Sako TRG Receiver Pic Rail Screws

[Strykervet]

I have hard time believing Fastenal or Grainger doesn't have it. Try Tacoma Screw, they're local but they've NEVER failed to have the most oddball shit... Buddy needed some "screw" looking item, it was more than a screw and actually a specific machine part --and I'll be damned if they didn't have it and in multiple materials too.

Call Sako USA. Usually high end mfg.'s just mail me small shit like that, no cost.

Last resort: get someone on here in Europe to go the hardware store and mail you a few. We got guys on here that live in Finland I'm pretty sure.

Gotta say it... JUST scored a TRG42 for $2600, I'm stoked. That one's been on the short list for a while, sorta wanted a Harris but shit, I am NOT complaining. It's an original 1999 model too, barely shot. BIG thanks to my 'Hide buddy that made this happen.

So I may be with 'ya on the screw situation soon, we'll see. I think it has the rail on it though (haven't even seen the rifle yet but for that price if the barrel came bent like a pretzel it'd still be a steal).

 

[quantum13]

Fastenal and Grainger do not have screws with heads that are small enough. Most of these screws have 6mm+ heads. I spent many hours googling and checking all sorts of other sites...this is a really odd size to begin with...combined with the narrow head, it's a tough find. The ebay link referenced earlier is the only online resource I found that had a head anywhere near the 5.25mm diameter needed...it's likely one of the Shars screws would work but neither of those options is even the right length so modification is needed regardless...and Shars won't be able to measure anything until they can work out of their office again.

I did call Beretta (they are the USA distributor for Sako). They suggested I look at Brownells who is their parts distributor or the Beretta site. Even with a Sako part # they could not help. I don't think Beretta is all that worried about any of this.

I'm sure you'll enjoy the TRG; just be prepared to get creative and/or spend serious money on parts.

 

[EM92wx]

I have a stock Picatinny Sako Rail with screws if anyone is interested. PM me.

 

[quantum13]

Wanted to post an update here for everyone. Thanks to everyone who helped here...now want to put it all together in case it might help someone in the future.

Bottom line was that I wanted new screws to install my factory Sako rail. From the previous posts you can see that this requires M3.5 screws and that the ones I had that needed replacing were 6mm overall length with a flathead drive (also I was short - I only had 3):

I bought the rifle used; it's a 2017 TRG in 6.5CM and I'm told the rail was original to the rifle (it does fit perfectly) but cannot be 100% certain the supplied screws were original. But I do THINK they are based on my research and the matching thread locker/epoxy I found on the screws/rail/rifle. In any case - the challenge is that in general, M3.5 screws have heads that are too large to sit in that rail. Well - good news, EGW makes torx drive screws that work. Buy the screws that come with the rail linked below and shorten them to 7.0-7.3mm overall length and you're in business:

Search results for: 'scope mounts rings hd sako trg m995 picatinny rail mount 20 moa ambidextrous'

www.egwguns.com

you can use this link to order - just reference the SKU on the link above and tell them what you're looking for:

Replacement Set of Torx Screws w/ Bit for EGW Picatinny Mounts

Please indicate the overall length of your current EGW picatinny mount screws, the model number of your EGW picatinny scope base, and a specific description to ensure that you receive the correct combination of mounting screws for your EGW base. The screws we send are only intended for use with...

www.egwguns.com

You may wonder why 7mm and not 6mm overall length...this is because the head is taller on these screws. You want the thread to be similar in length - this works out to about 7mm OAL - I'll post some details on that in a later post on how I shortened the screws.

In an interesting side note...as part of this process to figure all this out - user dttheliman was kind enough to send me some screws he had; these were hex drive factory screws with a 5.35mm head and surprisingly an 8.63mm overall length. These screws (apparently he's had these for almost 20 yrs) were much too long for me - when installed, the bolt cannot slide freely in my rifle...the screws don't even allow the bolt to be installed. But for him, the extra ~1.5mm was no problem...he has those screws in his rifle to this day. Since his TRG is a lot older; our assumption is that differences in the rail or receiver explained the length. Coincidentially, they are also very, very close to the EGW screws I bought...basically same head and very very close in length (EGW was just over 8mm)...difference was really just that his screws from the early 2000s were hex drive whereas EGW are torx.

Hope this info helps. I was finally able to mount my scope with the rail now securely in place with some brand new screws. Pics of the new screws are in the next post.

 

[quantum13]

As promised - here is how I shortened the screws. I ended up cooking up a twist (no pun intended) on the nut method. Credit to MarinePMI for inspiration on this portion.

Of course I needed the screws; I also used some locking pliers and this 10 pack of really nice stainless M3.5 nuts:

Amazon.com: (10) M3.5 x 0.60 Stainless Steel Hex Nuts, Metric coarse DIN 934 18-8 (A2) - MonsterBolts (10, M3.5 x 0.60): Home Improvement

Amazon.com: (10) M3.5 x 0.60 Stainless Steel Hex Nuts, Metric coarse DIN 934 18-8 (A2) - MonsterBolts (10, M3.5 x 0.60): Home Improvement

www.amazon.com

So what I did first is brainstorm on how I could reliably and consistently shorten the nuts without too much user error. I decided I wanted to cut off the ends of the screws flush with the nuts - they would be my guide and they would protect the threads. But this meant I needed to be sure the nuts were in exactly the right spot.

So I grabbed my original screws and played around a bit - long story short I found that If i placed two #6 washers and then threaded on the tiny nut, I was nearly flush with the end of the screw.

I then did the same with the new screws, tightened a bit, and the result is a clearly defined bit of screw to grind off (you can also see a 'naked' EGW screw below):

I then took a cutoff wheel to the screw, using the #6 washers as a way to grasp the screw while cutting:

I was then able to use the side of the cutoff wheel up against the end of the screw and the nut to ensure a smooth surface without having to worry about thread damage or putting an angle or bevel on it. Removing the bolts took off any burrs (there really weren't any) resulting in this:

A minute or two with a wire brush and the speed turned down on the dremel to about 2 to smooth the edges and I was done...testing with the nuts revealed no catching and no thread damage:

Unsurprisingly then, the screws installed into the receiver perfectly; I decided to throw some black paint on the naked metal and then torqued them down into the receiver to mount the rail. I used the EGW spec (since I was using their screws in the same application) which I believe was 20 in-lb.

Hope that helps anyone looking to do this. It was super easy; took me about 15 minutes to do and I didn't have to worry about screwing up threads or making them too short. The torx drive made this even easier and the result looks awesome in the rail.

Side note - I measured these screws with my calipers after and found that the shortest was 7.18mm and the longest was 7.32mm using this method...so reasonably consistent given the rudimentary methods. I installed the longest one in every position in the rifle and had no problems so I know 7.3mm is good to go, about 1.5mm less than where I started.

 

[kimbergoldmatch]

I believe Sako offered three different rails, 0, 20 and 30 moa, the 30 moa rail was pretty tall, if dttheliman had that it might explain the longer screws.