Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Sako 85 ejection failure

Gramps, I'll agree with you. Ejector at 6'oclock, = stupid move. Even a plunger ejector at say, 8 o'clock would have been better. It wouldn't have the advantages of a fixed ejector, but at least there wouldn't be all of these ejection problems with these 85's.

Horseman,

Were both the .270 and 7mmRem Mag model 85's? Did your .270 hit your scope with spent cases and live rounds? I used Sako Optilock bases and low rings and placed bases exactly where the manual instructed. Moved scope back and forth never found a spot where it did not hit the scope. The difference between trim length is only .040 with the .270 being the longest, but could have been just enough for the 7mmRem Mag. I am curious. Did you use the same scope on both guns?

Thanks,
G2

Gramps is the only guy complaining about any failures that I've found.

so for most are saying no prob's.

sure isnt the only one. I had one, sent back to sako, got it back and it did the same thing. My dealer got me another exact greywolf 06 and it did the same. Luckily i got my money back on it. Their fix was to put my 40 mm scope in high rings!

Gramps
Yes all 3 of my Sakos have been 85's. Here's been my experience.

1. 85 Hunter 270wsm 2pc optilock lows-Occasionally hit scope when cycled slowly.

2.85 Classic 270win 1 pc optilock low ringmounts-hit scope every time.

3.85 Classic 7mmRM 2 pc optilock low/1 pc ringmounts(both used)-never a hiccup. A full fingers width clearance between case and scope.

The 7mmRM does use a longer action than the 270. Dunno if that has anything to do with it or not. Seems to me the length of the standing ejector needs to be spot on to create the proper angle of extraction in correlation to the extractor.

I tried My 85 Finnlight .270 Win with loaded ammo and it does hit the bottom of the scope upon ejection about 1/3 of the time, I have a VX3 3.5-10x40 mounted in low Sako ringmounts, I will go to the range soon and see how she ejects spent cases.................Hb

So how exactly do they eject in different angles If they are cut to the same geometry?

Now I'm going to have to check my own 85's just to keep myself honest.

Spotshooter,

You might want to go back to the beginning of this thread. I am not the only 85 owner, especially the owner of an 85 in .270 Win that has experienced this problem. It does seem to be much more of a problem for long action cartridges. Most who are having no problems are shooting short action or WSM 85's. As I stated in an earlier post I've shipped my rifle back to Beretta, and hopefully they will fix the problem.

Have a good evening,
G2

Please update or start another thread after you hear back from Beretta.I am very interested in how they treat you.

I played with a 75 that had the same ejection problems. I have three others with no problems at all.

I believe the problem is in the ejector. Either it sits to high or to far right. The reason I say this is because I swapped bolts with a 75 that did eject fine and the original problem reciever still had the same problem. Looking at the good reciever, the ejector looked different and felt looser. I'm not a gunsmith and don't have the tools to check. It would make sense to me that moving the ejector down and to the left would make the casing eject more lateral versus vertical.

And I read about these problems before. Beretta is horrible about fixing the problem. Unless you bought it new and berated them, they won't do a thing.

I also noticed a weak extractor grip. By strengthening the spring and going to a 1 inch scope it solved my problem.

I think it's a riot that (a)this has gone on for 7 pages; (b)that the rifles were designed/built,and left the factory with this flaw;and (c)that anyone would buy one of the things and go through the gymnastics of trying to make it work.

If I saw it happen once, the rifle would be down the road.

Don't be making of fun my Sako's. Don't make me start on the Model 70's.....

Dink

That's what I did with mine. Couldn't be happier with my newest one. Feeds and ejects like butter.

BobinNH & Horseman,

Guys, when I get mine back from Beretta if it still does the same thing it will be traveling down the road too. Don't think I will ever buy another Sako unless I come across a real nice older (PRE 75) Sako Classic in .270 Win. I feel like a dumb azz for not buying a new Win Model 70 Featherweight for a little over half the price I paid for my troubled 85 Finnlight.

G2

Gramps, that is exactly what I did. I had a new Finnlite on order. I wondered why so many folks were mounting their damn scopes so freaking high. I did the research and found threads on several forums. reporting the ejection problems. Then I studied the 85 action, checking out that "Einstein inspired" 6'Oclock positioned ejector and that was it. I called my dealer and cancelled the order for the Finnlite. I bought a new FN Winchester M70 Featherweight and could not be happier. It is MOA out of the box, has beautiful wood, no ghey Scandinavian engineering, and that big ole claw extractor and properly engineered fixed ejector slings 'em out smartly to the starboard, without smacking the scope. Gramps, I hope Beretta does the right thing, because that rifle cost you a good bit of money.

rj308,

You probably made a good decision, both rifle wise, and financial wise. I assume you got it in .308 Win. I have one of the FN Win 70's Extreme Weather in .300WSM, I have not put a round through it yet. Plan to put it in a McMillan Edge Tech Hunter sometime in the future. Don't really care for the B&C stock that is on it. Good luck with your Featherweight, I think you will be pleased. If you find the MOA trigger a little heavy for your liking you can get a lighter trigger spring from erniethegunsmith.com easy install and makes the pull weight just about right.

Regards,
G2

I just spent a weekend away pig hunting amongst other things and put about 70 rounds in total through my 308 Black Bear in the dustiest Australian Outback conditions imaginable. (When I returned the rifle wasa new red colour! )

It fed & ejected flawlessly and I had no such problems with the brass hitting the scope. And after reading this thread I watched closely for this possible problem.

Its also very slick & lightning fast to reload.

I really cannot complain with mine.

mlg,

This problem seems to be more acute in long action cartridges. In my case with .270 Win. If you don't mind, would you please tell me what is the scope set up on your rifle. The bases, ring height and type of scope you are using. I would appreciate the information.

Thank you,

G2

So does it make your brass fall back into the rifle or is it just marking up your scope? Clarify "faulty"

I like sako's for their bolt lift.

Spot , I will join in with Gramps; I had an 85 in .25-06 with a Vx-3 3.5 X 10 in low Optilocks ( two piece ). My empties would hit the the round part on the bottom of the adjustment area below the caps. The round would actually flip back into the loading port backwards on top of the loaded round. I have a 75 in .270 WSM and have no problems. I also have an 85 in .308 with no problems, hence the long action only idea. I sold the 85 as I lost confidence in a quick second shot. These things shoot great, but what good is a 54 degree bolt lift when you have to mount the scope a foot off of the barrel.

I swiched over to Talleys with high rings and the problem was solved but those great lines were ruined with the scope up in the air that high.