Sako 85 - Ring Height & Ejection Issues

[Sarg]

It is a great pity Sako haven't done anything about this & that they design crew even made such a Balls up in the first place .

Way back when the 75 came out this started so why make the 85 the same or even worse, crazy !

I have lots of Sakos of all models & like them a lot, would not use one as a DG rifle but do use a 75 308 as a culling rifle right now as that is what I had & I had two magazines that I can reload fast & swap fast I really like my scopes as low as I can get them & with the low bolt lift & Leupold low rings that is the front objective lens almost touching the barrel, great on the 308 75 but tried that on my 30/06 Finnlight & after I fitted the Leupold Firedot which is 30mm tube shells bounce back in all the time so off it went !

I had hunters have all sorts of problems with the Bigger caliber 375 H&H up Sako 75 & 85 rifles & when one of my guiding partners was getting a Sako 85 in .500 Jeffery from Safari Outdoor & had ordered it I had great trouble stopping him from buying it, it could get some one stomped !

So unfortuntaly if you have your heart set on a Sako 85 it may well not function as you hope with the low mounts & 30mm tube (it won't) sort of spoiled it for me to .

 

[IvW]

I have 3 scoped sako 85s all low mounts. The 300 win ejects no issues. The 375 and 270 unfortunately needed the scope turned. The low mounts provide the best fit for the rifles. I’d risk low first and hope for best. They are great rifles other than this. Turning the scope 90 degrees counter clockwise is a pretty easy solution. I actually don’t understand why scopes aren’t designed that way since most are right hand shooters.

Actually I dont understand why rifles are not designed to function properly with scopes mounted....

 

[IvW]

Ask IvW for his experience on why he hates sakos so much and you will get no reply, just a strong opinion. You just have to learn your Sako rifle like any other rifle. I’ve used my 375 H&H kodiak on multiple trips to Africa. It’s a great rifle once you turn scope but it is an unfortunate design flaw that needs fixed.

No reply? They dont function as they should especially in larger calibers quite simple....and the ones who own them find excuses to justify the problem....same as Land River owners....

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

I have the 85 Kodiak in 375 H&H with medium height leupold QD mounts (the low were too low for me to get proper cheek weld). Even with the medium mounts I need to turn the scope 90 degrees or the empty hits the scope caps and falls back in almost every time. Scope is a very simple trijicon accupoint with very low profile adjustment turrets. Turned 90 degrees there are no issues. Runs perfectly.

I had the same experience, a mate and I ordered brand new 375's at the same time, my mate ordered the Kodiak and I ordered the Brown bear, no matter what height scope rings we used we had consistent ejection issues. Our dealer was really good and backed us on this and refused to pay Beretta Australia for the rifles until they took them back. We both ended up buying Winchester M70's in 375 H&H, I bought a brand new Safari Express and my mate found a secondhand stainless model. I understand some people are happy to work around the issue but I am definitely not, I doubt I will ever touch another Sako 85.

 

[375Fox]

No reply? They dont function as they should especially in larger calibers quite simple....and the ones who own them find excuses to justify the problem....same as Land River owners....

You did exactly as I predicted. From someone who claims to be a highly experienced PH, I’m sure you can come up with more than a generic statement.

 

[Louis Toadvine]

Thank you all for the input. Much appreciated.

Two other semi-related questions:

1) For those of you with Leica scopes, would you say the finish is satin? Trying to best match the rings to the scope. Talley offers matte, satin, gloss, and color case hardened rings; I'm thinking their satin is probably closest to the Leica finish.

2) Anyone have any recommendations for 8x57 factory loads? Most places (both brick-and-mortar and online) are fairly sold out of the cartridge, but I've been able to secure some Sellier & Bellot 196gr soft points and FMJ for the time being. There's also some 180 gr Nosler Trophy Grade E-Tip available online that I can try. Hoping to find some more loads to test before next fall. There's a mountain of corrosive Turkish and Greek milsurp out there, but finding non-corrosive modern stuff has been difficult.

Thanks.

 

[Sarg]

On the 8X57 it is best to reload to get the best out of that cartridge (and fine it is) the US makers seem to load it very mildly so it would be best with Euro ammo, hard to fine things in general right now !

Sorry can't help on the Leica scope, would like to as I have their Binos & would like one off their Spotters over my Swaro in ease of use .

 

[wesheltonj]

My ER’s are matte. I don’t think they make any gloss scopes anymore.

 

[Rell]

I have an 85 in 9.3x62. I didn’t live the talleys, the base is … not ideal? Weird pressure screw down with friction on the internal dovetails. I was also using a 1.5-6x42 S&B and it didn’t come back far enough for proper eye relief.

I ended up with EAW quick release, the front ring is extended and the work great. Had them drilled and tapped in place.

 

[Longwalker]

I have written before about the cure for my Sako 85 Kodiak .375 H&H Ejection issues. here it is one more time:
I found a skilled machinist who made an extractor claw with less space between the the claw and the rim of the case. Problem solved, forever, for about $50. I also had a Sako M85 Bavarian 7x64 that was somewhat less prone to ejection problems, but needed brisk bolt movements to be reliable. A new extractor fixed that one too. Both rifles now eject directly to the side, no scope interference, no problem at all no matter what speed the bolt is worked. I also have two Sako M85 .308 rifles that have always worked correctly every time.
I suspect Sako / Beretta has fixed their extractor problem in more recently manufactured rifles. I have not heard of recently manufactured M85 rifles with the ejection issue. I completely understand those who say they wouldn't buy one because Sako should have got things right the first time. Sako should have sent new, closer tolerance extractors to all their past unsatisfied customers, and preserved their reputation.
As a side note, while puzzling out the cure for my .375, I tried rotating the scope 90° counterclockwise. It worked 100% but I didn't like the idea of changing something to accommodate a faulty rifle. And it didn't look "normal". After I replaced the extractor, I turned the scope back to "normal" and used it that way to be satisfied with the cure. But then even though it was not necessary, I ended up turning the scope 90° anyway, because it's an advantage to not have a turret in the way of the loading port.
I have tried several other rifles in .375 H&H in the past few years. I prefer my Sako Kodiak M85's handling, operation, and accuracy to all of them.

 

[fourfive8]

Yes, I do it as a matter of course even without ejection interference. Unless the scope has stadia lines, mil dots, post, a specialized reticule or three knobs, there's no reason not to.

 

[375Fox]

It is a great pity Sako haven't done anything about this & that they design crew even made such a Balls up in the first place .

Way back when the 75 came out this started so why make the 85 the same or even worse, crazy !

I have lots of Sakos of all models & like them a lot, would not use one as a DG rifle but do use a 75 308 as a culling rifle right now as that is what I had & I had two magazines that I can reload fast & swap fast I really like my scopes as low as I can get them & with the low bolt lift & Leupold low rings that is the front objective lens almost touching the barrel, great on the 308 75 but tried that on my 30/06 Finnlight & after I fitted the Leupold Firedot which is 30mm tube shells bounce back in all the time so off it went !

I had hunters have all sorts of problems with the Bigger caliber 375 H&H up Sako 75 & 85 rifles & when one of my guiding partners was getting a Sako 85 in .500 Jeffery from Safari Outdoor & had ordered it I had great trouble stopping him from buying it, it could get some one stomped !

So unfortuntaly if you have your heart set on a Sako 85 it may well not function as you hope with the low mounts & 30mm tube (it won't) sort of spoiled it for me to .

Could you go into more detail with problems you’ve seen with Sakos? A PM is fine too if there is a reason not to broadcast it. I had one member here PM with a legitimate mechanical issue that failed at wrong time with their large caliber rifle, but have not heard any others. The ejection issue is unfortunate, but failures while hunting are more the result of the shooter being inexperienced with their rifle more so than the rifle. I identified issue at range and turned scopes before hunt. I’ve put several hundred rounds each through my 300 and 375, never seen an issue with rifles.

 

[yhc]

I never had any problem with my Sako riflesne Sako 75 and three Sako 85s, ranging from 300 to 375. All of them with Swarovski scopes and low Optilok rings.

@Louis Toadvine try out your new Sako, as you have mentioned, and see how it works out for you. Though my experience is limited to the sample size of 4, all these rifles cycles through flawlessly.

Enjoy your new rifle.

 

[mark-hunter]

My Sako 85, with scope, on optilock, 30-06, functions properly, no issue.
But, obviously, as per feedback on the forum, there may be something about large calibers.

 

[Louis Toadvine]

I never had any problem with my Sako riflesne Sako 75 and three Sako 85s, ranging from 300 to 375. All of them with Swarovski scopes and low Optilok rings.

@Louis Toadvine try out your new Sako, as you have mentioned, and see how it works out for you. Though my experience is limited to the sample size of 4, all these rifles cycles through flawlessly.

Enjoy your new rifle.

My Sako 85, with scope, on optilock, 30-06, functions properly, no issue.
But, obviously, as per feedback on the forum, there may be something about large calibers.

Thank you all for the feedback. I'm rethinking the Talley rings and will take a closer look at the Optiloks. From my limited research, those seem to be the best fitting rings for the 85.

 

[Sarg]

@Louis Toadvine I think you could be correct on the Optilocks, there are two types the one that have a base that fits the grooved receiver, which you can get extra low rings for but there is the base height & the rings that fit onto the grooves, none are as low as the Leupold low rings, I like them as super low, light & much cheaper, these can work on some (most ?) of the 75-85 with the right scope, let me down with the Leupold Firedot 30mm a no go on the 30/06 Finnlight & on my 75 223.
The Optilocks worked but I haven't tried the 30mm on it .

 

[Steen S. Blicher]

I have 5 Sako rifles all installed with scopes in standard optilock ring and mounts in lowest possible configuration

1 Sako 75 in 243 win with a Hawke Frontier 4-20 x 50 with big turrets
1 Sako 75 in 6,5 x 55 SE with a Swarovski Z6I 2,5-15 x 56
1 Sako 75 in 7 mm. RM with a Meopta R2 2,5-15 x 56
1 Sako 75 in 9,3 x 62 with a Trijicon 2,5-10 x 56
1 Sako 85 in 6,5 x 55 SE with a Vortex Viper PST2 5-25 x 50 with big turrets

The Sako 85 I have had for 12 years and it is used for competition shooting here in Denmark called field shooting. I shoot 5-600 rounds with this rifle every year.
I have never had any issue with spend cases falling back into the action for any of my Sako rifles.

Could it be that there is not used sufficient force at the bolt handle when spend cases is extracted?

My experience with the optilock mounts is that they are very good, the spherical inserts takes up slack and protect your scope.
Installed with correct torque you can take of the scope and install it again with no or very little change in aiming point.
The optilock mounts also comes in a QR version.

 

[Sarg]

@Longwalker thank you very much for the tip, would love to see photos of exactly what you had done & how it worked, if you had done a YouTube video I think you could of made some money lol

 

[Sarg]

Could you go into more detail with problems you’ve seen with Sakos? A PM is fine too if there is a reason not to broadcast it. I had one member here PM with a legitimate mechanical issue that failed at wrong time with their large caliber rifle, but have not heard any others. The ejection issue is unfortunate, but failures while hunting are more the result of the shooter being inexperienced with their rifle more so than the rifle. I identified issue at range and turned scopes before hunt. I’ve put several hundred rounds each through my 300 and 375, never seen an issue with rifles.

I think not the place on this post @375Fox, I do remember a few of them as I took notice but most times I have a job to do but did see some issues my hunters were having with their reloading, even one on his video later, this is just after he told me he had had no issue with his rifle but I could see it out the corner of my eye as I covered the Buffalo !!

I have 12 Sako rifles at this time five 75's & two 85's the rest are AI's & Vixens L461

It is most definitely a problem, made worse by some scopes & ring heights, but it shouldn't even be a problem to need resolving by the customer .

 

[IvW]

I have 5 Sako rifles all installed with scopes in standard optilock ring and mounts in lowest possible configuration

1 Sako 75 in 243 win with a Hawke Frontier 4-20 x 50 with big turrets
1 Sako 75 in 6,5 x 55 SE with a Swarovski Z6I 2,5-15 x 56
1 Sako 75 in 7 mm. RM with a Meopta R2 2,5-15 x 56
1 Sako 75 in 9,3 x 62 with a Trijicon 2,5-10 x 56
1 Sako 85 in 6,5 x 55 SE with a Vortex Viper PST2 5-25 x 50 with big turrets

The Sako 85 I have had for 12 years and it is used for competition shooting here in Denmark called field shooting. I shoot 5-600 rounds with this rifle every year.
I have never had any issue with spend cases falling back into the action for any of my Sako rifles.

Could it be that there is not used sufficient force at the bolt handle when spend cases is extracted?

My experience with the optilock mounts is that they are very good, the spherical inserts takes up slack and protect your scope.
Installed with correct torque you can take of the scope and install it again with no or very little change in aiming point.
The optilock mounts also comes in a QR version.

A 6.5x55 in Sako 85 is not exactly a large caliber which are the ones that tend to have the issue