Sako finnlight .30 06

Roebuck270

Well-Known Member
Hi everyone, im getting the sako 85 finnlight in .30 06 Does anyone have this rifle, can anyone tell me a good bullet type for it ? Thanks.
 
sako 85

Hi, I have a 30/06 std sako 75, it was one of the last made before the 85 took over, unmodorated it kicked like a mule.

Its a much easier rifle to use now its modorated, I think I am pretty much using Rem Serocco 150gr factory rounds in it at the moment, but I have not had a chance to play about with home loads for it as of yet.

I would say the finlight would be very light for a 30/06 & could do with mod on it if ease of use.

My oppinion sorry.

Regs Lee
 
I have a tikka m690 in 30.06 so whilst I can't tell you much about the rifle I can pass on a couple of observations about the calibre.

I started off with homeloaded 150 grain speer BTSP over 51.3 grains of H4895 in norma cases, this was the load developed by the former owner of the rifle, and was very pleased that it shot into about half an inch for 5 shots at 100 yards. the load chrono'ed at 2850 fps btw, so not too far off 308 speeds.

I got to blood the load on a chinese water deer ( :eek: I know..... but it was the last chance before a back operation :oops: ) and the round did make a bit of a mess.

The shot was just behind the shoulder, into the ribs on a slight quatering to doe, and removed most of the ribcage on the offside. As I walked upto it in fact one or two fairly vital organs were lying on the grass just behind the deer....

I also got a fox with it but as long as one is not shooting for the pelt, one may rest assured that the shot will be a humane one.

It has been suggested that a heavier construction of bullet is the way forward for the sort of predominately woodland stalking I do and so I have obtained some 165 gr sierra gamekings and accubonds to try on the larger deer this season.

Having said that I have yet to try the 150 grain load on fallow or sika so watch this space, it may be that the 30.06 is wholly innapropriate calibre to shoot chinese water deer with but would be fine for the larger species.... ;)

I zero an inch and a half high at 100 yards, finding about 3 inches of drop at 250 yards, in other words I don't really worry about tradjectory.

Oh and I bought that CWD carcass by the way.... :D
 
I had a .270 with no moderator and didnt find that to harsh, iv used a blaser .30 06 which is a light rifle so hopefully the recoil is not going to be to bad for me. Iv used the sako 123g in the .308 and loved them. They do them for the .30 06 in 123g anyone tried lighter bullets in .30 06 ?
 
I haven't tried the 123 grain Sakos, although I have heard a lot about them.

I don't know if i'm comfortable using light bullets but they do tend to shoot well and a few roe stalker that I know swear by them.

Those stalker tend to be to either neck shoot or double lung/aorta shoot their deer so i'm not sure what would happen if heavier bones than ribs was struck.

On the matter of recoil I must confess i'm not bothered unduly by the recoil of the tikka un-moderated, I was given a stern talking to by IanF when I expressed some concern before buying the rifle.

He asked how many times I had been bothered by the recoil of his 30.06 when out stalking with him, the answer was of course "recoil, what recoil I was somewhat pre-occupied with the deer.."

I have a slot for a moderator in any event and will get round to having it screwcut one of these days 8)

I did have a sore shoulder after a load development session that turned into a mini-McQueen at Bisley once, I put about 70 rounds through it off the bench in the morning to test various loads and another 40-50 or so during the afternoon fun session.

the next morning I woke with the mother of all stiff necks!

The tikka also seems to shoulder very naturally and probably therefore "fits" me well, this no doubt contributes to the fact that I am not bothered battered about very much.

Just don't shoot it off the bench!! :eek: :D
 
ammo

Basil

Yes pretty much all of it, 30/06, 270WSM & 243 AI, I also have to sort out Ians 7x64 for him as sub 150gr Factory ammo is rare as!

If you do need to learn & do a course I have a good mate that is a level 2 in Wimborne & he runs reloading courses.

I have been using the 270WSM over the weekend & since we spoke last week & I have to say that having not used it since the winter that it bloody knocks them over alright in comparrison to the 243 Basil.

Not that I had a real prob with the 243 but I just felt that I was having too many deer that were running on a bit & with the crop hight now I want to ensure they are down on the spot pretty much rather than risk a lost animal.

Regs Lee
 
Hi Lee,

What load do you use for your 30.06 if you don't mind me asking?

I've developed two that my rifle likes, one witha speer 150gr SPBT over 51.3 grains of H4895 in norma brass for deer and the other 155 gr Amax over 51.0 grains of the same powder in the same brass.

I wanted to try some heavier bullets so I would be particularly interested in any loads you have for these or bonded bullets for larger deer.

Regards,

Amir
 
bullets

Amir

On the 30/06 I was shooting Rem 150gr Serocco factory & have just changed to 150 gr speer splitzers (need to check the powder weight but its either R 19 or R15.

With the 270WSM I was shooting Winchester 140gr Acubond Factory, but a box of 20 was a staggering £65.00!!! : :mad: :mad: :mad:

So I have changed to Sako 150 gr RN, as I had a load of these for my old 270, they were a 1 off run that they did for me, they hit very hard with one hell of an impact noise, again R 15 or R19. They dont seem to go far having been hit with either & if they ever do there is a good blood trail which I was not getting with the 243.

Regs Lee
 
Thank you for the swift reply!

I confess to having never used factory ammo in my 06 as living in the middle of London, there are no gunshops!

IanF on this board sourced the rifle and taught me basic reloading on the day I got it 8) :D

I did try some privi stuff at the range and found it grouped ok so there is a plan B. That wasn't too bad at £50 per hundred but £65 for 20 is a bit much i'll agree...... :eek:

Do you use the Boat-tail speers or the flat base out of interest?

I would be very interested to know how they perform on fallow, I have only tried this load on CWD and fox where it made a bit of a mess.

Is the bullets upto the large beasts?

I am heading up to my patch for Sika in the first week of July and have been wondering whether to use the 150 gr homeloads or buy a box of factory 180s as I understand that they are tough buggers.

Thanks for your help,

Amir
 
bullets

Amir

I would stick to the 150's thet you are using & save yourself the cost to be honest, they will be more than adequate for any Sika Stag in the UK I assure you.

With the Speers we are loading flat base Hot Core Splitzers in 30/06 (150gr) & also Ian's 7x64mm (130gr) both perform whell on larger species althought 95% of our shooting is Fallow down here I would say, with just Roe & Munties during the 3 month summer cycle until 1st August.

I have a friend down on Arne in Dorset & I am sure he shoots 120gr from his 6.5x55 on large Sika Stags & he gets on fine with it, so I would not worry about 150gr 30/06 on your scottish sika buddy, if you know how the round is performing & are happy with it then I would not try to fix what aint broke!

Regards Lee
 
Thanks Lee.

I have had a few warnings about shooting sika in scottish forestry.

I have been quite lucky in that i've never had a to deal with a runner and wanted to make sure they went down.

Can't wait! :D :D
 
Boghossian said:
I'll make sure you don't mess up mate :lol:

Oh thanks mate!

How oh how did I ever stalk deer without a dear, dear friend furiously whispering "shoot it! shoot it now you asshole!" into my ear hole..... :p


But in your defense you do blood track like a peckish Vizla so i'll say no more on the subject..... :oops:

ATB,

Amir
 
Rifle

Yes thats right Gabe you tell him to in the first place ensure he has a loaded rifle!!!

LOL :oops: :oops: :oops:

Or he will end up throwing rocks like you did!!! :D :D :D

Lee
 
tracking

Gabe

A word of advice-don't ever be tracking on all fours in Loosehanger Beat like a Vizla with Woody behind you! :oops: :oops: :oops:

Or you will be expecting Boghossian/GSP cross pups pretty soon!

Regs Lee
 
Back
Top