Sako 85 - Discontinued?

[MS 9x56]

This has been discussed a bit around parts of the internet, including some threads on this site. I first heard about the 85 being discontinued in summer 2021. I was looking for a Bavarian Carbine and a Beretta rep I knew basically said there weren't going to be a lot of 85s imported into the U.S (from that point forward) as it was being phased out. Regular factory or "stock" models went out of stock most places around that time and became difficult to find from shops/dealers (the secondary market stayed active), with some legacy orders trickling in late 2021-early 2022.

I believe JD Outfitters in Oklahoma bought the rights to all the remaining Sako custom shop orders headed stateside. Not sure if the customs are still being ordered or arriving in the U.S. as of 2023, but I know he has more 85s in stock than just about anywhere (at a premium, but they're in stock). I ended up ordering a custom shop Bavarian Carbine through him with upgraded wood and am very happy with it.

It's disappointing to see the 85 sunsetted. It's a very beautiful, well made, and classic looking rifle. I love both of mine (the aforementioned Carbine and an 85 Deluxe).

Does the carbine have a Mannlicher style stock?

 

[Louis Toadvine]

Does the carbine have a Mannlicher style stock?

Yes, the 85 Bavarian Carbine is a stutzen or "Mannlicher-style" full length stock with a schnabel forend.

I just realized I don't have any updated pictures of the rifle with the scope mounted. I need to take some. But here are the photos he sent me when it arrived stateside.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

 

[Beck]

Yep…and I think they released the 416 Rem years after they had already been making the 75 in .375 H&H. I’m holding out hope we’ll get some medium/large bores and maybe a new set of bear rifles in the 90. If nothing else, hopefully they’ll put out something that mirrors the aesthetics of the grizzly (fluted barrel, barrel band, walnut stock, iron sights). I’m kicking myself for not buying one when you could still find them.

I’d love a 90 grizzly in a .375 or .416 Ruger, but that’s probably not happening.

I'd love to see that as well, or another brown bear series as well.

 

[Northern Shooter]

Sako seemed to hint at the arrival of dangerous game cartridges with at the Sako 90 launch. How long after the launch of the 85 did the big bore offerings start showing up? Anyone remember?

 

[MS 9x56]

Yes, the 85 Bavarian Carbine is a stutzen or "Mannlicher-style" full length stock with a schnabel forend.

I just realized I don't have any updated pictures of the rifle with the scope mounted. I need to take some. But here are the photos he sent me when it arrived stateside.

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Wow just wow!!! Is that Bastogne walnut? Absolutely gorgeous. How does it shoot?

 

[Louis Toadvine]

Wow just wow!!! Is that Bastogne walnut? Absolutely gorgeous. How does it shoot?

Thank you. I'm not sure of the provenance on the walnut, unfortunately. I did ask about it, but never heard back. I have a Sako 85 Deluxe with very nice walnut (better than this rifle) and was able to track down that it was Turkish/Circassian. I'm not particularly facile at grading stocks or recognizing all of the nuance; I'm sure there are those who can identify sub-species and origin based on grain, pattern, color, etc. That would be a nice skill to have!

Like any Sako I've ever shot, it is lights out accurate. Sub-MOA and more accurate than its operator--I'm definitely the limiting factor in the calculation, haha. It's also quite handy and pointable. A very fine piece of equipment!

 

[Rule 303]

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How is it not CRF? Not that it matters as IIRC you’ve no problem with the R8..

I have covered this in another thread. The 85 is not a true CRF. The bolt does not capture the cartridge until it has cleared the feed lips/rails, just like an SMLE. Yes the bolt has control of the cartridge before entering the chamber where as a true CRF - and by the definitions I have read - the bolt has a grip on part of the cartridge rim before it clears the magazine.

 

[Rule 303]

LT I do like the timber in your stock. Just don't like the shape and check piece on it. That is just my personal taste and nothing else. Very good grain flow through it

 

[Beck]

They just released a Sako 90 Varmint - seems like a good sign. Hopefully they continue to release new lines.

 

[Northern Shooter]

They just released a Sako 90 Varmint - seems like a good sign. Hopefully they continue to release new lines.

Nice. Now I'm hoping for Kodiak and Brown Bear models.

 

[Ravensview]

Yes, the 85 Bavarian Carbine is a stutzen or "Mannlicher-style" full length stock with a schnabel forend.

I just realized I don't have any updated pictures of the rifle with the scope mounted. I need to take some. But here are the photos he sent me when it arrived stateside.

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That is a gorgeous stock on that rifle!

 

[gballard137]

Sako seemed to hint at the arrival of dangerous game cartridges with at the Sako 90 launch. How long after the launch of the 85 did the big bore offerings start showing up? Anyone remember?

They have a sako 90 in 375 h&h out

 

[sestoppelman]

I have covered this in another thread. The 85 is not a true CRF. The bolt does not capture the cartridge until it has cleared the feed lips/rails, just like an SMLE. Yes the bolt has control of the cartridge before entering the chamber where as a true CRF - and by the definitions I have read - the bolt has a grip on part of the cartridge rim before it clears the magazine.

My test for CRF is this.

Push the bolt forward, picking up a round and continue to end of stroke, then pull bolt back WITHOUT turning the bolt handle down.

If the round comes back, its CRF, if it doesnt, its push feed.

Simple and practical.

 

[Rule 303]

My test for CRF is this.

Push the bolt forward, picking up a round and continue to end of stroke, then pull bolt back WITHOUT turning the bolt handle down.

If the round comes back, its CRF, if it doesnt, its push feed.

Simple and practical.

I hate to say but you are incorrect. CRF means the round is under control of the bolt before it leaves the magazine, pure and simple. I use to think the SMLE was CRF as it does what you say but, it is not a true CRF. Using your outlook I could say all bolt actions are push feed as the bolt has to be pushed forward to chamber a round. Simple and practical is it not?

 

[sestoppelman]

I hate to say but you are incorrect. CRF means the round is under control of the bolt before it leaves the magazine, pure and simple. I use to think the SMLE was CRF as it does what you say but, it is not a true CRF. Using your outlook I could say all bolt actions are push feed as the bolt has to be pushed forward to chamber a round. Simple and practical is it not?

Sorry, while we may dispute the first part, you last is just incorrect. If you dont turn down the bolt handle on a push feed, the round will likely stay in the chamber. Just pushing the bolt all the way forward doesnt mean it will hold the round coming back. With CRF it will come back.

Take a Rem 700 or post 64 70 Win, or Ruger 77 tang safety and try it. The round will stay in the chamber, if you dont turn the handle down. That is what I mean.

CRF vs push feed. Simple is it not?

 

[Rule 303]

Sorry, while we may dispute the first part, you last is just incorrect. If you dont turn down the bolt handle on a push feed, the round will likely stay in the chamber. Just pushing the bolt all the way forward doesnt mean it will hold the round coming back. With CRF it will come back.

Take a Rem 700 or post 64 70 Win, or Ruger 77 tang safety and try it. The round will stay in the chamber, if you dont turn the handle down. That is what I mean.

CRF vs push feed. Simple is it not?

We are going to disagree on that as well. All I said, and it is true, all bolt actions can be viewed as push feed as the bolt has to be push forward to chamber the round. I did not say anything about extraction which would be pull extraction would it not?

The first part I am afraid to say is not open to interpretation as that is the definition of controlled round feed. Very simple really. To say other wise is like calling a magazine a clip when it is not. This is a good example of something becoming common vouge and excepted as the norm when in its original form it is not. I believe the proper wording for a clip is a Loading Clip.

 

[sestoppelman]

We are going to disagree on that as well. All I said, and it is true, all bolt actions can be viewed as push feed as the bolt has to be push forward to chamber the round. I did not say anything about extraction which would be pull extraction would it not?

The first part I am afraid to say is not open to interpretation as that is the definition of controlled round feed. Very simple really. To say other wise is like calling a magazine a clip when it is not. This is a good example of something becoming common vouge and excepted as the norm when in its original form it is not. I believe the proper wording for a clip is a Loading Clip.

I agree that in the strictest sense, a CRF rifle grabs the round almost immediately, but my point is, and one you seem to want to ignore is that it doesnt really matter at what point the extractor grabs the rim.

What matters most is that it does so before fully chambering and that it does not require turning the bolt handle down into locked position, as in a push feed rifle, see and read my last post.

Saying all bolt actions are push feed is a silly side argument if we acknowledge that some rifles are CRF and some are push feed. Like calling a mag a clip right?

We seem to have a different idea of what CRF means. I will leave it at that, further back and forth seems pointless.

 

[MS 9x56]

Mauser 98 = CRF, remington700= push feed. Simple is it not? The rest is just semantics. Do I need CRF? No. Do I want CRF? Absolutely!!

 

[Sauer404XT]

I am hearing that Sako is discontinuing the Sako 85 line. Anyone else hearing the same thing? Anyone know what they are planning to replace it with?

Sako 90 replaced the 85

Sako 100 is a seperate product did not repleace anything.