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It’s not often I am requested to review a rifle purely because it is offered in a particular calibre. A new rifle range is usually released to the shooting

public and as production continues, some calibres may be added and some deleted from that particular rifle’s catalogue, according to market demand. When a calibre comes along that everyone starts talking about, rifle manufacturers scramble to grab a piece of the action and add the dazzling calibre to their line-ups, virtually overnight. However, for Sako, of Finland, treading carefully into the world of the 6.5 Creedmoor meant considering what platform would be the first to adorn the company emblem. One thing was certain – Sako would make its first rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor a real cracker!

It was no surprise the A7 option was chosen for the 6.5 Creedmoor and the current Roughtech, both in the Pro and Range, has had the Creedmoor chambering added to its line-up. The Sako A7 range has been in production for quite a few years and offers the shooter and hunter a Sako rifle that is aimed below the renowned Model 85 price-wise, but still boasts a feature-rich

rifle in its own right. Clemente Scribani Rossi, Beretta Australia’s Senior Product Manager, approached me with a request to review the A7 Roughtech in the Pro variant, in the new 6.5 Creedmoor calibre.

This would actually be a revisit to the Sako A7 for me personally, having owned one of the first A7s in the booming .300 Winchester Magnum calibre. This partic-ular rifle was quite lively to shoot but was obviously traded in for something else that took my fancy. However, the current A7 in the Roughtech Pro and Range is a better rifle than the original in many ways and I was keen to have another look at the newer Sako A7.

For those who haven’t heard of the 6.5 Creedmoor, this cartridge was developed in 2006 by American veteran High Power competitor Dennis DeMille and Hornady ballistician Dave Emary. It is based around the .30 TC case necked down to accom-modate high ballistic coefficient - 6.5mm target bullets for shooting out to 1000 yards. While it has set the long-range target shooting world on fire for the past 10 years, keen hunters also discovered that high ballistic coefficient hunting projectiles

could be employed in the 6.5 Creedmoor, resulting in a great long-range but low recoil hunting calibre. The Creedmoor nomenclature is derived from two sources DeMille’s long-time employer Creedmoor Sports and the historic Creedmoor Shooting range in Long Island, New York, where the first national rifle matches were held.

The Sako A7 Roughtech Pro in 6.5 Creedmoor close upIt’s only fair that the Sako A7 Roughtech Pro in 6.5 Creedmoor be reviewed simply on its own merits. Too many gun scribes compare it unfairly against the Tikka T3x or the Sako 85, which are both produced by Sako in its Riihimaki facilities. The A7 Roughtech is a rifle in its own right and deserves some respect - something the likes of legendary American comedian Rodney Dangerfield never used to receive.

The barrelled actionThe current Sako A7 Roughtech series is built around two action lengths, short (S) and medium (M), with the review rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor being on the former. The stainless steel action measures 215mm by >

Sako’s first rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor – the A7 Roughtechby Con Kapralos

Con puts the Sako A7 Roughtech Pro in 6.5 Creedmoor through its paces

at the range.

66 Australian Shooter

35mm and has a rather slab-sided, angular appearance and features a fully open ejec-tion port which perfectly accommodates the complete overall length (COAL) of the 6.5 Creedmoor loaded round. The open ejec-tion port also permits direct loading into the magazine, something for which the Sako 85 action is also renowned, but the Tikka T3x does not permit.

The turn-bolt action comprises a 70-degree bolt lift with the stainless steel bolt utilising a three-lug bolt head, but is fitted with a captive spring-loaded plunger that facilitates case ejection together with a mechanical extractor which ensures cases are positively removed from the ejection port. The rear of the bolt has the usual cocking indicator located under the polymer bolt shroud. Bolt removal is carried out in the typical Sako manner with a small elongated button on the left-hand side of the action. The top of the action is quite a departure from the other Sako and Tikka rifles, in that it is drilled and tapped to accommodate the more common (and less expensive) scope mounting bases modelled around the Browning A-Bolt pattern. Anything that will fit the A-Bolt will fit the Sako A7.

The rifle does come fitted with a set of alloy Weaver-style bases, but I suggest replacing these with steel bases such as the Burris XTB, which is precisely what I did with this review rifle. For scope rings to match the Burris XTB steel bases, I plumped for the Burris Zee Signature rings in the 30mm ‘High’ specification. For owners who like a one-piece base-ring system, the Talley product is another I thoroughly recommend.

The trigger is an exceptional unit and is identical to the one fitted to the Sako 85. It is fully adjustable for let-off by utilising a small hex head key through a slot in the magazine well. As supplied from the factory, the trigger pull is satisfactory at 3lb but some owners would undoubtedly prefer it a tad lighter. The safety mechanism, which is part of the trigger group, has the two-posi-tion safety provided by a sliding safety latch with a small tab just in front which permits the bolt to be cycled when the safety is on ‘SAFE’. The detachable box magazine located in front of the trigger group is of a three-shot configuration and utilises Sako’s Total Control Latch (TCL) system. This requires the magazine to be pushed up before the latch can be depressed to release the magazine from the well. It is a foolproof system borrowed from the Sako 85 and ensures a magazine will never accidentally fall out.

The three-shot magazine, like the trig-gerguard and magazine recess, is fabri-cated from polymer containing nylon and fibreglass, but holds stainless steel feed lips which allows better case feeding and top loading into the magazine from the ejection port. While the A7 magazine is perfectly adequate and functions without any problem, many Sako A7 owners are hankering for a five or 10-shot detachable magazine similar to what is offered in the Tikka range. Maybe Sako could look into this for us diehard A7 owners?

The barrel is one of the distinct features of the Sako A7 Roughtech Pro, and in the 6.5 Creedmoor is in the form of a medium contour #3 stainless steel barrel measuring 620mm in length with a series of flutes along its length. The fluting certainly adds to the rifle’s aesthetics but also reduces the barrel’s weight slightly and aids in cooling the barrel when it becomes a trifle warm. Internally, the cold hammer forging method of construction produces a superbly finished barrel and in the 6.5 Creedmoor cham-bering has a twist rate of one in 8” with four grooves. Such twist rate and finish will be appreciated by shooters and hunters wishing to use the high ballistic coefficient (BC) 6.5mm projectiles the Creedmoor was designed around.

The stockThe stock of the Sako A7 Roughtech Pro is the major advancement over the original version of the A7. Both the new >

The Sako A7 Roughtech Pro in 6.5 Creedmoor as reviewed. It is a feature-

rich hunting rifle made by folk who know a thing or two about design and function.

The Sako A7 Roughtech Pro in 6.5 Creedmoor in its component form.

The right side of the Sako A7 Roughtech Pro action. The layout

of the bolt handle, safety and bolt over-ride button is clearly evident

and works very well for the user.

Sako’s first rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor

68 Australian Shooter

Roughtech models in the Pro and Range have an excellent new stock fitted, which improves not only the handling of the rifle but immensely benefits the bedding of the barrelled action to the stock. The stock on the Roughtech Pro is made from a hardened polymer material, which comes in either a tan or black color with a spider-web finish in either black (on the tan stock) or white (on the black stock). It is of a pleasing American-style with a straight comb plus a slightly raised cheekpiece and a well-proportioned grip with a slight palmswell.

However, internally is where the stock shines in that it contains a full-length aluminium chassis running from the butt, through the bedding section to the fore-end. This chassis platform ensures the barrelled action is positively mated to the stock to result in a free-floated barrel but also minimises any stock flex, something that was quite evident in the first A7 range.

This Roughtech stock is as good as you can have and complemented the test rifle beautifully. The stock also had another fine feature in that the length of pull could be altered simply by adding or removing up to two 5mm spacers supplied with the rifle. Utilising a special tool to remove the recoil pad, the additional spacers were easy to add or remove to suit the user’s length of pull. The 1” recoil pad is of a sorbothane-type material and soaks up recoil rather well and to top the stock off, stainless

steel QD sling swivel studs are fitted as standard.

The Sako A7 Roughtech Pro in 6.5 Creedmoor measures 1125mm in length and weighs in at 3.4kg as a bare rifle.

At the rangeThe Sako A7 Roughtech Pro in 6.5 Creedmoor is Sako’s first rifle in the Creedmoor chambering and it would be interesting to see how it performed at the range over extended distances. Long-range shooting and hunting requires a decent optic and in this instance, the Burris Veracity in 3-15x50 with its First Focal Plane Ballistic Plex reticle would be an admirable choice for the rifle. The Roughtech Pro is more suited as a hunting rifle, with the Roughtech Range a better proposition for range or prone shooting.

The effectiveness of the Burris Veracity Ballistic Plex reticle (in the First Focal Plane), coupled with Burris’ ballistic software on the website, enables the user to accurately shoot out to 500m utilising the reticle hold-over graduations with ammunition of their choice.

Initial testing with several factory loads was carried out at 100m just to see what accuracy was attainable and the review rifle didn’t disappoint. All loads tested at 100m shot under an average of one MOA for five three-shot groups, with certain loads performing better than the others (refer to Table 1 Page 70). Now as for my interpretation of long-range shooting, I would never attempt to shoot at my quarry at distances over 300m with my normal hunting rifles – but in this instance, with the 6.5 Creedmoor and First Focal Plane Burris Veracity riflescope I was intending to set up the unit to utilise the Ballistic Plex reticle and hold-over marks to shoot out to around 500m – no more.

I was supremely confident that once I set up the rifle to shoot to a 200m zero and utilising the Burris Ballistic software

Hornady’s Precision Hunter ammunition was the pick of all the loads tested, with the best group being this 7mm three-shot cluster at 100m.

The bolt handle on the A7 Roughtech Pro is attractive and ergonomic in

the process. The two-position safety with the small bolt-overide button just forward of the safety enables the bolt

to be cycled with the safety ‘ON’.

>

Sako’s first rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor

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SpecificationsManufacturer: Sako, Riihimaki, FinlandModel: A7 Roughtech ProDistributor: Beretta AustraliaAction: Bolt-action.Barrel length: 24.5" (620mm), one in 8" twist.Calibres: 6.5 Creedmoor (tested) - also available in .243 Win, .270Win, .308 Win, .300WSM, 7mm Rem Mag, .300 Win MagOverall length: Short Action 44.2" (1123 mm), Medium Action 44.6" (1133mm)Weight: 3.4 kg (bare)Metal finish: Matte stainless steel (blued model also available)Stock: Sako Composite Black with white webbing (also available in tan with black webbing)Safety: Two-position, bolt release on safetyRRP: $2059 (blued model - $1989)

Table 1Range testing of factory ammunition at 100m - Sako A7 Roughtech Pro 6.5 CreedmoorFactory load Best Group Worst Group Average**Hornady Precision Hunter 143gr ELDX 7mm 15mm 10mmFederal Fusion 140gr 15mm 24mm 20mmHornady American Whitetail 129gr Interlock 10mm 19mm 16mmFederal American Eagle 140gr OTM 15mm 29mm 24mmHornady Match 120gr A-MAX 12mm 21mm 18mm**Average calculated from five three-shot groups

on the maker’s website, I would be able to shoot with confidence out to my maximum distance. Using Hornady’s Precision Hunter factory ammunition with the 143-grain ELDX (Extreme Low Drag X Bullet) loads, the rifle was dialled into a 200m zero. I then placed several large card-board targets with a prominent fluorescent ‘cross’ at 330, 410 and 486m respectively, distances which correspond to the ballistics profile I generated for my rifle from the Burris website.

Shooting carefully and slowly, allowing for any cross-wind, I proceeded to verify the ballistic output from the Burris website and placed all shots within 8” of the bullseye at all distances using the hold-over marks on the reticle. Kudos to Burris for an excellent ballistics software package that does what it is meant to do – make it easy for oldies like me to shoot out of my comfort zone. Putting the cardboard target results into a field scenario perspec-tive, any quarry target, be it deer, goat or similar, would have been cleanly taken with a heart/lung shot out to 500m using the A7 Roughtech Pro/Burris Veracity combina-tion. Recoil wise, the rifle shot smoothly and recoil was negligible – akin to the .243 Winchester. Several sessions at the range, testing the Sako A7 Roughtech Pro in 6.5 Creedmoor were hugely entertaining and taught me a thing or two about shooting at longer distances consistently. It sure helps when you are using quality gear and ammu-nition - the Sako A7 Roughtech Pro and Burris Veracity certainly fill that niche.

I intend to use the Sako A7 Roughtech Pro in 6.5 Creedmoor for the next deer rut and hunting season, so hopefully I can report back later for readers of Australian Shooter or Australian Hunter with the fruits of my labour.

ConclusionThe Sako A7 is a well versed hunting rifle which has been around for quite a few years and now with the Roughtech Pro and Range models, they offer the hunter or range shooter a superb platform for their chosen pastime. The well-designed barrelled action, mated up with the terrific stock with its full-length aluminium chassis, makes for a top-class shooting rifle which will give its owner many years of pleasure and service.

If only Sako could offer the detachable magazine as a five or 10-shot variant, I feel that would be the perfect finish for what is an exceptional rifle. The 6.5 Creedmoor chambering isn’t a flash in the pan and is destined to be around for a long time to come, such has its success been on the shooting range and now it deserves to be embraced by modern hunters as a serious hunting calibre.

The Sako A7 Roughtech Pro retails for $2059 ($1989 for the blued model) and the Burris Veracity 3-15x50 for $1429. For more information on the Sako A7 Roughtech range or Burris Veracity rifle-scopes, ask your firearms retailer or visit the Beretta Australia website at www.berettaaustralia.com.au.

One of five test targets shot with the Sako A7 Roughtech Pro in 6.5 Creedmoor. All average groups shot at 100m were under the one MOA (25.4mm) for three shots, which is pleasing to see.

Sako’s first rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor

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