I have a chance at trading into a browning rifle, but was made by sako. caliber is 22-250
I'm waiting on pics tonight from the guy.
the wood is supposed to be exquisite, pics would speak wonders, and I'll post them when I get em.
does anyone know anything about these rifles?

It's a Browning Hi-Power rifle.They made them in three grades-Safari,Medallion,Olympian.

Probably the best mass production sporting rifle ever made,period.I have a bunch of them.They are SCARY accurate,out of the box.

Just watch out for salt cured wood,and the occasional crack in the tang,and your golden.For salt wood,just pull the barreled action out of the stock and look for rust.If there is rust,run!!!!!!!

Brian.

Many Browning Safari's were made at Fabrique (FN) in Belgium. Later the smaller calibers were made in Sweden. They were marked Sako because that is who made them (Browning really never made anything themselves.) They are great rifles, they don't have the mauser extractors, but who cares, especially in the smaller calibers. If it is less than 1000 bucks, you will make money. They are great rifles.

They were made in Finland,not Sweden.Early Sako action guns were actually made in Belgium-Sako shipped actions there,then FN barreled them and stocked them.Later,it became cheaper to send barreled actions,and they were marked made in Finland.

And lots of the Mauser actioned guns have long extractors (Mauser extractors,CRF,whatever).All 270s and 30/06s do,and every Mauser action caliber made before mid-1967.

Brian.

what would the value be if it isn't rusty under the stock, has really nice wood and is in overall 95% or better condition?
where do you suppose this one is made?
is there a way to look up the SN?

sorry wcb...Finland not Sweden...guess I was thinking of Tiger....

The small calibers had Sako actions. Whic would be the one you are looking at. The larger ones had FN actions.

It's got salt wood if it has rust under the barrel. This was a problem from 70-74 I believe. Not all had it, but alot of them did.

It should knock 15% or so off the value, but alot of folks pass these to unknowing buyers for full price.

JM

I wouldn't argue against that.

Those are real Brownings not cheap jap knock off clones that we have today.

If it's a Safari Grade,a realisitc price for today's marked would be around $1150.They've been more in the past,but right now,they just don't move like they used to.If it's a light barreled model (22 inches),which is rarer,bump it up to around $1350-ish.Of course,most people want $1500 for their's,but hey never sell either,FWIW.

If it's a Medallion Grade,$4000.

If it's an Olympian,$10,000.

Brian.

Salt wood was 1968 until 1975,with the real problem years being 1969 through 1971.

And knock off more like 50% off the price.Ask me how I know......

Brian.

She does have nice bolt knobs....

Brian.

I sold one that had it and got a grand (30-06 Safari grade).

The gun was in excellent shape besides that.

JM.

Must have been awhile ago?

Hard pressed to get $800 for an '06 Safari these days,unless it's NIB,or goregous.

Talking online sales,of course.Local,or gunshow,is different.

Brian.

It was in 98. The guy was a shooting buddy of mine. Hell, he shot it with me for 2 or 3 years before he offered to buy it. It had very little rust, but it was there.

He approached me about the sale and I called Thad Scott's in Indianola, Ms. and asked what I should get for it, salt wood and all.

I went ahead and sold it to him because I had my dad's in the same caliber and it was a 66' Date of Mfg.

Go look on Cabelas fine guns...They are a pretty whacked out. Asking anywhere from 1299 to 1990 for HighPowers. They have a few old beaters for around 800-900. GunsAmerica isn't much better.

Best,

JM

I have one made in the early 1960s. I bought it NIB in the middle 1990s from a guy who had just inherited it from his father. The bolt hadn't been in the receiver since it left the factory, and metal parts were still covered with the original factory preservative, which had become pretty sticky by then. I paid $900.00 for it. Cleaned it up, bought some factory Remington .243 100 grainers, and headed for the range. It regularly grouped right around .6 MOA. Haven't shot it much (actually, just that one time). Sort of a safe queen.

Those early 60's .243 cal. have been known to blow off folks heads shooting them.

I can fix it. Send it to me asap.

Sure thing.

You can also test for salt wood by unscrewing one of the butt plate screws and checking for rust on the screw. I don't believe, though, that any of the Sako action Brownings had the salt wood problem.

Hawk,

I think they used that wood on everything, shotguns and rifles. I may be wrong though.

I'll pm you my address for that rifle. I'm glad you weren't killed. You should thank me.

JM

so if you were looking at one, what are some questions you would ask the guy who had it?
year it was made?, type of wood?
is there a way to check by serial number?
my plan is to sell it because I have no need for a 22-250, and I could use the money

I would see if it is indeed a salt wood stock. You can do like Hawk said and remove the screws in the butt plate to check for rust.

Really just check the normal stuff, cracks in the stock, loose hardware. I would ask to shoot it as well, to make sure there are no issues with the bolt mechanism, firing pin, feeding, trigger and see what kind of groups I got.

If you can get me the serial number, I can get you the date of MFG. The date of MFG is no gaurantee of salt wood but checking the screws will tell the story.

JM

I own two and have had one other that begs to differ.

Brian.

Buttplate screws aren't always a 100% reliable way to check.I had a salt gun which broke out heavily in the action area,yet it never rusted the buttplate screws.

Brian.

Nice to know someone's rooting for me.

Ok. My mistake.

No worries.There is more disinformation out there about these rifles than any other mass produced rifle,ever.

A good book to own is Matt Eastman's Browning book.It's got an excellent,detailed chapter on this rifle.It has a couple of minor technical errors,but it's still the bible when it comes to these guns.Or any vintage Browning,for the matter.Well worth the money.

Brian.

That book is sitting on the shelf just a few feet from me right now. I was just too lazy to take it down, and was going on memory from having read it about ten years ago.

It's a good coffee table book.Great pictures.

Brian.

Yep. Covers just about everything Browning.

I wish I had one for this deal.
sounds like I could have a Gem or a lemon until I get it in my hands, makes me a little nervous

That's the way it goes with Brownings.I've had to send a bunch of them back over the years.

Brian.

Tell me about this salt wood. Was this wood recovered from the ocean, or some sort of curing operation?

Thanks.

R.

I think it was how they cured it but one of the gentlemen above would know for sure.

It was furniture wood,bought from a factory in South America IIRC.Cured with salt.Only problem was,that once the salt came through the finish,that it eats the gun away to nothing.One of the major blunders in modern firearms history.Totally distroyed a lot of high end Browning rifles and shotguns.The T-Bolt and Superposed shotguns were hit hardest.

Brian.

Brian, I gotta get that book. I heard Browning offered to replace those stocks, but FN balked, the number was just too great and the work would have practically shut down the factory.

Are you still dealing in Highpowers? When I drum up some money for another I'll give you a call if you are.

Best,

JM.

They were having trouble getting a sufficient supply of cured wood, so they developed a shortcut curing process involving the use of salt. Little did they know that guns made with the salt cured wood would cause all the guns to rust away where they contacted their wood stocks. There was a huge recall, and they replaced the stocks on all the rifles sent in, but lots of people either didn't hear about the recall, or didn't care, so lots of the salt wood stocks are still out there. I have two Browning rifles from the 1960s, but neither of them have the salt wood stocks.

Browning Salt wood guns run from about 1967 to 71,72,depending on blanks left over. The "salt wood" came from the brine solution sold by the "Morton Salt Co" to "quick-dry" wood for many uses.
And of course,the years played it toll on the metal,both FN's ad Sako action rifles,as well as Superposed shotguns. If you ever wish to see a grown man cry,ask someone that has owned a Diana or Midas grade and left it in it's box for investment purposes...
Dealers have to watch for these,as well as collectors,the "salt-infested" guns will only bring about half of a clean gun,so that's why you see the prices all over the place..

I still do,though not as much as I used.Drop me a line whenever,if I don't have what you need,I can put you in touch with people who do.

Brian.