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| The barrel length doesn't seem particularly practical. It would be a handy rifle in brush and a fine “truck gun” but if I were limited to one 30-06, I don't think it would be one with a 20” barre. |
| | | Posts: 882 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 17 March 2003 | 
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| I picked up a model 85 Brown Bear a couple of years ago and have been very ( actually more than very ) impressed with it! The build quality, fit and finish, bedding, trigger, feeding,and accuracy have far exceeded any factory rifle I've previously owned as well as most customs I've had through the years.
Granted, this is a sample size of one, but I certainly will not hesitate to pick up another Sako should the opportunity arise |
| | | Posts: 375 | Location: Georgia, USA | Registered: 31 August 2007 |
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| quote: Originally posted by DGR Shooter:
I picked up a model 85 Brown Bear a couple of years ago and have been very ( actually more than very ) impressed with it! The build quality, fit and finish, bedding, trigger, feeding,and accuracy have far exceeded any factory rifle I've previously owned as well as most customs I've had through the years.
Granted, this is a sample size of one, but I certainly will not hesitate to pick up another Sako should the opportunity arise
A buddy of mine has a Brown Bear (375) and He killed a massive Kodiak Brown with it. What hooked me was the feel of the rifle and the way the express sights are set up. I doubt I will ever be able to justify a 375, but I can almost justify another 30-06. Bottom line: It's a really cool rifle that would be fun to hunt with. |
| | | Posts: 882 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 17 March 2003 |
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| Doublegun,
I agree with your assessment wholeheartedly.I had an opportunity to handle a couple of different M85's in gun stores prior to buying mine and it was the handleling characteristics and feel that drew me to the rifle. A Black Bear in 30-06 would make an excellent hunting companion. I trust and hope that you'll be as happy with yours as I have been with mine! |
| | | Posts: 375 | Location: Georgia, USA | Registered: 31 August 2007 |
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| Thanks, DGR. Now if I can just find one. |
| | | Posts: 882 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 17 March 2003 |
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| I too have been very happy with my Sako 85—mine a deluxe in .270 win.—and I agree with those who have lauded the 85’s action design, fit & finish, trigger (mine has the set-trigger option), and accuracy. I’ve owned a number of the earlier Sako L- and A-series rifles and find the 85 superior in many ways to the earlier models. There is, however, one issue you should be aware of in your search for an 85 Black Bear, and that is ejection. The 85 has the fixed ejector set up too low in the receiver (at 6:00 o'clock), and this can lead to ejected cases being tossed up too vertically so that they hit the scope turret and bounce back into the ejection port. (Sako fixed this problem with their newer Model 90.) So, if you get to handle a Sako 85 and are considering purchasing it, be sure to test it for ejection. Load some empty cases into the chamber and then eject them. Make sure that they are tossed sufficiently to the side to clear the scope turret. (Of course, this will necessitate your doing this test with the rifle having a scope mounted.) I don’t know just what proportion of 85s have exhibited this tendency (fortunately mine does not), and it is likely that this proportion of 85s is pretty low, but do be mindful of this potential problem. You can find discussion of this problem via Google in many online sites and forums. It seems that it is more prevalent with the long-action 85s, and for this reason, a .308 Win. (with the shorter action) might be a better choice than a 30-06.
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The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.
- Bertrand Russell
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| | | Posts: 174 | Location: Vancouver, BC Canada | Registered: 17 April 2015 |
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| quote: Originally posted by South Pender:
I too have been very happy with my Sako 85—mine a deluxe in .270 win.—and I agree with those who have lauded the 85’s action design, fit & finish, trigger (mine has the set-trigger option), and accuracy. I’ve owned a number of the earlier Sako L- and A-series rifles and find the 85 superior in many ways to the earlier models.
There is, however, one issue you should be aware of in your search for an 85 Black Bear, and that is ejection. The 85 has the fixed ejector set up too low in the receiver (at 6:00 o'clock), and this can lead to ejected cases being tossed up too vertically so that they hit the scope turret and bounce back into the ejection port. (Sako fixed this problem with their newer Model 90.) So, if you get to handle a Sako 85 and are considering purchasing it, be sure to test it for ejection. Load some empty cases into the chamber and then eject them. Make sure that they are tossed sufficiently to the side to clear the scope turret. (Of course, this will necessitate your doing this test with the rifle having a scope mounted.) I don’t know just what proportion of 85s have exhibited this tendency (fortunately mine does not), and it is likely that this proportion of 85s is pretty low, but do be mindful of this potential problem.
You can find discussion of this problem via Google in many online sites and forums. It seems that it is more prevalent with the long-action 85s, and for this reason, a .308 Win. (with the shorter action) might be a better choice than a 30-06.
Can you still get German scopes with the windage knob on the left side? B. Nickel made a lot that way, apparently to keep loading ports clear, esp. on the old Mannlicher-Schoenauer. Others had no windage adjustments at all, and these were the toughest of all the later reticle-movement scopes because the reticle cell slid in a fixed dovetail and was tethered by a stout spring at 6 o'clock. |
| | | Posts: 5228 | Location: Melbourne, Australia | Registered: 31 March 2009 |
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| quote: Can you still get German scopes with the windage knob on the left side?
I don't know of any scopes currently available with LH turrets, but (nearly) any scope can be turned 90 degrees to use the windage adjustment for elevation and vise-versa. The difficulty with ejection on the Sako 85 has occurred often enough to become a meme, typically with an appropriately low-mounted scope which has taller than average turrets. However, the "exploding" Sakos were limited to the stainless Finnlites in Model 75, and were too few to ascertain if there was some defect in those rifles or if happenstance merely occurred in enough of them to cause concern. |
| | | Posts: 13306 | Location: Henly, TX, USA | Registered: 04 April 2001 |
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