SAKO 85 Recoil Lug Arrangement--Anyone Found Any Problems With It?

[South Pender]

Anyone on here witness a problem with the recoil-lug arrangement on the Sako M85s? It’s a weird setup--a flat sheet metal piece screwed into the stock inletting with a hole into which a metal nub on the action drops, and into which the front action screw attaches. A cost-cutting design, I guess, and it doesn’t look nearly as capable of handling recoil as the older integral recoil lug. A failure would be a split or damaged stock, I imagine. Has anyone seen or heard of this happening with a Sako 85? Pictures below. The impact on the stock is provided by that part that drops down into a slot in the stock near the two Phillips-head screws--seen best in the left-hand one in the second picture. Hard to understand how this arrangement would be easier to fabricate and cost less than simply welding a standard recoil lug onto the bottom of the receiver.

 

[deadidarren]

I have never liked it not from the first day it came out from memory that arrangement looks a little bit different than the original .

 

[boltfluter]

Very strange set-up. Seems like more trouble than just adding a lug to the action.
Paul

 

[AlNyhus]

I've bedded one of them....kind of a reverse Tikka. It shot quite a bit better after the bedding job. Those 85 series Sakos don't have a lot of material to them. -Al

 

[ebb]

The Sako TRGSs (995 action) had a weird little set up kinda like that. When rebarreled most cut the tapered snout off of the action and added a Remmington style lug. Seemed to work better.

 

[Phys86]

Sako L61r era and Tikka 65 had an integral lug. I can't think of a reason for the change other than cutting coat of manufacturing when going to a lighter weight action

 

[Carl S]

I machine a custom lug with the oblong slot in it and bed it into the stock.do away with the factory one and the screws.i also do the same with the tikka 595s-they haven't got the slot in like the 85s.just a round hole is required.make them a snug fit on the action and they work great.