Does anyone have any experiences (good or bad) pertaining to this action?
Is the accuracy, strength, reliability, etc, going to be any better or worse then say a Rem 700, A-Bolt, Mark V, or pre-64 M70?
Thank you for your comments!

I have a stainless 75 in 7STW. It is nice, and pretty well made. The gun dies not feed the cartrdiges very smoothly from a full mag, other then that I like it

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www.rifleshooter.com

I have a Sako 75 action, the A1 model (is that the correct designation, as Sako is now calling it?). In any event, it is the small action with the .223 bolt face. It is chambered in .20 Var Targ (.221 Fireball necked down to .20).

Initially I was indifferent to the Sako 75, basically because I am so fond of the earlier Sakos. I never liked the series which existed for a short period after the old Sakos and before the 75 (the 491, 591, 691, etc.) and was hoping, when the 75 was announced that it would be more of a reintroduction of the earlier Sakos (Vixen, "A Series, etc.), with some of their old world ambiance and classy appearance.

That said, I have come to really, really like the 75. It is just modern enough, in appearance and function (three lug design and 70 degree bolt lift) to constitute a modernization or an improvement (in my opinion), but it has a much classier look than the 491-591-691 series. It has a little curvature and scalloping to it that the 491-591-691 did not have. The three lug design gives shorter bolt lift (70 degrees?) and is very, smooth. I no longer skin the underside of my little finger on my Nikon scope scope power ring when I quickly cycle the action, (as I sometimes did with the 90 degree bolt throw of the earlier Sakos.) It is difficult to describe how the 75 bolt slides, in the raceway (it is quite ingenious), but the bottom line is, it is very smooth. I have never had it bind and the earlier Sakos would bind some. I like the detachable mag. It is a quality magazine.

I do not like the recoil lug. It is an improvement on the detachable lug of the 491-591-691 series, but not by much. It is held in place by a screw and just seems a little over-engineered for a recoil lug. What I am getting at is that you would think there would be a simpler way to attach it is what I am trying to say.

Most of the Sako parts appear to be machined from bar stock or forged. Only a few minor parts are castings (trigger guard, magazine release, etc., if I recally from phosphating mine.)

You asked how the Sako compares to a Rem 700. IMHO, the Rem 700, in its mass produced, out of the box form, is nothing to take much pride in. It is kind of a Wal-Mart action. I have heard it said that the Rem 700 action costs Remington all of about $80.00 to produce. I would bet that if the Sako 75 were being produced in this country, it would cost much more because it is much a much more intricate design. I am not saying the Rem 700 it is not a great action. It seems to be me that its virtue lies in the fact that it is so easily improved upon by remachining/blueprinting for accuracy purposes. It sure has been a success for Remington. But no one gushes sentimental when they talk about the 700---at least not the way they do when talking about a pre-64 model 70, or the old Sakos.

IMHO, Out-of-the box, the Sako 75 has an appearance of quality and class that the Wal-Mart, mass-marketed Remington does not have. The function of my 75 has been very good. One drawback is that they are difficult to blue-print. There is at least one 'smith doing it, but you are cutting three bolt locking lugs of very petite dimensions and three corresponding shoulders inside a pretty small receiver ring. Just how much they can benefit from blue printing, I cannot say. I suspect the steel used by the 75 is very good stuff.

My .02 worth

Jordan

I have 2 Sako 75s, one in .222 rem, one 6.5x55. I think Jordan just about said it all. I will just add a couple of points.

The only part of the 75 that would really fall into the Wal-mart category is the safety catch. It's a nasty piece of stamped-out steel. On the plus side, it does have a feature which allows the gun to be unloaded while the safety is on.

Patrick

IM4RMEF : The new SAKO 75s are excellent rifles, and well worth the premium that you would pay over a Remington. I am fussy, but IMHO the following design features keep the 75 from being perfect :

1. The SAKO tapered dovetail scope base mounts. Gun writers love this feature, but the taper acts as a wedge and under high recoil loading may actually destroy ring mounts. The alleged advantage of this feature is that it dispenses with the need for separate bases, but SAKO only supplies base-type Optilock mounts to North America, probably because of the problems with the ringmounts on guns with high recoil.
2. The screw on recoil lug is displeasing. Why this could not have been machined integral to the Action I do not know. Probably for cost savings. Not for function.
3. I prefer Fixed magazines to Detachable Magazines in principle, (less to go wrong, get lost, cleaner lines) but if you like DMs the SAKO DM is a very good one.

My Whats Imperfect with Remington Actions list is very long.

Patrick_D : What kind of goups are you getting with your .222?

rollinghills

Rollinghills,

As they say, it depends on the nut behind the bolt. On a good day, half-inch. (That's the outside of the group, so it's basically your ragged hole). That's plenty accurate for fox, which is what I use it for most.

By the way, I believe you can buy a conversion for the magazine, if you don't like detachable. I hate to think what it might cost.

Patrick

Patrick_D : Excellent groups! A small AI SAKO 75 Hunter is at the top of my must have list. I have not yet decided between .222 and .223. rollinghills