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Sako 75 bore = copper magnet?

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

Flynt

Member
Hello, everyone. I just discovered this site a few days ago. This is my first post.

I've owned a beautiful 7mm-08 Hunter 75 for about 10-12 years. Bought her second hand. Killed a number of deer. Accuracy has always been erratic. Sometimes good, sometimes OK. (OK being defined as 1.5" groups with Remmington CoreLokt.)

Since day one, the bore has really attracted a lot of copper. I didn't know to break in the barrel, so when I realized how bad the copper fouling was, I read up on barrel issues. I took the bore down to bare metal (with solvent and JB paste) and started a break-in process. Even after that was completed, the gun picks up a huge amount of copper fouling (at least in comparison to my other center fire rifles). Is this typical of Sakos? Thanks.
 
My barrels are completely copper free and perfectly clean in about 5 patches max with a quality copper remover. I own (3)75's and pen AIII Classic. These barrels clean easier than any of my rifles with custom barrels.

How much do you shoot between cleaning barrel? Do you use a quality solvent? Do you use a copper removing solvent?
 
My barrels are completely copper free and perfectly clean in about 5 patches max with a quality copper remover. I own (3)75's and pen AIII Classic. These barrels clean easier than any of my rifles with custom barrels.

How much do you shoot between cleaning barrel? Do you use a quality solvent? Do you use a copper removing solvent?
 
I shoot somewhere between 12-20 rounds before cleaning. I use Wipe Out foam. When the foam starts pouring out of the muzzle you can see blue streaks in it. The first patch is really pretty, because it's such a bright blue.
 
Nothing in your post is typical of Sakos. All of mine shoot lights-out all day long, and none of mine are copper magnets. I would have the bore scoped so you know exactly what may be causing the fouling issue.
 
Nothing in your post is typical of Sakos. All of mine shoot lights-out all day long, and none of mine are copper magnets. I would have the bore scoped so you know exactly what may be causing the fouling issue.

Thanks for the responses. One of the reasons I bring this up is because I thought I'd give Sako a try again and bought an 85 Finnlight in .308. Shot first round today -- only one round -- and cleaned bore, with very minimal evidence of copper fouling.
 
Hello, everyone. I just discovered this site a few days ago. This is my first post.

I've owned a beautiful 7mm-08 Hunter 75 for about 10-12 years. Bought her second hand. Killed a number of deer. Accuracy has always been erratic. Sometimes good, sometimes OK. (OK being defined as 1.5" groups with Remmington CoreLokt.)

Since day one, the bore has really attracted a lot of copper. I didn't know to break in the barrel, so when I realized how bad the copper fouling was, I read up on barrel issues. I took the bore down to bare metal (with solvent and JB paste) and started a break-in process. Even after that was completed, the gun picks up a huge amount of copper fouling (at least in comparison to my other center fire rifles). Is this typical of Sakos? Thanks.
I own an AV Hunter 30-06 from 1995 which does the same thing as yours. Reading different forums some other Sako owners have the same experience from that time period. Mine goes about 25 -30 before needs to be cleaned to the bare metal. It fouls so much I had to buy the Outers Foul Out Electrochemical bore cleaner. Wipe out is a waste of time on that barrel. After cleaning it takes 3-4 fouling shots to reach acceptable accuracy. I have found the Federal blue box is more accurate than Rem. Core Lokts. I have two A7s from later productions and they are very accurate, minimal cooper buildup -easy cleanup. Benefits of barrel break in was never proven conclusively.
 
I would consider taking a look at the bullet you're using.

All of my rifles get copper fouling after being shot and this is using a variety of bullets.

My Sako's seem to shoot better after the barrel has a few fouling shots are put through them.
 
I have a Sako 85 hunter in SS. 100 rounds went down range after taking it to a second gun smith 1/2 inch of rifling completely gone at the throat on one side. Does anyone have any experience with x-caliber on there barrels
 
Accuracy is probably the most sought after and misunderstood aspect of shooting. Most people assume you can get bughole groups with any barrel if you try enough loads and bullets.

That is as likely as a room full of monkeys and typewriters and eventually a story will get written.

Copper fouling isn’t the animal people think it is. Cleaning a barrel to bare metal isn’t the answer either. I have owned and still own hundreds of rifles and never spent much time cleaning bores, certainly down to bare metal.

You will also find that cleaning the bore over and over won’t add to your gun’s overall accuracy. I have been around all sorts of shooters and shooting that follow the same philosophy, and don’t find that scrubbing the bore makes the rifle shoot better.

However, I will say I haven’t been around bench rest shooters and what they do may be different, but I doubt anyone here is competing in that arena.

We just finished an article for “Handloader” magazine on the 222 magnum and during the whole article, didn’t clean the barrel between loads, although we did allow the barrel to cool.

I guess my point is having a clean bore isn’t a bad idea, but to think you need to clean it to bare metal is unnecessary. Besides that, there are so many variables in making a rifle shoot it’s best, if you can shoot and do have other rifles that do shoot well and this one doesn’t, I would sell it and let someone else figure it out...
 
Given this is an older resurrected thread - the newer post was about 1/2” of throat missing....

Some chamber specs have really long throats in the Sako line - specifically the Swede, because of the longer bullets used in them. So it depends what type of chamber the rifle had / has. 100 rounds is typically not enough to eat the throat significantly unless something is very, very wrong... and or it’s being shot like a machine gun.

What chambering is the rifle?
 
300 mag. Went thru break-in, never shot more than three rounds consecutively. Only one side of the throat is missing. Was using a lead sled to shot this target. Bases and rings all tight, optics were changed for verification of optics.
 

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Steve,

Did you have the smiths do anything to it or just inspect it ?

If the rifling is gone on one side it’s not going to perform well. (Period). If it’s a factory barrel return it and have them replace it, it should have eroded in 100 rounds, and even if it did it would be all around vs. just on one side.

Personally I would do a chamber casting and look at it really closely to see what’s going on with the chamber / bore alignment. A mis-aligned reamer job is possible to screw up enough to result in that... but it’s pretty unusual given the reamer follows the lands to keep it aligned.

The casting will tell you things like how uniform the rifling heights are, and if there are any mis-alignments.

A Smith should be able to set the barrel back a 1/2” for you to fix the situation, but I’d have Sako do it for free.

Spot
 
By far the least accurate rifle I have ever owned. Fully aware when the throat is done the barrel is done. If I were to purchase a barrel from X-Caliber or Kreiger that would take of the barrel problems? Do you think that would end my problems?
 
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Yet another Option - Look around for a take off barrel and replace what you have..
Lightly tweaking a good barrel would be easier than setting back a factory barrel - they are generally featherweight contours on the 85 line anyway.
 
Yet another Option - Look around for a take off barrel and replace what you have..
Lightly tweaking a good barrel would be easier than setting back a factory barrel - they are generally featherweight contours on the 85 line anyway.
Yet another Option - Look around for a take off barrel and replace what you have..
Lightly tweaking a good barrel would be easier than setting back a factory barrel - they are generally featherweight contours on the 85 line anyway.
X-Caliber makes a finished Tikka but not Sako. The smith that has the gun is at Vais. Is it possible to take 1/2 off the threaded end and rework the throat?
 
X-Caliber makes a finished Tikka but not Sako. The smith that has the gun is at Vais. Is it possible to take 1/2 off the threaded end and rework the throat?
If you set the barrel back 1/2" your stock channel will no longer match your barrel contour. Chasing solutions to a problem without a known cause will only empty your wallet. Sell it & get another rifle or just have it professionally rebarreled by one of the quality barrel makers. Their work will be warrantied. Having your local smith rebarrel it will cost more & is a roll of the dice. Good luck!
 
Paul is correct there will be a gap in the barrel channel...

The question of setting back the barrel really has to do with how much of a “chamber” (straight area of the barrel before it reduces) you have. Typically you want the straight area to be at least where the shoulder is... featherweights push that a bit.

If it narrows where the should is now - the answer is a new barrel.
If you have 1/2” you could set the barrel back, and have the gap that Paul described (you fill it in with epoxy to fix that).

The Bigger question of course is why with mechanically something screwed up the throat
OR
The chamber / bore are out of alignment.

Setting a out of alignment barrel back is going to be problematic and may not work... but a new barrel always willl.

You have to ask the gun smith to check the indication of the bore with the current chamber to see how much off it is.
In the end a new barrel fixes all so you’d be good.
 
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