Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Is Sako 75 Overrated?

Hello Lodgepole,

I think the Sako 75 is a very good rifle. I have 5 of the 75 stainless synthetics, ( not the Finnlites) and I am really impressed with them. In my experience accuracy is as good, if not better than most.

I'm sure sometimes you could find one that will not live up to the accuracy that you would hope for, as with anything else.

I personally don't care for the Stainless Finnlites, For some reason they just feel as if the quality is not there compared to the Standard 75 or the 75 Stainless Synthetic.

The Sako 75 action is not as smooth as say a Sauer 90--202 or the very smooth Colt Sauer, But very few actions are. But the action seems to get better the more you use it.

The regular Sako 75 is a tad on the heavy side, But it is a very well made rifle that should make an owner Proud.

Bottom line, As for as being overated, I personally do not think so, simply because I am a proud owner of 5 of them.

Best Regards,
T57

yes they are overrated for the money, if you like boring push feed rifles, why not get a remmy with a custom tube for the same money. However the most overrated rifle IMO is the weatherby

The older Sako, pre garcia, or garcia imports are some of the finest rifles ever made, bar none. Fit and finish unsurpassed. Berreta owns Sako now. That says it all. I only shop for those models from 20 to 40 years ago.
GeoW

Yea that's a great idea, you would then have a rifle with a trigger that will freeze up when it gets wet, a marginal safety, a bolt handle that if it doesn't fall off will peen over at the secondary extraction cam, a ejector that will fill with brass and jam, a small extractor that can pull the rim off a case, and a cheezy cheap floorplate but hey it will have a custom barrel that might shoot as well as the Sako factory barrels are guaranteed to....................DJ

DJ - you must have incredibly bad luck with Remingtons to have had all the problems you mention. Remingtons have been my favourite brand for 30 or 40 years and I haven't had one of the problems you mention. Not saying there can't be problems but just that I have never experienced any of those you mentioned.
On the other hand I just acquired a M75 Sako in 25-06 a few months ago and have been underwhelmed with its performance. Having read so much on the campfire about how good(?) the TSX's are I even tried them. Best groups seem to be about 1.25 inches. Oh, and by the way, they impact about 6 inches higher than an identical load using Hornady bullets of the same weight. Maybe I just haven't found the right combination yet but they certainly are not the tack holers most seem to think.
One other Sako I had in the past was one of the varmint models in .22 PPC which I found to be very temperamental. I will continue to play with the 25-06 but so far am not greatly impressed. This is the first gun I have owned in this caliber so am unsure as to how well it should work.

"Over-rated" is a strong term and would imply that the product does not live up to its outline specification and thereby, price tag. If you will, a Ferrari could be classed as over-rated - a "must buy" for the filthy rich, although its practical use is severely limited. A Porsche 911, on the other hand, is undoubtedly expensive, but fulfills its technical promise, providing exemplary service, rain or shine. In my mind, the Sako 75 is just that; the Porsche 911 of rifles.

I bought a Sako 75 Hunter in .30-06 earlier this year, which cost me a Miroku shotgun and my remaining kidney. The decision was taken after several months of research, looking at CZ, Winchester, Ruger, Remington and Tikka in the mid-range to Sauer, Blaser and Steyr at the top end. All rifles had their merits and disadvantages; technically, quality-wise and ergonomically. However, the Sako seemed to offer the best engineered product, in terms of material, finish and design. It was by no means the prettiest (not that makes an iota's difference to me) or the best finished, as those accolades went to the Blaser. However, the Blaser's collet system still gives me concerns as to long-term reliability and I speak as a toolmaker. Yet, the Sako had certain features that, to my eyes at least, made it a proper "shooting machine" - floating barrel, detachable magazine, tapered dovetail and recoil lug for the proprietary 'scope mounts, steel trigger guard, target crown etc.

Was it perfect? Not entirely. I had to fettle some highspots in the barrel channel and replace the trigger unit, as the blade was binding on the pivot pin, creating drag. Rather than piddle about, it was despatched to the service centre and returned FOC within two days, set at 2 1/2lb. Does it shoot? Christ, yes! Once the load was balanced, this thing will cloverleaf at 100 metres. Was it worth the money? On balance, absolutely. Over-rated? Hardly, it does exactly what is says on the tin and you can't say fairer than that...

Regards,

Jacobite

1OntarioJim - I also own a Sako 75 SS/Syn in 25-06. It is a pleasure to shoot and worth every penny.

As every rifle I've ever owned has shown, they have their load likes and dislikes, be they customs, low or high end rifles. Sako's are no different, nor should you expect them to be. Money spent on a more expensive firearm isn't soley based on accuracy, even though I place it at or near the top of the list. Form and function also play a huge part in decisions made while purchasing firearms. Sako holds it's own in that regard, in my opinion.

I wanted very much to use the 120 NP's in mine. My particular Sako didn't like those as the best I could do was 1 1/4 @ 100 yds. I tried the, then new, 110 gr. Accubonds and they shot 3/4 in. groups and smaller....consistantly. I like the idea of 110 grs. and am just happy that they shot so well. The TSX would also be a strong consideration today.

Your 25 will shoot most offerings in a reasonable group. For some, that's enough. But it will shoot other loads very well.....just takes time and effort to either find or develop "that load".

Give the 110's a look, perhaps with a bit of RL22......good luck.

I had a few of both. GET THE SAKO!!!


My personal best. .675" at 300 yards. Same load did .292" at 100 yards
300 RUM SAKO 75 Stainless Synthetic (stock rifle)
200 grain Accubond retumbo and 3175fps.




Its twin a SAKO 75 SS in 7mm RUM will put 3 shots at 1/2" and 4 shots under .68" no problem at 100 yards. This is with 160 gr accubonds at 3205 fps with Retumbo.

My friend bought an as new Hunter Stainless 75 without the lock in 300win. Shot very well with factory stuff and handloads. More like a 5 shots in an inch at 100m rather than just 3 shots. But the recoil was a bit much for my friend and he traded it on a 308 Rem PSS (he regrets not keeping it now). man what a disappointment the PSS was, after we had heard all about the accuracy of the Rem 700 action and especially this model. Barrel fouled like crazy and accuracy was more like 3-4 MOA.

We we got it gunsmithed & found that only 1 lug was contacting and only about 25% at that. There was also a problem in that one of the mount screws was contacting the bolt enough to scratch it (Leupold mounts). Anyway it now shoots OK(MOA with handload 5 shots) - but my point is generally Sako's don't need anything to shoot good, not even a trigger job.

Having said that given the choice I prefer the older 2 lug Sakos to the 75 just like Aussie. I also don't like the detachable mag (although it is probably one of the best of that type as you can still load from the top). Don't like the detachable lug either although it seems to make no difference on accuracy. My old 2 lug L691 has this feature & still shoots beautifully.

If you want an accurate rifle out of the box with no "customising" to do then no the Sako is not overrated.

Regards
JohnT