FINLAND BY SAKO: Hunting and Factory Tour, for three unforgettable days in the country of Santa Claus to discover the Sako Carbines.
di Saverio Patrizi
Sako opened the doors of the Riihimaki factory to a small group of Italian gunsmiths and journalists, with a noteworthy welcome. In fact, they were there to receive the Italian delegation Raimo Karjalainen, general manager of Sako, the director of the rifle production unit Kari Harila, the civilian carbine product manager Miikka Tamminen, Kari Kuparinen Research and Development director e Samsa Olkinuora ammunition product manager. During the meeting, both the past and the future of the company were presented, but above all some very interesting news about carbines and ammunition.
Sako has more than 90 years of history in the production of rifles; founded in 1919 as a maintenance and repair department of the weapons of the White Guard, it started its rifle production in 1921, initially in Helsinki, and then moved later (1927) to its current headquarters in Riihimaki. The brand Tikka, another historical Finnish company, has instead made history in itself until 1983 when it was bought by Sako; starting from 1989 also this production was transferred to the Riihimaki plant. At the end of the year 2000 the Finnish company was 100% acquired by Beretta Holding and from the entry into the Italian group it has forged ahead both in terms of total production and worldwide visibility.
in 2013 Sako has produced over 90.000 rifles in the Riihimaki factory which is not the absolute record of rifles produced, as more than 2014 are expected for 105.000. Similar numerical progression also for the Hausjarvi plant, responsible for loading rifle cartridges, from which more than 9 million ammunition came out, in 35 different calibers. Adding the value of the production of the two production units (rifles + metal ammunition) we arrive at a turnover of 79 million Euros; the increase in turnover also corresponds to an increase in employees, which went from 210 units in 2008 to 280 in 2014 and for 2015 further new hires are expected.
Among the innovations presented by the General Manager, two were particularly welcomed by the Italian group:
1) The Sako A7 Roughtech Pro already available on the Italian market in caliber .308 Win and from February also in calibers .243, .300 Win Mag and 7mm Rem Mag. Characterized by a synthetic stock reinforced with fiberglass and aluminum skeleton, it mounts a 62 cm fluted barrel muzzle threaded for mounting the muzzle brake (available as an option).
2) Sako A7 Roughtech Range already available on the Italian market in .308 Win caliber and from February also in .300 Win Mag calibers. The stock has the same construction features as the Pro, it is equipped with a 66 cm heavy fluted barrel with optional muzzle brake.
3) Sako 85 Carbonlight instead, it will have a carbon fiber stock, 51 cm fluted barrel, casing and barrel in stainless steel, certainly in .308 caliber and others, more interesting for our market, which will only be available in the second half of the year . This is the most innovative product ever presented by sko which will have a weight that will be around 2,4 kg.
As far as ammunition is concerned, a big novelty is represented by the new CH bullet, monolithic in copper, with hollow point, which has among its most interesting characteristics a very good ballistic coefficient and a perfect grip without loss of material at the moment of impact. .
The Factory Tour is particularly interesting, during which all the production phases of the rifles were illustrated. In the state-of-the-art factory, all the basic metal parts of the weapons are produced, from the barrels to the actions of the Sako and Tikka rifles.. The barrels are all produced with the cold hammering method and visually checked, one by one, with special lenses with different focal lengths. On the other hand, the production characteristics of the individual components dedicated to production are different Sako e Tikka: Tikka T3 and Sako A7 shutters and their respective actions (including the 85 and TRG model casing) are made from special steel bars for material removal on CNC centers. The Sako shutters intended for the 85 series, having an integral opening lever, are made from a special steel forging, also in this case by removal of material on CNC machines. The entire production is controlled by laser systems that check all the measurements inside a special thermally insulated “chamber” with constant temperature to allow maximum precision in reading the data. The action-barrel assembly is carried out manually by a specialized operator using an ingenious pneumatic system equipped with a go / no-go shutter that speeds up the realization and standardizes the head space towards the values desired by the CIP. Another particularly amusing aspect of the visit to Finalndia was the shooting test at the Loppi Polygon, necessary both for the calibration of the rifles chosen for hunting and to pass the exam for moose hunting.
The exam consisted in grouping 4 shots inside a target of 22 cm in 90 seconds, brown on brown, positioned on the moose silhouette; completed this bureaucratic formality we vented by pulling the current moose, with results, I must admit, quite fluctuating. Despite the size of the template, calculating the advance at 80 meters was not easy at all, but we all defended ourselves and were enabled for the next day's hunt.
Our team was composed, as well as by myself, by Gian Filippo Adamati, Fausto Massolo PM Italy for Sako, Roberto Canali director of "Cacciare a Palla", Massimo Vallini director of "Armi e Tiro" and the gunsmiths Alessandro Bruschetti, Gianni Brignoli , Giorgio Beolchini, Massimo Facchina of the Barbuio Armory and Silvio Zavaglio of the Beretta Gallery, the next day, wake up at 6,00!
The next day, after a short transfer, we arrived at a hunting lodge, where the moose hunting organizer was waiting for us. In consideration of the advanced season and the total lack of snow it was not easy to trace the movements of the animals and, despite this, after a couple of injured and / or wrong moose, Gianni Brignoli managed to take a thin female. Even if it was not a rich hunt, the place was very suggestive, forests of birch and pine trees alternated with clearings rich in heather, moss and lichens, from which black grouse and francolini flew.
The next day was dedicated to white tail deer hunting (White Tail Deer), three quick jokes, of about an hour each, where the German Wachtel Hund or Spaniel were used, which thrilled us with compelling hoots and who sent several deer to the posts allowing the removal of two trophy males , shot down by Zavaglio and Bruschetti.
To conclude, we were also offered the possibility of making an evening post from the roof terrace, unfortunately it was raining and it was certainly not the best climatic conditions for hunting; we all accepted with enthusiasm, knowing full well of the probable meager booty and as expected only Massolo managed to pull a young male.
An interesting experience that allowed us to know reality Sako and Tikka, A 'pioneering company with important development projects, perfectly aligned with the expansion of Holding Beretta.