Originally Posted by GaryVA
Originally Posted by shortactionsmoker
+2 hillbilly....if it's so dang easy, why don't they do something about it?

Like I said before, I'll never buy another long action 85. FWIW, the Beretta rep for this part of the country is a local boy. He can tell you some stories relating to issues with the LA 85.


Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. crazy

In the few years you've been here, I've lost count how many rifles you've bought, put a couple boxes through, and then immediately sold. You've posted about correcting issues with Remingtons, Rugers, Winchesters, and a ton of Kimbers. I lost count and wouldn't be surprised if you went through two dozen Kimbers. The Kimber roulette bashers bothered you enough that you posted in great detail how you must tweak and tune Kimbers out the box so they function reliably. Correcting ill fitting mag boxes, loose bedding, etc., etc. You've even gone into detail on the SC M70s to check for and correct a loose and poorly fitting claw extractor that was much worse than the Sako in discussion here, in that it pulled straight over the cartridge case leaving it sitting in the chamber.

In all the great details you've covered on each and every rifle purchased and sold, you've made not one single mention of a Sako 85, other than posting you've had zero experience. And then suddenly, you come out of left field to jump on the pile bashing Sako 85s? Not one single peep of any attempts to make any corrections, like on the metric ton of Rems, Rugs, Wins, and Kims?? I find that surprising, coming from you, the guy who buys rifles like Imelda Marcos bought shoes, and who routinely goes through the rifle to vet, tweak, and modify until uber reliable.

All the long action 85 owners reporting great performance are not a fluke. Those having issues as described, appear to me to have issues with either fit and/or tension of the claw extractor. The person noted in this thread having the same issue, made a correction by increasing coil spring tension, to report now seeing stellar performance. Maybe the factory spring was indeed weak, or maybe the issue was machining burrs which were masked by going to a stiffer spring. Regardless, the Sako 85 is a production rifle out of Finland, not a hand fitted custom rifle. Beretta is merely an importer, and EuroOptic is merely a stocking dealer. Such a production rifle would likely benefit from the same vetting as any of the scores of favorite rifles you've needed to de-bugg and correct. wink

My favorite bolt gun continues to be a worked over and well built 98 or NH classic 70. Out the box production, my favorite continues to be a Sako. These have served me well.

Best smile


I just saw this and have a few comments to add.

I do buy and go through several rifles. Maybe it's because I like to experiment? By no means do I detail every rifle I purchase and I seldom bash any platform that's not worth bashing. There are several in the safe that have no mention here..

I've never "detailed" any issues with a SC M70 with a poorly or loose fitted extractor. I've been vocal about their triggers, but in don't recall any extraction issues with the 70's.

There are several rifles designs that benefit from tinkering and Kimber is one of the best platforms currently on the market.

I've only owned one 85. It was a stainless long action 270. It was truly a miserable piece of work. It shot extremely well, but ejected brass falling back in the chamber isn't my cup of tea. As I said earlier, I'm sure the issues aren't as frequent in the short actions.

I'll stand by my other statements. It's truly a poor design. The extractor is simply in the wrong place to work properly with a standing ejector at 6 o'clock. The problems are so frequent, the rep advises shops not to purchase long action 85's because of this issue. I'm no fan of their Optilock mounting system either, but that's another story.

They do have what I consider some desirable features. I like the safety and the magazine lock. They feed reliably and have what I consider the best factory barrel on the market (I'm no stranger to Tikka's). Maybe someday I'll buy a short action 85, maybe not?

I'm glad you enjoy your Sako's and obviously you've found a "fix". Just as I've stated about other manufacturers (including Kimber), if it's so easy why in the heck don't they fix it? It's not like they don't have knowledge of the issue...


I enjoy handguns and I really like shotguns,...but I love rifles!