L61R Deluxe in .270 Winchester.....what do I have?

[Garry Burkhart]

I'm new to this forum and a first time Sako owner as of today. I bought a Sako Finnbear L61R in .270 Winchester. I believe it to be deluxe grade since it has the silver engraving on the floor plate and trigger guard along with the skip line checkering on the stock. It also has the bear logo on the grip cap. The serial # is 48444. The rifle is in very good shape. I was told that it was shot very little and the bore looks to be in excellent shape. There are a few minor dings and handling marks on the stock but nothing serious. The bolt seems a little stiff but I've not had a chance to go through the rifle and clean it up yet. It doesn't have the Bofers Steel marking on the barrel. This is a beautiful rifle and I got what I believe is a great deal on it. ($800 out the door) I'll post some pictures once I get a chance to set up an account on a picture storage site. I'm anxious to take the rifle to the range and run some rounds through it. It has Weaver type rails on it and the guy I bought it from said I would just mount the rings to these rails? I'll be choosing a scope for it in the near future. Can anyone tell me what type of rings I need to look for or have a suggestion for rings? I’m too late for deer season this year but I'll probably try it out on some of the wild hogs in my area that I'm helping a friend of mine eradicate from his property. (I normally use a .308 AR pattern rifle for this but this Sako in .270 should do a fine job with the right ammo.....I've just begun to accumulate supplies to hand load my own ammo) This will be my first experience with the .270 Win caliber although I have many friends that use this round for deer hunting and they swear by it. Can anyone tell me anything more about this rifle such as approximate date of manufacture and what you think it might be worth?


Thanks.

 

[enotstehw]

Gary
The only rings I use are Sako. But if it has weaver bases then you can use weaver rings. The 270 and 30-06 are the most common Deluxes out there.
Since it's not Bofors it should be manufactured in the very late 60's, maybe 68 or 69. Post a few photos and the guys will be able to come up with a dollar value.

 

[scottbitterman]

i have found the 270 deluxe in nice shape very elusive. imho the 7mm is the most common deluxe out there

 

[stonecreek]

Gary, welcome to the forum. Always nice to see another Texan here.

You got a screaming bargain on your Deluxe .270. I'm sure you'll enjoy owning and shooting it. Enotstehw's guess of 1968-69 is a good one, but it could possibly be as late as 1970 or even 71 since Sako serial numbers don't always match the age exactly. It should have the importer's mark, "Firearms International, Wash. D.C." etched on the bottom of the barrel just forward of the fore end.

I don't care for the Weaver mount system on a Sako, but that is an aesthetic issue, not one of serviceability. You can put any Weaver-type ring on the Weaver bases. I like the Burris Z-ring best, but there are other good ones. Look for one of all-steel construction to avoid issues with stripping screw holes, etc.

For only a tad more than the price of some rings you can get a set of Leupold ringmounts which clamp directly to the Sako tapered dovetails. This will let you remove and discard the somewhat unattractive Weaver aluminum bases now on the rifle.

Recently, Deluxe Sakos which are in decent condition start around $1,000, but the price can vary significantly depending on the quality of the wood, scarceness of the caliber, and overall condition. Local demand also varies with caliber, and the .270 has always been a good seller in Texas. You simply can't get a better caliber for whitetails, especially where shots may be at extended yardages.

 

[stonecreek]

i have found the 270 deluxe in nice shape very elusive. imho the 7mm is the most common deluxe out there

That's my experience, also. The .30-06 is certainly the most common chambering in an L61R overall, but in the Deluxe version it seems to be the 7mm Rem Mag. I suspect that is because the 7mm Rem Mag was riding a wave of popularity and was the "latest thing" when the L61R came out as both went into full production in 1962. Well-heeled buyers, or buyers who already owned a .30-06, a were choosing the 7mm over the .30-06 in the Deluxe version.

For similar reasons, lots of buyers who could afford a Deluxe already owned a .270, so they opted for the steroid-treated version, the 7mm Mag, in their new Deluxe Sako.

 

[Garry Burkhart]

Thanks for the quick replies guys. I shot some pics tonight that didn't come out too well. I did try to post them but when I have done it in the past (using Flickr) I was able to just insert the link to each pic from the site and they appeared in my post. Now it just seems to post the link without inserting the pics. The files are too large to upload them directly from my computer and I'm not versed in using photo software that would allow me to shrink them in size. I'll get it figured out with some help from my wife. The pictures were poor quality anyway because of lack of light. I'm going to try again when I can shoot some pics during the day. I'm presently living in a rental house in Arkansas for my work (gas pipeline) and have been working from sunup to sundown. I wish I was at my house in Texas but I accepted this project in Arkansas because they hired my wife and this is where I found the deal on my Sako. I'll try to post them again this weekend after I get some better shots. I am going to follow your advice stonecreek and remove the weaver rails and just go with Sako rings mounted directly to the dovetails. This rifle doesn't have the importer's "Firearms International, Wash. D.C." mark so maybe that will help narrow down its date of manufacture a little more. I also have a question about .270 rounds of differing lengths. I bought a few different kinds of ammo for this rifle. Underwood 130 gr Hornady SST and 140 gr Nosler Accubond along with some Remington 130 gr Core-Loc SPs. They differ in length slightly. Has anyone had any feeding issues due to this?

 

[scottbitterman]

Gary,
Not having an import stamp can only say it was imported to the USA before the GCA was enaccted . If this rifle was bought by a serviceman it wont have the imprort stamp so lack of stamp doesnot narrow down year of production.

 

[Garry Burkhart]

The guy I bought it from said he got it from a guy who said it had been his dad's rifle. His dad had passed away and he said he had no use for it. That's all I know but it's plausible that his dad was in the service and brought it back from overseas?

 

[stonecreek]

Gary,
I don't know if Flicker codes the same way as Photobucket, but when I used the "image" link in Photobucket I have to delete all that comes before the first "img" and all that comes after the last "img" and then the photos shows up just fine.

 

[SkippyBanga]

I have a L61r deluxe in 270 also.
I had the bolt in a bag about a month ago and it fell out a hole in the bottom onto the concrete and broke.
I was spewin! I tried putting it back together but my wrist was broken from a bike prang. Not a lot of luck lately! I took it to the gun shop and a guy there put it back together quick smart.
Went to the range the other day to test some hand loads, thought id start with a few factory loads for a comparison. Fired no problem, but couldnt lift the bolt afterwards. So now its back at the gun shop waiting for a gunsmith to check it out. Will it ever fire again? As the first repair was unsucessful, what would be my options for replacing the bolt?

 

[paulsonconstruction]

As the bolt chambered the round & the rifle fired why do you assume that your first repair was unsuccessful? Brass sticking in the chamber can be caused by a variety of things. If it is the bolt it should be easily repairable. Your chances of finding another bolt are somewhere between slim & none, though not impossible. Keeping your bolt separate from your rifle is a recipe for disaster either through damage or loss. Can't tell you how many rifles I've seen without bolts because the owners "lost" them somehow.

 

[gunner620]

Sounds to me that the bolt guide popped off when it fell out. Your rifle is likely a 2 lug bolt which incorporated a spring clip to hold the guide and keep it from moving forward under recoil. When the spring clip fails the bolt guide may move forward and cause the locked bolt situation you describe. If this is the case read previous threads on this site (search locked bolt) I think you will understand that a repair can be made. Also read how to push the bolt guide to the rear and then you will be able to lift the bolt handle. Good luck Jim

 

[SkippyBanga]

Thanks for the advice, the guide and clips have come off before. Paul I totally agree that keeping the bolt separate is a recipe for disaster. Unfortunately, its just another ignorant requirement put in place for Australian firearm owners. We must keep the bolt separate in storage and in transit.