Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Tell me about the Sako A2 (AII), and how it compares to a Tikka T3x

Hey Guys-----I just listed in Classifieds a nice AIII Varmint .270 Win...Pretty rare bird. Thank you.
Darrel Wick. AKA Mauserfan

I'll have to check it out.

A-series rifles are the epitome of the brand. This was decided a while back. All y’all try and keep up.

Never heard that before, but I'm going to shoot this one tomorrow, and see how she does:







Put an older gloss Burris FFII 3-9X40 W/Ballistic plex reticle on it and adjusted the trigger down to 2 5/8 pounds. Any lighter, and it was dropping the hammer when I closed the bolt. Maybe a different spring is required?

Here are some pics of when I got it to the house, before I cleaned it up:

I did wipe it down with some old english in this pic. ^^^^^


Here you can see the Millet/Sako rings. I did not like them, as they were a little loose, even after tightening them down. They just did not seem real secure.


The new Leupolds are much better..

The rifle was missing the sling studs, so I put some in:


Sorry, this is not factory, as I had to inlet the front sling stud so it was inset into the stock:


The trigger doesn't appear to have ever been adjusted:


I don't think the receiver had ever been out of the stock before either. There was a lot of dirt and grime in there.

In this pic, it looks like the recoil lug and receiver has been rocking around in the stock:

This is likely going to get taken care of when I glass bed it. I'm going to shoot it tomorrow, to see how it fares.

Do you guys think this thing is worth the $650 I gave for it???

That is what I would call a transition gun, when Sako didn’t finish cutting the checkering on the fore end. I was disappointed when they started doing that, and they also put plastic followers in the magazine. I have seen some that had the Herring Bone checkering with a steel follower, but I was afraid Sako had started to go downhill and cheapen their guns. They didn’t continue with the uncut checkering and plastic followers, making them as they should.

Your trigger is probably too light. Original Sako triggers, though adjustable, don’t like to go below 3 pounds. You need to work that bolt as fast as you can and see if it holds without firing. You also need to put the safety on and off, while it is set at 2 5/8 pounds to see that the safety moves freely, with no obstruction. If you feel any resistance, it is too light.

I would also try jarring the gun with the safety off to insure it won’t fire with that trigger adjustment…

Thanks shrap. I was wondering about the checkering as well. It seemed odd to me. I also did exactly like you suggested as well, with checking the trigger. I generally do that when checking triggers after adjusting on other models too. That's why I said I could not go any lower. I really wanted at least 2.5 pounds, but 2 5/8 is as low as it will go. The safety works as it should, feels good. I racked the bolt good and hard, when checking while I adjusted. Both before I had it in the stock, and then afterwards, when it was back in the stock. You know your Sako's. I appreciate your guidance and knowledge.

As for the follower, this one has the steel follower. I'm glad it does not have a plastic one.

After tearing it apart, this rifle looks like a quality rifle. I like the machine work, and design. I have fired the rifle, just to make sure it works. Fired one shot though, before even cleaning it up. Later on today will tell me how it shoots. I'll be using some loads I worked up in another rifle, and also some loads that I made up a couple months ago with the 62gr varmint grenade Barnes. Those were meant to be fired in my new to me Winchester model 70, but I haven't gotten around to shooting them yet. I'll just shoot them in this rifle, to make some brass, then start fresh with proper OAL etc. I should be able to see if the rifle has potential, after just a little bit of shooting later on today. I'm thinking it will show promise though.

I also need to buy a new smaller diameter bore guide!!! I knew the bolt body diameter was smaller, but I didn't think it was that much smaller than a Tikka. I was wrong. My normal bore guide does not fit!!!

I learned something new. I’ve seen them with that checkering and a plastic follower but I have never seen one with a white line spacer.

A shop I visited a few weeks ago had a later model vintage chambered in 308 and they were asking $750.

That is a super rifle. Looks in great shape. I think you got a great deal especially in 243.
I have got these triggers down to 1.5# on my varmint rifles but wouldn’t mess any further with where you’re at now for a hunting gun. I haven’t had to bed these to get them to shoot, but most of mine are heavy barrels. The Burris scope suits the rifle quite well.
Sakos have a tendency to multiply quickly in your gun cabinet, so be careful.
Great find!

Putting a sling stud backer nut on an old walnut stocked rifle is very smart. Safety and gun preservation wise. Good call.

JDK, that sounds like a good deal to me. I took this rifle out today, even though the weather sucked balls:




Rifle is still copper fouled, but I worked on it a little bit ago. Ran some sweets through it, and it still has copper in there. I'm wondering if the goofy 12 land rifling likes to collect copper? I blame this on someone that did not clean this rifle the way it should have been cleaned. I went at it with the sweets a few times today, but I don't like letting that stuff stay in the bore for very long. There's still copper in it, so I'll work on it, over a few range sessions.

Here's the weight on the rifle:


Just to compare it to a Tikka. Here's the weight of one of my Tikka's with a wood stock:

I figured the wood stocked model would be a better comparison, vs. the plastic stock version. Same/similar scope (Burris FFII 3-9x40, but newer manufacture: same 13 oz's though)

So, honestly, it's closer to what my pre 64 model 70's weigh. Basically a 2 OZ difference.

338wm for example:

Both of my 300WBY's weigh the same as that 338. ^^^^^

So as a comparison to the Tikka, maybe not so much here guys. Here's the down low:

1. I will say the rifle functioned flawlessly.

2.Trigger worked very well, almost didn't notice the little extra pull weight. (Tikka trigger is better).

3. Smooth action, not quite on par with a Tikka though. Close, but not exactly the same.

4. Ejection was good, but more like a model 70.

5. Accuracy will get there, but it's going to have to be after more copper mining..

6. Rifle weighs slightly more than a Steven's 200, at 7 pounds 14 oz's. scoped.

I hate to make it sound like I'm being negative toward the Sako. Maybe I should say, that when it's up and running 100%, it's going to kick the Winchester model 70 classic compact's azz!!! With its load:


That will give me something to shoot for. Like I said, I'm not going to be biased. This is as honest of a report as I can give it right now. Thanks to those who shared their experiences as well. Much appreciated!!!

Thanks buddy. I've had a sling stud pull out once, and swore that would never happen again!!! A front stud should be anchored properly. I was slightly apprehensive, since the rifle is pretty much all original. But I agree with you, it's an improvement that needed to be done.

You certainly didn’t waste any time. That rifle is a typical sako shooter. Good shooting on your part as well. If everything was that easy 👍👍

Well, thanks. I generally don't waste time on a rifle project.

It's nice because I haven't even glass bedded it yet. I am going to tackle the copper fouling issue first though.

Sorry, the pic sucks. My phone didn't want to focus on the right thing (the bore).. You can see the copper in there though, even though it's blurry..

Work one thing at a time. I appreciate you input buddy!! I'm pretty happy with the rifle though. I don't see anything wrong with it, and it did function very well. I am looking forward to shooting it along side that Winchester model 70 classic. My girlfriend will be shooting that rifle, for practice in anticipation for this years hunting. If we draw tags..

If you don't want to mechanically remove it (JB compound, Flitz, whatever other) then put down the Sweet's and get one of the modern copper removers you can leave in there if you don't want to babysit.

Good suggestion. I’ve been thinking about trying some new stuff. No one in town carries it though. Any suggestions for what works best? Montana extreme? I bought some Barnes CR10, but that didn’t do much.

Montana Extreme and WO seem to work best, IME.

Thanks Jordan. That WO was one I was trying to think of. With my rifles, I generally just use shooters choice. This one was blue patch after blue patch, using sweets. I still see copper in there too!!! When I go to Reno, I'll see if I can find one of those 2. I like the fact that it is not as harmful to the bore as sweets is.

I've had good luck with WipeOut and BoreTech Eliminator. Working a patch back and forth with Eliminator will lather it up. That's when I see it really start to work.

Bore Tech Eliminator, for tough copper fouling Bore Tech CU+2 copper remover
Have found it to work much better than Montana Extreme and smell better as well
Have never seen these two products at local stores so normally have to buy it from Potterfield