Sako or custom gun?

[MDJACKSON417]

I have been going through the process of looking for a new rifle to take elk hunting and possibly get into long range shooting as well. I have decided upon a 300win(for now) but I have been having trouble deciding upon a rifle. I have read several times on the site about the Sako and that its a great gun but would the recoil be bearable in a 300 win without a break? Also would I be better off to spend more and go with a (Production)custom such as Fierce, Law or even some others? I have also even considered Gunwerks while it might push the budget would it be justifiable to spend the extra up front?

I am not looking for a gun to work on myself so to speak

 

[MudRunner2005]

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog...olt+Action+Centerfire/REM+700+5-R+300WM+26+SS

 

[FEENIX]

I have been going through the process of looking for a new rifle to take elk hunting and possibly get into long range shooting as well. I have decided upon a 300win(for now) but I have been having trouble deciding upon a rifle. I have read several times on the site about the Sako and that its a great gun but would the recoil be bearable in a 300 win without a break? Also would I be better off to spend more and go with a (Production)custom such as Fierce, Law or even some others? I have also even considered Gunwerks while it might push the budget would it be justifiable to spend the extra up front?

I am not looking for a gun to work on myself so to speak

I am a big SAKO fan; I have a SAKO M995 in .300 WM that is stock except for a muzzle brake install that harvested a MT bull elk at 931 yards. Very accurate and smooth action.

Yes, a .300 WM's recoil is tolerable but why go through it unnecessarily esp. with plenty of effective muzzle brakes out there. You'll be much happier with it, and being able to see target on impact is priceless. BTW, excellent choice of chambering.

Depending on your budget, this might help you in your decision making process too >>> http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f17/donor-action-custom-180070/

Good luck!

Ed

 

[MDJACKSON417]

https://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog...olt+Action+Centerfire/REM+700+5-R+300WM+26+SS

I had also considered the Remington but didn't know about the weight of the rifle I will probably be packing it some distance when hunting

 

[Idaho Trecker]

Which Sako are you looking at getting?

I also love Sako. I have a 85 Varmint 243, 85 Hunter that started as 243 but I had factory barrel re chambered to 6mm AI, 85 Finnlite originally 300 win mag which I also had factory barrel re chambered to 300 Dakota and 75 in 270 Win. All of them are incredibly accurate and the smoothness of the actions are phenomenal!! As to getting a production custom I cant help you much in that area. I have had a few semicustoms built for around the price of a new sako with the components I want but those have been on Rem 700 and Tikka's after diligently watching classifieds to get the best deal for the money which takes time just for parts then smith work. It really depends how long you want to wait vs just getting something ordered.

 

[Prieto9000]

Sako rifles are great, the smoothness of the action is hard to beat, the only downside I see is that they run slow twist barrels in most caliber offerings. The only decent barrel twist offering is the 1:8 .260rem. If my memory serves me well, the .300 win mag wears a 1:11 barrel as does the .308 win and the .300 WSM. 243 barrels are 1:10 which is super slow for heavy bullets.
I own a .270 wsm 85 finnlight and I really like it. The set trigger is awesome but I always end up picking up one of my 700 custom rifles when going on a hunt.

 

[Idaho Trecker]

Sako rifles are great, the smoothness of the action is hard to beat, the only downside I see is that they run slow twist barrels in most caliber offerings. The only decent barrel twist offering is the 1:8 .260rem. If my memory serves me well, the .300 win mag wears a 1:11 barrel as does the .308 win and the .300 WSM. 243 barrels are 1:10 which is super slow for heavy bullets.
I own a .270 wsm 85 finnlight and I really like it. The set trigger is awesome but I always end up picking up one of my 700 custom rifles when going on a hunt.

This is true in my opinion also. For the purpose of the rifles I use the twist will work fine until its time to rebarrel. The 1:11 30 cal still allows me to shoot the 208 ELD-M (A-Max) with stability at my elevation. I have killed a lot of game with this combo in my 300 Dakota. In the 243 with the 1:10 twist it shoots the 95 grain berger classic hunter amazingly!

To the OP I dont think you can go wrong with getting the Sako if you are ok with shooting the 208 or smaller bullet. I've shot the 215 Berger but its not fully stable. When I get my barrel burned out I'll have the same Finnlite contour mostly copied (slightly heavier once past the fore end of the stock) but run a 1:9 twist for 225+ grain bullets with the Dakota chambering.

Decisions.... Decisions
Good Luck

 

[MDJACKSON417]

I was looking at getting a 85 Finnlight in the .300 WM will the recoil be bearable without a muzzle break with such a light gun? If I am going to go with that and have to add a break would I be better off going with a factory custom with a break already installed?

 

[jaybo]

How much recoil you can handle depends on you. What is tolerable for one person may be unacceptable for another. I have Two Sakos and three Tikkas and I think you will be happy with them. As was previously stated, they are slower twist rates than most other rifles but unless going with a very heavy bullet, you will be fine. My modified Tikka 300WM is 8 pounds scoped and I am shooting a 200 grain accubond. I am 6'2" 210 pounds and hit packs quite a punch. It would not be a lot of fun to shoot all day but to get a little practice or hunt it is tolerable. If you want something to start learning to shoot long range, I would muzzle it to make it enjoyable to shoot. As far as the weight, I wanted a light rifle as my first guided elk hunt I used a custom 10 pound rifle and one day we walked several miles through some heavy timber and I was holding it at ready position and it got heavy quick. What kind of terrain will you be hunting, how much walking etc may help decide which way you want to go. Heavy 26 inch muzzled barrel vs light 24inch barrel.

If you have a 308 or something similar I would start shooting long range with it first. Cheaper to shoot and easier on the body.

 

[MDJACKSON417]

Thank you for all of the input on a rifle I ended up lengthening my budget a little more and went with a 28 Nosler from MOA in the Extreme Summit I have not received it yet but I can tell you they go above and beyond to make sure everything goes smoothly. Through the entire process they never pushed me one way or the other just were very thorough in explaining and have unbelievable customer service well worth the extra in price.

 

[Metzger]

Thank you for all of the input on a rifle I ended up lengthening my budget a little more and went with a 28 Nosler from MOA in the Extreme Summit I have not received it yet but I can tell you they go above and beyond to make sure everything goes smoothly. Through the entire process they never pushed me one way or the other just were very thorough in explaining and have unbelievable customer service well worth the extra in price.

That budget went way up gun)