I would say, IMO, yes. Remington M700's, while not necessarily a bad rifle, don't hold a candle to the Sako 75 series rifles, unless you're talking about a top end Titanium or custon shop 40X. But the run-of-the-mill M700 BDL isn't even in the same league as a Sako. Find a dealer that stocks both, and compare them side by side and you'll see what I mean. Only you can really say for yourself if they are worth the money to you. The Remington's will usually shoot just fine for most people, are good enough for the deer woods, and cost several hundred dollars less. But if you want a premium, full featured almost custom grade gun at an almost production grade price, then the Sako is a real value over a custom built rifle which can cost 50-500% more than the Sako. It boils down to you having to go out and look at the rifle, hold it, shoulder it, cycle the bolt, manipulate the safety, etc.... Then you'll know if it's worth the money to you.

The Sako has a two position safety, beck for safe and forward for fire just like the M700's. The difference is that the safety, like the rest of the rifle, is smooth as glass, easier to manipulate and much quieter than and M700 I've owned. The safety also, unlike the M700, locks the bolt closed when on safe (an obviously nice feature if you ever hunt in the thick stuff), but there is a little release button that you can press to open the bolt to load/unload the rifle with the safety on.

I have my BerettaUSA 2005 catalog in front on me, and it shows that Sako does not (yet) chamber any of the 75 series rifles in 300 RUM. The Finnlight comes in five magnum chamberings; 7mm Rem Mag, .300 Win Mag, .300WSM, .270 WSM, and 7mm WSM. The Sako 75 Stainless/Synthetic. which lacks the fluted barrel and slightly lighter stock and weighs 7.75lbs vs. the Finnlights 6.5lbs, also comes in .338 Win Mag and .375 H&H.

Mike