Sako A7 Roughtech Range

[WardogWoodcock]

Just picked up a new Sako A7 Roughtech Range with a 26" fluted barrel in 300 win. mag. Anyone have this model of rifle that could tell me how they shoot, thanks in advance.

Read More

 

[No_Regerts]

I sold mine and bought a Tikka.

 

[WardogWoodcock]

Why did you sell

 

[osprey]

Original Sako, Sako A7 and Tikka all share the same great Finnish barrels and all shoot great, enjoy! One thing on the Tikkas that I'm not sure they have in common with their more expensive brethren is a bolt/safety issue that cost me a really nice elk a few years back. If you pull up on bolt with safety on until it stops and then try to take safety off to fire gun it is really difficult to get safety off. Couple that with really cold weather and a gloved hand and you have a recipe for failure. I had gone through some thicker trees prior to the incident and evidently the bolt had been lifted by tree boughs. I heard an elk coming my way into a small opening I was on the edge of. When he appeared I ran my gloved thumb forward over the safety and raised the rifle and tried to fire but it would not. The Elk disappeared as I took rifle from my shoulder and forcefully disengaged safety too late. I have since checked several Tikkas for this trait and I have been able to recreate it on every one. Just an FYI if you hunt with a Tikka.

 

[No_Regerts]

Why did you sell

Mine was a 7mm Rem Mag, a cartridge I have a lot of experience with. I just could not get it to shoot well. Different powders, bullets, brass, primers, etc. Ended up bedding it and that got the groups to be somewhat uniform in shape, but still around 1 1/2 inches. It was a week before hunting season so I ran down to Sportsmans and picked up a Tikka T3 Superlite, a set of talley lightweights, and mounted a VX3 3.5-10x40 on it. I have the same setup as my coyote gun. The new rifle shot five shots into an inch and a half....at 300 yards. It does kick more due to weight, but it shoots.

 

[Ura-Ki]

I had a Finnlight in .300 win mag that shot a solid 1/2 all day long, but was brutish with the recoil! I sold it off as I really didn' need a .300 and special orderd a Tikka SuperVarmint in .30/06. That rifle halves the group's, and is much more tame in the recoil dept. Weight isn't that much different between those two, with the Tikka about 11 oz more, about what an old sporter Mauser weighs.

 

[djharteloo]

I looked at Sako A7's for a long time and when I finally went to buy one, I found an older Tikka new old stock and bought that instead (the Tikka only cost me $450).

 

[eightyeight mag]

Better aftermarket support for the tikkas

 

[slacktide]

Mine was a 7mm Rem Mag, a cartridge I have a lot of experience with. I just could not get it to shoot well. Different powders, bullets, brass, primers, etc. Ended up bedding it and that got the groups to be somewhat uniform in shape, but still around 1 1/2 inches. It was a week before hunting season so I ran down to Sportsmans and picked up a Tikka T3 Superlite, a set of talley lightweights, and mounted a VX3 3.5-10x40 on it. I have the same setup as my coyote gun. The new rifle shot five shots into an inch and a half....at 300 yards. It does kick more due to weight, but it shoots.

I have a T3x SS/synth that I've started playing with. Any recipes you care to share? Also with Talleys and a Leupold.

 

[No_Regerts]

I have a T3x SS/synth that I've started playing with. Any recipes you care to share? Also with Talleys and a Leupold.

A 7mm Rem Mag?

 

[slacktide]

A 7mm Rem Mag?

Yup.

 

[No_Regerts]

Yup.

Im loading 64gr of H4831sc behind a 150 gr Nosler Accubond Long Range with CCI 250 primer in Hornady Brass. I'm not setting speed records at an avg of 3000 fps, but its been a very consistent load that shoots good groups. Im using up the whole magazine length for COAL. Just work up to it. No pressure signs in my gun.

 

[slacktide]

Im loading 64gr of H4831sc behind a 150 gr Nosler Accubond Long Range with CCI 250 primer in Hornady Brass. I'm not setting speed records at an avg of 3000 fps, but its been a very consistent load that shoots good groups. Im using up the whole magazine length for COAL. Just work up to it. No pressure signs in my gun.

Roger. Thanks! I'll have to pick up some of those. I have a partial box of Scirocco 150 gr that may be worth a try.

 

[No_Regerts]

Roger. Thanks! I'll have to pick up some of those. I have a partial box of Scirocco 150 gr that may be worth a try.

I think they are fairly similar. I never got the original accubomb to shoot that great, but the long range version has been great.

 

[slacktide]

I think they are fairly similar. I never got the original accubomb to shoot that great, but the long range version has been great.

Good to know. I never had a lot of luck with the AccuBond, either, and after my one kill with a Ballistic Tip and a lot of lost meat I pretty much gave up on Nosler altogether. Too many good seasons with Sierras.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Op. Did you ever shoot this rifle? I have basically the same rifle, but chambered in 6.5 cm. Its called the long range hunter. Im extremely happy with how mine shoots, now, after glass bedding. However, before i glass bedded it, id get funky fliers. Now that it is properly glass bedded, it is one of my most consistent shooters. I can throw dang near any ammo in it and reliably shoot sub moa 10 shot groups. Its funny how many threads i see where the op asks a question, but doesnt fill us in on how his rifle actually shoots. Inquirig minds

 

[Devenk89]

I have a Sako 85 Finnlight in 300wm, great rifle

Also have a Tikka, both solid units

 

[bsa1917hunter]

Timberwolf, did you buy this rifle to shoot. Its been almost 2 years. Now you can tell us how your rifle shoots. I have basically the same rifle:

https://imgur.com/JCUR7m7

I didnt like the all too common green color on the stock, so i painted it brown:

https://imgur.com/mIdnP41

Heres how it shoots after glass bedding:

https://imgur.com/oC5CIV9

https://imgur.com/U9LK7DO

 

[FishnhuntOR]

I have a friend who I've gone shooting with couple times now and he has a sako gray wolf (I think that's what he said) in 7 mag.
Always has some sort of bolt issue. Either chambering or ejecting. Maybe it's the operator?
I'm not really that impressed.
I'll take my tikka.

 

[bsa1917hunter]

I have a friend who I've gone shooting with couple times now and he has a sako gray wolf (I think that's what he said) in 7 mag.
Always has some sort of bolt issue. Either chambering or ejecting. Maybe it's the operator?
I'm not really that impressed.
I'll take my tikka.

The shortcomings of the sako system is the ejection. If you do an internet search, youll find many people having issues with their sako 85's and some A7 rifles like mine and the op's. I noticed when i had the SWFA SS on my sako, it had many failures to eject the brass out of the receiver. The root cause was the big turrets on the scope, coupled with the ejection angle. Its just a bad combination. Now, having said that, after switching to my Nightforce SHV 5-20×56, ive had absolutely no problems with the rifle. Tikkas ejection is much better in my experience.