Sako 90

[Beck]

Interesting video. The Sako employee does say they'll be introducing XL magnum sized actions in the future about six minutes into the video. Not sure about the 90's, has anyone tried one?

 

[Andrew Short]

I purchased another 85 two weeks ago after a dealer and member here verbalized that the 90 was having issues. He does not stock them due to the issues. He stated that he would order one for me if I so desired.

I love the 90 peak but not I’m not going to pay $4000 for a rifle with issues.

 

[mark-hunter]

Did he mention what kind of issues model 90 has?

I have 85, and is pretty good.
It is hard to change something which is already good, to something better.
I am of belief, dont fix it, if it aint broken. So you can easily make it worse.

 

[Andrew Short]

I agree with you. Don’t go looking to fix things that aren’t broken.

He did state the issues but I don’t want to misspeak on those. Hopefully he can chime in here.

 

[greyfox]

My son has one in 243, it's in my safe as they are moving, so his guns are stored here. He had a Leupold VX-5 that he wanted mounted, so I did and I shot it 2 weeks ago.

I LOVE the 243 for deer here. I have an older SAKO 243 so comparing them is easy.

I had zero issues with feeding, extract, eject, etc. It's a really nice gun, too nice for me to drag through the woods! Ultimately my guns are for hunting.

I bought factory Remington core locked 100 gr do this rifle. Since I hand load and he doesn't and he's not living here, I wanted to make it easier for him to be able to go to a sporting goods store and buy ammo if he needed it.

Took me a grand total of 5 shots to zero the rifle, after bore sighting, I shot it at 50 yds, made one adjustment and ran her out to 100, 3 shots touching 2 1/2 high at 100. took a picture and sent it to him, cleaned the rifle and back in the safe.

Overall, I'm very impressed (I own 6 older SAKOs). It is lighter than the older AII and L579. I like the wood a lot better on the 90 (Just my preference) Beautiful gun, handles nicely,

BUT the scope mounting system: The front and rear dovetails are the same, not like the older models. I went through 4 mounts before I got the right one. Why SAKO would change a proven design, I have no idea. I am not a fan of the Optilocks. I'll leave it at that.

Only drawbacks to me are : Way too fancy for me, and the price: Last I looked they were asking around $2500 plus he has a VX-5 on his so another 1000 - 1500.
And the Optilock system.

 

[Andrew Short]

@JD Noblin

 

[Corylax18]

The Sako employee does say they'll be introducing XL magnum sized actions in the future about six minutes into the video

This video is over 2 1/2 years old (jan 2024) so the future is now. The Sako website does show one model available in .375 H&H, but nothing bigger yet.

In the below video from the Same Group (TFB TV) they shot a sub $1000 Tika T3, next to a $4000 + Sako 90 quest and the cheaper rifle shot better groups.

Before they even shoot, the Tika/Sako employee says he would take the Tika over the Sako, then he says the barrels are the same size and made on the same line, just from different steel. A 4 or 5x premium to shift from black steel to stainless seems extreme to me.

 

[curt672]

I bought a Sako 90 Bavarian in 375 H&H , it has the set trigger and I used Tikka mounts from Waren on it and added a Sig Sauer 3x18 BDX scope . I just got back from the range and after some tweaking I was ringing steel at 450 yds -- couldn't be happier as I want to set it up for one gun Safari next year. I had problems finding the scope mounts also -- Why does Sako keep it a secret that they use the Tikka footprint???? the magazine is great and easy to load in the gun or out and holds 4 plus one in the chamber , what's not to like?? BTW if you want an extra Magazine -- it takes the Model 85 mag listed in there web site.