One of the major pieces of news in the past year was the selection by the Canadian Rangers of a variant of the Tikka CTR to replace their – “venerable” really is the only proper adjective here – No. 4 Lee-Enfield rifles. Naturally, the immediate question my readers had was “will we be getting these in the US/Canada?”

After testing, the Canadians requested only minor changes to the rifle, like the color of the stock and cartouche, and the sling swivels.

Well, at the 2016 SHOT Show, I asked Sako’s product manager that question, and he responded that they are absolutely going to bring the C-19 Canadian Ranger Rifle to the US. The American version will be just slightly different, as the Canadian Rangers will not allow Sako to put their crest on the stock of the guns, but he did say that they are considering selling the rifles both standalone, and “as issued” with a hard case, spare magazine, and other accessories.

Sako Carbonlight, on top. A rifle crafted through wizardry and mad science.

Also at the Sako/Tikka booth was the new Sako 85 Carbonlight, which uses a stock made of compressionless foam-filled carbon-fiber weave, handmade right in the Sako factory. It’s difficult to describe how lightweight this very high-quality firearm felt in the hands, but Sako’s literature lists it as weighing just 2.4 kilograms (~5.3 pounds) – which, needless to say, is incredible. Beyond the extremely light weight, Sako has cracked the code of making something that is so light still feel robust and high quality. In no way did the Carbonlight feel “cheap” or “toylike” – it was truly an impressive weapon!