Opinions on Sako actions for dangerous game rifle

[Aussie Chris]

Guys, as for extraction and feeding I’d rather a Sako over a Mauser to be honest. They have a big extractor, it’s nothing like a Remington 700. It’s plenty big.

I can run very hot rounds through my Sako’s and they function flawlessly. I can’t say I have much experience with Mausers but Sakos have great actions. The only downside is what I said in my above comment. Sako 85’s have reputation for ejected spend shells to hit low mounted scopes and then bounce back towards the chamber.

 

[375Fox]

Guys, as for extraction and feeding I’d rather a Sako over a Mauser to be honest. They have a big extractor, it’s nothing like a Remington 700. It’s plenty big.

I can run very hot rounds through my Sako’s and they function flawlessly. I can’t say I have much experience with Mausers but Sakos have great actions. The only downside is what I said in my above comment. Sako 85’s have reputation for ejected spend shells to hit low mounted scopes and then bounce back towards the chamber.

Just turn the scope 90 degrees counter clockwise and the ejection will no longer be an issue. My 300 has no ejection issues, but my 375 did. This fixed it.

 

[Aussie Chris]

I can’t tell if you are joking or you mean keep it faceing forward but twist it along the same axis.

if you meant removing the rear mount and twisting it 90 degrees that’s funny and I agree that it would solve the ejection issue hahaha

if you meant twisting it so that the windage adjustment is now up and the elevation adjustment knob is fascinating left is rather not do that. My scope has that “German style” reticle where it has a faint top crosshair with the side and bottom cross hairs being bold. Also, as I said, I’ve never had an actual jam but I can see the potential and my scope isn’t even mounted low.

but what you suggest might be helpful for others reading the thread

 

[375Fox]

I can’t tell if you are joking or you mean keep it faceing forward but twist it along the same axis.

if you meant removing the rear mount and twisting it 90 degrees that’s funny and I agree that it would solve the ejection issue hahaha

if you meant twisting it so that the windage adjustment is now up and the elevation adjustment knob is fascinating left is rather not do that. My scope has that “German style” reticle where it has a faint top crosshair with the side and bottom cross hairs being bold. Also, as I said, I’ve never had an actual jam but I can see the potential and my scope isn’t even mounted low.

but what you suggest might be helpful for others reading the thread

Yes, i meant turning it so right is now up and up is now left. I have a 1.5-5 Leupold on mine so it was no issue turning 90 degrees. I realized practicing for a buffalo hunt that the shell was falling back causing it to jam, that was the simple fix.

 

[Aussie Chris]

Thanks, it’s a good idea. I put a thumbs up emoji after my comment but that didn’t go through. I didn’t want to sound so dismissive of your advise.

 

[Beck]

I have a Sako 85 Kodiak in 375H&H and it performs 100% flawlessly with open sights or my aim point red dot.

If I was to take it to Africa for close range African game I’d use the red dot and bet my life on it working flawlessly. I love this rifle so much and one great thing about it is if you fire all your shots, just keep the bolt open and throw a new round in the chamber and it will feed straight in flawlessly when you push the bolt forward again no problems feeding or extracting. I’d pick it over any other gun I’ve ever used in those regards. Never any problem with the red dot.

Now, one thing to keep in mind is this. Sako 85’s have a reputation for not ejecting the fires cases with low mounted scopes. They seem to eject spend cases in a bit of an upwards direction rather than straight out the side I guess. People say in Europe where 50mm objectives are common they have no problem. But I know it’s a complaint people in America have with their lower mounted scopes. If I’m not running my red dot I have a 1.5-8x scope which is mounted in relatively high mounts (otherwise the front sight obstructs my vision).

I can tell you that although I’ve never had a problem using it, I have seen the potential for problems in using it. If you don’t rip the bolt back fast enough the spent case kind of lazerly pops up and hits the scope and then kind of falls back to the action and then bounces of again and out. What I’m saying is I really think the ejection problems are real. It’s not a myth. For deer hunting it’s no problem and I’d happily take my gun to Africa for non dangerous planes game with my scope. It’s super accurate and the chance of any problem is very low. It’s worth the less than 0.5% chance of a failed follow up shot and the animal getting away and me needing to pay for the trophy fee (as I said it’s never given me a problem) but, if you are worried enough to be doubting the Sako action then I’d say make some dummy rounds and cycle then through the sellers action. Do it slow and fast on different angles etc.
I can’t talk highly enough about Sako’s in general and mine in particular, and with my red dot I’d be happy to hunt lions in thick brush on foot but with a scope maybe not haha.

I did exactly that with my .375 Sako Kodiak. I've never had the ejection issues that others have had, I think they are mostly due to scopes with large turrets.