24hourcampfire.com
24hourcampfire.com
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Hop To
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 95
Campfire Greenhorn
OP Offline
Campfire Greenhorn
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 95
Do any of you guys own a SAKO 85 in 300WSM? If so,how do you like it and how is accuracy and feeding? Thanks, Kirk

BP-B6

Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 4,016
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 4,016
I have the 85 Finnlight in .300 WSM.
Shoots anything I feed it under an inch. Feeds so smooth you check to make sure it actually picked up a cartridge. Has always fed flawlessly.


Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch. Freedom comes from the recognition of certain rights which may not be taken, not even by a 99% vote.
*Marvin Simkin* L.A. Times (1992)
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 43,722
Campfire 'Bwana
Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 43,722
Mine is a picky son of a bitch. Shoots a couple bullets very well(150/165gr) but it's been a little tricky finding a consistent shooting load for 180's.

It feeds great if you work the bolt quickly but does hang up a little if a guy works it half-ass.

Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,471
S
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
S
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,471
I own an 85 finnlight 300wsm. Highly recommend the gun.

Feeds great EXCEPT for the last (4th) round out of the clip. That one hangs up 100% of the time. So, I consider the clip a 3 shot clip like most short mags that happens to hold a useless 4th shell. All other feeding is flawless.

Mine shoots the 165 fusions very well (.7" @ 100) and has recently started liking the 150 ballistic tips from federal. Superior ammo 165 grain TSXs and TTSXs also show promise.

Love the gun. Have a swaro 3-12x50tds on it. 7lbs 9oz scoped. I'll drop a few ounces when the mcmillan edge i have on order comes in. (Not a big fan of the stock.)

Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 43,722
Campfire 'Bwana
Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 43,722
Murph and SMF, have you guys had luck with 180's?

IC B2

Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,471
S
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
S
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,471
i have not. i shoot southern whitetails and only went to 165s to see how they shot (better). will be shooting the fusions out to 600 in the next couple of weeks - if they hold up how the ballistics program says they will i think i'm done tinkering with this one until my mcmillan is on the gun or a decide to go on an elk hunt

Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 43,722
Campfire 'Bwana
Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 43,722
Thanks SMF. If you handload for the rifle you may want to try the 165 Speer boat-tail. Fairly inexpensive and pretty accurate (in my rifle).


Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,471
S
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
S
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,471
am i the only one who's gun feeds flawlessly except for the last round out of the magazine?

Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 43,722
Campfire 'Bwana
Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 43,722
Who needs four shots anyway???(grin)

Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 117
J
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
J
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 117
SMF

My 85 300 WSM feeds flawlessly too. As far as I recall it also picks up the last cartridge no problems. I am going to check again though when I get it back from the smiths.

Just on the accuracy front I too could not get it to shoot consistently with 180's. I never tried 150's as I wanted the heavier bullets to work in it so I got it re-barrelled (just waiting for it to come back). I suspect it would have shot well with the 150's and what is interesting here is that it seems to be the case with the people who have responded to this thread.

I am due to get the rifle back anytime now with a Pac Nor 10 twist #4 fluted on it. I noticed on the Sako site that the twist rate is 11. All quite interesting.

Thanks

IC B3

Joined: May 2005
Posts: 711
M
mlg Offline
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
M
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 711
I had one about a year ago & hated it. The stock was all wrong for me and it belted the crap out of me and madethe recoil my MK5 Sporter in 300 Wby feel like a "maiden's caress".

Got rid of it. The only Sako 85 I would buy would be a Bavarian which I believe is not available in the U.S. You guys miss out.......

Last edited by mlg; 07/23/09.
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 162
C
Campfire Member
Offline
Campfire Member
C
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 162
I also have a Sako Finnlight in .300 WSM
I shoot Federal Premium ammo loaded with 180 grain Barnes MRX's. No problem keeping groups under a inch with this ammo. Never needed that last cartridge in the clip, but plan on checking it. Feeds flawlessly. I have no problem with the stock. Fits me perfectly and does the job. I have a Swaro PH 3-12x50 with TDS in Conetrol mounts. Weight is 7# 12 oz.

Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 95
Campfire Greenhorn
OP Offline
Campfire Greenhorn
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 95
Anyone else have any luck with 180gr bullets.This is what I would be shooting and am hesitant about the 11" twist.Thanks for the info.

Joined: May 2007
Posts: 685
M
Campfire Regular
Offline
Campfire Regular
M
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 685
I love my Sako m75 rifles. I have had my Sako m75ss 300WM since 1997/98.

I purchased a mint Sako m75 GReywolf 300WSM last spring...love the rifle. Came with Leupold VX3 4.5-14x40 gunmetal grey scope in stainless Optilock rings and bases. Shoots factory WS 180gr Accubonds and XP3's quite nicely. Reloads of 180gr Accubonds right now are about 0.5" groups with Retumbo, H1000 and 7828SSC. Prefer the Retumbo- works great in my 270WSM's too.

Personally I dont care for the stock design of the model 85 but should be a sweet rifle-its a Sako!



Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,471
S
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
S
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,471
Thanks for the bullet tip SamO. I don't reload now but can see it in my near future. Also to clarify another post - i have not even tried 180s. Only 150s and 165s.

On the 11 twist concern, the gunsmith rebarrelling a 300 rsaum for me right now doesn't think 10, 11, 12 or 13 twist is a problem for 150 to 180s. He is a 1000yd benchrest guy and very highly regarded on this forum and others so I trust his advice. In fact he recommended a 12 twist for my 300 rsaum when he could have recommended anything since he was ordering the barrel from hart.

Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 43,722
Campfire 'Bwana
Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 43,722
The 180's are kinda goofy in my rifle. COL seems to make a major difference. FWIW, 150 Partitions, 165 Speer boat-tails and 168 TTSX's all shot well using H4350.

Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,471
S
Campfire Tracker
Offline
Campfire Tracker
S
Joined: Jul 2009
Posts: 4,471
Shot mine this morning out to 525 yards. Gun held sub-MOA all the way out (100, 220, 300, 450, 525) using 165 fusions. My rest was marginal at best - over the hood of my truck.

Love those TDS scopes. Should be good to about 600 but 525 was as far as I could get set up.

SamO (or anyone else), if you are shooting 150gr bullets, let me know if you'd be interested in a deal on a full box of 150gr Winchester Ballistic Silvertips. I'm going exclusively 165gr fusion in this gun from now on and think these silvertips will just collect dust in my ammo cabinet. If you don't want them I'm going to list them in the classifieds when i get around to gathering up all of misc gun/gunsmith stuff I need to get rid of

Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 43,722
Campfire 'Bwana
Offline
Campfire 'Bwana
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 43,722
SMF, thanks for the offer but I'll pass.
I had pretty good luck with the 180 Partitions yesterday and will stick with the Speers for practice.


Moderated by  RickBin 

Link Copied to Clipboard
YB23

Who's Online Now
683 members (1Akshooter, 12344mag, 10Glocks, 10gaugemag, 17CalFan, 77 invisible), 3,110 guests, and 1,452 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Forum Statistics
Forums81
Topics1,187,678
Posts18,399,550
Members73,817
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023


 







Fish & Game Departments | Solunar Tables | Mission Statement | Privacy Policy | Contact Us | DMCA
Hunting | Fishing | Camping | Backpacking | Reloading | Campfire Forums | Gear Shop
Copyright © 2000-2024 24hourcampfire.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5
(Release build 20201027)
Responsive Width:

PHP: 7.3.33 Page Time: 0.116s Queries: 14 (0.003s) Memory: 0.8723 MB (Peak: 0.9972 MB) Data Comp: Zlib Server Time: 2024-03-28 21:08:33 UTC
Valid HTML 5 and Valid CSS