rjthehunter
Well-known member
I like the sounds of this so far. Sounds like it's not out of the realm of possibilities that you'll sell it someday.
I don't remember what my LOP is. I think it's around 14 or 14.25. I'll check in the morning lol
Old 7mm mag Sako 85 model
- Thread starter skull
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I don't remember what my LOP is. I think it's around 14 or 14.25. I'll check in the morning lol
Don Fischer
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Only one way to fix up a 7mm mag. Get all the recoil reducing stuff installed and then trade it off for a 6.5x55!
Skull - I’m far from you and in a different country for that matter, but just looked up a place called Shooter’s Den in Sudbury. You know the place? Might be worth calling to see if they can help or refer you to a reputable gunsmith elsewhere. Looks like maybe a good shop.
OntarioHunter
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Wow. That's surprising. I contacted them in 2021 when I needed to have my barrel replaced. They were doing gunsmithing then but would have been a +6 month wait. Gunsmiths are becoming hard to find up here.
Maybe Google for one in northern Michigan. Seems to be a lot more of them on American side.
Yes I know the place
and I don’t want to comment about it
I’llbe driving to South Ontario next weekend to bring to a gunsmith
I can just tell by talking to someone if he knows his stuff or not this guys down there they know their stuff
OntarioHunter
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What about Perry's Gun Shop in Sault St Marie?
I'm willing to bet there's nothing wrong with the rifle. If it were me I'd clean the barrel real good, check the action screws, scope, bases, rings, etc.. Run a few kinds of ammo through it. You might find a Sako that don't shoot, but it ain't common.
Sure it’s been mentioned already but that’s not an 85, it’s an AV. They have great triggers from the factory. If yours doesn’t, pull it out of the stock and take a look at it…something isn’t right. Try some different ammo at the range. Between what you said about the trigger and the recoil and your general inexperience with rifles, my guess is the rifle shoots fine, you guys are just having trouble keeping it on target. That can be easier to fix than an inaccurate rifle. Those recoil pads definitely will get hard over time so you could swap that out for what would probably be a big difference in felt recoil. What ammo were you using? Try some of the lighter bullets. The sakos were never fast twist and my experience has been that they tend to shoot the lighter weights better. Check your action screws and scope screws. That rifles old and they could have easily worked themselves loose.
I’d try the lighter bullet as well. You’re running on the ragged edge of stability with that AV and the 162. Could also be your issue.
3855WIN
Well-known member
As posted before, find another shooter. Sometimes a different perspective is helpful.
Also, your 21 year old might need to shoot a .243 or a .25-06.
Also, your 21 year old might need to shoot a .243 or a .25-06.
Caseknife
Well-known member
I would second the new recoil pad. I know the one on my Rem 700 7mmMag circa 1982 or so, the recoil pad has gotten very hard. Have a Win Mod 70 338 mag that kicked like a mule, probably why it was on the used gun rack. Had a Limbsaver pad installed and had the barrel
EDM ported, 4 thin slots in the upper part of the barrel much like what MagnaPort used to do in the day. Made it much more enjoyable to shoot at the range and the EDM porting did not make the report any louder that I could tell, helped with muzzle jump.
What has not been mentioned yet is, how does the rifle fit when you hold it to your shoulder. The reason I ask is that it looks like the scope is mounted pretty high. Should be able to shoulder the rifle with your eyes closed and then open them and look right through the scope with a clear picture. Also find some different types of ammo and see what the rifle likes for accuracy.
Totally agree on not changing the rifle itself unless there is something detrimental to the function of the rifle; bad barrel, cracked stock, it is too pretty.
EDM ported, 4 thin slots in the upper part of the barrel much like what MagnaPort used to do in the day. Made it much more enjoyable to shoot at the range and the EDM porting did not make the report any louder that I could tell, helped with muzzle jump.
What has not been mentioned yet is, how does the rifle fit when you hold it to your shoulder. The reason I ask is that it looks like the scope is mounted pretty high. Should be able to shoulder the rifle with your eyes closed and then open them and look right through the scope with a clear picture. Also find some different types of ammo and see what the rifle likes for accuracy.
Totally agree on not changing the rifle itself unless there is something detrimental to the function of the rifle; bad barrel, cracked stock, it is too pretty.
OntarioHunter
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I think you are onto something. The scope does look high and that can definitely cause problems with felt recoil, especially on magnum rifles. It would be an easy fix to pick up a set of "low" rings. Hard to tell for sure looking at the photos but I think those are Leopold rings and bases.
