Thread: Sako 85 in 6.5x55 - should I?

Originally Posted by nak

See thats it, for every example of someone having a good 85 it's too easy to find another that's had ejection, feeding or accuracy issues. So, I've decided to pass up that finnlight as it would have meant buying it unseen and instead get my old L579 re-barreled in 6.5x47L

I've had more than few sakos mate.
Never had ANY of the issues you mention.


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Originally Posted by BRADS

I've had more than few sakos mate.
Never had ANY of the issues you mention.


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yeah I know there are those that have had no problems at all, I've got a couple of mates who are very happy with there's, but there are plenty of internet forums littered with those who have had issues with 85's. Maybe I read too many forums.....

Originally Posted by nak

See thats it, for every example of someone having a good 85 it's too easy to find another that's had ejection, feeding or accuracy issues. So, I've decided to pass up that finnlight as it would have meant buying it unseen and instead get my old L579 re-barreled in 6.5x47L

Any reason to go for 6.5x47L.
I know it's noted for great accuracy, but 260, 6.5x55 and 6.5 Creedmoor all are more common so easier to get brass or factory ammo.
All three offer better ballistics due to being able to push a 140gr bullet faster.

6.5x55 offers the most case capacity and there is lots of factory ammo available, and some good quality ammo at really good prices.

Originally Posted by Beetroot

Any reason to go for 6.5x47L.
I know it's noted for great accuracy, but 260, 6.5x55 and 6.5 Creedmoor all are more common so easier to get brass or factory ammo.
All three offer better ballistics due to being able to push a 140gr bullet faster.

6.5x55 offers the most case capacity and there is lots of factory ammo available, and some good quality ammo at really good prices.

Not sure, I've always been intrigued by the round, thought I'd give it a try. I like short actions as well, and from what I've read the .260 would struggle to use it's full case capacity with longer bullets in a short action. Ballistics between .260 and 6.4x47L look pretty similar to me.

I reload so factory ammo is not much of a concern and with Lapua brass reloads should last for a quite a few firings.

I posted this elsewhere but thought it might be helpful

I know this is now an old thread, however, I can share how I resolved the Sako ejection issue that seems to plauge a number of 75 and 85 model Sako rifles and hope others may find this useful.

I believe this is a fundamental design issue, however, not all Sako rifles have this problem. For those that do, the ejection issue is not restricted to the Sako 85's but also affects some of the 75's.

In my experience, long actions (30-06, 270, etc) seem more commonly affected whereas short actions (.308, .243) appear to be unaffected.

My Sako 75 .30-06 used to eject the case vertically upwards into the base of the scope and occasionally it would come to rest in the magazine on top of the next round which was really frustrating. I searched the internet for a solution without success. So I decided to do something about it myself.

I tried .30-06 cases in my Sako 75 .308 rifle and still had the same ejection issues.
I tried 9.3x62 cases in my Sako 75 .30-06 rifle and only occasionally had ejection issues.
I tried .308 cases in my Sako 75 .30-06 rifle and had no ejection issues, so I knew it must be something to do with the cartridge and not the rifle.

The rim thickness of a .308 case is 1.37mm
The rim thickness of a 9.3x62 case is 1.30mm
The rim thickness of a .30-06 case is 1.2mm

There seems to be a relationship between the rim thickness and ejection issues i.e. thinner rims lead to ejection issues. If you seat a case in the bolt face you will see there is more slop for cases with a thinner rim. Seems Sako has gone for the 'one extractor size fits all' approach regardless of the cartridge case rim thickness - presumably to save costs.

So..... I needed to reduce the amount of slop that the extractor held the .30-06 case so the extractor would have a tighter grip on the case (at least as tight as it holds a .308 case).

I removed the extractor from the bolt face of my .30-06 and with all the skill of a high-precision swiss watch maker.....I beat it with a hammer! Actually, I used a hammer to very carefully slightly compress the extractor so when fitted back into the bolt, the extractor had a tight grip on the cartridge case.

If you do this make sure to closely monitor the amount you compress the extractor with a good set of calipers as if you overdo it.....you will need to buy a new extractor - not cheap.

My .30-06 now extracts and ejects cases perfectly. Cases eject horizontally rather than vertically and never seem to hit the scope anymore.

Essential tools for this task are: a hammer, a vice or anvil with a sharp right angle edge, a set of calipers, and a bandaid for when you hit your thumb.
Good luck.

PS - the rim thickness of a 6,5x55 is listed in Wikipedia as 1.5mm so should be OK

Birds of a feather.....

Bought my 75 in 308 and kicked myself for not going 6.5x55 as I have a CG and Husky in 6.5x55

End of the day go with the combination that you mentally feel most comfortable with

When you compare your beretta 85 to the beretta t3, and see the same results of cost cutting in their manufacture from the very same factory, you have to ask, why did I pay three times as much? The answer is, to say you did.

That's my Tuesday morning stir done, have a good day ladies and gents

Originally Posted by nak

I'm a after a 6.5 cal at the moment. It's a toss up between 6.5x47L and 6.5x55, I think it'll depend on what rifles come up.

I've found a swede in an 85 Finnlight, the only sako I've ever owned is an old L579 .308, it's a great little rifle.

The new 85's look pretty nice and they do come with a great reputation but I've heard there's been some issues with quality control and in some cartridges in particular the ejected case gets spat right out into the wind age turret on the scope, often ending up landing backwards in the action.

Has anyone owned a 85 in 6.5x55 -positive or negative experiences?

Fantastic cal in a great rifle.

You won't regret it!

Handloading is the way to go with the swede IMO. Norma and Hornady Superformance are worth a shot though.

Talk to @gimp as he has tried them all.

do it sakos are mean I've had one or two

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Originally Posted by buzzman

do it sakos are mean I've had one or two

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You must have trouble counting buzzman

Hello Nak

For what it worth I've had two 6.5 Creedmoors, two (at least) 6.5x55's over 30 years or so and I still run a 6.5x47 although mine is unusual as it built on a 1921 Mauser Kurz action, so I load fairly conservatively for it (125's at 2700). Having shot them all quite a bit on both targets and game, ballisticaly they are all very very close.

I wish my 6.5x47 was a creedmoor, it isn't because when I built it the creedmoor wasn't available. The 6.5x47 has (for me) been a pain to reload for with two different dies giving me donuts (and before anyone brings it up, yes it is die related not the rifle chamber, I know this because I tried brass fired in another rifle). The creedmoor seems to feed better, it has a standard .473 base (whereas the 6.5x47 is a bit bigger), and lapua are now offering brass for creedmoor, and there are some very good factory ammo offerings for the creedmoor. If it wasn't for the fact that my Kurz has the front scope base mounted on the barrel, which makes setting the barrel back a involved exercise I'd set it back and rechamber to creedmoor in a heartbeat.

Either will be very nice in your Sako, you'll have room in the mag box to really play with seating depth (more-so than the 260), and they should both feed, although it always pays to try before you commit - occasionally there is a very expensive oops with feeding.

If going with a short action then - as has been pointed out - the 6.5x47 gives the most flexibility for bullet seating. To provide some figures I load 140gr VLDs out to 71mm (70.6mm is just touching from 0.170" freebore) and Hybrids to 72mm if that helps, and that is already then at the limit of say a M700 short action mag even before any clearance is added. Increase the case length by going up to a CM or 260 and the bullet will likely have to be jumped or the rounds single-loaded. I think you'll find that the case head is std 0.473" / 12.01mm. And all this talk of the 6.5x47 only being good for the lighter bullets is of course utter nonsense.

Originally Posted by Puffin

I think you'll find that the case head is std 0.473" / 12.01mm. And all this talk of the 6.5x47 only being good for the lighter bullets is of course utter nonsense.

Hmmm - I rechecked and you are correct, there was an initial diagram that I think I got from Accurate Shooter that showed it as .480 rim but for my own "update" I downloaded a new cartridge diagram and measured some unfired brass and it is indeed .473. I am now officially in that very large club of persons who have offered incorrect info on the internet!

The case capacity of the 6.5x47 is just slightly less than the Creedmoor but not enough to make much difference, and both the 6.5x47 and Creedmoor brass that I've struck has been very good quality and very tough, in a creedmoor in a modern rifle I've gotten more firings at max loads than with many older brass designs.

The 6.5x47l is designed to run a higher case pressure, this makes up a shortfall in case capacity, often overlooked.