|
|
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 21,832 Likes: 4
Campfire Ranger
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 21,832 Likes: 4 |
Get it re-chambered  That made me chring. 
Parents who say they have good kids..Usually don't!
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 5,203
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 5,203 |
Sako has to be the best made production rifle you can get your hands on. They were built by craftsmen and hand fitted to perfection. I say were, as I wouldn't even consider owning a new Sako.
The pre-Garcia is an era of rifle making that appeals to the real rifleman. The Garcia era guns carried on with that tradition until around the early 70's, when they did some changes that weren't accepted well by the Sako shooters.
Bofors Steel is regarded as some of the best barrel steel you can get, and Sako used it until around 1973. There is a ton of information not known about Sako and I don't want to add to that confusion, but if you want the best rifle from a production facility, a pre-Garcia in any chambering will be the choice.
This is a list of models, serial numbers and years of production. It isn't the complete build history of Sakos, but it does show some models and years they were produced...
Model Change First date First number
Last number Last date
P54 12.08.1954 20001 44052 24.05.1972
P72 09.02.1972 00101 03246 09.05.1974
M78 Stamp change P72==>M78 12.06.1979 711755 719490 15.08.1983
M78 Hornet 18.12.1979 712716 713685
L46 ja L469 25.09.1946 1 57000 25.09.1962
L461 26.09.1962 57001 134252 27.12.1973
L461 Numbering change 09.05.1974 134253 156953 30.09.1977
L461 Stamp change L461==>AI 30.09.1979 156954
L461 Change of the rear part of the receiver 03.05.1982 174331 179589 08.01.1985
L461 Action manufactured by CNC-machines 09.08.1985 179701
L461 Two part trigger guard 08.03.1989 187382 191580 28.01.1991
L461 PPC Numbers mixed with L461 03.11.1987 183762 191245 04.01.1991
L461 PPC Special numbering in cal. 6 mm PPC 03.08.1987 A-001 C-180 15.02.1990
L461 PPC Special numbering in cal. 22 PPC 10.08.1987 A-001 A-553 15.04.1988
L461 Common numbering 05.02.1991 800049 823847 19.05.1992
S491 Change of model and stamp AI==>S491 25.08.1992 827162
L57 14.01.1957 1 10090 09.10.1959
L579 29.01.1960 10091 118961 15.02.1973
L579 Special numbering 24.05.1973 1 310
L579 Numbering change 09.05.1974 300001 327115 27.12.1977
L579 Stamp change L579 ==>AI 03.11.197 327116
L579 Change of the rear part of the receiver 03.05.1982 351081 359880 28.12.1984
L579 Action manufactured by CNC-machines 22.05.1985 360001 372629 27.06.1989
L579 Two part trigger guard and new magazine opening 04.05.1989 380001 385127 31.01.1991
L579 Common numbering 06.02.1991 800316 821799 01.04.1992
M591 LH New model and stamp M591 18.10.1991 816120
L61R 31.01.1962 1 90954 12.09.1973
Yes the old ones were superior to old Winchesters but not to Zbrojovka Brno, Mannlicher Schoenauers, Weatherby of J.P. Sauer or before era or old FN Browning bolt guns. Interestingly some Brownings in smaller calibers were made using Sako actions.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,054
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 2,054 |
I love my heavy Sako 22-250 marked 'Firearms International, Washington, D.C.' That one's a beauty and near perfect condition.
There was a Sako in 222 Rem Mag on Gunbroker. I messaged the seller to warn him of the POS he owned and made a generous offer to take off his hands at reasonable value less the cost to rebarrel to a real chambering. Must've been one of the regulars her selling it because the only response was GFY
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 7,360
Campfire Tracker
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 7,360 |
Always had a thing for pre-Garcia Mannlichers....
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro."
Hunter S. Thompson
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24,580 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24,580 Likes: 2 |
Yes the old ones were superior to old Winchesters but not to Zbrojovka Brno, Mannlicher Schoenauers, Weatherby of J.P. Sauer or before era or old FN Browning bolt guns. Interestingly some Brownings in smaller calibers were made using Sako actions.
You really are a polack...
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 18,453
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 18,453 |
Kirk, I used to shoot my friends older Finnbear in 7mm Rem Mag and it was probably one of the most accurate factory rifles I've ever shot. Even using factory Federal loaded with Nosler Partitions, it would consistently shoot 3 shots touching each other @ 100 yrds. It was made around the mid to late 70's I believe. After he bought that rifle, I bought Husky 8000 ( the fancier one with nice walnut with a rosewood forend tip and grip cap) and while it too was a beautiful rifle with a super smooth action, it couldn't match the accuracy of the Sako.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,735
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 1,735 |
My Sako collection is a 1966 'Forester', bought from the original owner, mint. The second is a Model 75, also mint, both in 243.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 28,819 Likes: 6
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 28,819 Likes: 6 |
The Foresters and Vixens are just about perfect, I think. The long-actions are pretty heavy, about the right weight for a .338. I don't need a .375, but if I did, I'd try to find a nice Sako before I got something else. They come, I believe, in an even longer action, but I've never seen one.
What fresh Hell is this?
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,059
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 1,059 |
Have two, a L579 .308 Mannlicher (my whitetail rifle) and a L579 Deluxe .243 I bought years ago for my youngest daughter. Sweet guns.
"By the time you realize your father was a smart man, you have a teenager telling you just how stupid you are."
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,153 Likes: 13
Campfire Kahuna
|
|
Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 60,153 Likes: 13 |
Yes, the pre-Garcia Sakos were fine rifles. Even the white-line spacers in their stocks were a cut above all but a few others (I know this from my own .222 L46, made around 1965). But to say they were the finest rifles ever made is a stretch. I suspect Slavek is being a little tongue-in-cheek with his comments on the .222, but several other European companies know how to make fine rifles, and made them during the same period as the pre-Garcia Sakos.
I must also comment that the most accurate out-of-the-box Sako I've ever fired was a 75 in .308. In fact it was one of those really boring rifles that was perfect as-is, with no need to tweak the trigger pull, bed the stock, or anything else, and shot more accurately than any custom hunting-weight .308 I've ever fired. But a lot of Campfire members would rather pay somebody a thousand or three $$$ to customize a Remington 700 (or 700 clone).
But I have noticed that several of Shrapnel's pre-Garcia Sakos were restocked, perhaps because he found the white-line spacers in the factory stocks unacceptable.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24,580 Likes: 2
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 24,580 Likes: 2 |
But I have noticed that several of Shrapnel's pre-Garcia Sakos were restocked, perhaps because he found the white-line spacers in the factory stocks unacceptable.
I only have one Sako of any configuration that has been restocked. It is still restocked with an Original Sako stock that I had bedded and floated to preserve the stock that came on that rifle so I could shoot it. You were the one to tell me to do that...
Last edited by shrapnel; 01/11/15.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 23,642
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 23,642 |
The long-actions are pretty heavy, about the right weight for a .338. I don't need a .375, but if I did, I'd try to find a nice Sako before I got something else. They come, I believe, in an even longer action, but I've never seen one. The 338's & 375, at least on models up through the AV's, are all on the same action. MM
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,676
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 2,676 |
I've had a few Sakos come through my hands and the one I'd be quite happy to have back is a mid 60s Forester in 243.(and not because of the cartridge particularly) Beautiful action and nicely proportioned to that case size. I'd love to put together a 7-08 on that action!
The larger actions (L61s) are just as nice but the rifles are typically way too heavy for std cartridges, for me. About right for a 300 or 338 mag, which I have no desire to hunt with any more.
Last edited by patbrennan; 01/12/15.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 4,016
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 4,016 |
So, tell me about the Colt Coltsman?
I have one in .264 WM. Looks like a Sako Super Deluxe. Very nice rifle.
Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch. Freedom comes from the recognition of certain rights which may not be taken, not even by a 99% vote.
*Marvin Simkin* L.A. Times (1992)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,164
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,164 |
There are a lot of variations of the Colt Coltsman depending on which model and the time period of its production. The earliest Coltsman was built on an L57 Sako action but did not have a Sako barrel. Later versions were produced on the L461/579/61R actions and may or may not have Sako barrels. I think the Deluxe models were mostly all Sako. The Coltsman is a fine rifle. If you have a chance, post a pic of yours. It would be cool to see a pic of that Coltsman Deluxe.
"Good judgment comes from experience but unfortunately, experience is often derived from a series of bad judgments"
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 4,016
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 4,016 |
Obviously, the bottom one. ![[Linked Image]](http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/ww360/mcmurphrjk/Misc/000_0294.jpg)
Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch. Freedom comes from the recognition of certain rights which may not be taken, not even by a 99% vote.
*Marvin Simkin* L.A. Times (1992)
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 29,383
Campfire Ranger
|
|
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 29,383 |
Yes the old ones were superior to old Winchesters but not to Zbrojovka Brno, Mannlicher Schoenauers, Weatherby of J.P. Sauer or before era or old FN Browning bolt guns. Interestingly some Brownings in smaller calibers were made using Sako actions.
You really are a polack... Holy F......LOL
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,164
Campfire Regular
|
|
Campfire Regular
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,164 |
mcm,
Wow, that is a sweet rifle. That's one of the nicest Coltsman's that I've ever seen! What stamp does it have on the barrel?
"Good judgment comes from experience but unfortunately, experience is often derived from a series of bad judgments"
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 4,016
Campfire Tracker
|
|
Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 4,016 |
I re-barrelled it, so collector value is gone, but it was originally Bofors. 264 WM is a little rough on barrels.
Don't have it in front of me, but as I recall serial # is 159. I believe that would make it a 1961? About the same age as the Westerner above it.
Democracy is not freedom. Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to eat for lunch. Freedom comes from the recognition of certain rights which may not be taken, not even by a 99% vote.
*Marvin Simkin* L.A. Times (1992)
|
|
|
|
|
536 members (10gaugeman, 12344mag, 10Glocks, 160user, 1936M71, 007FJ, 68 invisible),
2,467
guests, and
1,252
robots. |
|
Key:
Admin,
Global Mod,
Mod
|
|
|
Forums81
Topics1,192,445
Posts18,489,603
Members73,970
| |
Most Online11,491
Jul 7th, 2023
|
|
|
|
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/G9RDVKXr/DSCN4329.jpg)
