I own both a Finnlight (7-08) and a Kimber Montana (.280AI).
I handload for both, and although I only have had these rifles for a couple of months and a couple years respectively, I have owned them long enough to get to know both pretty well. Here are a few priorities for me, with my impression of each rifle.
Accuracy: Sako was shooting sub MOA with little effort hand loading. Kimber seems to be stuck at 1.5MOA despite many powder/bullet combos that I've tried.
Seating depth for the Kimber was limited by the ejection port, so I have to seat bullets far from the lands to have a loaded cartridge extract. So this may be a limiting factor in accuracy. The Sako's mag allows me to get to within 0.015" of the lands with most bullets. Close enough for me.
Stock: Sako is rubbery and kind of weird. I do like the palm swell and overall stock forend contour more on the Sako. For materials I much prefer the Kimber. So Sako gets the edge on stock design but Kimber for material.
Barrel: Kimber is very thin contour and heats up quickly. 3 shots and then let it cool. Sako takes a few more shots to heat up.
Trigger: Both excellent. I really like the feel of the wide trigger blade on the Kimber.
Loading/Ejecting: Sako is smooth as butter. Kimber is quirky and may need some out of the box work. Like the detachable magazine in the Sako. The blind mag of the Kimber is perfect for multi day mountain hunts, but kind of annoying if used as a deer rifle.
Handling: Both balance well, although the exceptional light weight of the Kimber takes some getting used to. Throw a bipod on the front and the Kimber feels insanely front heavy. The Sako handles a bipod better.
Weight: Kimber I would call ultralight, and Sako I'd call lightweight. Depends on what you're looking for.
Overall: The Kimber Montana is like the girls we want to date in college. Sexy, sleek, and mysterious in a good kind of way at first. But ultimately ends up being quirky, clingy and sort of tiresome.
The Sako is more like the woman I married. Smart, beautiful, and straight up.
Now that the Sako has a load worked up, it's gonna be the one that gets chosen.
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