The last rifle I tested in the ultralight class this year was the Sako 85 Carbonlight in 6.5 Creedmoor. Because I hold Sako in very high regard, I wasn’t surprised to find their Ultralight to be all hits and no misses.
When unboxing the Sako, your eyes will immediately be drawn to the stock. The hand-laid carbon fiber has a matte finish giving it a grippy feel while still allowing a clear view of the material’s texture. With its advanced construction and unique lines, you’ll wonder if Sako hired a Formula One race car designer for this project. This stock just looks fast.
Weighing in at approximately 5.3 lbs. the Sako Carbonlight tips the scales at more than a pound heavier than the lightest ultralight we tested in this category. But you really get a lot for that pound. And make no mistake, the Carbonlight still feels extremely light when paired with an optic designed for mountain hunting. For this test I mounted the Vortex Razor HD LH 3-15×42 in a set of Talley rings on top of Talley bases.
So, what’s the source of this rifle’s extra weight? It’s the detachable magazine system and thicker, non-fluted bolt body. While the other ultralight rifles we tested used blind box magazines, Sako decided to live with an extra pound to give hunters the convenient load/unload system their 85 Series is known for. Some rifle makers are still struggling with how to engineer a good magazine system for their hunting rifles, but Sako aced their design and never looked back. The setup on the Carbonlight is incredibly reliable and has zero rattle thanks to the stiff spring tension holding the mag in place. To remove the magazine, you actually have to push it upward to break the tension before using the release lever. You will never accidentally drop this magazine.
After a quick cleaning the rifle was range-ready, so I headed out with a few boxes of Hornady 140gr ELD Match ammo. This ammo has proven to be incredibly accurate in the other 6.5 Creedmoors I’ve tested, so it was a good starting point. As luck would have it, the Sako also loved this load so my ammo search was short and simple.
The trigger on the Carbonlight was easily adjustable down to a clean 2.5 lbs. while the grip angle of the stock allowed great leverage with a clean pull. On the range, the 3-shot groups averaged .714.” A little ammo experimentation could probably bring this rifle into the half-inch realm or better, but with several groups in the low .6” range I left well enough alone. I then stretched it out, with a steel plate at 500 yards. I easily punched the 8-inch plate at that distance. But I expected nothing less from a rifle bred for consistency.
The Sako Carbonlight has a street price of $2848 at EuroOptic.com making it the most expensive rifle in our ultralight shootout. That being said, this rifle truly has everything you’d want in a custom rifle without a custom price tag.
I can’t think of a single thing Sako could do to improve this rifle. It’s as close to perfect as you’ll find.