Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Refinish Pre-Garcia Sako at Hill Country Rifles or not?

Just got a harvester plus from HCR. Their work is outstanding, and I can't say enough about how well they do. But that being said, if my kid ever refinishes it after I'm gone I'll be haunting his a$$

Great idea. Why throw money away.

I usually regret doing things like that. I would leave it alone other than the pad if you need it.

Yes, unless for LOP that particular brand and model in caliber listed does not need recoil pad, wonderful.

If something bugs you and you want to change it, then go ahead and change it if you want. I've modified brand new rifles right out of the box, even before shooting them.

If shrapnel sees this thread, we're gonna have problems.




Travis

There were some original pads available awhile ago on the sakocollectors site. Other than the pad and swivel repair, I would leave the rifle alone.

My Forester has an aftermarket pad fitted by a previous owner. It's a .243, so likely it had a hard buttplate when new. All I did to it was remove the white spacers and take it apart to clean it up good.

Really nice rifles; well worth seeking out as shooters. This one will probably go to my grandson when he comes of age or I go under.

You gotta be $hittin' me.

Leave that rifle alone. Or give it to someone who appreciates it. I like a rifle with a little character......

In that case, I'd dial it in to suit me.

Been surfin GB a lot lately looking for price comparisons and ran across a listing in BA's & SAKO that had original SAKO styled butt pads, but would need to be ground down for an exact fit. Don't remember the prices, but didn't seem too bad to put on the tired A III 270 I was looking at & had the typical crushed pad from being stored in a closet or vertical gun rack on the butt.
Ron

The OP has no choice on the sling swivel, if he wants to keep and use the stock. Those and the recoil pad are easy to replace and keep the originals for resale, if it comes to that. Not a big deal.

If it was my rig, I'd do what Hamrick suggested. Buy a stock to fit and mess with it to fit your needs and keep the original in the way back of the safe. That's what I've done with old rifles of sentimental value to preserve the original equipment. Also helps if plans change in the future and you or somebody else needs to sell it.

The old Finnbears that I've had the privilege to fondle had great fit, feel and balance. It is a beauty!

Only you can make the choice. Everybody has their own take on it. Go with what you want to do with your rifle.

I found a used McMillan Sako Classic for my L61R. Stuck the wood in the closet.

I'd look for a good smith that would do a nice custom stock for it to go along with the McMillan. Keep the original.

+2 ...

My Dad left me his 1950's model Colt Huntsman. He introduced me and my sons to shooting with that 22. Before he gave it to me, he had it refinished. I am proud to have it, but I wish he had left it alone. That finish wear was evidence of his life and times--my time with him--and his grandsons.
Fix the sling stud. Replace the recoil pad if you must. If the bolt is starting to rust--polish it. Don't make it something it is not. It is a 50 year old hunting rife from you Dad. You can't improve on that.

If it was mine I'd fix the swivel, replace the pad and hunt it a bunch more. Looks to be in very nice shape, from the pics.

Poor guy...by the end of this thread, he will have locked it away in the back of the safe, afraid to take it out and 'damage' the collector value.

I'm with Rick and Pat....fix the stuff that needs fixing, refinish what you like and keep on hunting.

One of my fav rifles is one of those in 30/06 and also have one in 270 I wouldn't recomend a refinish as they are light wood with a stain. I tried it on a 579 and just couldn't get the stain to take..my 06 had a really bad pad so I changed it out for a little thicker one to get som more length.
If your rifle is well used keep using it.. My 270 is in a McMillan stock and is a dream to shoot and hunt with but I still use the wood stocked 06 much more.

When put that way......you are probably right. There's a lot of great suggestions on here and I'm thinking the ones along this line might be best. After this deer season I will replace the recoil pad and put on detach sling studs (or the originals as one poster said new ones won't fit without being filled) and keep hunting it hard. Now....which recoil pad? Pachmyr?

I really don't care for plastic stocks, even the nice ones, and I'm not afraid to scratch the wood. I've been hunting with the rifle since I was a very young kid and it's been knocked on bunches of trees when being climbed and doors when getting into blinds. I like the way it looks and enjoy the character so I think everyone who said leave it alone is probably right. It's a great rifle I hope to pass on someday.

My question now is really what to do about the sling studs (keep original and have the wood filled or put new quick detach studs on) and what recoil pad to use. I like the original Sako pads and found some online as mentioned but they will just get crushed again as it will be standing up on its butt in my safe.

...post edited for typos.