A Sako to consider

[Malxwal]

The thing that makes me laugh about so many forum comments is the wholesale dislike of modern materials

Hands on, side by side with a T3x Super Varmint stock, they're worlds apart. The S20 is a fashion gimmick made from terrible plastic, with a horrible mould line down the middle like a cheap Chinese toy, obviously made to emulate a Blaser or Sauer.

 

[User00033]

Well good or bad fashion is always very much in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it.

All I’m interested in is does it shoot straight, repeatedly, and can it take the punishment of a hard life in the field? Cosmetics don’t really come into it. The guy that is taking a shed load of game with an S20 isn’t going to be in the slightest bit concerned what someone with a fancy this or that is doing, when they’re so concerned about scratching it, they hardly use it!

It’s no different to all the anti-Hogue comments. I use one. I shoot a lot of deer with it. And the problem is what exactly?

I do have a limit on plastic-ness, and it is the Ruger American. And that’s only because the magazine kept breaking. But it was bloody accurate.

 

[CerebralDistortion]

The thing that makes me laugh about so many forum comments is the wholesale dislike of modern materials.

I don't dislike modern materials, I dislike the way it's been used in the s20.

The stock looks, feels and is cheap.

Considering Sakos ability to make the Carbon Wolf, they could have done so much better.

 

[Malxwal]

Horses for courses. Each of us would handle the rifle, then decide if the price tag was acceptable. Nobody is going to know if it shoots straight or handles a hard life until they buy it.

 

[User00033]

OK.

I will admit to being a little disappointed. But at the end of the day the plastic really isn’t the important part of the rifle. The important part is the barrelled action and the chassis.

When the rifle was reviewed in New Zealand it was well before the public release and the testing done by Beretta New Zealand was a significant part of the global field testing. I’m not allowed to say what they achieved in the tests but some of that is available online and I hope that the final reviews will be released soon if they haven’t already. In fact a quick check on the New Zealand forum confirms that the reviews will be in the forthcoming issue of NZ Hunter. Will be interesting to see if they are in Beretta’s back pocket...

If I had a place for one in my current lineup, and I could be bothered to pay almost twice as much for a rifle that doesn’t do anything different to what I’ve already got, I would be quite happy to own a S20 and the plastic wouldn’t bother me in the slightest.

 

[alberta boy]

A few S20s have shown up locally lately . A shooter at my gun club was shooting one a few weeks ago . He was at the next bench so we had a good talk . It is very accurate and does what its supposed to do . It isn't the prettiest rifle out there , but that's irrelevant to most people who will buy them . I own some pretty ugly rifles myself , but they do exactly what they're supposed to do . The thing that will stop me from buying one is the asking price , it's just not there , YMMV .

AB

 

[zambezi]

I don’t think the S20 stock and mag is up to standard for the price

I have a Sako 85 stainless with laminate stock and it has a very fine steel magazine, so I hear you...to a point. However the S20 magazine design includes more headroom for reloaders to try a variety of projectile weights. That is a big plus. Particularly in some chamberings like 6.5PRC.

Two additional features on the S20 I really like are the optics rail machined into the receiver, and the highly adjustible trigger. [two-stage or single, variable weights]

Whether the stock feels too "plasticy" I have yet to determine as I have not seen one in the local RFD yet.

 

[scotch_egg]

Two additional features on the S20 I really like are the optics rail machined into the receiver,

I have to comment on the machined in picatinny rail.

It’s a great idea in principle. Unfortunately on a long action such as this it really limits the position for eye relief.

Sako appear to have realised this and the new mount bridges the ejection port and has multiple positions fit the rings.

It’s just a much larger dovetail when you need to add more mounts.

 

[springbok787]

I have an S20 in .243. Is it perfect? Obviously not as nothing ever is. Does it shoot? Yes better than I have ever managed with anything else using factory ammo. Does it shoot deer well? Subjective question but yes 12 so far from memory with little issue. Everything else is personal opinion and preference I guess.

I don’t own a wood stock rifle but I lust for one. I can’t have one though because I am hard on my kit as well as using it as estate rifle
for a number of guys on here that I try to give their first stalking experience. I think I would cry if someone attacked my baby with a bit of barb wire or dropped it.

I wanted an all weather tool that I could take out all winter in all weather 2-3 times a week with minimal effort and worry. For me the S20 ticks that box.

For context I also have a Ruger American 16.5” .223, Blaser R8 Pro Suc in .308 and .233, a Tikka T3X CTR in .308 and a Bergera B13 take down in .308. I shoot grounds with muntjac to lowland reds and for the last 3 months the S20 has been my first choice at silly o’clock in the morning. Not sure why other than it worked for me last time I picked it up.

When I first got the S20 I did a review on here which you can find here:-

Sako S20 .243 Initial Thoughts / Review

I have had some time recently so I have been writing up a few recent stalks and I thought I would also bore people with a rifle review…. Having had an empty slot for .243 for a while now on impulse I decided to fill it with a new Sako S20 in Hunter setup. I had also looked at the Sako 85...

www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk

I have no link with Sako by the way, which might be obvious by my eclectic rifle collection.

 

[sir-lamp-alot]

Its a sako its going to work, its going to last, its even going to be reasonable accurate, what you do need to ask your self is are you a sci-fi fan do you want a rifle that looks like it just came from star wars

 

[alberta boy]

I have an S20 in .243. Is it perfect? Obviously not as nothing ever is. Does it shoot? Yes better than I have ever managed with anything else using factory ammo. Does it shoot deer well? Subjective question but yes 12 so far from memory with little issue. Everything else is personal opinion and preference I guess.

I don’t own a wood stock rifle but I lust for one. I can’t have one though because I am hard on my kit as well as using it as estate rifle
for a number of guys on here that I try to give their first stalking experience. I think I would cry if someone attacked my baby with a bit of barb wire or dropped it.

I wanted an all weather tool that I could take out all winter in all weather 2-3 times a week with minimal effort and worry. For me the S20 ticks that box.

For context I also have a Ruger American 16.5” .223, Blaser R8 Pro Suc in .308 and .233, a Tikka T3X CTR in .308 and a Bergera B13 take down in .308. I shoot grounds with muntjac to lowland reds and for the last 3 months the S20 has been my first choice at silly o’clock in the morning. Not sure why other than it worked for me last time I picked it up.

When I first got the S20 I did a review on here which you can find here:-

Sako S20 .243 Initial Thoughts / Review

I have had some time recently so I have been writing up a few recent stalks and I thought I would also bore people with a rifle review…. Having had an empty slot for .243 for a while now on impulse I decided to fill it with a new Sako S20 in Hunter setup. I had also looked at the Sako 85...

www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk

I have no link with Sako by the way, which might be obvious by my eclectic rifle collection.

That was a good , honest write up , an informative read .

AB

 

[User00033]

...what you do need to ask your self is are you a sci-fi fan do you want a rifle that looks like it just came from star wars

Another way of looking at that same question is are you an antiquarian fossil whose eyes point backwards and for whom time stopped in 1956 when Elvis went to number-one?

(Sorry to bring back such bad memories for you.)