Trigger appears like those produced by SAKO when SAKO used FN made actions for the bolt action rifles SAKO sold.
BINGO! A little image searching revealed a lot. I found this exact trigger and floorplate combo on 50's vintage Sako FN 98's, complete with the total absence of markings on the receiver above the wood line. All markings below the wood line are identical to this rifle. Same for the floorplate - common on most of the Sako FNs I found.
One question though regards the serial number. All the Sako FN rifles I saw had the serial number on the left side of the barrel breech, just below the word "SAKO" and there is no s/n visible on the action. On this rifle, there is a 4-digit serial number stamped, somewhat unevenly, on the left of the receiver ring. The same number appears under the action on the flat behind the recoil lug in a different-sized stamping,.
I will be doing some more research on the Sako Collectors forum, but my guess is the FN receivers supplied to Sako had an FN s/n on the action flat, which Sako ignored, starting their FN models with 100,000 marked on the barrel. I am guessing this rifle was built from one of those Sakos, and the smith transferred the original FN s/n using the same stamps he used to mark the new caliber and mark his shop (Lazy J...) The s/n appears to be the same "font" as all the other marks the maker of this custom rifle applied.
I'll post back with what I learn.
Any more input will be much appreciated. Such as, were those Sako triggers available from somewhere else or did Sako make them in-house?
Did FN sell actions marked like this one to other than Sako?
Thanks,
Rex
