Local CT has Sako hunting ammo. Experiences??

Crappy Tire sourced this stuff at the height of the ammo shortage when it was unclear if we would get any ammo out of Winchester, Remington et al for the 2015 hunting season.

I didn't bring any in because of the price point - my experience with the "average deer hunter is" that they look in the cabinet, find the lowest priced ammo and select that - there appears to be little brand loyalty amongst the guys that take their guns out once a year and they don't drop 40 bucks a box on ammo when they can get Blue Box for $25.

The blurb they sent us on the stuff said that Sako grantee's sub-moa with this stuff out of all Sako/Tikka rifles. If that's true then it's a little cheaper than premium stuff from Nosler etc. One of their loads is a Swift A-Frame (Twinhead II) and the Arrowhead II is Scirocco's - if you can get that for 40 bucks a box that IS a great deal.

But aside from the words on the "glossy" from Sako, I can't give you any first hand experience.
 
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Sako is $$$.
Surprised that crappy tire in PG even brought it in...
The trouble being is if your gun really likes it, how long till they run out or bring it back in for when it sells out.
And to throw more fuel on the fire what about where or who else is selling it when you want to buy some more before an upcoming hunting trip.
Food for thought...
Rob
 
They advertised it their fall hunting catalog and went down to my local store and they didn't have any and I haven't seen any since. Do they have other calibers?
 
In our (pre-order) stuff for the hunting season we were offered a number of calibers. I would have to go back in look but I seem to remember that it covered the common deer calibers from 243 up to 300 Win mag (don't remember right of if it had the less common stuff like 25.06 or 7.08) but certainly 243, 270, 308, 30.06 etc.

I also really don't remember which "type" - Sako has almost a dozen different options with everything from (sierra style) hollow point boat tails up to the (branded) premiums - Swift A-Frame and Scirocco II's, Nosler Ballistic Tips and Barnes TSX and TTSX (the ones I remember off the top of my head).

When I looked at the offering and saw the cost/selling prices, I didn't look any further. The prices were somewhat above the standard stuff (Blue/Green box) and were even higher than some of the mid-premium (Hornady Superformance, Nosler, Winchester CXP3 stuff etc).

If I sold a lot of Tikka and Sako rifles I may have stocked this stuff since Sako guarantees sub-moa with this stuff out of "their rifles". They also advertise that the cases can be reloaded up to 10 times. They use Vihtavuori powder as well as bullets from Swift, Barnes and Nosler (that they clearly state), so you could probably match the load if you liked them and reload yourself.

But I didn't bring them because I figured they were an "unknown" brand. Even I would be skeptical and when there is boxes of Nosler branded right beside it for a few bucks less, I'm not sure I would plunk down 40 or 50 bucks for a box "just to see" how they shoot when I already know that lower priced options are already more accurate than me.

However, since Crappy Tire listed them (corporately), that means they worked out everything with a wholesaler and as long as (whomever that is) keeps getting them, then they are "available" at least to every store that sells ammo - whether they regularly stock it or not. And at least the one nice thing with Crappy Tire is, as long as you can find the stock number, the store can order it in without incurring any additional shipping costs - if it has a CTC number, then it's "just regular stock". And as long as the number is active most stores will bring the stuff in for you.

This is what the crappy tire website lists http://www.canadiantire.ca/en/search-results.html?searchByTerm=true&q=sako
 
We were offered this ammo (Sako) from the Sako/Tikka distributor. We noted the price was higher than regular ammo from North American but a little less than premium offerings. We decided to pass as hunting ammunition has not been as difficult to inventory and we worried about resupply. I suspect this ammunition might be like Norma ammo (might even be made by them) and while finding the quality high...the price in most cases puts it out of the interest of most North American shooters. Phil.
 
I bought some 300WM last year, which was about 70$ a box, which is getting up there, but in the same league pricewise as some of the other premium stuff (I have paid well north of that for some premium loads). I used to use Sako about a decade ago when they were last available, and it was the same price then as Fed Premium back then. The new stuff seems as good as back then, but was a pain to get it because I had to have a dealer order it in. If you reload its a good option, the brass is in the same class as Lapua. As mentioned, unless you have a premium market/customer it will languish on the shelf like Norma tends to due to the price, lack of name brand recognition etc.. I asked several major stores about getting some ordered, and generally just got a blank stare, and 'do they make ammo?'. Sad really, because it is some of the best you can buy.
 
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