What .270 bolt action rifle ??

Boggy

Member
I am currently looking to purchase a New or Used .270. I was going to go for a Sako 85 Laminate stainless, but a good mate who is a gunsmith
says they are not a patch on the old 75.. Has anyone got an 85 in .270. what's it like ? Any good ? I use a 75 in 22.250 which is a really accurate
and has given me years of good service. Was also considering a Sauer or possibly a custom job.. Advice and ideas much appreciated..
 
I have read a lot of posts saying that the Sako 85 isn't anywhere near as good as the Sako 75... I think a fair proportion of these are written by people who have read the above but have never actually owned both rifles... As for the 85 not being a patch on the 75 as your gunsmith friend has told you, I think that's a bit of an exaggeration!... Ask him why exactly he has formed this opinion. I have an 85 stainless synthetic (in 243) and I very much doubt that a 75 is SUBSTANCIALLY better.

As for 270 cal, I bought a new tikka t3 in 270 earlier in the year and have had it mildly customised. I would highly recommend this rifle if you are buying new and don't want to stretch to Sako prices.....It has a nice trigger and is very accurate. Though if money is not a concern, I would certainly have no hesitation in recommending a Sako 85 in this calibre if my 243 sako 85 is anything to go by.

Here they are side by side and out in the field.
 
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The 85 is the leapfrog money maker off the 75, it is deffo lower spec and quality and is still good but, no, the 85 doesn't hold a thing against the 75. That said, I would take any mauser or mauser based rifle over any sako ANY day of the year
 
At the end of the day, all you want to do is get a piece of lead & copper to the right place a hundred or so yards away from you. Makes absolutely no difference whatsoever if it's a Blaser, Sauer, Tikka, Gottahaveit or what-have-you that sends it down-range............if any rifle you look at is in decent condition, within your budget, and you like the look of it, you'll shoot well with it. There's a lot of utter crap talked about by so-called 'experts' on this site, but this is honest advice & it'll serve you as well as it did me :thumb:
 
I own an 85 in 308 and have used many a 75 in the past which is better ? to be honest apart from the recoil lug in the 75 being beefier and the stock, there is nothing in it the 85 is a great rifle and I have beaten mine to a pulp and it has been faultless love it puts it on the money every time, also magazine push/lock release great feature saves any worries of losing the mag in the field strong gun I love mine its a stainless synthetic model 5 stars from me....
 
Boggy, if you are accustomed to the Sako 75 and happy with it, look for a used one or an 85 in .270 Win.

Have you shot a Sako 75 or 85 in .270 Winchester? There seem to be plenty of them over there, so that is what I would do first. Sounds like you like wood and steel; you don't say where or what you will hunt, or how. If you are not sure 100%, then buy a T3 Lite for little money and try that for a while; I never heard of one in .270 that did not shoot right out of the box. Over here, where I live, those who like pretty wood buy a lot of A-Bolts and X-bolts in .270.
 
Get a secondhand 75, the 85's can be troublesome. The ones I have had all had problems, the first one's action cold welded and got replaced. The second one went the same way but only got repaired, the repair lasted weeks.

Al
 
Thank you all for your advice, I have found a used 75 via a friend, which is the way I think I will go.
 
Get a secondhand 75, the 85's can be troublesome. The ones I have had all had problems, the first one's action cold welded and got replaced. The second one went the same way but only got repaired, the repair lasted weeks.

Al

Hi Ranger --- Was it the bolt lugs that galled? - If so what lube were you using on them? Or did you run it dry? I know that stainless can be a Bu**er for galling especially nuts & bolts when not properly lubricated, but hadn't thought of it with respect to rifle actions.

Ian
 
It made no difference to them if they were lubed or not. It's something to do with the machining

al
 
Just throwing this in there but what about the Sako A7? I've just bought one in .270 and am very happy with it. I considered the 85 but just didn't feel the need to spend that extra cash. I also considered the Tika T3 Lite but felt that A7 was much more refined and had a couple additional nicer features and made it worth the extra few hundred £ for it.
 
OK yes mine is 6.5 X 55 not .270 but..... I have shot a Tikka T3 6.5 X 55, Sako 75 6.5 X 55 and purchased ....... A Sako 85 6.5 X 55. The Tikka is a great rifle but has flaws plastic shroud on the bolt is main one, its a seriously smooth bolt on the tikka great trigger best budget rifle on the market. Sako 75 lovely to shoot but the key lock thing is awful on the bolt, shoot great and well made. The reason I bought the Sako 85, metal magazine with no chance of loosing it from the rifle due to total control feature, sized action to cartridge, safety catch with release button so you can unload rifle with safety on is a big plus. Little things that make it an all round brilliant rifle.
 
At the end of the day, all you want to do is get a piece of lead & copper to the right place a hundred or so yards away from you. Makes absolutely no difference whatsoever if it's a Blaser, Sauer, Tikka, Gottahaveit or what-have-you that sends it down-range............if any rifle you look at is in decent condition, within your budget, and you like the look of it, you'll shoot well with it. There's a lot of utter crap talked about by so-called 'experts' on this site, but this is honest advice & it'll serve you as well as it did me :thumb:
Well said bud , couldn't have said it any better maself
 
It made no difference to them if they were lubed or not. It's something to do with the machining

al

Ive heard that too. A FC ranger mate told me of this when I was looking for a new rifle and mentioned the 85. Didn't the FC send a load back and now stick with T3s?
 
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