Sako 85 Ejection issues
 

I recently bought a Sako 85 Finnlight rifle that had an issue that I'd like your opinions on.

I was in a gun shop looking for an all weather (synthetic/stainless) bolt action rifle in 30-06, when I stumbled upon the Sako 85 Finnlight. Frankly it was just above my price range, but I looked at it anyway. Once I had my hands on it, I had to have it, so I forked over the extra money for it. I had my Leupold scope VX-III mounted on it and left the store. When I got home I went right outside and tried it out. I took my first shot (was impressed) and then went to jack another round into it. Unfortunately the old round didn't eject from the rifle, so I removed it my self. I figured I went too slow or did something else wrong. So I loaded another and fired another round, only this time I made sure I jacked the rifle properly and again, it did not eject. The rounds seem to go straight up and hit the scope, instead of towards the right and out. It also put a big dent in the end of the shell where it hit the scope. I fired a number of rounds and none ejected properly.

So I went on the web and surfed for "Sake 85 ejection problems". I was amazed that this does not seem an isolated problem. So I took the gun back to the store (along with the dented shells) and got a full refund. They offered to have it repaired, but I didn't think that a rifle that expensive should have this kind of issue. Now I'm wondering If I was a tad too hasty.... Has anyone seen this issue? If so, is it repairable or is it a design flaw?

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

I've read a lot about the newer long action ones built in the last 5 years or so having that ejection problem. It seems to have started after Beretta bought them out and supposedly modified the previous ejector/bolt configuration to a partial controlled round feed and the full rounds or empty cases eject straight up in a certain percentage of them and hit the scope instead of at the desired angle to clear everything. A lot of guys that have bought them have either gone to higher bases/rings and moved their scopes around until they eject, while others have taken them back and had their money refunded because Beretta is aware of the problem and really hasn't offered a fix other than what I just mentioned guys are doing. Beretta should have left things alone, as the old Sakos are a beautiful rifle with great out of the box accuracy. I have a .243 Forester that is a tack driver and a 30-06 Finnbear and I'd never get rid of either of them.

In my case, the shell casing was ejecting almost straight up, so I don't know if raising the scope would fix the issue. Heck, I'd have to almost side mount the scope, like I've seen on some old level action rifles!

After making my original post I did a search on Berretta's web page and found the following:

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Sako-Tikka Ejection Issues
Answer ID 997 | Published 09/05/2014 04:25 PM | Updated 09/05/2014 04:25 PM
I purchased a Sako 85 rifle and mounted a scope on it. I'm having issues with spent brass striking the scope. What can I do to resolve this issue?

Occasionally, we receive customer complaints regarding Sako rifles ejecting spent cases that either strike the scope or strike the scope turret and fall back inside the action of the rifle. This situation is predominately caused by both the scope mounts and type of scope (particularly scopes with extended turrets) installed on the rifle. A secondary consideration is how rigorously the bolt is operated by the user.

Beretta will not consider rifles that exhibit the condition above to be a warranty issue. Provided that the rifle fully extracts and ejects the spent casing, the rifle will be considered functional and serviceable. Sako Arms cannot anticipate every possible scope mounting configuration when designing their rifles. Since the selection and installation of the scope and mounts are determined by the owner, it is the owner's responsibility to ensure that the system will not interfere with the operation of the rifle.

An extremely small number of rifles have been returned for service for this issue and our analysis has indicated that the combination of scope mounts, scope type and scope turret location in relation to the ejection path of the spent casing have been the proximate cause creating this condition. In order to alleviate this condition, we recommend that the owner try various scope mounting options to find the one that works best.

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Frankly I was shocked when I read this, so much for Beretta's customer service! My rifle would expel the spent casing without the scope on, so I guess mine would not have been considered a warranty issue.....I'm glad that I returned the rifle.

Pizz poor is more than what I would describe that lame attempt to pass the known problem caused by their manufacturing process on for the customer to rectify that way. Yep, just mount the scope 6 inches or more above the magazine and you'll find the ejector works fine is about what they are saying or maybe not use a scope. That would be rather difficult when the rifle is manufactured without open sights, LOL! Shame on them!!!

The 85 ejection issues are well documented and on-going. I guess I was lucky as my 7mm-08 Finnlight was ok. It apparently begins with a design issue. Remedies have included extra high rings to allow more clearance (stupid), rotating scopes 90 degrees so that the windage knob is not "in the line on ejection" (another stupid fix) or possibly changing out springs. In any event, when a person shells out good money for an inferior product it tends to upset folks (no kidding). I sold mine eventually as I became addicted to SS rifles and found one I wanted more than the Sako. Twas a pity though... I still have a Sako 75 that has been stellar and without issue. The 85's are the problem ones. I'd say you did the right thing by selling. Beretta doesn't seem to care much. Their CS sucks. Save a little and get a Cooper. LOL. Good luck.

Have and H&R model 300 in 30/06 that is a sako L61 action and barrel. It is a fine smooth action and have had no problems with it ejecting. My father's step grandfather had and older sako in 7mm rem and he never had a problem with it. I would love to find and older sako in 222. Know a couple of people that have them and they are sweet. Haven't looked t a new model 85 but the model 75 seem to have a good action on them.

I liked the older Sako, but would not buy a new one at all. I will stick with my Weatherby rifles. At least they stand behind their products, no matter what the age. Any problem has been repaired for free even on the ones that were purchased 30 years ago. Same can be said for Ruger. All that it takes is a phone call, and the parts are in the mail.

Sako 85
 

Unbelievable! Spend over 1K on a rifle that has a design flaw like that. I wonder how Beretta feels knowing you can buy a multitude of rifles for less than $500 that will eject cases every time regardless of the scope and mounts. I applaud Beretta for ruining a great product line.

Actually a new the Sako 85 Finnlight rifle sells for a tad more that $1000. I don't know what the list price is but, I've seen it selling for as much as $1650 and $1,699.99. So not a cheap gun! This makes Barretta's stance all the more shocking. I googled "Sako 85 Ejector problems and I got 21,100 hits, so mine was not an isolated problem.

Frankly I'm still stunned....The sad part is that I traded in my old rifle to defray some of the cost and now I'm looking for another rifle. Thankfully hunting season is long ways off. I'm considering the X-Bolt Stainless Stalker or Ruger All Weather Hawkeye.....Any suggestions??

Besides looking at those two, take a look at the new Model 70s!

did you have a qualified smith look at it? he may be able to help if that is its only flaw.
can't say for sure but knowing how rifles work, its possible the ejector pin is stuck.

when you work the action after firing, the sako claw extractor grips the groove in the casehead pulling it from the chamber, when it clears the ejection port, the ejector pin located on the opposite side of the bolt, pushes on the case at 90 degrees from where the extractor is holding it, causing the case eject straight out the side.

I see 2 possibilities, ejector pin stuck or a weak spring not causing enough pressure to bring the case out where its sposed to so the magazine spring is pushing the mag stack straight up deflecting the case upwards
or

the claw extractor is milled wrong causing the bottom edge to let loose allowing the combined pressure of the mag. spring and the ejector to push the case upwards.
let a smith look at it
RR

Yes, the store had a certified gun smith look at it and he thought the issue was a weak spring. They offered to order/replace the spring and I almost considered it, in fact I initially did, but a quick web surf told me that this was NOT an isolated issue. So I decided to just return it to the store rather that fool around. The bottom line is this, a brand new $1700 rifle should not need a repair. Don't they check them before they leave the factory? Well after reading Baretta's response its obvious that I would NOT get their support down the road if it happened again. Its just another example of big company absorbing a small successful company and then changing it to their more "efficient" ways.

As for the M-70.....It's a real nice rifle but I hated the safety. I know its supposed to be real safe, but it seemed stiff and noisy. I also looked at the Kimber Montana and it had a similar safety. In fact they looked like clones. SO both got dropped from my wish list.

I like rugers, have the 3 of the older 77 mk II and and older model 77. I also have a winchester model 70. I like the three way safeties on the tigers much better then on the winchesters. Have heard good and bad things about brownings.

Hey Guys I Know what the problem is with these rifles not ejecting properly and it can be fixed so the rifle will accommodate any type of scope in any position. I have proven this on my own 85 hunter in 223 which I have been trying to sort out since I bought it 3 months ago and now it ejects perfectly. My silver scope is riddled with marks which I am not happy with so I'm just in the process of proving the issue with Beretta in the hope of getting a new scope out of them and I will share what I know shortly.

Good luck on that. Beretta has been less than helpful in the past.

Brock, a person should not have to go to self help tinkering or a gunsmith to make a brand new rifle operate the way it is supposed to. That gun would go back to where I purchased it if it were mine, especially since the company knows they have a problem and continues to put those rifles out the door. That doesn't show much consideration for their customers at all. They should all be sent back to the company and Beretta can use them for door props or tomato stakes.

The company already knows what the problem is and it started on the long action rifles shortly after they bought Sako a few years ago, tinkered with the design of the bolt/ejector, and screwed it up to the point where many will only eject the casing straight up into the scope. Telling people like they are to change scopes and/or move their scope to a different position, rather than to admit the problem and go back to the previous well working design is preposterous to say the least! Shame on them, as nobody should have to put up with a poorly designed firearm like that, especially one that costs what the Sako does. I'm surprised a few people with the known problem haven't put their heads together and started a class action lawsuit against the company.

Well stated Sir.

Hi matt from U.K. I recent bought a sako 85 in 223 am well impressed love the gun groups amazing love it !!!! Apart from won't eject properly some times it does proberly only 3 out of ten to 15 shots so I came up with a shaped piece of acrylic that I stuck to the under side of my scope with double sided tape (not permanent) so wen the bullet goes straight up it hits it an travels out the gun in stead of falling back in the chamber if I can up load a picture I will as soon as. ! works every time !

Hi matt from U.K. Bought a sako 85 in 223 about 2 years ago an does not eject all the time so I came up wth a piece of acrylic shaped at the angle so wen the bullet goes straight up hits the acrylic that I stuck to the under side of the scope and goes out the chamber !!! Works every time !!!! I'll try an add a pick don't know how to yet

Adding, or even having to add, a gaudy looking piece of acrylic to a $1700 rifle is just plain stupid in my opinion. That rifle would have been taken right back to the store if it were me. A poorly ejecting rifle is nothing to be impressed about. Just one part of a firearms function not working as it is supposed to is a complete failure.

This thread was resurrected by the newbie after two years and I wonder what ever happened with the OP and his rifle. I have a Sako Forester in .243 and a Finnbear in 30-06 and they are both wonderful rifles that very few people would not give their eye teeth for!

Shame
 

Found this thread after searching for ejection issues on a Finnlight 85 (30-06). Sad to say the problem still exists.

Spent some time mounting a scope (2 pc, tall rings and base - both Opticlocks). Put a cartridge in and cycled it - go slow(ish), the cartridge hits the bottom of the scope and ends back up in the receiver. Going faster, neck of the cartridge hits the right turret and either bounces to the ground or ends up in the receiver. Such a shame, ended up taking the gun back to the store.

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.

How I fixed my Sako 75 ejection issue:
I resolved this problem in about 1 hour and at no cost.


In my experience, long actions (30-06, 270, etc) seem more commonly affected whereas short actions (.308, .243) appear to be less affected. My Sako 75 .308 has give many years of service without ever failing to eject cases perfectly.

In contrast, 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 whereas it works perfectly with .308 cases.
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.

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 - 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). My options were:
1) either build up the under-side lip of the extractor;
2) seat the extractor deeper in the bolt somehow, or,
3) compress the extractor to reduce its overall length.
Options 1 and 2 seemed very difficult, so I chose option 3.

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 placed the extractor vertically with the flat near the round bit on the sharp right-angle edge of an anvil and 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 and repeatedly try the extractor in the bolt. If you overdo it the cartridge will not align straight with the chamber, and.....you will need to buy a new extractor - not cheap. Also make sure the hammer impacts the extractor square on - not on an angle. Hammering may create a very small burr on the top of the claw and you may need to gently file a small amount off the inner top edge of the extractor claw so the case slides easily into the bolt face.

Actually this is a really easy process and can be done by anyone with basic handyman abilities (i.e. anyone who can use a hammer). The extractor does not look any different compared to an unaltered extractor - it's just compressed a by a couple of hundred microns.

My .30-06 now extracts and ejects cases perfectly EVERY time. Cases eject horizontally rather than vertically and NEVER 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.

Caveat: this worked very well for my rifle but may not work for everyone - attempt it at your own risk. Good luck.

I wonder if the variability between rifles comes from the process they use to put the rifles together (I don't know, but food for thought):

If the bolt extractor hole and channel is milled into the bolt head and THEN the barrelled action is correctly head-spaced by milling material out of the bolt face. This would account for the variability in how well the extractor holds the cartridge case, and the variability between rifles.
i.e. good design with incorrect implementation. Some Sako 75 rifles a have this ejection problem, however, the issue is allegedly more prevalent with sako 85 rifles. Beretta acquired Sako in 2000. The Sako model 75 persisted until introduction of the model 85 in 2006, so later model 75's might be affected by the ejection issue.
In my experience the first thing you do after taking over a rival company is look at way to cut costs and improve profitability.

Hence what I believe should be done is adjustment of the extractor to each rifle. This could be achieved by my method (crude but effective - see above), or better still, having a range of extractor sizes and fitting the correct size extractor to each bolt AFTER it is head-spaced, or even better, drill/mill the extractor hole and channel after the barrelled action has been head-spaced.

Any solutions for Sako 85 ejection issues - hoping Brock Ryder came up with something
 

Someone suggested to me about Sako 85 and I purchased it..............but now I'm regretting..............nut its ok.....it happens

best way to make Beretta fix the problem is to stop buying their rifles and tell them why. even better yet is not to buy any of their guns and let them know how disappointed people are with their responses. bet that would get them working on the problem.