I have been developing loads for my new Sako Varmint Stainless Laminate in .223 for the past few days,and I have made some discoveries that potential buyers should know.The main one is that the maximum overall cartridge length that will fit the magazine and eject unfired loads,is 2.260".The 50gr v-max is at the lands at 2.260" so it functions fine and shoots best in my gun at 2.250".The 55gr ballistic tip,68gr hornady match,and the 69gr matchking,don't touch the lands until past 2.300",so if you seat them at all near the lands,they won't fit the mag or cycle properly.My rifle has the 1 in 8" twist,and it shoots five of the v-max bullets into under 1/2",so I am a happy camper.However,if you intend to shoot the longer bullets,be prepared to seat them well off of the lands,or use the rifle as a single shot.Interestingly,I have not been able to get the longer match bullets to shoot as good as the v-max in my rifle,no matter what overall length I try,which is strange considering the twist rate.It's a nice gun,but the 1 in 8" twist model,should have been built on the short action,instead of the extra short action,to allow the longer bullets to function properly.

3.300" ???

I've thought long and hard on one of these.....

Sorry,keystroke error,should have been 2.300".

I actually am very happy with the gun as is.It was supposed to be a 1 in 12" gun,but the wrong gun was sent to me by mistake.I was hoping to shoot the 50gr v-max,and it easily shoots that bullet sub 1/2" for five shots,with some groups going less than .250".
However,for someone that wants to use heavy bullets out of the magazine,they will likely be disappointed.

This is a great informative post. I had eyed one of these a while back and had a .223AI custom built instead. Glad I went the way I did as I was wanting to focus on using 75 gr AMAX.