Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Guess I drew short straw on a new Sako

No offense intended to anyone; but I am equally astonished that people would even buy them knowing hey have this issue....ie,they do not "work".

And if people by them,and Sako continues to sell them,they won't get fixed.

But then again these days people buy all kinds of things that don't work particularly well, and try to cover it with a warranty, which is worthless if your rifle fails to work properly on a hunt. If you knew of the flaw, but bought anyway, you are justified in spanking your self.

As punishment,some will go out and buy another! That'll fix 'em! This thread is entertaining.

I agree someone should have smacked me in the back of the head for buying the Sako without checking it out first.

Didn't think it was that much of a problem, or that common, until I finally got one that didn't work. Now I know and they are off the table.

Guilty here as well I just bought my first Sako ever
A-7 Sako Tecomate 300 WSM .
I sent it off to Hired Gun here for Cerakote externals
and Micro Slick internals and have not even chambered a round
in it yet.
I will find out when it gets back!?

It'll work fine. The short actions are great.

Thanks for the encouragement Bob. Guess I'm the dolt's dolt. Have to admit I didn't notice the threads on ejector problems until after I had the rifle. And somehow it just never occured to me to investigate whether or not a Sako 85 Finnlight would eject fired brass. Color me naive I suppose.

Hey, people still buy Ruger #1's. Not sure if there is a bigger piece of schit right out of the gate than that gun.

shootem you can't blame yourself if you didn't know....

not only cheesy but super cheesy, ive read too many stories from PH's and others where Optilock's are not tightened properly and just slide right off the back. What's so strong about a tapered dovetail if your scope is just clamped on with the heavy, bulky soft screwed Sako optilock system? I have never been impressed with this system, i like my scope based screwed into the reciever like Sako chose to go with on the A7 model.........i will say that I do like the Ruger system as it seems much more rugged........Hb

The current optilock ringmounts use clamp screws having the same torx head and rating as the action screws which can withstand torque settings much greater than the specified torque used for scope mounting. I've removed and retorqued mine enough times to last a lifetime of mounting and they show no sign of wear. They are not soft. Neither the A7 nor the Ruger can hold a candle to the 85 mounting system, especially if used in combination with the new ringmounts.

If the spring tension on the extractor needs tuning, why not just fix it, it clearly works exceptionally well when the extractor has proper tension. Same with a full length claw extractor on a 70 or 98, if the tension is off having a weak hold on the cartridge case, you'd make an adjustment. The 85 uses a simple coil spring, not too complicated. If it is barely holding the cartridge case so the standing ejector pushes the case straight up and through the claw, then tighten it up so the claw has enough hold to flip the case toward its position. It works fabulously when in tune. It is a box stock production line rifle, so it may need some vetting and tweaking, like most any production rifle. But it is clearly uber reliable and feeds as slick as the best of customs when in tune.

Best

If the ejection issue is such an easy fix whats up with Beretta not fixing them?...........Hb

+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.

I also forgot to mention that I think the Optilock system is not only heavy and bulky but also is grossly overpriced, I guess Beretta charges by the pound.........lol.......now have at it Fanboy's.......this should be good ..........Hb

You make a valid point Bob. What I can say for myself is that I read the glowing reviews posted by GaryVA of his 9.3 Black Bear and while I did hear reports of some problems out there, I did not think they were as commonplace as now I think they may be. I thought I'd be ok and get a good one, and to be fair to the gun, I loved everything about it. Felt good, looked good, and was everything I was looking for in a 9.3 and was the only factory 9.3 I found that I felt like I wasn't "settling" on. Obviously it didn't run right and back it went. Just thankful I bought if from someone that would take it back.

local: I don't like to dump on folks choices in rifles; Sako always made a great rifle but damn!.....the thing has gotta work right. Rifles that don't function well drive me nutz!

Hey GaryVA...what's the easiest way to get the extractor out. Looks like pushing the plunger back into the bolt face should allow it to pop out but mine won't cooperate. I want to take a good look at the extractor hook itself. Can't get a real good look at it while mounted but doesn't seem to be much purchase area there.

not only cheesy but super cheesy, ive read too many stories from PH's and others where Optilock's are not tightened properly and just slide right off the back. What's so strong about a tapered dovetail if your scope is just clamped on with the heavy, bulky soft screwed Sako optilock system? Hb [/quote]


Any thing can slide around if not tighten properly. The dovetail on the receiver tapers wide in the front to narrow in the back. Recoil is distributed through the whole bearing surface of the mounting system, I did notice on new optilock rings they are using torx heads instead of turned down Allen heads.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.

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.

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

It is clear I am a fan of the new optilock ringmounts. Never been one to use big scopes, and therefore have room to work without going to offset mounts. So if the ringmounts fit, they are the best route. The torque rating for the torx screws used for the action screws and the ringmount clamps are well beyond the torque specs for the action screws, so there is no issue with having a soft screw. Sako specs the 85 action screws in the 55 to 57 inch pound range, with the same screw for the ringmount clamp being spec'd at 45 inch pounds. Individual rifles may vary, but my experience with 85s in 375HH, 338WM, and now 9.3x62, 45 inch pounds has proven sufficient torque on the action screws to provide top accuracy, while holding torque without walking. I found that I can remove the barreled action, and then re-assemble and re-torque to 45 inch pounds to have the rifle shoot into the same group. Same with the optilock ringmounts. I can remove and replace my scope and shoot into the same group when torqued at 45 inch pounds. Therefore, keeping things simple, I have a compact Felo Nm torque driver in my rifle kit that adjusts from 3.0 to 5.4 Nm, and use this driver to routinely break down my rifle for travel, and to remove scope to address the fixed sights using the same torque setting at approx. 45 inch pounds. Doing so, have not had issue with either ringmounts or action working loose while shooting or hunting afield.

Highly recommend the Felo torque driver for such chores.

Best

I'd own a Sako if I couldn't buy a Ruger, Savage, Remington, Weatherby, Marlin, Kimber.....

Not offended in the least Bob. I totally agree with you. Lots of things add up to make a great rifle, but the first item in that equation is functionality.