Gents,

I have the subject rifle in .308. I really like it overall. Bought it from a gent here years ago and it came with a set of Talley steel, vertical split mounts which I HATE. They rusted like crazy for one and two, they are incredibly difficult to mount and line a scope up properly. Looking for something different.

I want something to mount a 1” scope with a maximum bell diameter of 40 mm. Are Sakos and Leupolds my only other choices? Doesn’t anyone make lightweight aluminum mounts for these guns? What height Leupold rings would I need? Will lows clear a 40 mm scope? Leupolds mount directly to the dovetail on the receiver? TIA!

Jughead,
Your easiest, modest weight, quality options, using the existing sako rail setup, are sako ringlocks (not the two-piece optilock), avail in blued or stainless; or the leupolds. To get lighter still, i like conetrols and s&k; either in “low” will fit your purpose.

Yeah unfortunately there not many lightweight options for you, when I used to play with Sako rifles I found the Sako clamp-on ringmounts to be the best "lightweight" option but they are hard to find and very pricey if you can find tem....Good luck...Hb

Sako Ringmounts....done!!

Ihave not had a problem with Sako Optilock lows with 40mm objective 260 rem and 338 fed. I think they will work up to 50mm.

Good luck and shoot straight y'all

I had several Sako 75's and a 85. Only ring/base that never gave me a problem were Sako's. Not the lightest option, but the piece of mind was worth a few ounces. Talley and Leupolds either didn't or line up or kept moving.

Good luck.

Leupold rings on both of mine. 7mm rem mag and 300 rum.

Unfortunately they both hit the scope before ejecting.

"Unfortunately they both hit the scope before ejecting"

That's a common problem with the new Sako rifles. The problem seems to be worse with the long action caliber rifles. A buddy of mine sent his 85 down the road for this problem. Beretta knows they have an ejection issue with these rifles but won't do a thing to correct the problem.

It's the 85M that exhibits the faulty design. 30-06 length or obviously longer. Apparently the short action chamberings are just short enough to make it out. And they do indeed deny there is a problem. Still have the email exchange. Disgusting a group of fools as you'll ever deal with.

I like the Leupolds. These are lows. No worries with movement
Bob

I agree 100% ....I had a similar experience with these fools as I had this same issue with a brand new 85 Finnlight .270 Win..👎🏿👎🏿....Hb

The Sako Optilock ringmounts in 1" or 30mm blued or stainless. They only come in the one height which is fairly low. Advantage is the plastic ring inserts. Disadvantage is the cost and a little extra weight than the Leupold rings.

Leupold Sako lows in 1" or 30mm work fine too. Never had any trouble with any of them. You've got to remember with the Leupolds that the base screw goes on the left side of the receiver because of the tapered dovetail.

I may have some if you are looking to buy.

I would not advise a Leupold ring mount for a Sako 85.

On a 9.3 mm two sets were broken, the rear screw (torqued properly) would eventually break allowing the clamping part to fall away and be lost. The Leupolds do not have a dowel that arrests forward movement on recoil for the rear mount.

Also, on examining the dovetail on the receiver you will notice the front one is diagonal, so placing the ring mount anywhere but dead center and inline with rear one will also cause issues.

Sako opti-loks, with their polymer inserts work great, no issues on a hard recoiling rifle.

Leupold did replace the broken ring mounts, twice. Of these I traded one off and gave one set away as they did not work, the recipient was warned of the issue.

The Sako is an M action , with opti-loks and an SWFA 6x mil-quad, there is no interference with the scope when ejecting cartridges.

Cycle the bolt like you mean it.

Look at Talley for bases. Optiloks suck imo due to cost and the low rings are not low at all due to the huge honking bases. Talley bases and low rings are about medium in height.

When I pick up a Finnlight in a gun shop/shoulder it...feels nearly perfect. The scope mt/ring issue has stopped my buying one. I want "low, light" rings. Receiver drilled/tapped so I can choose what I want to mount a scope with. If Leupold would angle the "dovetail" of their mts...problem solved for me. I would place an order this week.

I've read Leupold DOES angle the clamps on their mounts meant for the SAKO dovetail. Leupolds are commonly recommended on the Collector's site.

-Chris

I use Talley bases & Screwlock’s on my Sako 85’s. Both are short actions & both feed & eject perfectly without issue.