I have been considering getting an 85 Grey Wolf in 30-06 but I have been reading about the ejection issues and it makes me concerned about buying a gun and then finding out it has that problem. Anybody have that gun and have thoughts? I really don’t want to put on the high mounts. Should I cross it off my list and move on?

I have passed on a few great deals on Sako 85 in 30-06 length action.

I have heard too many horror stories from credible sources.

Some apparently were able to fix theirs with a new ejector spring.

Sounds like Beretta won't offer any help at all.

Only issue I’m aware of is if your running a scope with large turrets. The ejected case can hit the turret and fall back into the chamber. I don’t get why would anyone want a target scope on a hunting rifle anyways. Search this forum for any gun ever made and your going to find haters.

It has nothing to do with hate for Me, I like many things about the Sako 85 rifle ( not the cheesy clamp-on scope mounting system though) I have owned a dozen or so model 85's in one configuration or another but mostly Finnlights, i have also experienced the dreaded Sako 85 ejection issue on most of the 30-06 length actions I had and Beretta CS was zero help, I have dealt with CS from several gun companys and I would rate Beretta and Kimbers as the worst and Smith Wesson and Ruger as the best...My advise on buyin a Sako 85 is "Caveat Emptor" as that is a lot of money to invest in a rifle that likely will have an ejection issue but its your money spend it as you wish and good luck.....Hb

They don't hit because of big turret scopes. That's just an excuse.

Agreed turrets have nothing to do with it. I’ve had ejection issues with 85’s in 270wsm, 270 win, and 30-06. They all contacted the bottom of turret housing. The wsm would fall back into the action. The other two would clear every time bit ding off the scope. The only one I tried to fix is the 30-06. A different spring and extractor fixed it but it just barely clears now. I’ve got a 7mmRM that has always ejected perfectly. Ejection isn’t this models strong suit but can be perfectly acceptable or corrected if need be.

I have a new 85 arriving today in 30-06. Fingers crossed I didn’t jinx myself by talking about this issue.

My Kodiak in 375 nailed the scope on ejection every time, scope was a Leupold 2-7x. Sold it and bought a Winchester M70. I recommend something else for that kind of money.

Too many nice older ones out there for me to take that leap of faith. The two-lug Sakos are classic, fine rifles, if a bit heavy by current standards.

Fierce actions are Sako clones. You might talk it over with them. But, don't expect a cordial response from them. They got their panties in a wad when I mentioned its likeness to the Sako 85. I am simply suggesting they may be willing to fix it if it does happen. They couldn't stay in business if their actions did the same.

My 85 Finnlight 300 WSM cycles like a dream. I wonder if anyone has contacted Sako on this matter?

My suggestion would be, if you're more of a one gun guy, purchase the best custom build you can afford & be happy with it the rest of your life. I have a Remington 700 in 308 that was/is incredibly accurate out of the box. That gun cost me $400. It could have been my lifetime hunting gun......if I were happy with one gun. But, I'm not.

I have two Sako 85's. I love them, really. But, if they exhibited the ejection problems I would not still have them.

I have read that plenty have and the problem was never resolved. This very issue is why I never purchased a Sako despite really wanting one. One would think if the ejector is the same on all then they would all exhibit the same issues.

The issue isn't the same on all 85's because case length and weight affect ejection angle. Eject a 85 slow and watch the case go straight up until the extractor takes over and turns the direction of the case almost 90 degrees. It's asking a lot of a bolt action mechanism and a minor difference in case length changes things sometimes enough to cause problems. Also how fast you operate the bolt makes a huge difference on this action. More than other rifles with standing ejectors IME.

Sample of one, but I have never had a problem with my only Sako 85, a 6.5x55.

Plenty of them work just fine and when they do they're hard to beat. Great little rifles.

Agreed........Hb

I have an 85 in 300win mag. Never had any ejection issues.

Yeah, I remember it being more noticeable in longer actions it seems. There are some videos on Youtube of folks showing what it is doing. There was one video where one guy kept asking questions in the comments because he was considering one and was concerned with it. I messaged him and asked if he ever bought one and he linked me to a video he did where he also had the problem.

I will add my samples of two. Both Sako 85 finnlight's one 300 WSM and the other 25-06 both with Zeiss Conquest 3-9x40 Z600 scopes.

Never a problem with ejection.

I haven't had any ejection problems with my short action Finnlight in 7mm-08. Running a Swarovski Z3 3-10x42 using low Sako Optilock Ringmounts (S1701900).

The above is is vid I did a while back. I've also tried on an AV and a model 75

I have three 85's in house


6.5 x 55
308 Win

30-06.

No problems here


ya!

GWB

Nice vid, it looks like your rifle's ejecting angle is fine plus you got your scope mounted well high enough to not have a problem....Enjoy!....Hb

My 300WSM has the ejection issue. My only resolution was to go to high rings, which isn’t what I really wanted to have on the gun. Only reason I’ve kept it is because of the incredible accuracy. I won’t be buying any more new Sakos until the design is changed, as my Tikkas, Winchesters, and Brownings seem to be plenty accurate without ejection hastles.

mine is the same, I heard this rumor and checked it out at gun shop before I bought mine.nooooo worrys

Add my LH 85 270 Win to the good list, it has been quite good in that regard. Being left hand might help since there is no turret to hit on that side, I'll make sure if I change the scope to make sure there isn't a big illumination or parallax adjustment on that side to be sure though.

Just got my new sako 85 and put high leupold rings on with a leupold vx2 scope with standard turrets. 30-06. It absolutely will not eject a round. If I pull back slow it drops the case before attempting to eject. If I pull back fast it goes straight into the scope body so hard it smashes the mouth of the case and falls back into the gun. What a absolute crock of a gun. On hold with customer care now. No hopes of them helping but a brand new gun I don’t have any other option.

Sorry to hear this but you are not alone, I have empathy for your situation as I have experienced the same, I hope you have better luck with Beretta CS than I did........Good luck......Hb

Well CC just said to send it back. So back it goes but my hopes are small they do anything. I wonder where the value is now days in guns that cost around a grand. 400dollar guns always function flawless for me but every time I pay up for a “nicer” gun they seem to not function. What are we actually paying for I wonder. Say for example Sako A7 vs the 85. Street prices for a A7 can be found for say 5-6 hundred less. I own both and really the mag is only thing that is better made. Where’s all the rest of the cost value.

My Finnlight 270 Win jammed on me twice while in the field when it was new. I had only single loaded it at the range or slowly unloaded live ammo, so didn't know there was a problem. I didn't use it for a spell, then read the other stories on line and bought some extra extractor springs to try. I replaced the spring and haven't had a failure, but have to admit I do not fully trust that rifle.

I have a couple different 85's and the only one that had an issue was a 300WSM with a Leupold scope. I changed to a Swaro scope (smaller caps) and the issue went away.

No issues here with a 7mmSTW and Z5 scope on medium rings.

The higher you mount a scope on a Sako 85 the less likely you will have this issue, I hate a high mounted scope, i like my scopes mounted low so Sako 85's are a no go rifle that i must avoid buying but i still love the way a Finnlight shoulders and feels .......Hb

I do love the feel as well and I want it to work out. Mine is hitting the bottom of the scope itself. It’s not even kicking out enough to hit the turrets. Seems like the spring and ejector are the only possible culprits to cause the failure. Machine work is flawless. Guess the overall design works great or doesn’t work at all. I suppose if they dont fix it I will have a dedicated paper puncher.

Just a little rumor...Sako is exploring a fix for the issue.

The Model 85 has been out now for a dozen years, its shameful that Sako hasn't taken care of it many years ago but I guess a fix is better late than never......Hb

If they fix it I will buy more of them but they are talking major redesign, they should have just kept the 75 bolt face instead of the stupid CRF.

With luck it will be a fix that current gun owners can install on existing troubled guns.

Agreed......Hb

I love my 75. Wouldn't tade it for anything else.

I went with medium height Talley ScrewLocks. Did not do so with forethought but it may have been just right for that scope application. Have had zero problems with. In fact, my Antelope guide immediately remarked how well my Sako fed. Said he bought a Kimber in 300 WSM that would not feed properly.

I'm chiming in on your thread here. I just purchased a .300 wsm in an 85 sako finnlight. I haven't shot it yet but I just dropped it off at the gun smith to have a scope mounted, bore hand lapped, and a decelerator put on. He's not open on Monday so I'm going to see if I can have this process stopped so that I can put some empty casing through it and test the ejecting.

What % of these guns are having this problem?

Would it make any difference is the casing I'm using are unfired?

You will need the scope mounted to test the extraction. Unless you mount the scope a mile high it’s a gamble what angle the gun will eject at. Either it’s perfect or it will hit the scope is what I’ve learned. Mine hit the scope mounted in Leupold high rings. Leupold high is lower than sako branded lows if that tells you anything. I wasn’t aware of the extream height difference between brands when I bought mine.

Hopefully you won't have the problem.

To ease your mind a little, it seems to be the 30-06 based rounds that exhibit it most frequently.

Based on the reports I have seen, the shortmags and standard magnums seem to be less prone to it.

My only magnum 85 is a 7mm RM and it’s never had a problem. I’ve had problems with 270wsm, 270 win and 30-06. The wsm was by far the worst and would sometimes fall back into the action. The other two always eject but sometimes kids the bottom of scope on the way out. All rifles have used Sako Optilock rings or ring mounts.

Went to the gun smith today to check out if my new unshot Sako 85 Finnlight would have an ejection problem. The gun smith took one look at the bolt face where the ejection button was located. It is located in the very bottom of the bolt at 6:00 (if your looking at the face of the bolt). He immediately commented that the rifle was going to eject the casing up because of the location of the ejection button. He immediately commented that is going to be a problem. He then picked up an older Sako not sure which model (pre 85) and the ejection button was located at 9:00. Then he picked up another (pre 85) sako that was located at 7:00. Then he showed me a couple other brands of guns and theirs were both located at 7:00. So then he picked up a Sako finnlight 85 that he had just put a scope on for a guy. Ran some cases through the gun and sure enough they all hit the scope. Within about 10 ejections the finish on the bottom of the scope was rubbed and you could see bare metal. I also took my right handed gun without the scope on and tilted very slightly left and ejected a casing. The casing landed 2 feet to my left. That's correct to my left. It should have landed to my right.

At that point I had seen enough. Taking this gun back and buying a Browning. Although I think their new x-bolt plastic magazine is crap and makes the gun look [bleep] my Browning experiences have always been good ones. I hope this is the case again for me.

Just can't believe a company would make this mistake and not change it. Especially for what they charge. Very disappointed in Sako.

I have the Finnlight 85 in 300 WSM and I don't have any problem with low Sako ringmounts and a Swaro Z6 scope. I initially had a Leupold VX6 scope mounted and had ejection problems. The VX6 has larger turrets compared to the Swaro and the brass would sometimes hit the turret and fall back into the action. I wouldn't give up on the rifle yet. There was a post a couple days ago that Sako is rolling out some sort of fix for the problem.

Sorry for your trouble. I own Sako rifles but all are pre 85. If you can return the rifle that's what I would do. There's lots of great choices in guns in similar quality,weight,and price. For me personally,Browning wouldn't be among them,but good luck with whatever you choose.

I'm not sure why your casing doesn't hit your scope but I'm glad you got one that doesn't. Unfortunately I have given up on the my 85 finnlight. Never shot it, never will. I know that I am going with a Leopold VX-3I 3-10 with CDS system which has a very short L-R turret. But I'm not willing to futz with a $1400 + finnlight hoping I can get it to eject right. For that kind of money the gun should be excellent in every way. I'm very disappointed in Sako for putting out all these 85's with the current ejection design. Did they not test it? I have no idea how this ejection system made it to market.

I have the Leopold VX-3I 3-10 with CDS on my .308 xbolt white gold medallion and Imho it is a great scope. I'm in the process of having one installed on my .270 wsm A-Bolt medallion as my nikon monarch cross hairs have broken for the second time and is out of warranty. Both these rifles shoot with excellent accuracy. I just purchased a x-bolt medallion safari grade .300 wsm which is replacing the finnlight. I know these rifles anrn't anything a like but I have my reasons which are too long to get into. I have owned, Remington, Winchester, Weatherby, Sako, and Browning rfiles. Sako's and Browning have been my favorites. However I have a bad taste in my mouth for the Sako 85's and I don't think that's going away anytime soon. Probably will never own a Sako again said to say. I hope Sako does comes with a resolution but not sure how that is possible. I agree with my gun smith, there is no way to fix this problem. Maybe were both wrong but they can't change where they put the ejector button.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this new x-bolt medallion safri shoots as well as my other brownings, as I'm going on an elk hunt this fall in NM where the average length shot is 350 yards.

Have an 85 hunter in 30-06 and no ejection problems here 🤷🏻‍♂️ Maybe just a few bad ones out there. Blake

Update on my rifle. Sako 85 synthetic black in 30-06. New gun with high leupold mounts no ejection. Sent it back to Berretta and they said it works fine with their test scope with sako medium height rings. Sako mediums are .3 inch’s higher than the leupolds. So I shimmed mine up to that height just to test myself. It did function with a leupold scope but with a Bushnell Elite 6-24 it still nipped the turrets on the way out. And at that height you have zero cheek weld and it looked ridiculous. So I called Eurooptic and they gladly refunded me my purchase price. So cudos to Eurooptic for top notch service. I’m out a little over 100 bucks now in shipping and rings but lesson learned and my lust for a Sako has ended. Eurooptic also said that Sako is working on a fix much like shortactionsmoker mentioned earlier in this post.

What brand and height rings are you running to have no issues?

The ejector blade needs to be relocated is the only fix I can think of and this would mean a redesign of the action, It will be interesting see what Sako comes up with........Hb

That's the very reason Beretta customer service lies, lies, lies. And I still have the emails to prove it. They don't want a recall on their hands. The stinkin' 85 receiver/ejector/bolt is an incredibly bad design. How any "engineer" could think it would work on a scoped rifle 100% is beyond me. Now on a 94 Winchester the design works great. And where does the ejector on a 94 send the ejected case? Same place as the 85; straight up. Lots of R&D bucks that'd be down the drain along with the cost of replacing existing rifles if Beretta was honest about the problem and took responsibility for it. Not all 85M rifles fail to eject, but an apparently significant number of them do. But Beretta not only refuse to take responsibility for the problem, they still sell the crap and keep telling users it's not Beretta's problem. Beretta is the parent company so it is Beretta that is the thief. They continue to sell a known faulty product with no intention of servicing the warranty.

If anybody wants to read the emails and my step by step description of what actually happens during the ejection cycle just find it in my old posts. I'm not going back thru it and matter of fact this will me my last post here. But to summarize my 85 Finlight was a 30-06 NIB. Medium Leopold rings and a 1" tube Zeiss. Cases weren't hitting the turret they hit the scope tube. Plain vanilla set-up. Customer service refused to admit the problem. Said they had only a few such complaints over the years. Told me, literally, if the rifle ejects a cartridge or case out of the action it is considered to be normal function and they wouldn't be responsible for all the combinations of mounts and scopes customers might use. Seriously. Told me I could send the rifle in but if it functioned according to this standard it would not be considered a warranty problem. Lying to cover up the problem. Apparently they figure if you lie long enough the problem will go away. Did I mention they lie? Well they do. So this is not only a bad design, it's a bad company that sells the product. I wouldn't buy dollar bills from Beretta for a quarter a piece. Not the kind of people I'm willing to deal with.