Sako vs Tikka

This would swing the balance for me. It becomes a pita to drop the single stack mag out to place the unfired round back in the mag in a t3 were as the sako and remington for that matter it can be just pushed back in from the top
Oh how I miss my rem .308
 
Here is the main difference between the Tikka and the Sako and it is nothing to do with performance, The Sako is more aesthetically designed, the stock is of a better quality and the balance and bedding is more refined.

Trigger and actions as well as the metal used are both very good high quality metals on the Tikka and the Sako.

Magazines on the Tikka tend to be a lot cheaper but lightweight although work faultlessly, where the Sako tends to be die-cast good quality metal .

As for accuracy and over all wear they both are work horses , I have both a T3 in .270 and a T3xCTR in 6.5 creed and both are high performers and shoot a lot and with home loads sub MOA with the right load everytime.

Accuracy of the rifle does not always come down to cost, look at my Browning .243 that actual rifle with Atec Mod new was only £550 from R Macleods in Tain, with a homeloaded 100gr bullet shooting 3065fps and an SD of 2.1 , 1:10 twist barrel shoots bullet on bullet at 100m everytime giving me excellent performance with that round... DO NOT GET ME WRONG IT WONT SHOOT ANYTHING WITH A BOAT TAIL. but for a budget lightweight rifle it is awesome and shoots everything from Hares to Deer.

Back to the Sako and Tikka argument and whether the refinements of the Sako are worth it, well if you have the budget it definitely is even if it is just to get a better feeling less plastic stock as standard, do not get me wrong you can replace the stock on a Tikka to a better quality one but then you could have just spent that extra on a Sako.

I love my Tikka's and eventually when I have shot out my Browning I will replace it with a Tikka. For the money they are by far the best all round workhorse you will ever buy. To me though the refinements of the Sako are NOT worth it as my rifles are bashed about and covered in peat, mud, blood and whatever crappy fluid that this world will throw at it so it is not worth having a soft grip stock that is easily marked and stained or a polished wood one that will scratch and score.

Each to their own.
 
My tikka mag i press the release so it frees and moves out a touch, open bolt drop another in lock bolt and then click the mag again takes a couple of seconds,usually do this when i have time on the shot so i still have three in the mag.
 
This is what I might be looking at in the future but I would have to see one in the flesh and I would need a shorter barrel but not sure if we would be allowed to have it cut(employers restrictions)
Yes, I have only ever seen one HMR and it was the 24" heavy barrel version so not much help.
 
I far prefer Sako, but one thing to be aware of is that some people have had problems with ejecting cases hitting the scope - and even falling back into the receiver - on the model 85s, especially in the longer actions.



It seems to only ever have occurred on a very few rifles, and Sako might have resolved this issue by now, I don't know (?).
 
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Nope, it is a badge, like so many other aspects of stalking.

You'll also get a hardly used secondhand Sako 75 for half the cost of an 85, or an even older model in similar condition because they often change hands when a new model comes out as it is the 'latest'.

Personally, after several custom built rifles including Borden, Sako, Tikka and Remington as well as several factory standard rifles I will now always look for a good secondhand rifle. Because I would rather have the £700 saved in my pocket because in the 'real world' it isn't buying me £700 worth of extra performance or accuracy....
 
I don't think Sako did themselves a favour with the development of the 85, certainly a step backwards from the 75. The bedding of an 85 is one of the worst solutions I have seen and we have turned them down several times for bedding jobs. The Sako tech guys I know over the years have their heads screwed on right, got the T3 to T3x change right and I think they would do well with letting these guys come up with a new Sako base model. Then again they might be stuck on capacity issues anyway with the success of the T3 and T1X.
When it comes to stocks, even if the Sako stock seems nicer than a T3 stock it is not going to shoot better. In the end you pay more for a rubber inlay or bit nicer surface of a similar plastic stock. If you want a real improvement one would need to go to a good composite stock with proper bedding. In a dry climate a good walnut stock with proper pillar bedding can serve well too. So for me the extra's you get on a Sako 85 over a T3 will not make it shoot better and the same upgrades would be needed to improve things.
edi
 
My tikka mag i press the release so it frees and moves out a touch, open bolt drop another in lock bolt and then click the mag again takes a couple of seconds,usually do this when i have time on the shot so i still have three in the mag.
you can buy a five round mag for around £30 I have both , and on my CTR I have a 10 round mag
 
I don't think Sako did themselves a favour with the development of the 85, certainly a step backwards from the 75. The bedding of an 85 is one of the worst solutions I have seen and we have turned them down several times for bedding jobs. The Sako tech guys I know over the years have their heads screwed on right, got the T3 to T3x change right and I think they would do well with letting these guys come up with a new Sako base model. Then again they might be stuck on capacity issues anyway with the success of the T3 and T1X.
When it comes to stocks, even if the Sako stock seems nicer than a T3 stock it is not going to shoot better. In the end you pay more for a rubber inlay or bit nicer surface of a similar plastic stock. If you want a real improvement one would need to go to a good composite stock with proper bedding. In a dry climate a good walnut stock with proper pillar bedding can serve well too. So for me the extra's you get on a Sako 85 over a T3 will not make it shoot better and the same upgrades would be needed to improve things.
edi

Edi

Can you please start doing your stocks with an inlet for a Sako 75 action IV!!!??? :lol::lol::lol:
 
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I far prefer Sako, but one thing to be aware of is that some people have had problems with ejecting cases hitting the scope - and even falling back into the receiver - on the model 85s, especially in the longer actions.



It seems to only ever have occurred on a very few rifles, and Sako might have resolved this issue by now, I don't know (?).

Also an issue on the "old" T3 with larger cases
 
Nope, it is a badge, like so many other aspects of stalking.

You'll also get a hardly used secondhand Sako 75 for half the cost of an 85, or an even older model in similar condition because they often change hands when a new model comes out as it is the 'latest'.

Personally, after several custom built rifles including Borden, Sako, Tikka and Remington as well as several factory standard rifles I will now always look for a good secondhand rifle. Because I would rather have the £700 saved in my pocket because in the 'real world' it isn't buying me £700 worth of extra performance or accuracy....
Yes but you know the barrel life...
 
I have a Sako 75 and a Tikka 590, both have custom barrels, there's nothing wrong with either, but I much prefer the Sako action. I prefer the lower bolt lift and the double stack mag. That said both the T3 and the 85 are inferior to their predecessors, if I was buying new I'd probably go for the t3 as its a lot cheaper and I don't see the 85 being worth the extra. if it was a 75 vs a T3 I'd take the 75 every time.
 
Great if you only want to reload a single round, but if you are making the rifle safe in the Sako you can extract the round from the chamber then you can push it down in to the magazine. With the Tikka you have to remove the magazine (and not drop it), extract the round (and not drop it), fiddle around and slide the round into the magazine, close the bolt, reattach the magazine. Not sure whether this justifies a sako over a tikka but it's a difference for consideration.

For me the above is a really important point.

After reading this thread a few months ago
A word of caution regarding safety catches...
(especially @dodgyknees's comments), for safety reasons I now only ever chamber a round when a shot presents itself or seems very likely to. If that happens but the shot isn't taken, before continuing I unchamber the round and re-insert it in the mag.

So for those moments it's great to have a rifle like a Sako that allows an easy and safe way to do that without having to remove either the round or the mag. Just as importantly, with a Sako all of this can be done with the safety on.

Both these features (ability to top-load + cycle the bolt with safety on) would be non-negotiable for me in a rifle now.
 
Barrels are consumables like moderators. Although most hunters will struggle to wear out a barrel, competition shooters or keen shooters can easily shoot a few thousand rounds a year.

Yes, thanks for the free cliche and the egg sucking lesson.
 
I have one of each. A T3 Hunter (wood) and an 85s Finnlight, both are great and do everything. Operationally both are great. Bit more of a quality feel (more metal) on the Sako.
 
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