Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Sako Forester .243

I saw a very clean Forester in 243 in a store today. Anyone own one of these? Do you know what twist it has? How did it shoot? What's a fair price for a clean one? Thanks.

I had and still have several Sako L579's. IMO they are one of the best production rifles ever built. That .243 should have a 1-10" twist. I've never had one that did'nt shoot.

Check to see if it's a pre Garcia. Stoeger imported them before Garcia(early 70's).If it is, a good price for a clean one would be $650 to $800.

Thank you, Pat. It seemed solidly built and balanced nicely. I'm not sure if it's pre Garcia, but it did say Stoeger on it. They wanted $775, which seemed high but I don't know much about them. It was quite clean. I liked the thin stock. Are yours free floated? This rifle had no gap at all between barrel and stock.

i still have several pre-garcia sakos. one in .243 they are awesome. the post 72 i did not feel were finished as well. had a 7mm mag and a 243 hvy bbl . wish i had that .243 back.

I have one that was my Grandfathers. It's a great rifle if you find one at a reasonable price. I'm not sure what the twist is as I only shoot 95gr BTs in it.

For Stoger import 650-750 depending on condition

I collect the pre Gracia Sakos and have 3 of them. Great rifle.

If you look around can pick-up for around $800

They came in both rifle and carbine style.
These were both .243's but the carbine is now a .358.
Mine are shooters and show their mileage......

If you like that .243 and can afford it, you'll likely never regret the purchase. They're one of the very best factory jobs ever offered IMO.

I had one in the 1970s. I wish I still had it.

What? It twas not a Remmy 700? Unbelievable!

I have an L579 heavy barrel .243. It's a nice piece of machinery, it shoots very, very accurately. 85 grain TSXs in it kill Bambi like magic. I paid $600 for mine five years ago and it's a 60s vintage gun. Around here, anything under $1000 is pretty good for one of the older guns.

Mine had the words "Bofors Steel" on the right side of the barrel. No Stoeger or Garcia. Gave $450 for it 5 years ago. Sporter weight barrel. There was a rust spot on the bolt release latch and housing. Another rifle I should have kept. Still have the rings if anybody needs them.

I paid $650 for my pre-garcia 243, would gladly pay it again for another one. They are a very high quality firearm that would cost considerably more to manufacture at today's prices than what they sell for used.