Anyone own a Sako bolt rifle. Worth the Coin?

[Jwknutson17]

I'm interested in first hand experience of someone who has a Sako 85 bolt rifle. Worth the coin? Finding some "deals" in the 1300 range for them for the new production Finn Bear with Walnut stock. Almost 1k off. Would just be another hunting rifle exclusively. I own plenty of rem 700's and brownings, but never a Sako. I know they also own Tikka, and have had plenty of time behind those too. Apparently Sako sends out rifles with with 1moa or better 5 round targets? I haven't seen any "I hate it" reviews and most people are in love with them. Experiences anyone? Thanks.

[pointblank4445]

I had a Sako M995 TRG-S in 6.5x55 back in the day. Basically a TRG action/trigger set in a hunting stock with skinny barrel. It remains one of the few guns I deeply regret parting with. God, that was a great gun...

Mind you that's a different animal than the 75/85 that is their hunting flagship but I have not been displeased by the few that I have handled, but the point is Sako can make a very good rifle. If I had to run out and get an off-the-rack hunting rifle today, I would no question probably look at a Sako first.

[Jwknutson17]

I had a Sako M995 TRG-S in 6.5x55 back in the day. Basically a TRG action/trigger set in a hunting stock with skinny barrel. It remains one of the few guns I deeply regret parting with. God, that was a great gun...

Mind you that's a different animal than the 75/85 that is their hunting flagship but I have not been displeased by the few that I have handled, but the point is Sako can make a very good rifle. If I had to run out and get an off-the-rack hunting rifle today, I would no question probably look at a Sako first.

Thanks for the info. That's really all I'm looking for here. Off the rack, nice, that shoots. Not looking for anything custom this go around. Pick it up and shoot it. Going back to my roots. I have a old 30-30 lever action that I hunted deer with forever. Light, simple, iron sights, nice wood stock, etc. I am also tired of all the super expensive builds with 3k+ optics and suppressors, etc. Just want to get something that shoots out of the box decent that I have to do nothing to. I don't have to mess with, just throw on a Swaro or alike, and hunt with it. This, and a nice Camo SBE II shotgun are on my list. I got turkeys everywhere and all I have are tactical shotguns and an old 870 express from back in the day. What am I thinking!!! Just wanted to get some feedback before I bought one.

[pointblank4445]

I am also tired of all the super expensive builds with 3k+ optics and suppressors, etc. Just want to get something that shoots out of the box decent that I have to do nothing to.

Amen to that. I can't tell you how many times I've eyed down the 85 FinnLight and thought about pairing it with my homeless S&B Stratos just for the purpose of having a light, simple hunting rifle on hand.

[cdmiller]

Father-in-law has 2 and one of my best friends has 1. All 3 are great rifles.

[Pit]

I have a Sako A1 short action in .223. Light weight barrel, Leupold Scope. A very handy lil rifle. Very nice wood. 45420

[LSK]

My Sako was a nice light rifle but the bolt stop which also houses the ejector became very loose from running the bolt.

[mpardun]

Unquestionably on of the best out of the box shooters, fit & finish - excellent trigger! .308 fluted, stainless finnlight was top notch, my only complaint is the stock could be more substantial. Mine was under 7lbs with Swarovski scope...excellent lightweight hunting rifle. The bear has beutiful wood stock if I remember correctly, a bit heavier.

I had an offer to part with mine and went 6.5 Creedmoor Legendary Arms Works for 2x the money. Another great rifle, not 200% better.

Buy one, no regrets...it'll be a shooter!

If you want to spend less, I can also say Sako's little brother Tikka make THE best shooting $700 rifles I have ever seen.

[HKGuns]

Unquestionably on of the best out of the box shooters, fit & finish - excellent trigger! .308 fluted, stainless finnlight was top notch, my only complaint is the stock could be more substantial. Mine was under 7lbs with Swarovski scope...excellent lightweight hunting rifle. The bear has beutiful wood stock if I remember correctly, a bit heavier.

I had an offer to part with mine and went 6.5 Creedmoor Legendary Arms Works for 2x the money. Another great rifle, not 200% better.

Buy one, no regrets...it'll be a shooter!

If you want to spend less, I can also say Sako's little brother Tikka make THE best shooting $700 rifles I have ever seen.

Agree with everything above except I would skip the Tikka. They're decent but not at the level of Sako.

I own two Sako's and they are my best hunting rifles.

[graffex]

Agree with everything above except I would skip the Tikka. They're decent but not at the level of Sako.

I own two Sako's and they are my best hunting rifles.

Sub 1k tikkas can't be beat. I'd take a tikka over a m700 anyday. Sako is a whole other level, comparable more to the likes of a weatherby.

[Lost River]

As an owner of both Sakos and Tikkas:


http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/IV_Troop/SAKO%20TRG/021_zpscb9b2603.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/IV_Troop/media/SAKO%20TRG/021_zpscb9b2603.jpg.html)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/IV_Troop/Rifles/IMG_1875_zpsrlroxemc.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/IV_Troop/media/Rifles/IMG_1875_zpsrlroxemc.jpg.html)


http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/IV_Troop/Rifles/FullSizeRender%2017_zpsoiafuh7c.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/IV_Troop/media/Rifles/FullSizeRender%2017_zpsoiafuh7c.jpg.html)



On the practical side, (for a hunting rifle) you are not going to gain anything by spending the extra $$ for a Sako instead of buying a Tikka T3.


Both offer sub MOA accuracy guarantees. Both will deliver with ease.

Here is a group of groups from one of my Tikka .308s:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/IV_Troop/Targets/089.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/IV_Troop/media/Targets/089.jpg.html)


And a group of groups from my Sako .308

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/IV_Troop/Targets/IMG_1716_zpsawdgcnqn.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/IV_Troop/media/Targets/IMG_1716_zpsawdgcnqn.jpg.html)


Not much of a difference, and obviously both rifles shoot WELL under .5 MOA.


For a hunting rifle, I would pick up a:

Tikka T3 .308
Talley Lightweight rings
SWFA scope in MIL/MIL or MOA/MOA
8# Keg of Varget
Lapua Brass
Projectile of choice

If you really wanna splurge/go all out, drop one in a McMillan Edge, and have it threaded for a muzzle brake like the one shown in the picture above.

Then go hunt.

This will save you thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars, chasing the next best, latest, fastest, coolest thing, equipment and cartridge wise.

[LDM]

I bought a Sako A7 Roughtech in 270 Win last year and absolutely could not be happier.
I am notorious about trading firearms; but as I tell my wife, I don't play golf or fish, both of which can cost so much more. But I can see me keeping this one for life.

[2700xx]

Sako's are expensive for a reason, they are of really good quality. I have a 1970's Sako Finnbear in 30-06 and the machining, fit and finish on the trigger guard and floor plate are way better than a lot of rifle receiver/actions made today. Wish I had more of them.

[High Tower]

I've had two Sako's - Varmint in .22-250 and a Finnlight in .270. Great rifles that I sold when I was between jobs.

I'll be getting another one at some point. Sako makes an excellent hunting rifle.

[BKennedy]

Had a Tikka T3 CTR in 260 that just wouldn't shoot a group that sucked no matter how hard I tried! Had to sell it when I got laid off but I'm back to work and looking at a Sako A7 in 6.5 Creedmor.

[yej0001]

Every SAKO I had chance to own or handle was great. If you are looking at an alternative to SAKO at lower price points, look into the TIKKA line. SAKO bought TIKKA a long while ago, and many great features from both lines have merged into each other. TIKKA rifles are as accurate as SAKO rifles but just look cheaper (and they are). Barrels are made by the same machines.

[Titan74]

Sako 85 is a great rifle. I personally like the older Sako 75 even more, but I would be perfectly happy with either the 75 or 85, or Tikka T3. I'm not particularly fond of the Key Concept bolt, but if you get a rifle with it and do not like it, it is easy to get rid of it. I currently have only TRGs, but I see myself buying a 75 too in the future. The T3 is an excellent alternative as well, as it offers amazing bang-for-the-buck. If I didn't already have the TRGs, I'd be looking at the T3x TAC A1 very closely.

[mlazarus5388]

I own a Sako in 30-06 and it is my favorite rifle. I have shot another in .223 and it was also fantastic. They are, in my opinion, worth the coin.

[krm375]

Have a Sako, L579 Forrester that my dad brought home from overseas in .308. One of my favorite rifles. It has a Bofors steel barrel and deep bluing it is a beautiful rifle. It is accurate and has taken a number of deer.

[BuzzinSATX]

As an owner of both Sakos and Tikkas:


http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/IV_Troop/SAKO%20TRG/021_zpscb9b2603.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/IV_Troop/media/SAKO%20TRG/021_zpscb9b2603.jpg.html)

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/IV_Troop/Rifles/IMG_1875_zpsrlroxemc.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/IV_Troop/media/Rifles/IMG_1875_zpsrlroxemc.jpg.html)


http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/IV_Troop/Rifles/FullSizeRender%2017_zpsoiafuh7c.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/IV_Troop/media/Rifles/FullSizeRender%2017_zpsoiafuh7c.jpg.html)



On the practical side, (for a hunting rifle) you are not going to gain anything by spending the extra $$ for a Sako instead of buying a Tikka T3.


Both offer sub MOA accuracy guarantees. Both will deliver with ease.

Here is a group of groups from one of my Tikka .308s:

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/IV_Troop/Targets/089.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/IV_Troop/media/Targets/089.jpg.html)


And a group of groups from my Sako .308

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/IV_Troop/Targets/IMG_1716_zpsawdgcnqn.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/IV_Troop/media/Targets/IMG_1716_zpsawdgcnqn.jpg.html)


Not much of a difference, and obviously both rifles shoot WELL under .5 MOA.


For a hunting rifle, I would pick up a:

Tikka T3 .308
Talley Lightweight rings
SWFA scope in MIL/MIL or MOA/MOA
8# Keg of Varget
Lapua Brass
Projectile of choice

If you really wanna splurge/go all out, drop one in a McMillan Edge, and have it threaded for a muzzle brake like the one shown in the picture above.

Then go hunt.

This will save you thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars, chasing the next best, latest, fastest, coolest thing, equipment and cartridge wise.

Sorry...but what are these pics supposed to represent? Is it my account that I cannot see "photo bucket" stuff?

[AKDoug]

Sorry...but what are these pics supposed to represent? Is it my account that I cannot see "photo bucket" stuff?

I guess you missed it. Photo bucket decided we had to pay to share our photos hosted by them. This has gutted a great many forums all over the internet. I know that I don't have the time to go back and find all the pictures I have shared over the years, so they are lost forever.

[okie john]

I went back and forth over the Sako A7 vs. the Tikka T3/x for quite some time. The only difference I saw was that you could top off the Sako without dropping the magazine, so I bought a used T3 in 308, which shoots like this at 200 yards:

http://i.imgur.com/Fq6juYy.jpg?1 (http://imgur.com/Fq6juYy)

and this

http://i.imgur.com/AbcHwat.jpg?1 (http://imgur.com/AbcHwat)

I later bought a T3x in 30-06. With handloads, it's almost as accurate as the 308, which is a VERY high bar.

That said, I much prefer older wood-stocked Mausers, Winchesters, and Sakos with fixed magazines to any of the current wonder rifles. I'd grab a decent Sako Forester in 308 pretty much instantly if I could find one at a decent price.


Okie John

[2700xx]

Can't speak for the newer Sako and Tikka rifles but the older Finnbear style rifles were of excellent quality, I lucked into a Harrington and Richardson 300 Ultra imported from Sako from the early 70's for the princely sum of $325 back in the mid 80's in 30-06. The machine work on the trigger guard and floor plate are of higher quality than a lot of other makers actions and barrels. The barrel is very accurate and dead nuts spot on hot or cold, very pleased with the rifle, a lot of pride went into the making of this rifle.