the trigger and ordered one. I'm not driving 300 miles to a Sportsman's Warehouse for a Tikka and at $900 at Cabelas, it isn't that much cheaper than a Forbes.

You'll be happy with the Forbes. I have a 24B in 30-06 and also a 6.5x55 85 Finnlight.

Maybe I missed it, but no one has mentioned that the Forbes is a pound lighter than the Finnlight given the same action size/class.

Other differences: The Forbes is not yet available in all stainless, the stock is nicer on the Forbes (however I like the Finnlight stock even if it is not a composite), the Finnlight has a nicer finish. Both have been very accurate out of the box.

Shady...........If I had your money I would just get me a NULA for every day of the month!

JoeBob, as happy as I am with my Superlites, I doubt I would have pulled the trigger on them at $900 either. But, based on how they've shot so far, I doubt I would take that for them now. Good luck with the Forbes and let us know how it shoots...so far the reports look real good.

St8man, if you had my money, you better luv potted meat and saltines!

I have a Finnlight in 6.5x55 that I bought for quite a deal some years ago. It shoots well, but I'm partial to blue and wood over this gun. In my opinion the synthetic stocks were nothing more than to sell us shooters something that cost less to make. I think they're all ugly.

Have plenty of other pretty guns to pick from though, so no worries.

Had a 75 Finnlight in 30-06 and 85 Finnlights in 25-06 & 300 WSM, I liked the guns but my cheaper Tikka's were more accurate. The 300 WSM and Tikka superlight 30-06 went down the road when I got my Forbes 30-06. With its 24 inch barrel it is 100+ faster then my Tikka superlight with the same loads. It may not as fast as the Finnlight 300 was but pushing 168 T-TSX at 2920 is more than enough for my shots under 500 yards.

Hope to buy used Forbes 25-06 if I don't find one by May I will be paying full price for one.

I think you did the right thing in getting the Forbes. Had you bought the Sako 85 Finnlight, you might have been looking at a design flawed rifle. Unless you are OK with setting the scope much higher, than should be necessary you might have experienced ejector problems, especially with the 30-06 family of rounds. I had a really bad experience with an 85 Finnlite, and Beretta gave me a refund on the .270 Finnlight I had. Since Sako/Beretta placed the fixed ejector in the 6 o'clock position, many guys have a beef with 85 Sako's. If they had left the fixed ejector at the 9 o'clock position, there would not have been ejection problems. That said, I will continue to look for older classic Sako's, but no 75 or 85's for me. I realize that some have had nothing but good things to say about their Sako 85's and I am happy for them. I just do not trust later model Sako's to function properly. About 2 years ago, this was discussed at length on this web site. Good luck with your Forbes.

G2

I have/had a pile of Sako 75/85 in both finnlights and standards. I have never had a ejection problem using low ring mounts or low optilocks.

The only problem I ever had with a Sako is the 75 I bought from a member here that would only go off sometimes.

I have doubts if a Forbes will run with Sako 85 finnlight accuracy wise. But I may have to find out.

Dink