Old Sako Value

[JohnK]

They are FINE rifles, whether Sako actions, or Mauser actions.

I bought a .243, and .222 Rem. Mag, back in the 60's; shot out the barrel of the .243, with about 4,000 rounds.

I still have the .222 Rem. Mag, and it'll still cut a clover leaf with Nosler Ballistic Tips.

 

[EMP3]

I own two Sako AV rifles. Both will shoot one-hole groups at a hundred all day long. They're hunting rifles, not target rifles; I use hunting ammo, not target ammo.

Prices of Sako rifles have gone orbital. I'm not sure I'm buy a Sako 85. But if I were getting in to hunting anew, I would. Since I have two, I'm more than good for the rest of my hunting seasons. But, but, but were Sake to reintroduce the Finnwolf, well, I can see how I'd spring for a copy. Or...were Sako come out with a blued steel and gorgeous wood stock .308 Win carbine, then I'd buy two more Sakos. I could put a .308 Win carbine to a lot of big game hunting use ;-)

Sakos are solid, reliable, accurate rifles. Were I to own only one rifle, it'd be a Sako.

A custom rifle builder would do well to replicate Sako quality.

 

[alwslate]

Agreed. This is when sako built rifles before they made actions. I have heard numbers like 800 to 1000 dollars. It is not worth selling. The quality that i see in today's rifles, cannot duplicate this rifle.

There is a very limited market for 30-06 hunting rifles compared
to AR 15s or semi auto pistols and many young buyers either
can't or won't pay the price for older high quality rifles. There
are lots of cheap hunting rifles that are pieced together from
many stamped parts and come with a low quality 3X-9X scope
already mounted. They usually feature a cheap synthetic stock
and serve well enough for a once a year deer hunter. But you're
right that some guns aren't worth selling. Unless you could be
happy with one of the cheapies you'd just have to take the
money from your gun and spend it all or more for a
replacement.

 

[Frank46]

Might be a little O.T. so here goes. Back about ten years I wanted a 30-06 Hunting rifle here in Louisiana. Local dealer showed me a Steyr in 30-06. Had the adjustable length of pull by either removing or replacing the various inserts for the butt plate. First three shots could be covered with a quarter. Then I notices the cases. Each and every one showed a distinctive wedding band near the solid portion of the case head. Dealer test fired the rifle with the same result. So I ended up with a Sako 75 Hunter with walnut stock. That rifle is the most consistent '06 I have ever shot. I had a deacelerator butt pad after the stock had been cut 1 inch. It loves my handloads and even has an affair with some old M72 made by Lake City in 1967. There was a rumor floating around that Sako barrels were the hardest ones in terms of rockwell hardness tests. All I know is that after 1100 rounds fired mostly with my IMR 4350 handloads that barrel shows little if any wear. Frank

 

[C J]

FN actions weren't exactly cheap junk especially Mauser based actions. Pair that with a Sako barrel and that's a recipe for one fine rifle IMO. It may not be up to the level of a more modern Sako 85 but it won't have the price tag of those rifles either. Sako is one of the very best rifle makers IMO. And I'd guess that even an older model would still be a very fine model. I'd have to shoot it before I sold it if it was me. You may find that it doesn't have that spectacular accuracy more modern Sako's have but then again it might. I would want to know before I sold a rifle like that. I'd check it with a number of loads just to see. But I hate giving up really good quality guns of any kind. I have sold more than a few and some were pretty nice but something that good I would very likely have until I die if it's anything like the Sako's I've been around.

 

[handejector]

Lots of data here-
Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

 

[Narragansett]

Lots of data here-
Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

Thank you. Did not know this existed

 

[EMP3]

A North American big game hunter needs no other rifle were he hunting with a Sako chambered for .30-'06. No, I don't own one. I didn't have brains when they'd of done me good.

Caution: Sako Collectors Club will entice you to adopt a huge family of Sako rifles. It's an extremely contagious epidemic for which there's no vaccine.

I forgot something: when I move out of totalitarian CA, I'm buying a Sako .222 Rem.

 

[Narragansett]

A North American big game hunter needs no other rifle were he hunting with a Sako chambered for .30-'06. No, I don't own one. I didn't have brains when they'd of done me good.

Caution: Sako Collectors Club will entice you to adopt a huge family of Sako rifles. It's an extremely contagious epidemic for which there's no vaccine.

I forgot something: when I move out of totalitarian CA, I'm buying a Sako .222 Rem.

It can't be any worse than the group on this forum that would have you joining the S&W a week club. Actually I have many rifles, and I have not bought a rifle in over 35 years with the exception of a beautiful 1942 Remington Targetmaster 22 a few months ago. Most of my rifles have not been fired in over 30 years, some maybe even 40 years. I have a Belgium made Browning Safari grade heavy bbl in 222 that uses a Sako short action. Great caliber and rifle. Old world quality and craftsmanship

 

[C J]

Actually I have many rifles, and I have not bought a rifle in over 35 years with the exception of a beautiful 1942 Remington Targetmaster 22 a few months ago.

There's plenty to be said for older rifles especially high quality models. But it's also true that advances in manufacturing have made modern rifles significantly more accurate as a general rule. There were of course accurate rifles many years ago but in my experience they don't match modern rifles.

Anything made in the past 15 years especially has a really good shot at being a MOA rifle right out of the box. That mostly wasn't true of older rifles but of course some were that accurate.

I like old rifles. Don't get me wrong. But for shooting pleasure I will take a newer model every time because I like hitting what I shoot at. Sako, Howa, Weatherby, Savage, CZ, and others make exceptionally accurate rifles now with many of them guaranteed to be MOA rifles. That really doesn't decrease the value of older rifles but not a lot of them were MOA out of the box. Unfortunately modern Remington's are not what they once were according to what I hear. I haven't shot any really good new Remington's but I've shot several that weren't. There are still good Browning and Winchester rifles but they are made by different companies than the ones that made them years ago. A 1942 Targetmaster would almost certainly be more accurate than modern Remington rifles.

 

[Narragansett]

There's plenty to be said for older rifles especially high quality models. But it's also true that advances in manufacturing have made modern rifles significantly more accurate as a general rule. There were of course accurate rifles many years ago but in my experience they don't match modern rifles.

Anything made in the past 15 years especially has a really good shot at being a MOA rifle right out of the box. That mostly wasn't true of older rifles but of course some were that accurate.

I like old rifles. Don't get me wrong. But for shooting pleasure I will take a newer model every time because I like hitting what I shoot at. Sako, Howa, Weatherby, Savage, CZ, and others make exceptionally accurate rifles now with many of them guaranteed to be MOA rifles. That really doesn't decrease the value of older rifles but not a lot of them were MOA out of the box. Unfortunately modern Remington's are not what they once were according to what I hear. I haven't shot any really good new Remington's but I've shot several that weren't. There are still good Browning and Winchester rifles but they are made by different companies than the ones that made them years ago. A 1942 Targetmaster would almost certainly be more accurate than modern Remington rifles.

I agree for sure that the accuracy of today's rifles is probably superior to the older guns. I have an old Browning safari grade HB 222 with a sako action, and it will shoot 3 shots that can be covered by a dime. MOA and sub MOA accuracy IMHO comes more into play shooting woodchucks at 300 + yards. I don't think it matters all that much that a fine older rifle will only shoot 1 1/2 " at 100 yards when shooting a large animal at say 100 yards. Obviously, that accuracy becomes more important as distance increases. I used to be a handloader, and tuned loads to rifles to bring the groups tighter. That does make a difference. I guess I am more about craftsmanship, style, wood and deep bluing at this point in my life. I am far better with a shotgun now than a bullet

 

[H Richard]

I adopted a L46 Riihimaki in 1987. I believe it dates to the early 1950's. It was in a Bishop Walnut sporter stock and of course in .222 Rem. With my favorite recipe of 4198 and a Speer JHP 52 gr, it will still have rounds touch each other at 100 yards. It has taken it's share of Prairie Dogs mostly in the 200 yard or so range. It is a joy to shoot, it's my walking around gun with a 4X12 Redfield scope.

 

[federali]

Good Thread

Good reading here. I have two Sakos which I believe were the A-2 actions. Both started life as .243s. One remains in original condition while the other was completely customized and is now in 7mm-08. This particular rifle started out as a barreled action obtained from a gunsmith.

One of the changes made was to reduce magazine capacity by one round, resulting in a slimmer rifle through the action. The rifle is really light and in 7mm-08, it stings the shoulder harder than one might expect.