handwerk

Just got my sako hunter in .270, have a couple questions. First off I have a old remy adl which I like and two tikka t-3's (ss/syn 7mm mag, hunter in .270) Which I love, I got the sako cause I wanted a top of the line production rifle. The gun has nice wood, and sighted in rather easy. Upon closer inspection a couple issues showed up. The barrel though being free floated has a bigger gap (2to1) in the stock channel on one side vs. the other; also the stock area in the magazine well had no finish put on it. And lastly although not huge deal on the right side of the reciever they sanded against the grain so there appers some scratches in the stock. I called beretta and a tech gutytold me how to fix the barrel/stock issue and told me that the magazine well should have been oiled, just put a little tung oil on it. So for a $1000 gun am I being too picky. I like the sako action/saftey but am I gaining a lot by buying a sako over a tikka ( which both had no issues) Don't get me wrong, the sako is a beautiful gun, I just expected it to be perfect. Any comments?

Roskoe

I hope this isn't representative of the current quality control program at Sako. They used to be very good . . . .

Virginia7

No, your expectations are not too high. The Sako Hunter is a beautiful rifle, but it seems like all the manufacturers are putting out some less than the best these days.
However, and no offense intended, but the defects you noted are ones you should have
caught before buying the rifle (unless you had the dealer order it just for you).
These days, and always really, you just have to check 'em out closely before laying out the cash or plastic. And, that goes for any rifle/handgun/shotgun from any manufacturer. I know, sometimes hard to do when the fever hits to get what apepars to be a great looking rifle. Then we get 'em home, take the time for a closer inspection, and ...... uh, oh. Kind of like some girlfriends - looks great at first, but as time goes on ..... []
I've got an older Sako, one of the full stock models (Mannlicher carbine) in 308Win.
Beautiful wood, and fit/finish is excellent. Most of the newer Sakos I've seen, also seems to be well done. Sounds like you just got a bit unlucky. Overall though, I think Sakos are great rifles, and generally worth the extra $$$.

zac76156

I would be upset as well. I've been looking pretty hard at the Sako stainless synthetic, but for the money I will expect more quality than you appear to have recieved.

Superpig

For the price a Sako brings the tech should have had you send in the rifle with Sako paying the freight both ways and correcting the flaws. You were right to give them a call and complain. When you spend $1K on a rifle it should be flawless. Why else would you spend this type of money with all of the other quality rifles of less cost on the market.

handwerk

Thanks for your input thus far, sako did offer to have me send it in but admitted it might be awhile before it gets back to me. I can deal with the issues, and it is a great gun, just a little disappointed. I bought it through a local ffl via the interent, most people may have not noticed the scratches and finish but being a woodworker by trade it's something I looked at right-away. Having said that the walnut the stock is made from is a beauty and I am happy with that. I will touch the gun up and keep shooting it. After all it is a tool to me, a good looking one.

48thguns

And therein lies the problem. I have a rather large collection of Sako's which I consider to be among the finest production rifles in the world. Unfortuntely, Beretta owns them now and all bets are off. the old L61R, L579, without doubt are the finest production rifles ever made....it's too bad they don'tmake'um like they used to. personally, I would scream bloody murder to Beretta....make them fix it. Regards, Rick.

driftrider

Beretta doesn't own Sako. BerettaUSA is simply the U.S. distributor for Sako and Tikka rifles. They import finished rifles from Finland, distribute them to dealers, advertise Sako/Tikka products, and handle all warrant service for the U.S. market. I believe that this is an important distinction to point out.

As far as your rifle goes, Handwerk, I would hope that this is an isolated incident, but if I were you I'd send it back to BerettaUSA and have then fix it. It's probably just a QC oversight, but I believe, and I'm sure Sako feels the same way, that when you drop over $1000 on a rifle, it ought to be finished right. Of course, it's totally up to you.

Mike

Solitary Man

driftrider, actually Beretta Holding did in fact purchase Sako Ltd from Metso Corp. in 2000. So, Sako is indeed a member of the Beretta family of companies and Beretta USA handles the distribution in the U.S.

In response to the original poster, I'd be dissappointed too, but you run that risk buying sight-unseen over the internet. And keep in mind, it's a factory production rifle, not a custom job. I've got a couple of 75's and they're not perfect either, but overall I consider them to be better than any other rifle I own. I'll bet your's will be just fine in the catagories that really count, accuracy and reliability.

Speaking of buying over the internet, I bought a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 that way last year and I too was dissappointed in it for a while. The fit and finish were less than what I expected. I still own it and am quite happy with it, though. It's very accurate considering it hasn't had any kind of accurization done to it at all.

Good luck with the rifle. Hopefully it'll perform like you want it to.

driftrider

I stand corrected.

But since that is the case, then I'd be lighting a fire under somebody's butt over at BerettaUSA about getting my $1200 rifle fixed ASAP.

Mike