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Short Actions 6 PPC Competition Pressures

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

Linus89

Member
Hello! I guess some People will kill me...but i got a NIB Sako L461 single shot with heavy Barrel and this "better" Trigger (?)
With some playing and removing of the little preload spring i got the trigger weight down to 200 gramm (7oz). Slow closing bolt required.

Next step is pillar bedding the action with Weicon A Steel Epoxy.

I sold right away the original Sako ammunition which came with the rifle and bought Lapua Russian brass.
Now i measured the freebore with Barts Ultimate Bullets and got a shock...the bullet would be only 2.3mm in the case if it kisses the lands. So my thought would be to cut off the chamber and re-ream the barrel with a .262 Neck , zero freebore reamer from a friend.

Most interesting would be if a original Sako A1 action can withstand the pressures of PPC benchrest loads in Lapua brass. (29,2-30,0 gr N133)
 

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Most interesting would be if a original Sako A1 action can withstand the pressures of PPC benchrest loads in Lapua brass. (29,2-30,0 gr N133)
I don't have any particular expertise in the list of modifications you propose, but the action is far stronger than the brass case, as any serious shooter should understand. If you have a problem with pressure you will first have a failed case long before you would experience any action failure.
 
You do realize that the Sako 6mm PPC U.S.A. chamber is different than the standard 6mm PPC chamber used by most bench rest shooters don't you??? Selling the original Sako ammo that was made to fit your chamber was a BIG MISTAKE. Sounds like now you are trying to make brass based on the standard 6mm PPC specs & then modify the Sako 6mm PPC U.S.A. chamber to fit your brass. Like fitting a square peg in a round hole. Why modify the barrel when you can get or make brass to fit it???? If you don't have the 6mm PPC U.S.A. dies, I recommend you get them before hacking up the rifle. I'd take a step back and reexamine things before you ruin a highly sought after Sako rifle. There was also no need to modify the trigger & make it unsafe as it can be adjusted to a few ounces with the proper expertise. Just my two cents.
 
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With some playing and removing of the little preload spring i got the trigger weight down to 200 gramm (7oz). Slow closing bolt required.

The factory Sako Target Trigger does not, and was not meant to operate like a 2 ounce benchrest trigger.
Modifying it's operational design could be highly dangerous......especially with a safety lever function involved.
Even full-blown benchrest rifles do not require a "slow closing bolt".

Please re-examine all safety aspects......before proceeding.

Hope this helps.
 
Looks like an accident waiting for a place to happen!!
Please take Mr. Paulson's advice, just one moment of inattention and you could have a fatal accident.
A sent bullet cannot be recalled, please do not persist in this unsafe adventure. Just my 3 cents!!
B/T
 
Just wanted to tell that i did all my things and get now 4mm ctc groups regularly.

For the afterworld:
Dont chase the lands in the ppc usa chamber in a sako. Take 29,2gr +- N133 in a turned lapua case and seat them at least 4mm in the case mouth with minimum 2 thousand neck tension. I turned my brass just to uniform them and have uniform grip without resizing them. But N133 needs a good amount of bullet grip.
Testet with several 66-68 custom bullets
 
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Hello! I guess some People will kill me...but i got a NIB Sako L461 single shot with heavy Barrel and this "better" Trigger (?)
With some playing and removing of the little preload spring i got the trigger weight down to 200 gramm (7oz). Slow closing bolt required.

Next step is pillar bedding the action with Weicon A Steel Epoxy.

I sold right away the original Sako ammunition which came with the rifle and bought Lapua Russian brass.
Now i measured the freebore with Barts Ultimate Bullets and got a shock...the bullet would be only 2.3mm in the case if it kisses the lands. So my thought would be to cut off the chamber and re-ream the barrel with a .262 Neck , zero freebore reamer from a friend.

Most interesting would be if a original Sako A1 action can withstand the pressures of PPC benchrest loads in Lapua brass. (29,2-30,0 gr N133)

I shoot sako 6 ppc’s. I use the Norma Brass in my USA guns and I use Lapua 220 brass in my hybrid wannabee rifle. I never push the limits as one can when shooting a custom action PPC. Watch the primer pockets and also around the necks by bullet. I found that I usually get powder marks showing around neck first then powder around primers. I see that and I back it down. Sako actions are nice, but not nearly as strong as the custom actions so be very careful.
 
Sako actions are nice, but not nearly as strong as the custom actions so be very careful.
Action "strength" is totally irrelevant. The steel of any modern turnbolt is exponentially stronger than the brass of the cartridge case. It is the case that fails due to pressure, first at the primer/pocket with a pierced or blown primer, then at the web. Some actions do handle the escaping gas from a failed cartridge case better than others, but that has more to do with design than with "strength".

"Powder marks around the neck" are a result of pressures that are too low to fully seal the neck of the case against the chamber walls. "Powder" around the primer means that the primer/case has partially failed and should be discarded -- and increasing loads until you get a primer leak is an exceedingly poor and potentially dangerous way to judge when to stop adding powder.
 
Action "strength" is totally irrelevant. The steel of any modern turnbolt is exponentially stronger than the brass of the cartridge case. It is the case that fails due to pressure, first at the primer/pocket with a pierced or blown primer, then at the web. Some actions do handle the escaping gas from a failed cartridge case better than others, but that has more to do with design than with "strength".
Not directly relevant, but in the case of a hang fire or god forbid barrel obstruction, you want the action to not explode and to send as much energy thru the bore and into the barrel as possible.

Fun fact: to fire a rifle you don’t even need a bolt or action. With sufficient stupidity, a person can use a hammer and nail to strike the primer and fire the round in a bare chambered barrel. The brass should grip the chamber at the neck and support 100% of the combustion pressure. But that is not why action strength matters, see above.

I for one think this exercise was stupid. First, this was a new in box rifle of a very well regarded model. But no more, one of the few remaining was snuffed out for no good reason I can see.

Second, if you want to bang around a 6PPC at competition pressures, why not use a competition action mounted in a match type stock, benchrest trigger, and match grade barrel? A used 40x is cheaper and available with everything you want plus that action is very strong.

Third, if you know anything about competition 6PPC, then you know the equipment is all about bullets and barrels. Again, Sako makes a very good barrel but you can’t expect success with a single factory Sako barrel like you would buying a used match rifle with a couple of spare barrels.

Fourth, god help the next soul who loads for this barrel. A regular 6ppc loaded for a Sako should not chamber in this gun but who knows. I hope the barrel was re-marked because it’s not a 6PPC-USA anymore. But considering we have a guy who monkeys with triggers to make them unsafe and thinks it’s ok to chamber a live round indoors, I’m not optimistic.
 
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I know this is an older thread but none the less my question is what type of accuracy can one expect from an out of the box rifle such as this ( 5 shot groups). I have a chance to source one of these. TKS
 
I've owned a few and got .25" ctc 5 shot groups at 100y on all of them with some load development. N133, H322, or LT-32 powder, 64-70gr match grade bullets, and Lapua brass loaded at safe pressures. Of course, proper technique, good optics, excellent wind flags and wind calls are all prerequisites.

I have found that Sako barrels are sensitive to bullet lots. If it didn't like a bullet in initial tuning, more tuning didn't resolve it. Some batches of bullets just sing in these guns.
 
@dgeesaman
Have you ever tried the Sierra 75 gr flat base HP. I have a chance to source some but was wondering how thy would do in a 14 twist. They are shorter than the 70 gr HPBT so they should work.
 
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