Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Sako AV experience?? Good bad, indifferent?

Any body out there have any experience with the Sako AV's. How do you like them? I just picked one up in '06 that is in very good shape. The bluing has some minor wear, wood is in very good condition. Checkering is vertually flawless. Wondering about approximate value if I decide to pass it along?
Trigger is very crisp but feels like it breaks at about 4 lbs. how difficult is it to lighten the trigger. Thanks for any feedback

Google is your friend

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SAKO


http://www.gunbroker.com/All/BI.aspx?Keywords=Sako+AV


Varmints, Deluxes and 75's and 85's will bring more than hunters. Others prefer the l61r actions. Typical garden variety 30-06 will bring less than more scarce chamberings.

Don't know what ya' paid and its none of my business. If you picked it up for $550 or less you got a deal. Sakos have gone up in asking prices over the last couple years.

Also depends what market your playin' in, wholesale or retail.

Probably $650 to $900 tops would be my guess, but I stand to be corrected. Maybe Shrapnel will chime in, he's a Sako nut and has a good handle on value.

Best,

GWB

Great rifles. Too bad Sako quit producing them. It was their best, IMHO.

You should sell that to me cheap since it has a heavy trigger.....grin

Dink

LOL... I am gonna shoot it for a while then probly sell it or some other stuff to recoup my costs...;). Got it with the leupold VXL 4.5-14x56 30mm SF for what appears to be a reasonable deal.

AV's are some of Sako's best rifles, almost as good as L57's or L61's, and IMO a step above 75's and especially the 85's. Beautiful rifles, well made,and generally very accurate. The only drawback is that they are a little heavy, although for the weight they carry pretty well. I can't speak to the trigger adjustment, as mine came pretty light and work for me as is.

I have 2 and they great shooters. You can find pretty nice ones around here for $600 - $850 depending on condition, which I think is a bargain considering what you get. I saw an unfired '06 with a Leupie on it for $900 a few months back.

For me, that scope you have on it is pretty big. Mine have 6x42 and 2-7 Leupolds on them. You might want to swap it out for something smaller just to try it out. Anything that you can do to lighten it up helps on long hikes!

When I hunt the dry side of the state, I often take one of the AV's. Hope you enjoy yours!

Have 3 (.30/06, .280 Rem. and a Classic Hunter in .270 Win.)like them a lot. All very accurate rifles.

I noted on gunbroker that all of the AVs are priced at over $1,000, and not a single bid on any of them. That should give you a starting point for value.

All the early Sako actions and rifles were quite popular and were good products. I saw some issues with them but they were mostly a pretty desirable rifle or action. Accuracy was almost always very good.
The only issues were with the striker spring retention system ( a round wire circlip) and the gas block/guide rib retainer which sometimes allowed the rib to move forward and lock the action closed. Both problems were easily addressed.
One other problem, which continues today, was the lack of suitable scope mounting systems. The first Sako rings were a good system and it seems like every change was a step downward as far as quality and function was concerned.
The trigger was workable but don't expect to be able to set it too light and still be safe. GD

As others have said, last of the better quality Sako's. Trigger adjustment easy, let out a little more on weight of pull screw. After you get the desired pull weight SLAM BOLT HOME HARD, SEVERAL TIMES, BOUNCE RECOIL PAD ON CARPET OR OTHER PADDED SURFACE WITH SAFETY OFF. Anchor weight of pull screw with some finger nail polish. You could shed a pound or more with a McMillan Carbon fiber Edge Tech stock. Leupold makes QR bases that are tapered for front and rear Sako system. Use QR rings and lever locks them in place. Much lighter and lower than Sako Opti Lock bases and rings. But the choice is yours. Buy some QUALITY factory ammo, or if you hand load use a proven 30/06 combo. You should get less than 1" 100yd 3 shot groups. Clean the barrel very good before you shoot for groups, and clean between groups, let barrel cool between groups. You have a nice scope on the gun, but I would go with a smaller objective, quality scope that weighs less. Good luck with your AV. I would hang on to it, unless it has major problems. I have two classics, and a hunter in AV and a 75 SS.

Never could understand why a guy would buy a rifle with integral dovetail bases on the receiver then mount bases so he could mount a scope. I keep an eye out for the original Sako rings as a first choice and the second generation rings next. GD

sigguy, can you tell me why you don't like the 85s?
Been thinking about getting a synthetic stainless in 7mm08.

I have a LH 375 H & H and love it. Great shooting rifle. I have really have nothing negative to say about it.

Good trigger, smooth action. Passes the look test. Bought it on this site a couple of years ago with a Leupold III 3 X 9 which I replaced with a 1.5 X 5.
I would say the gun was 98% and paid $1,200. I am very pleased with everything.

Shot a nice water buff in Argentina last Spring.

Don't get me wrong, I do like 85's, and have two.

Over the years, like many companies, Sako has looked to reduce manufacturing costs in order to keep prices reasonable. IMO the older Sakos seemed to have more quality to them, in both assembly and finish. The new ones are just as accurate, but not quite as "nice".

Some have had extraction issues with the 85, with brass bouncing off of scopes and back down into the action when working the bolt. I have not had this problem, but from what I understand it may have to do with mounting certain scopes too low, or a weak extractor, or possibly with the bolt design. I've read it happens less or not at all on the short actions. Do a search on here and you'll find tons on info. A member here, GaryVA, is very knowledgeable on the subject.

I am not a fan of the new recoil lug design, but there is nothing inherently wrong with it. I think that the pricing is kind of crazy, with new 85's starting around $1600. Finally, Beretta is pretty much universally loathed as having poor customer service. I have personally had one less than impressive experience with them.

For pure shooting and hunting, the 85's are fine rifles, as are the 75's. They are/were available in stainless too. For super accurate utility rifles at a reasonable price, Tikka's are hard to beat as well. I just got my first one, and love it.

If I wanted something that gave me more "pride of ownership", I would look for pre 75's in nice shape. There are lots of these around, for much less than the price of a new 85.

Hope this helps......

Have you tried the Leupold Sako rings? They've worked pretty well for me.

I agree that mounting a base on the dovetail so you can use a standard set of split rings is a bit redundant, unless you absolutely need the windage adjustment.

The Leupolds work well if you have enough scope length to get proper eye relief. The front Leupold won't begin to tighten until it is nearly to the end of the dovetail. I prefer the Optilock Ringmounts which will tighten anywhere along the dovetail allowing more adjustment.

True.

Have only had one Sako AV. My first LH .375H&H. Accurate. Comfortable to shoot. Weight was right for the cartridge. Only sold it because I built a custom .375H&H ... On a Sako L691 action (MRI). Which was also accurate and comfortable to shoot. Which I could also kick myself for selling...

Thanks sigguy.
Sorry to go off topic there.

The AV is a very solid rifle. I had one in a Manlicher stock...sold it for $1350. I have AIII Classic in 30-06 that is awesome and three 75....love them all. Extremely accurate everyone. Would never get rid of any of those 4.