I want a Sako 85 really bad, but I cannot deal with the scope mounting system. The factory OpticLock two piece base/ring system is complicated, bulky, too high and heavy.

I am aware of options from Leupold, Warne and Talley.

Does anyone have photos of any of these on rifles? None of the manufacturer's websites have actual photos of their rings mounted. I am not that crazy about the Talley set-up because you have a base/adapter and then a ring mounted to that. I would like a ring that mounts right to the Sako taper dovetail.

I think the ideal ring would be Talley lightweight one piece style that fits the dovetail and is secured with set screws from the top. Does anything like that exist?

You might want to check with SK Mounts. They are not well known but make an excellent system with both a ONE piece spring steel wrap around ring and windage adjustments in both bases.
Low, light, beautiful and as rugged as they come.

Pic of SK mounts w/high bases (50mm objective) on a 700 244 H&H.
Mounts for regular scopes have lower bases (the rings are always the same except 1" or 30mm). All come in matte or high polish blue.

Not cheap but Brownells carries some if you have discount account there. If you have a Brownells account, SK will give you the same discount on models Brownells does not carry.

http://www.scopemounts.com/index.html?main.html

It doesn't get any easier than an Optilock ringmount. Mounts right on the dovetail and won't mark your scope...

Blagron, I like the Optilock ringmount. I wish they where lower.

I hav both types of Optilocks on my Sako rifles. The new style ringmounts are sweet for sure.

I prefer the old Sako rings. They come in Low, Medium and High. The machining and bluing makes today's rings look a bit cheap, and they offer windage adjustment too.

These are Medium:


You can find them on various auction sites, perhaps 80 American bucks or so...

John

All good but big, heavy and ugly compared to SK.

Well, if they made bases to fit Sako your comment might be relevant, but when I inquired a few years ago, they did not have Sako bases.

Hopefully they do now -- I will send them an email because I could not find Sako bases on their website.

John

Conetrol

How low do you need to go? They make Optilocks in 4 heights including extra low.

If you don't like them you don't like them I guess. But they come in other heights.

The Optilock ringmount is the best I've found. I removed the standard optilock set-up which had the scope too high for me. Even with the lows. Much better alignment and saves a few ounces in the process.

I use the Optilock ringmounts too.The best set up for sure.Keep your eyes open and you can find a deal.Like it or not E bay is the place to watch.I bought two sets,got them for $70.00 each.

Talley base and rings are the best looking I've seen. I've used Optilocks, Leupold and Talley's. No contest the Talley system looks clean, adds no height, and is relatively lightweight. The bases slide over the dovetail and actually aren't taller than Talley bases for other rifles.

I second Horseman on the Talley's. I agree Sako REALLY missed the boat with their stupid scope mount idea. Since my 85 Finnlight has no muzzle brake, the theory behind Sako's tapered dovetail can only get tighter with every firing. I have run some heavy loads thru my gun and have had zero mount issues with the Talleys.

Same gun, different views:

I have optilock and Leupold. I prefer the optilock even though the Leupold's are lower.

Dink

Yes you can.

Don't think this a Mossberg .....

The company has not responded to my email, so that picture of a Sako with their mounts is good news.

I wish they had Sako bases years ago when I first contacted them -- and before I got other mounts for several Sakos.

John

Near Mfg. picatinney rail & NightForce rings:

Call them, they always answer the phone when I do (remember time zones)

Ah, POO NANNY!



These would be even better!

I've used Optilocks, Conetrols, Leupolds, Talleys and even Millets. I prefer the Talleys followed by Optilocks.

Talleys:


Conetrols:


Optilocks:


Sorry the pictures aren't any better. Gotta get me a good camera.

I use the Optilock ringmounts on my Sako...I've tried the standard Optilocks plus the old Sako mounts shown earlier and much prefer these.



I would not use Warne under any circumstances...Tried two diferent sets and they would not hold the scope on my .308win Sako.

It seems the dovetails on the Sako act as a wedge and drive the rings apart under recoil. I have Warne rings on other rifles and they work fine, but would not use them on a Sako..

I am going with the Optilock one piece ringmounts. They are too hight though. Look at that gun with the zeiss mounted. That is probably a 40mm objective.

I tried talleys and they felt too low

Opti's where a tad high until I got my McStock now they're perfect.

Spot

Its a 42mm objective. Once the scope has BC flip-ups on, the amount of clearance does not look so marked...Also, you need to consider the clearance between the bolt and ocular housing of the scope.

In reality, for my set up, I'm guessing the scope rings could be 1/8" lower to make make them "perfect", which really isn't enough to fret about.

If you have a stock with a lower comb, and/or wish to mount a smaller scope, I think I would go with a diferent, lower solution...

Regards,

Peter

Here's 30mm ringmounts next to 30mm conetrol (lows). The conetrol is .044in higher FWIW. On a sako 75 this places a 42mm obj. about 1/8 above the barrel, or 1/16" with butler caps on. There appears more daylight that there really is on the left hand rifle. It feels a whisker high to my cheek, but really you couldn't get this scope much lower.

Went sako ringmounts on the 6.5x66 and erred on the side of robust, going with conetrol on the .30-06. Jury's out on which i like better, but there's something to be said for the simplicity and ring inserts on the ringmounts.

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Those are nice Sandcritter.

I've got the clunky two piece OL's on my 85, they're tall so I just bought a bigger scope. They hold tight though. Last time I had the scope off I whacked 'em a few times with a stick of wood and they didn't budge.

Tennessee,

I'am usually a day late and a dollar short when I find a topic where my opinion might help a fellow camper, but here is my two cents worth.

Leupold makes a two piece quick detach set of bases for Sako dove tail receivers. Midway USA carries them, and Graf, Natchez, probably do as well. If you want to view them Midway product # is 142178 and manufactures # is 53066. IMO they are the best for low scope mounting and light weight. You will of course have to buy QR rings. Midway product # is 532410 and manufactures # is 49971. Ring height will of course depend on the diameter of your objective.

The 2 piece bases have an allen screw on the side to tighten them to the dove tail receiver. The main reason I like this set up is that they are LIGHT, and allow me to put MY SCOPE AS LOW AS POSSIBLE. I have a set of these on a Rem Model 7 KS in .350 Rem Mag, and after several years of shooting I don't worry about checking the zero on this rifle.

Sako's Opti-lock system is sturdy as a rock and Talley has the same reputation. I have nothing against either, but as I get older I go as light as possible. Other campers have given you
some good options, and now you have mine. Have a good afternoon,

G2

The Talley's weigh 3 ounces. That's pretty light.

Reloader 28,

You are certainly correct about the Talley set up, and I would probably be using them, but even low Talley rings on Talley bases set the scope too high for me. I want my scope as low as possibly. Look at the rifles pictured in this topic, and see how much space there is between barrel and scope objective. It's just a personal thing with me, and I would never say that it's for everyone. I just wanted the young man who started this topic to have as many options as possible.

Have a good evening,

G2

As others have mentioned, the Optilocks are a very secure and stable system and are are in my opinion the most secure system for mounting a scope onto the Sako proprietary dovetail.

There are some drawbacks though: weight, price and height (if you are mounting a 40mm objective especially).

I have attached a few pics of my Bavarian with Optilocks. Keep in mind that these are "low" rings and I have room to spare with a 56mm objective!!

Too high? With the Optilock 2 piece base/ring system, if you run the correct ring height they are not too high IMHO. Most guys run regular low or medium rings with bases and complain about how high they are with a 40mm objective scope or smaller. Sako makes an Xtra low ring for the 2 piece system which is just fine. I run Optilock Xtra low rings with the 2 piece system and the scope does not sit any higher than Talley's mounting system with low rings for Sako's(which I have ran/owned as well).

It's almost comical more than anything, that people don't run the lowest ring height available and complain overall that the mounting system is "too high".

A pic of Harv3589s: Xtra low Opti rings with FX3 6x42: I hope he doesn't mind I threw this up. Looks about right to me......




However I will agree they are heavy and can see why some think they are on the bulky side....

Oaktona,

You have a nice FinnLite (or SS), and your Opti-Lock base and rings in the photo above look great. I assume one of the reasons you bought the FinnLite was because of it's
light weight. My thought is, why put a heavy base/ring set up on a FinnLite rifle? You might as well have purchased a standard weight rifle, because that is what you now have. But to each his own. Good hunting

G2

God I'm glad Sako changed the mounting set-up with the A7...

That is actually my rifle...its just the SS version not the finnlite. I went with the optiloks because they just simply work...I really like the inserts to prevent any scope marking issues, no marking up the top of the receiver like other mounting systems do on Sakos. I have been trying to find a set of the Optilok ring mount one piece but they are pretty much impossible to get your hands on. My girlfriends finnlite however does have the same mounts on it, and you know what they work awesome too