Sako 500 jeffery review

[boldo 42]

Ok folks , this has been a while coming and is still not complete but hopefully will sate you for a while. Sako 85 Brown Bear in 500 jeffery weighing in at 9.5 lbs she is light , but it's quick pointing. Starting from the front , we have a hooded front sight with a BIG WHITE BEAD , i have swung this outside in twilight and can see it quite plainly ( makes the front sight on my Win Safari look miniscule ).
Working down the 22" barrel , we find a barrel band for sling attachment and an island rear sight with 1 standing blade with a wide cut V , i find this very easy to line up.
The action is smoooooth , with a 3 lug bolt , pushfeed with a typical sako extractor ( i have only put 20 rnds through it so far but it has not failed to extract the rebated case. The magazine has a hinged floorplate and holds 3 rounds in a staggered pattern , so far it feeds flawlessly as long as you work the bolt like you mean it , if you try to be gentle the rnd catches on the feed ramp , all my rnds are norma cases with 570grn Woodleigh sn. This will be tried with different projectiles and i will report back. Ejection is no issue with the 6 o'clock blade , except it whacks the case into the LH reciever wall on it's way out , putting a large flat in the mouth of the case , this is only an annoyance for handloaders and only if you really flick them out .
The laminated stock is a dark nutmeg that i find quite attractive , it is also fitted with crossbolts and 3" of bedding from the front of the receiver forward , i have not had it apart so i cannot report on recoil lugs. The stock has been relieved around the tang to aleviate splitting and is topped off with a pad that could do to be a bit thicker on this calibre , it's not like a ruger red but it could have been better. Load data is still ongoing so i'm afraid this will have to do for now. I like it.... a lot , definatly going to have fun with this.
Hope this doesn't put to many to sleep.

 

[Red Leg]

Does this rifle have the fluted barrel like the Arctos?

 

[boldo 42]

Does this rifle have the fluted barrel like the Arctos?

No mate , it's just a straight round barrel , looks like a section of oil pipeline.

 

[Red Leg]

No mate , it's just a straight round barrel , looks like a section of oil pipeline.

LOL. Probably echo if you yelled down it.

 

[Pheroze]

I have wondered whether the Sako is too light for the larger calibers, but your enthusiasm would make me believe it is not! Thanks for the review.

 

[boldo 42]

I have wondered whether the Sako is too light for the larger calibers, but your enthusiasm would make me believe it is not! Thanks for the review.

The jeffery is capable of being loaded up to 8000 ftlbs , in this weight rifle i would say it would be less than enjoyable. Because i handload i am looking to run the 600grn woodleigh just fast enough to make about 6200 ftlbs . I am fairly certain this amount of power will be all that is required. As well as being user friendly in the Sako.

 

[boldo 42]

I have wondered whether the Sako is too light for the larger calibers, but your enthusiasm would make me believe it is not! Thanks for the review.

The jeffery is capable of being loaded up to 8000 ftlbs , in this weight rifle i would say it would be less than enjoyable. Because i handload i am looking to run the 600grn woodleigh just fast enough to make about 6200 ftlbs . I am fairly certain this amount of power will be all that is required. As well as being user friendly in the Sako.

 

[matt85]

The jeffery is capable of being loaded up to 8000 ftlbs , in this weight rifle i would say it would be less than enjoyable. Because i handload i am looking to run the 600grn woodleigh just fast enough to make about 6200 ftlbs . I am fairly certain this amount of power will be all that is required. As well as being user friendly in the Sako.

you don't even need to run energy levels that high. a 600gr bullet at around 2050fps is plenty to take down anything and it would only be running about 5600ft/lb. remember that a 600gr .510" bullet will have a very high SD and will penetrate very deep even at lower velocities. the 500 NE is running a 570gr .510" bullet at 2100fps and it has a excellent track record with DG.

ive used a 570gr Swift A-frame at 2300fps on cape buffalo from my 505 Gibbs and I honestly don't think the increased velocity actually made much of a difference. the same bullet would likely have yielded similar results if it had been moving at 2100fps. the animal ran about 70 yards or so and then laid down. the shot had broken the shoulder and punched a massive hole threw the lungs. the bullet was found on the off side of the animal.

-matt

 

[boldo 42]

you don't even need to run energy levels that high. a 600gr bullet at around 2050fps is plenty to take down anything and it would only be running about 5600ft/lb. remember that a 600gr .510" bullet will have a very high SD and will penetrate very deep even at lower velocities. the 500 NE is running a 570gr .510" bullet at 2100fps and it has a excellent track record with DG.

ive used a 570gr Swift A-frame at 2300fps on cape buffalo from my 505 Gibbs and I honestly don't think the increased velocity actually made much of a difference. the same bullet would likely have yielded similar results if it had been moving at 2100fps. the animal ran about 70 yards or so and then laid down. the shot had broken the shoulder and punched a massive hole threw the lungs. the bullet was found on the off side of the animal.

-matt

Thanks for the input Matt , having never hunted anything as solid as a buffalo, i was planning to err on the side of caution. But if i can run the 600grn a bit lighter on charge and still reliably get the job done that works for me. All real life input appreciated.

 

[matt85]

happy to help.

im currently experimenting with a new load for my 505 Gibbs that pushes a 600gr bullet at 2030fps. if this load proves accurate and consistent then it will become my new standard hunting load for the rifle.

-matt

 

[colorado]

I thought below 2150 fps you had to turn in your man card lol

 

[spike.t]

Starting from the front , we have a hooded front sight with a BIG WHITE BEAD , i have swung this outside in twilight and can see it quite plainly ( makes the front sight on my Win Safari look miniscule ).

thats the one thing i dont like about my blackbear , to me the bead is way too big and covers too much of the target. my m12 was the same, but a certain nice gent from a london gunmakers had one of his machinists take a spare one down to a smaller size for me, and its perfect now. didnt dare ask if he could do it for the blackbear, as i think to get it perfectly finished it took the machinist so many hours that my friend wished he hadnt volunteered to do it for me.......and no charge either so thankyou marc

 

[matt85]

I thought below 2150 fps you had to turn in your man card lol

its alright, ive earned a permanent man card by firing a 750gr bullet at 2500fps from a 585 HE (will never do that again though).

-matt

 

[colorado]

I've lost mine permanently. I let my wife put in the new kitchen faucet and handed her tools lol.

 

[boldo 42]

I've lost mine permanently. I let my wife put in the new kitchen faucet and handed her tools lol.

Don't feel bad , my wife isn't a bad plumber either.

 

[matt85]

I've lost mine permanently. I let my wife put in the new kitchen faucet and handed her tools lol.

I can load you up a hot load in my 585... or you can join us in Alaska for a double shoot and see if Cal will set you up with the 600 NE or 4 bore.

-matt

 

[colorado]

Happy to shoot the 600 NE, but not seeing myself in Alaska again any time soon. I'll pass on the 4 bore.

 

[matt85]

I'll pass on the 4 bore.

-matt

 

[colorado]

Like I said, lost my man card permanently

 

[matt85]

Like I said, lost my man card permanently

next time im in Alaska ill ask Cal if I can shoot the 4 bore a few extra times in honor of your fallen man card. may your man card rest in peace.

-matt