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Sako 85, 223 cal, 20" or 24" barrel?


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Hi guys,

 

pretty much made my mind up on my new centrefire, I just can't decide about barrel length. I think rifle of choice will be the Sako 85 varmint in 223 cal.

 

Here in Australia, moderators are a no no, should I go with the 20" barrel and maybe think of a nice muzzle brake to take advantage of the screw cut, or just buy the 24"? Not sure if fitting a break would reduce muzzle flip much?

 

How much velocity would I lose going shorter, and would it really make that much of a difference if keeping the ranges sensible for Foxing ?

 

This will be my first ever centrefire So I'm looking for all the help I can get, I'm soaking up all this knowledge like a sponge.

 

I have a Leupold VX3 8.5-25 X 50 which I intend to use on it, target turrets and fine duplex, hopefully the turrets will be accurate enough and be repeatable for dialling.

 

I'll ask more questions later, drop sheet, best zero, etc,etc.

 

Thanks for reading the post and your help so far

 

Neil.

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Neil,the scope is just fine-and it will dial reliably.

Though individual rifles/calibres vary a little-a 20 inch barrel in 223 will lose maybe 100fps velocity compared to a 24 inch.

A good brake will reduce muzzle flip.

 

None of this will be critical at 'fox' distances-say 250 yards...nor further,really...for example,commercial SAAMI comparable loads,with a 200 zero drop/drift -10mph wind:

 

Nosler 55g BTs @3200 100y +1.4/1.0; 200y 0/4.4 ; 300y 7/10.5

Hornady55 vmax@3240 1.4/1.1; 0/4.6;7/10.9

Cor bon 55Blitzking @3000 +1.8/1.1;0/4.9;8.3/11.7

 

..so even dropping 240 fps means less than an inch to 250 yards.....and matters even less,since you will know the actual drops for your rifle/chosen load anyhow and dial accordingly.

 

"Velocity is vanity,accuracy is sanity"-pick the accurate load every time.

 

gbal

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good morning aussie foxer ,I use a cz 527 varmint with 24inch barrel and 55gr vmax cronoed at 3117fps does the job very well .I don't think you need the muzzle brake the muzzle does not flip in 223rem and the less noise the better you may get a second Charlie if you are lucky.good luck

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Aussie,

I have a Sako 85 Varmint 20" stainless/laminate 223 sitting on the shelf at my local RFD waiting for the return of my varied FAC

I bought this as a handy truck gun for nightime foxing where ranges seldom exceed 250yds, it will be moderated of course

Going to mount a 5.5-22x56 nightforce, pity i cant give you any realtime reports but i think its going to be an excellent combo.

 

Ian.

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I'd still like some feedback on it Vermincinerator.

 

With a 56mm objective, do you think you will get a decent cheek weld?

 

I ask as i have been spoilt using Air rifle stocks, these seem geared more to scope use.

 

I noticed when Tim Pilbeam reviewed the Sako 85 in 222, he commented how the cheekpiece wasnt high enough, the scope on that rifle was a 50MM objective leupy.

 

Maybe a cordura cheek riser would give you enough height?

 

I wonder if anyone on here has had an adjustable cheek piece put onto the standard stock?

 

Here's a good DIY version that's on network 54, looks great when finished.

 

Neil.

post-14846-0-70635200-1459313847_thumb.jpeg

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Neil,my Sako 75s have 8.5x25 Leupolds (Varmint ret) LR scopes- don't need comb risers.If your rifle already had an adjustable stock,I'd no suggest gluing it in place-but they are an expensive option-as I suggested,PCP rifles are rather specialised and always seem 'overstocked' compared to field use cfs.

The easy ($15) comb raiser if you need one is the sort of rubber slip that goes over the comb,first designed for shotguns-easy. Then,as you mention,the strap on cordura pads,-even over the rubber slip if you need a lot of height-are maybe ($45),easily fixed on /off,and can make cheek weld a little more comfy too-I have one on a recoiling rifle with a thin plastic stock-it helps the comfort,rather than scope-eye issues.

Odds are you won't need these,so don't commit until you have tried your rifle/scope.For a truck type rifle,ease of manoever in limited space matters-so short barrel and no cumbersome attachments-nor weight....but you do need good scope-eye alignment,of course.Get the lowest scope mounts you can-Sako optilocks of the correct height are as good as any.

Of course,if you enjoy such DIY,by all means-I was surprised coming into seriously accurate shooting (Bench Rest) just how often 'one size fits all' in stock design.....

....for a hunting rifle,simplicity is a virtue-so long as it works.

g

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Umm, interesting.

Sako optilocks, I was thinking of sportsmatch mounts as I've used them for the last 30 odd years, in all that time I've never pinched a tube, would you say the optilocks wouldn't leave the dreaded ring marks?

 

Regarding the comb riser, yes I will offer everything up and see how it feels first before making a decision.

 

I'm a bit of a perfectionist so wouldn't bodge it up, I do see where your coming from though.

Thanks for the advice, much appreciated

 

Neil.

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Neil,

The optilocks have plastic ring inserts,which should keep metal from metal,and maybe correct minor alignment issues. And with the dedicated bases (tapered to prevent recoil movement ) various height rings can be attached to suit,whatever scope is fitted or changed subsequently.

g

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I would go for 24" if unmoderated and not likely to be a truck gun.

If you need tips for longrange shooting take a look at Thomas Hauglands (THLR) videoblog on youtube.

He is also on here as Roe.

Atb Border.

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Aussie,

I have a Sako 85 Varmint 20" stainless/laminate 223 sitting on the shelf at my local RFD waiting for the return of my varied FAC

I bought this as a handy truck gun for nightime foxing where ranges seldom exceed 250yds, it will be moderated of course

Going to mount a 5.5-22x56 nightforce, pity i cant give you any realtime reports but i think its going to be an excellent combo.

 

Ian.

I did get a look at that rifle last week, its a really sweet bit of kit.

 

Shooting from inside a 4x4 I would opt for the shorter tube as Vermincinerator has, but if walking with it I would say two things, A, the rifle due to the varmint profile barrel is heavier that I would personally like, I am 63 next time so have had my time with heavyweights, unless you are likely to be firing a lot of rounds ( 5 plus) over a short period then I would look at a model with a much lighter barrell. B, If weight is not an issue for you and its not being used from inside a truck then go for the longer tube if you wish but a slightly lower velocity can in these days of ballistic programmes and drop charts be dialed out easily enough. The only issue is a fast snap shot at night when you miss judge the distance, I underestimated one a couple of years ago by 100 yards !!, I thought 200, 8 mph wind from 10 o clock, just had the top of his head to hit, it was 300 yards !!. No wonder I missed. A flatter shooting round that what I had with me that night might have put it down but for the wind that night!!.

 

A

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  • 2 weeks later...

I picked up my Sako 85XS Varmint Stainless Laminated on Thursday, its a beauty and really compact.

I took it out for a test yestreday.

Cheek weld is not problem with the 56mm obj. Nightforce.

I tried 50gr Blitzkings, 50gr V-Max, 53gr V-Max and 55gr Blitzkings

The 50gr V-max shot into a tiny cluster with an average velocity of 3460fps and i thought i had nailed it with bullet choice but the 55 Blitzking grouped tighter so this what bullet i will be using in future

P1220693.JPG

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I picked up my Sako 85XS Varmint Stainless Laminated on Thursday, its a beauty and really compact.

I took it out for a test yestreday.

Cheek weld is not problem with the 56mm obj. Nightforce.

I tried 50gr Blitzkings, 50gr V-Max, 53gr V-Max and 55gr Blitzkings

The 50gr V-max shot into a tiny cluster with an average velocity of 3460fps and i thought i had nailed it with bullet choice but the 55 Blitzking grouped tighter so this what bullet i will be using in future

P1220693.JPG

Any pictures of the new rifle setup.

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Not yet tubs, it pi$$ed it down for the rest of the afternoon so did not take any photos of the new rifle but will do soon.

 

Ian

Ok thanks and great shooting .

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hyia pal,i shoot a 24 inch 8 twist Sako 85 and my mate has a 20 inch 8 twist sako 85..we both used 75 Amax one day with the same load and seating depth,both of us shot out to 500 yards that day with exactly the same results in all fairness,when we chron,d them after mine was doing 2750 ftps and his 2520ftps..so mine was around 200 ftps faster at 500 that day,,but some tell me if we went to say a 1000 it could have been different, I have shot mine out to 960 yards later on with good results on calm days

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Simon,here is some SAAMI data on drop/drift/fps for 223:drop/drift 10mphwind,200 zero:

 

77@2800BC.35: 300 9/9;400 25/17; 500 52/29 1675 fps; 600 92/44;800 224/87; 1000 456/146 1030fps.

77nosCC@2600 .34:300 10/11;400 30/20;500 63/33 1484fps;600 112/51;800 273/99;1000 553/163 954

77SMK@2750 .39: 300 9/8;400 25/16;500 57/26 1714fps;600 89/39;800 213/77; 1000 424/130 1071fps

 

Neither modest BC differeces nor 200fps make for trajectory drop differences that are more than a few clicks,and a laser will give accurate ranging.

Wind is much more the limiter-a 10% error is still good going over 1000y non bowling green terrain-and that's a 13-16 inch error-of course only in wind,hence to possibility of hitting something at such distances in calm conditions (even so,a 1/2 moa at 100y won't hld anythng close to 5 inches at 1000y,because of all the other dispersors that come noticeably into play-not even including the shooter!)

 

The fps at 500 and 1000 are included for interest-BC has more effect beyond 500...up to 350 or so,velocity is the more important.

 

Of course,it's precision (rifle/load engineereing and physics) that matters,and the accuracy the shooter can maintain (includes scope,trigger,skill etc) that really matter...as with wind judgement,when needed.

 

Just for fun,here is the 243,to compare what a jump up in velocity,but not BC performance offers:

 

A'tip75@3375 BC.33: 300 6/8;400 17/14; 500 35/242008fps;600 62/36; 800 156/72; 1000 319/125 1122

 

ie less drop and more velocity/energy.

 

 

gbal

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