Sako Scope Rings

Messrs., Rover/Valentine.....

Nice to find two aficianados here. I, like you, loved the SAKOs, the only problems I have seen have been from the perspective, as I see it, in the minds of the SAKO managers. These rifles were conceived as hunting rifles first & always, then there were those who spoke of BR, and/or varmint shooting needs here, so SAKO conceded & brought out some single shots, but these were an accommodation to be achieved through an existing design; I believe they never wanted to get in to BR seriously, or the production of the acessories you mention, because they saw the market as too limited, & looked at the small, semi-custom makers in the US as being better able to meet these market demands if warranted, which would mean more reasonable competition for them if they tried to meet this limited demand. The Europeans tend to be very rigid in these matters when they see the end as being not something profitably attainable. The 22 & 6PPCs were nothing more than a, "Throw them a bone" acknowledgement of this type of shooting(single-shot hunting) by a few individuals, and, when there weren't clamoring hordes beating down the gates for more of the same, the "See? I told you..." mentality was reinforced for the board. Now, with the confiscationalist mentality rampant throughout the world, after sucesses in the uK & Australia, & inexorably licking for crumbs of triumph here, they probably adopted the defeatest mentality, sold out to Beretta & took their retirements & don't have to worry about it any more. And there WILL be more problems here, as this IS a very OLD tactic.....within the next two years or so, there will more than likely be more of the "Loner" or, "Lone-nut" shooters as there have been in the past. Create a problem, then provide the solution, which will be an ever further ratcheting-down of people's rights because, "the world's just a dangerous place" now & "these people hate us for our freedoms, the way we live."(remember that one??) I hate to get that way, but believe me, I had two Europeans over the last 10yrs. tell me the market was getting smaller because, "people just do not use firearms like they used to... they go to the beach..." And I agree with you, they were nice enjoyable, accurate little guns to use. I often wondered if a company or custom maker on a specialty or limited-production basis would make something using the design, upgraded for safety if needed, w/modern high-speed machinery & would make, say, 200-600/yr. for...$1500-$1800 a copy? I like to think that, but it would probably wind up being somebody like Dakota that would make it heavy-enough-you-can't-possibly-hurt-yourself-$3500-don't-you-really-like-it?? expensive, then you'd only want to take it to Africa.
 
I couldn't find...

the picture of the single shot on page 1. But I did want to ask: you said the 491 was available in 22PPC? Have you seen it in any others? I have a friend that got one in .222 REM 5-6 yrs. ago, any other cals. in that configuration?? Thanks, Brian
 
Brian Roberts

The model 491 was available in 17 Rem, 222 Rem, 223, 22 PPC USA, 6 PPC USA.

Rich
 
Quote - Brian Roberts:
… SAKO conceded & brought out some single shots, but these were an accommodation to be achieved through an existing design; I believe they never wanted to get in to BR seriously, or the production of the accessories you mention …

I can well imagine that Sako never had ANY ambition to get into BR seriously, because that would have required, at minimum, a completely new, purpose-built action which most likely would have NEVER made a profit for them. Don’t think for a moment that it is only European and Scandinavian gun makers that think along these lines, either. Remington is the only major US manufacturer to have ever tried it – and that was just a ‘warm-over’ of an existing model, which had a fairly short innings. That may have been partly due to key personnel leaving the company, but I would take a fair bet that it was their ‘chief bean counter’ who really put the boot in.

As far as Sako’s lack of ultra-light, BR type triggers is concerned, I strongly suspect you can blame the American penchant for litigation. They have, for many years, made set triggers (for their own rifles) which can be taken down to very low let-off weights, but they have steadfastly refused to sell them in the US. Guess why?

Quote - Brian Roberts:
... The 22 & 6PPCs were nothing more than a, "Throw them a bone" acknowledgement of this type of shooting (single-shot hunting) by a few individuals, and, when there weren't clamouring hordes beating down the gates for more of the same, the "See? I told you..." mentality was reinforced for the board ...

I’d call that a fairly sweeping statement. Sako first started producing heavy-barrelled, single shot, ‘varmint’ style rifles in various small calibres back in the 1960s, if not before, and by factory rifle standards, most of them were pretty darned accurate shooters. The AI action PPC rifles that came out in the late 1980s were more of an incremental improvement than a quantum leap. How much of it was due to the quality of the basic rifles, and how much to the inherent accuracy of the PPC cartridges and the quality of the ammunition, is open to debate. Whatever, Sako continued to chamber rifles for the PPC cartridges for the remainder of the life of the A series rifles, all of the life of the 491/591/691 series, and for several years of production of the Model 75. At least a ten year period, as I recall, which would indicate a fair degree of perseverance.

I never heard any ‘official’ statement on why Sako dropped the PPC chamberings, but it was probably just because of falling sales volume. The rifles were never going to cut the mustard in serious BR competition, and a lot of people wouldn’t regard either PPC cartridge as a first choice for varminting purposes. I use my 6PPC for a form of 100m and 200m four position target shooting that I participate in, and I consider it excellent for that purpose. However, for reasons that would take too long to detail here, it is less than ideal for the types of small game shooting that I do. My Sako AI in 222 and my custom 223 are much more suitable.


But despite the apparent ‘lack of purpose’, it seems that the older model Sakos chambered for PPC cartridges, especially AI jobs in good condition, fetch whopping prices on the second-hand market. I guess people just like them because they are well made, accurate, and fun to shoot.
 
RedRover

A bit of SAKO history will reveal the PPC was available during the later part of 1979, not the late 80s. Models M591 and L691 were never chambered in the PPC rounds. The "A" series of rifles was given that designation, (A), for the US market. My library of SAKO history shows that the AI/AII/AV designations were originally used for imports to the US only. The rifles themselves, were designated L461/L579/L61.

Rich
 
A bit of SAKO history will reveal the PPC was available during the later part of 1979, not the late 80s.

OK, I’ll take your word for it. I first became aware of Sakos being chambered for the PPC cartridges in the late eighties, and understood from what I read at the time that it was something new for them. So they must have chambered rifles for the PPC cartridges for around twenty years …

Models M591 and L691 were never chambered in the PPC rounds.
I wrote “the life of the 491/591/691 SERIES”. (capitals added for emphasis) I am well aware that it was only the 491 that was chambered for the PPCs. Sako would hardly chamber rifles of three different action lengths all for the same (short) pair of cartridges.


The "A" series of rifles was given that designation, (A), for the US market. My library of SAKO history shows that the AI/AII/AV designations were originally used for imports to the US only. The rifles themselves, were designated L461/L579/L61. Rich
The Sako rifles I own were all purchased brand new, in New Zealand. The receiver of the 222 is stamped AI 17****. So the AI designation must have spread beyond the US. I would be amazed if the Sako rifles, etc that the NZ agents were handling were sourced from America, rather than direct from Finland.
 
RedRover

Here is a direct quote from SAKO:
"In 1985, SAKO started using the AI/AII/AIII/AV designations (previously used for the models imported to the US) for the three action lengths in Europe. The complete rifles are still designated L461/L597/L61. The bolt is given a slight cosmetic makeover, with the hammer covered by a conical shell. A modified, larger diameter version of the short (vixen) action is produced for the 22 PPC and 6mm PPC cartridges denoted "22 PPC USA and 6MM PPC USA", to avoid confusion with the specialized bench rest cartridges which require a "tight neck" chamber". End of quote. I have numerous SAKO rifles, both stock and modified. Everyone is a jewel.

Rich
 
Wow – this gets even more confusing. I wonder if some things are getting scrambled in the translations from Finish to English? Or were Sako just lousy record keepers? What exactly do they mean by ‘designated’? What is actually stamped on the rifles, or what is written in their catalogues and other documentation?

According to the table of manufacturing dates on the Sako web site (www.sako.fi) my 222 rifle (which almost certainly did not go through the US agents) would have been made somewhere around the beginning of 1982. The receiver is clearly stamped AI. This agrees with the line on that table which shows that they started stamping the L461 rifles as AI in 1979. However it is at odds with the material Rich quotes, above, which seems to imply that until 1985, only rifles exported to the US were so stamped. Furthermore, my rifle has what appears to be ‘the hammer covered by a conical shell’ as described above – which supposedly did not come out until 1985.

It’s enough to make your head spin. I have never seen the original factory documentation for it (I bought the rifle second-hand) so I don’t know what that ‘designated’ it.

The table is somewhat confusing in regard to the Sako rifles chambered for PPC cartridges, too. On one line it says that the numbers of PPC rifles were mixed up with other L461 rifles from Nov 1987 to Jan 1991, and on the next two lines, says that special numbers were used for the PPCs from Aug 1987 to Feb 1990. Nothing about PPCs prior to Aug 87. Then it goes on to show the use of ‘Common Numbers’ for the L461/AI, whatever you want to call it, from Feb 91 to May 92, when production of that model ceased.

What happened between Feb 90 and Feb 91? Back to ‘Mixed Numbers? How does that differ from ‘Common Numbers?

Were the ‘special’ numbers only used for the single-shot PPC rifles, does anybody know?

Rich, to repeat my earlier question, where, EXACTLY, is the diameter of the action of your L461 PPC larger than your 223? As I have said, I have measured my 222 and 6PPC actions pretty carefully, and I cannot find any differences, except for the diameters of the bolt face counterbores. (well, the styling of the bolt handles is slightly different, but that is just cosmetic)

BTW, where did the info from Sako that you have quoted actually come from? I’ve had quite a lengthy prowl around their web site, but I couldn’t find anything like it there.
 
RedRover

To answer your question about "where" the action is bigger, I don't know. I'm not going to take apart my guns for that investigation. I have a small library of SAKO documentation regarding SAKO firearms. As I said, my father was a SAKO owner and shooter for many years. Between the factory catalogs and documentation in my possession, and the box of documentation stored at my mothers house in Arizona, there is a wealth of information. I checked your source of info on the SAKO site you quote, and found in big bold letters below the manufacturing and description tables the following: " please note that these old manufacturing dates are only indicative".
 
Quote:

To answer your question about "where" the action is bigger, I don't know. I'm not going to take apart my guns for that investigation.

Why would you need to take anything apart? From simple measurements of the bolts and receivers of my 222 and 6PPC, I was able to verify that all their principal dimensions are identical. I can only assume that with L461 rifles chambered for the PPC cartridges, model variations must exist – and mine is a different model to that described in the literature you quoted.

Quote:

I checked your source of info on the SAKO site you quote, and found in big bold letters below the manufacturing and description tables the following: " please note that these old manufacturing dates are only indicative".

Yes, I saw the note myself – I could hardly overlook it. But unless those dates, shown to the very DAY, are subject to errors of several YEARS, most of the comments I made are still valid.
 
Yup :)

THIS is why I've been cornfuzed about eggzackly what I got..

It shoots perty good though!

LOL


al
 
RedRover

Below you will find the name of a great and reliable source of SAKO information. Whether or not it remains in print, I can't say. I have a copy, but there are just too many pages to copy. If you can find one, you will have to find a translator. I am fortunate my mother (89 years young) is alive to translate for me. This book also lists the dates of manufacture by serial number. Hope you can find a copy.
"ARMA FENNICA".

Rich
 
Quote: Below you will find the name of a great and reliable source of SAKO information.

Thanks for the info. Can you give me any other details about this book, please? Author(s)? Publisher? ISBN number? Any of these would help in tracking it down.

I’ve just had a recollection of reading in an old Sinclair International catalogue (which I can’t lay hand to right now) that if you wanted to order one of their bore guides for small Sako actioned rifles, you MUST state the exact bolt diameter. I looked up their on-line catalogue, and I see that they list Sako bore guides for bolt diameters of 0.555”, 0.590”, 0.630”, 0.675” and 0.740". Both my L461/AI bolts are 0.555” diameter. To the best of my knowledge, all the medium length Sako actions used bolts of at least 0.630” diameter, and maybe larger.

0.590” sounds a very possible bolt diameter for an L461 length action which has been beefed up a bit to handle cartridges like the 7.62X39, and the PPCs. Can anyone out there either confirm or refute this guess?
 
messers.....

Yeah, Al, that's messers, not masseurs....massoosez'ez ain't so bad, though!!!
Rover, You'd do better to have someone turn down some Delrin for you for a ROD guide, rather than get it from Sinclair.
That way, you could have the hole bored about .015-.020 over the size of the rod, & get something that'll work properly to guide the ROD. Those ''ready-mades", I've always found too big to do a good job....everyone's been trained to put mufflers & doodads on the back & shove a patch through the whole guide; I find they don't do as good a job....but, that's me.
 
Rover, You'd do better to have someone turn down some Delrin for you for a ROD guide, rather than get it from Sinclair.

I'm not planning to get Sinclair bore guides. What I had read about them ages ago was just something that crossed my mind when I was pondering over what different diameter bolts Sako may have used in short actions.
 
Sako action pics

I'm reposting the L461 factory single-shot pic, plus a pic of a repeater L461 action.

Also, I'll note a couple of other differences between the L461 and AI actions. The AI action recoil lug front is tapered to the action face, whereas the L461 lugface is flat. Also, the AI front action screw hole is completely drilled/tapped through the action threads, where the L461 front action screw hole is blind. Differences.....although small.

Kevin

Factory L461 single-shot action
SakoL461SSaction.jpg


L461 repeater action
SakoL461Act1022xx10506.jpg
 
Here's what mine looks like..... it's a different animal than that one.

Sorry about the sidewise pix...... notice that the bolt shroud is tapered and knurled, not round like above action.


al
 

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Nice rifle AL !!

I have one just like it, in 22PPC.......they are single-shot AI actions. Nice triggers, huh?

Here's a pic of an AI repeater action in a stock(it's in-the-white). I plan on building a coyote rifle on it, chambered in 20 Duster.

Kevin
SakoAI190xxxActionStockClose.jpg
 
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