Sako 85 vs 75

[Mungo]

The bedding on the 85 wooden stocks is very Heath Robinson and I bet they were the source of the reported 85 bedding issues.

Agreed - here it is, held in by two screws. What could possibly go wrong...

 

[Border]

No myth. Too many of us have same experience. My 85 in 30.06 during normal bolt cycling would always throw spent case in a near vertical ejection arc that always struck the tiny Zeiss Duralyt windage turret. One in five ejections would fail to clear the rifle with the case settling in the action on top of the magazine. Others have experienced same. Even a cursory search on YT will find video evidence.

The primary reason why the 85 ejects more vertically is because the case ram rides in a slot machined between the lower two lugs in the 6 o'clock position. Sideways ejection is better garanteed by the ram being placed at an 8 o'clock position opposite the ejection port.

Why some 85s are worse than other? I have a theory based on observations of my rifle: when the spent case is being extracted, the case mouth hangs lower than the head and trails along the top of the magazine. I.e. the claw does not mate the case head to the bolt face but rather allows it to hang off it. That is because the boltface to claw distance far exceeds the width of the case rim. The net effect is that the case hangs off the bolt like a fag from Bogart's lip. As the bolt is drawn back the ejection ram strikes the case at 6 o'clock and thus causes the case to pivot about the only point of contact the claw is making which is close to 1 o'clock.

The net effect is that as the bolt is pulled backwards, the case first rises in a near vertical arc. A very short time later in the bolt retraction cycle, once the case is passes through the same axis as the bolt, the case rim also engages the lower part of the extraction claw. At this point, the sum of the reaction from the totality of the claw face is to try and throw the case more sideways.

Whether your 85 has a penchant for ejection that looks more like a moon shot than a frisbee chuck probably hinges on how loosely the case is held by the claw. I.e. how much vertical momentum is imparted before the sideways effect commences.


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I think I read about some guys that had fixed it by changing the extractor claw for one that fitted better, something that should have been sorted in the offset. I think maybe SAKO addressed this later as I haven't heard much about it since.

 

[zambezi]

I think I read about some guys that had fixed it by changing the extractor claw for one that fitted better, something that should have been sorted in the offset. I think maybe SAKO addressed this later as I haven't heard much about it since.

I called Sako. [tough to get through to a Finnish tech- they try to fob you off on local sales reps] I was told that my extractor claw might be worn: buy a new one. I did. It made no difference.

If my Sako 85 was not as good a shooter as it is, I would probably have traded it for something else. But it is an excellent performer, with ergonomics that fit me well. Fickle ejection was its only foible.

So my fix was to spin the Zeiss scope anti-clockwise through 90˚. Now the windage turret is in the vertical position and effectively controls elevation. The erstwhile elevation turret is now on the left [non-ejection] side and covers windage duties. Since the change I have not had a single ejection failure.

 

[longrangestalker]

im am sako though and though and have owned loads of rifles in 75 and 85 and in standard form and custom rifles i would say there is not much in it and the 85 looks a little nicer with out the key concept but i would say the 75 is a little smoother and made slightly better but not enough to worry about

 

[Deutsch - Drahthaar]

Got two 85's in wood and synthetic in 243 and 7mm08. Both have Sako low mounts and never once had an ejection problem or accuracy issues.

 

[deerstalker.308]

If this ejection issue is real, can anyone say whether mounting a picatinny rail would help or exacerbate the issue?

 

[Ingy]

Mmm, I have a stainless 85 and a regularish 75, I have experienced absolutely no problems with the 85 ejecting but I do currently have a problem with the 75 sometimes refusing to eject the cartridge. I can draw the bolt back fully and the case remains stuck to the face of the bolt held in place by the extractor claw and refuses to jump off of the bolt face and out of the breech. This is a relatively new problem but does seem to have gotten worse recently. Guess im gonna have to take it to the smith to sort, but hoping its just a tired extractor claw that needs replacing.

 

[Mr B]

Mmm, I have a stainless 85 and a regularish 75, I have experienced absolutely no problems with the 85 ejecting but I do currently have a problem with the 75 sometimes refusing to eject the cartridge. I can draw the bolt back fully and the case remains stuck to the face of the bolt held in place by the extractor claw and refuses to jump off of the bolt face and out of the breech. This is a relatively new problem but does seem to have gotten worse recently. Guess im gonna have to take it to the smith to sort, but hoping its just a tired extractor claw that needs replacing.

Sounds to me like the ejector spring inside the bolt is all gummed up. Probably just needs stripping and cleaning with solvent. The ejector pin stops pushing the rim of the case and the case remains on the bolt face held in by the claw which it's meant to pivot against.

 

[Ingy]

Thank you for your response Mr B, I shall take a closer look now and see if I can fix it myself.

 

[antsa]

I think I read about some guys that had fixed it by changing the extractor claw for one that fitted better, something that should have been sorted in the offset. I think maybe SAKO addressed this later as I haven't heard much about it since.

A bloke in Queensland, Australia posted somewhere, 24hourcampfire maybe, about this. He made a new extractor claw with much tighter tolerances than the original. The new one held the case tight against the bolt face. Problem fixed. He was a machinist and had the knowhow and the tools to do this.

Cheers

 

[ejg]

I can't remember where I saw it, someone built an external deflector for the 85 that seemed to work. Could have been on Canadian gun nutz.
edi

ps. found it on youtube.

 

[longrangestalker]

If this ejection issue is real, can anyone say whether mounting a picatinny rail would help or exacerbate the issue?

mob found rails make it worse