La Sako has always maintained a high level of quality in the design and execution of its rifles, achieving a well-deserved notoriety of the highest level.
di Emmanuel Tabasso
Founded in the early XNUMXs as a weapon repair shop and then as a manufacturer of rifled rifles, the Sako has followed with tenacity and gradualness a technical and commercial path marked by the spirit that animates the Finns made of so much substance and elegant restraint. The responsiveness to use even in extreme climates and a conspicuous series of advantageous features have always formed the connotation of these shotguns which have also never lacked the aesthetic component of grace and refinement. The entry on our market dates back to the early Sixties thanks to the care of the importer Peroldo of Turin who had made a company known in Italy by now more than established in the United States. A few decades later, the entry of the manufacturing company into the Beretta Holding gave a further breath to the complex where the technical roots are implemented by the potential of the large company from Gardone.
Let's examine the latest creation, the Model 85 in one of the different versions proposed, the Hunter which, in our opinion, fully interprets the expectations of the typical customer of the Riihimäki factory. Without disavowing the choice of functionality of stainless steel combined with polymer, in some ways irreplaceable, looking at a beautiful walnut stock and burnished mechanics brings comfort to the spirit: using objects in which elegance and style do not are separated from the technical rendering is a declaration of love for beauty. Sako weapons are first and foremost beautiful and this does not appear to be a superfluous element: the design of the whole as well as of the details obeys the immutable canons where function creates form.
Castle and shutter
From a billet of alloy steel and then heat treated, the flat-bottomed castle of better stability is obtained, with front ring and closed bridge: the first shows the thread for the assembly of the barrel, the mortises for the closing wings and the integral prism for relieving the forces that insists on an aluminum alloy base fixed with two screws to the frame, while dovetails are obtained on both for fixing the specific Optilock® bases aimed at a convenient mounting of the optics.
Two peculiarities in evidence: the external jointed shape where the elegant shapes contribute to the structural rigidity, and the refinement of proposing five different action sizes for as many groups of cartridges, a unique fact in the industrial realities of the sector. The shutter is machined from a single block of NiCr steel so the cylinder, head and handlebar do not have continuity solutions, like the memorable Mauser K98; here too we highlight the refinements such as the three fins at the head with a conical section and with a corrugated external profile to increase the number of points of contact with the castle by reducing the unit surface: the solution together with the circulation of the parts induces that masterful smoothness peculiar to the Sako. The three fins then reduce the maneuvering angle, speeding up the operation. The face has an upper rim to accommodate and position the bottom of the cartridge which, shortly after removal from the magazine, passes under the protection of the well-sized nail extractor with internal spring and piston; again we can observe the lower milling, not interfering in a fin, in which the foil ejector fixed in a crossbar of the castle passes, a unique solution in the category of three-tenon shutters.
Barrel, trigger, magazine
The carbon steel barrel has a tapered cylinder section and a length of 57 cm adapted to the chambered cartridge: the rifling with four right-handed principles with a pitch of 1: 9,5 is cold-hammered, according to a technique of which Sako has a historical mastery , and the muzzle bleed egress is protected by a conical recess: the shooting results explain better than any word what this system is able to achieve. On this model there are the open sights with the anti-reflective U notch and the tunnel blade front sight, adjustable in windage and height. The anti-oxide matt burnishing treatment is appreciable. The trigger uses a very rigid metal package and the single trigger, curved and with a ribbed support surface: using it in direct mode, with a release weight of around 1200 g, you have a valid solution for shooting in motion while the stecher French style, adjustable and fixed here at around 210 g, it is perfect for the targeted one. The loader is up to all the rest: deep-drawn stainless steel sheet with anti-flapping ribs, shaped lifting sole in the same material and solid protrusion for hooking to the tooth of its seat. The release takes place by pressing on the insole and on the defiled tooth to avoid accidental releases.
Stock and accessories
Let's go back to looking at the nut of the stock, appreciating the choice of material as well as the line where elements of old Europe and American concepts are combined: the combination gives a visual and functional satisfaction of full satisfaction, completed by the particular knurling of the grip fields. Another glance at the small qualifying choices such as the spring lever with knurled surface, located at the rear left apex of the frame, to release the shutter at the end of travel, or the two buttons to the right of the frame, behind the recess handlebar, the largest of which controls the safe, silent, fast and maneuverable when already in the tappet, while the small one allows the bolt to open with the safety engaged, for safe release.
It can well be said that the Sako Hunter is a high-class shotgun, with an elegant appearance, with refined technical details and performance consequential to so much application in research and execution.
Data Sheet
Builder: Sako Oy - Tikka, Sakon Katu 2, FIN-11100 Riihimäki, Finland - [email protected] - www.sako.fi
Distributor: Beretta group company that handles the distribution in Italy
Model: 85 Hunter
Type: Ordinary Repetition Sliding Swivel Bolt Rifle
Castle: front ring and rear closed bridge
Shutter: with three wings on the head with closure in the castle
Barrel: in special hammered steel - conical cylinder profile 570 mm long - floating mounted
Tank: mobile with 5 cartridges in deep drawn steel sheet, silicon spring and lifting sole in light alloy - steel sole
Materials: all metal parts of the weapon are made of milled steel - some are precision cast
Stock: in selected walnut
Trigger mechanism: single trigger with French stecher - adjustment from the magazine compartment
Extractor: with claw and spring inserted in the shutter body
Ejector: fixed blade in the castle
Safety: a button located on the right side of the castle - locks trigger, percussion and bolt - additional button to unload the weapon with the safety engaged
Sight: rear sight and front sight adjustable respectively in drift and elevation - specific Optilock® mounts
Finishes: matte burnishing of the metal parts - glossy for the bolt body - stock with half glossy oil paint
Length: 1.075 mm
Weight: approx.3.200 grams without optics
CAT No: 16418
Price: 2.139,00 € (informative)