Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Sako 75

Lets face it billt you dont like the sako rifle. OK some of us do and have all the faith in the rifle and company. How long are you going to run with this. It is getting alittle old.

Sako has been acquired by Beretta. The new Beretta-Sako hasn't demonstrated it is worthy of trust, especially with its handling of the M75 kaboom public relations.

If they learn about an additional and smaller problem, are they going to tell the public or hide what they know? The world wonders.

jim

Bill,
The original story I read about the blow-up clearly said that it was a 300 Win Mag, and even showed a split 300 Win Mag case. The fact that the writer of the story got it wrong tells me nothing about Sako/Beretta.

BTW, I love my Sakos but agree that they handled the disastrous situation about as bad as any company has ever handled a bad situation. They should have taken notes from the Tylenol scare years back.

Well I stand corrected: the article is the proof, the numbers backed you up.
I went to Hendershots gun shop today and spoke with Lance the owner. They sell Sakos and about every other brand right up through Rigby doubles. I asked him about the Sako's. He said that as soon as Sako found out about the problem they called and put all of the rifles in inventory on hold. They also had the store contact all people that had bought them.. Eventually all of thier inventory was shipped back to Sako and in due time and eventually replaced. I asked him point blank considering the cost of this rifle would I be better off quality wise if I purchased another brand...he thought a bit and said he didn't think so but offered to give me a full refund on anything in the store. Kimbers, Weatherbys, Rem, Ruger, Steyer, Coopers, Sauer, Blazer and whatever. Of the higher dollar rifles sold he said he has had zero problems with Sako and he has never heard of any accuracy problems. His one negative comment is that they were kind of heavy.

I am satisfied. I am keeping the rifle, its for my 16 year old son so I did put some thought into it. I will pass on the weeping though. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Lefty

BillT, Have you ever owned a Sako? Have You ever shot one? Is any of your vitriolic criticism based on any personal experience? There are 6 people who definately have a valid right to be very upset, I hope they are well taken care of. I somehow doubt you are one of the six....
I can now agree with the number 3,000, but the other half of the point I was making was that not all of the rifles within the serial number range were effected.
The rifles that were defective and blew up did so within a few rounds. My rifle was not one of the rifles with defects and was not recalled. It is perfectly safe to shoot and I have as mentioned shot a few hundred rounds through it. I used it hunting and it is an accurate joy to carry.
Sako got the problem handled. They may not of done it in the way some think best but they've done a better job of it than I've seen most car manufactures to it. By the way I was almost injured in one of the Automobiles that was recalled to the the recall defect, if GM had performed as well as Sako on that particular recall I wouldn't have had to narrowly escape injury........DJ

An Analogy, Do any of you remember several years ago when a consumer reports article came out with a scathing review of Suzuki Samuri's?
Nevermind that they had 1/2 the roll over rate of other more popular vehicles such as the Ford Broncho, the furor over the consumer report pretty much put the Samuri out of business.
Now maybe I like living dangerously but at the time my wife and I were working our way through college and the huge rebates that Suzuki put on the Samuri's made them about the only new car we could afford so we bought one.
Simply put it was the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. I put a new battery in it the one time ever it didn't start on the first turn of the key. It got 25+ miles per gallon and was great on Snow and Ice. With us it lasted until at 143,000 miles my wife had an accident that was too expensive to fix. I sold it to a guy who rebuilt it and the darn car may still be running.
Now if I'd listened to every Chicken Little who shouts how the world is coming to an end with every Samuri rollover and Finnlite recall, I wouldn't have had a decent car through college or a 6 1/2lb stainless 300 WSM that shoots 3/4" groups at 200yds with 180gr Failsafes. Everything has problems try and find out which are more hype and hyperbole than thorough analysis............DJ

I think they handled the whole thing as I would expect a company to. I felt sorry for my Sako's after reading all the criticism from you guys so I took them out to play. My little 223 broke 5 straight clay pidgeons at 285 yards and my 7mm rem mag 75 S/S put my last 8 shots into .85 inches.
You guys can keep ripping Sako and keep buying Remchester's, keep sending them to Shilen to be rebarrelled, keep buying McMillan stocks and keep putting timney triggers in them. After all if everbody does all this stuff to their rifles they must be better than my Sako's.

paintless,

I think you should put your Sako in your Samuri, and go to the range. By the way, I have a couple of 6 shot S&W's for sale, if your intrested in a healthy game of Russian Roulette. billt

Please explain what me owning, or shooting a Sako rifle has to do with this??? So because I don't have one that blew up on me , this somehow lessens the problem, and takes away any fact ?? I have 4 Remington 700's and that doesn't change the fact the Walker fire control system is the biggest POS that has ever been put on a rifle. I have a Ruger Model 77 Stainless. That doesn't change the fact it's as innacurate as a Liberal Democrat making a speech. What are you saying, if I don't "own" one, I can't accurately discuss the problem at hand. You own their product. Your happy with their product. Thats fine. But that in itself changes nothing . If that Sako of yours let's go in the not too distant future, you'll be screaming foul the loudest of the bunch. At least have the courtesy to inform the poor guy at the bench next to you. Someone else shouldn't be put in danger because of your hard headedness. billt

Hunter Jim,

You bring up a valid point about consumer trust. If a company operates in a not so straight foward manner, as Sako, (Beretta), has in this case, not much more needs to be said. Actions speak volumes. Words only carry so much weight. I remember back in the mid 90's when Winchester introduced their 1001 O/U shotgun. They were beautiful. A friend of mine purchased one. A few months later they were ALL recalled because a couple blew up for no apparant reason. Much like these Sakos are now. Winchester had recall notices, some as large as half a page, plastered in every gun rag published. Within 90 days they had all the guns back, and gave every customer a full refund. My friend was even reinbursed for custom stock and forcing cone work he had done to the gun. No one was seriously hurt because of Winchesters quick and prompt action. I would not hesitate to purchase anything from Winchester, and have bought several of their guns since. You couldn't give me a Sako if Pamela Anderson delivered it with a free set of Firestone Tires! Trust in business is everything. Sako has lost mine, and several others as well. billt

Just keep your head deep in the sand. You'll be fine. billt

I prefer Lilja & Jewel not Shilen & Timney. I may even build off a Sako one day. Just Kidding. I do think Sako's are good rifles. Even though I was not affected, I am not pleased with the way they handled the recall. For that reason I will not be buying any Sako's in the future. What else does Beretta own besides: Beretta, Sako & Burris?

To each his own. Truth be known, we should all probably be shooting Savages--but I do not want one of those either.JMHO

To counter some of the acrimony posted by "billt," I'll relate my own recent Sako/BerettaUSA experience:

Back in February I purchased a Sako 75 LH in .270. I went a LONG time getting one located in LH and getting it shipped to a local FFL friend of mine.

When I got it home and was showing it off, I found a 1" hairline crack in the forend. I was half afraid it would have to go back to Finland if I sent it in for repairs, since left-hand specific parts don't exactly sound like something just laying around on a shelf somewhere. I was even MORE AFRAID of BerettaUSA's customer service since I'd heard all of the horror stories from people like "billt."

At any rate, I decided to call BerettaUSA before I went and raised hell with the Sako dealer from whom I'd bought it (in another state, though I suppose he would've exchanged it for me). Not to worry, said the BerettaUSA representative, we have LH-specific parts, send it in and we'll take care of it.

I informed the representative that I wanted to send the gun boxed in a hardcase and could they please send that back? No problem, he said, just include a note to remind us.

After about seven weeks I received the rifle back in my hardcase with new wood.

I called BerettaUSA back and asked about getting reimbursed for my packing and shipping expenses. The representative (Carlton) told me that they don't normally reimburse for the costs of getting a firearm to BerettaUSA, they only cover the costs of returning it. I argued that that was fair, HOWEVER, since this was a truly NEW rifle, vice one that I'd owned and used for a number of years, this ought to be an exception.

Carlton told me if I could fax in some receipts to document my expenses, he'd see what he could do for reimbursement. After I'd faxed in the receipts, he called me back to tell me that I would be reimbursed for the full amount -- $47.22 (USPS shipping, insurance, and a box for my hardcase). I received the check last week.

I'd say BerettaUSA did me right. More than I've gotten from Browning/Winchester, Remington, or Ruger, that's for sure.

J.Nitro, Thanks for the story. Once again it demonstrates the fact that most people with actual personal experience with Sako's like them and have even received good service from them. Most of the BS about the Sako problems comes from people like BillT who have no direct experience and pretty much don't really know what they are talking about when they are bi+ching about stuff.
I too own several Remingtons and have personally seen more dangerous Remingtons than Sako's. I still own both of them since I use proper reloading, gunhandling and other safety precautions, it's a risk but a carefully calculated one. You are far more likely to be hurt in a car accident driving to the range than you ever will be shooting a current Finnlite at the range.
Nothing is perfectly safe you have to look at problems in overall context to be truly honest. Sako did have problems with the Finnlites that they corrected this is a small blemish on what has been decades of producing very high quality firearms. Overall you are more likely to get an unsafe firearms from any number of other companies that don't build things with the Quality that Sako normally does - that's the overall picture, not an overhyped isolated incident.......DJ

well, I haven't owned a sako but I had a tikka master deluxe that I purchased new online that showed up with multiple small cracks in the wood. My experience with beretta was less than satisfactory, with an ongoing saga which involved me sending it back, getting it back some time later with a new stock with more cracks in it than the first one. In the meantime I had been to a gunshow were all three of the ones I saw there also had cracks. They obviously have some problems with their wood. Anyway, whenI FINALLY got it back after sending it in with a very beautiful stock with no cracks in it, I went through hundreds of dollars worth of ammo trying to find any factory round that would shoot better than about 4" or so. It had the disctinction of being the least accurate rifle I have ever owned. At that point I was unwilling to go through more time and expense to send it back again and traded it on a browning gran citori, with which I am quite happy. Now, my brother has a tikka thats a tackdriver (although his first one showed up with a cracked stock too--but the second one does 1/2" groups at 150 yds), but I personally wouldn't ever buy another, especially while beretta owns them. I'm even relucant to buy anymore burris scopes alas...

It appears that while "Mr. Nitro" is prepared to dance in the street because of his fondness of Sako, Scubie02 couldn't take his dog to the pound fast enough. And the saga continues. Paintless, Scubie02 seems to have quite a bit of that "first hand Sako experience" you hold so dear. Are you going to "thank him" for his post as well????? billt

billt,

Just wondering why you own a 338/378 that can shoot at a 1000 yards. What do you do with that rifle, shoot paper?

If I remember correctly you led the charge over on AR against
people hunting game at long range, longest thread I've seen.

No offense, it seems you lack the gonads to shoot game past 200 yards and you make up for this by shooting big boomers.

Also, you really do need to own a Sako to really know what your talking about, otherwise you really have nothing of value to say.

Have a great day!

SU35,

Yes, my primary use for this rifle is long range target shooting. Please inform me what "gonads" I need to aquire to shoot game at long range??? I'll ask you this same question. What does me owning a Sako have to do with the way they handled this entire matter? Sako owners posted misinformation on this thread. (They didn't believe, or even know there were 3,000 rifles involved in this fiasco). I provided links that proved otherwise. How do you come to the conclusion that I'm the one that doesn't know what i'm talking about when they, (Sako owners), are acting like nothing is, or was, ever wrong, because they will defend to the death their beloved Sako's?? I never said anywhere that every Sako rifle built since the dawn of time was bad. My beef is simply the way they "handled" this entire matter. It stunk on ice. They have lost my trust as a consumer. I can live very easily without a Sako in my safe. Doesn't bother me one bit. If anyone else thinks differently, thats fine. But that being said, talk sense. I never owned a Ford Pinto either. Does that mean I no nothing about their fuel tanks exploding? I'm sure there are plenty of satisfied Sako owners out there that aren't effected by this "recall", and their guns shoot and operate satisfactorily. That in itself changes nothing . I stated the reason why I won't own a Sako. This upsets owners of these rifles mostly because it's difficult for people to hear criticism about something they own and like. Once again, that in itself means nothing. I'm sure there are people out there that will argue until they have laryngitis, that the Ford Pinto was the best car they ever owned. Thats nice. Tell it to the people that were burned to death in them. Stop trying to tell me how wonderful Sako's are. I could care less. Go call Mark Almeida and tell him. Or the others that sustained injury when a half a dozen of them blew. FACT Sako manufactured 3,000 bad rifles. FACT They dragged their feet in letting people know about this problem. There are posters on this thread that confirmed that. FACT Because of this lackadaisial performance by Sako, several individuals sustained serious injury. If you have a problem digesting these FACTS your the one with the problem, not I. You have a nice day also! billt

So what's your point? I assume you must have a reason for ranting like a lunatic. I like my Sako and I have FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE with the company that left a favorable impression on me. So what? Were you hoping to change my mind?

If it makes you feel better, I also like my Rugers, Winchesters, Remingtons, and Brownings.

I'm not a hater, I like all well-made machinery.

Yea if I went through what Scubi02 did, I probably wouldn't want another Tikka (I'd upgrade to a Sako 75). It is unusually bad luck to have one that wouldn't shoot 4" groups since all Tikka's are factory tested and don't leave unless they shoot 3 shots into less than 1" at 100yds. With Sako 75's it is 5 shot's into less than 1 inch.
My direct experience with Sako/Beretta service is through a Buddy of mine. He had a Sako 75 Hunter with a cracked stock. He sent the rifle back and they sent him back a Delux model in the same caliber - which sells for almost twice as much as the one he sent back! He traded me the delux model since he thought it was too pretty to hunt with.
I do have some complaints with Beretta though. I like their guns and clothes but they are crowding out a lot of thier dealers. I went to a new gunstore/range just last week in Texas that was having a sale on Sako's and Berretta's. The owner said that he was going to quit carrying them since they were requiring him to make too large a purchase and were trying to dictate to him which models he had too carry. This wasn't a kitchen table store he had a couple dozen Sako/Berretta's in his shop plus a decent bit of thier clothing. I hope Beretta doesn't upscale themselves right out of local gunshops where I like to do business.........DJ