• Hey All! Lately there has been more and more scammers on the forum board. They register and replies to members requests for guns and/or parts or other things. The reply contains a gmail or hotmail address or similar ”anonymous” email addresses which they want you to reply to. DO NOT ANSWER ANY STRANGE MESSAGES! They often state something like this: ”Hello! Saw your post about purchasing a stock for a Safari. KnuckleheadBob has one. Email him at: [email protected]” If you receive any strange messages: Check the status of whoever message you. If they have no posts and signed up the same day or very recently, stay away. Same goes for other members they might refer to. Check them too and if they are long standing members, PM them and ask if the message is legit. Most likely it’s not. Then use the report function in each message or post so I can kick them out! Beware of anything that might seem fishy! And again, for all of you who registered your personal name as username, please contact me so I can change it to a more anonymous username. You’d be surprised of how much one can find out about a person from just a username on a forum such ad our! All the best! And be safe! Jim

Sako hi all, new member from Finland.

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

Register Log in
L

Laaku

Member
Hi everyone! Im new member from Finland.

Im rather new in firearms i dont have lots of experience with them except shooting with them, and i found this amazing forum when i was trying to learn about my Sako rifle that i got after my grandpa passed away.

It was hes hunting rifle he got when he was only 15 years old. It is Sako L579 Forester, but thats pretty much all i know about the gun and its history. 20220619_145958.jpg 20220619_150027.jpg 20220619_150052.jpg 20220619_150140.jpg 20220619_150150.jpg 20220619_150205.jpg 20220619_150233.jpg
 
Very interesting rifle! I wonder if your grandfather added the Lyman receiver sight & globe front sight or if that was a option from Sako, as it is a varmint/target type stock & barrel. Is the front sight soldered on? Thanks for sharing & welcome to our club. If your serial number is within the range we have records for you can request the factory data by clicking on Factory Records Service in the black bar at the top of this page.
 
Thanks for answering! I dont really know how the front sight is attached, i took couple more pictures of it if you want to see. My grandpa bought the gun in 1963 and i regret that i never asked him about the gun and its history. For me it does not look like it was welded on, but i dont really know any other way to attach the front sight since it seems there is no screws. The rear sight is removable just so you can add a scope but i dont see anyway of removing the front sights. It would be cool to see the factory records as well, i definitely will look that up. Thank you for the info! :)
 

Attachments

  • 20220619_170047.jpg
    20220619_170047.jpg
    64.8 KB · Views: 29
  • 20220619_170100.jpg
    20220619_170100.jpg
    62.3 KB · Views: 27
  • 20220619_170211.jpg
    20220619_170211.jpg
    59.6 KB · Views: 30
  • 20220619_170241.jpg
    20220619_170241.jpg
    94.7 KB · Views: 30
Welcome, Laaku, and thanks for posting a photo of your grandfather's rifle. It is the "heavy barrel" configuration, which was usually used for target shooting from a fixed position. However, it might certainly also be used for hunting game.

I'm guessing that the front sight was attached by heating the outer ring so that it expanded enough to slip on the barrel, then when it cooled it would shrink firmly into place.
 
Hi Stonecreek, and thank you for answering. I did not know that this was the heavy barrel modification. This gun was used to hunt birds and that is what im planning to use it for as well, after a bit of cleaning and restoration to make it look better and make sure it still shoots well, the gun has lots of sentimental value for me so im planning to take good care of it.
 
Hi Misako, Yeah i will mostly use it for capercaillie and black grouse. We dont have spruce grouse here but i would asume that black grouse is about the same size. :)
 
Welcome to the site. It's always fun to find out about a family inheritance. You will also find out a little more about your Grandfather. With his sight set-up he must have appreciated precision!
 
paulsonconstruction said:
Very interesting rifle! I wonder if your grandfather added the Lyman receiver sight & globe front sight or if that was a option from Sako, as it is a varmint/target type stock & barrel. Is the front sight soldered on? Thanks for sharing & welcome to our club. If your serial number is within the range we have records for you can request the factory data by clicking on Factory Records Service in the black bar at the top of this page.
Click to expand...

I just received the factory data from the Factory Records Services and i found out that the Lyman diopter sight was actually factory equipped.
 
The records show that Laaku's rifle is one of approximately 200 L579 heavy barrel models which were equipped with Lyman diopter sights. All were made in 1963. We had not previously run across this, so are grateful to Laaku for retrieving the factory records.
 
Another never say never. With gun manufacturers I believe never say never is something that happens. After all they produce thousands and more rifles for years and years, and things happen to their operation...... they run out of parts and have to improvise, famous gun writers suggest changes, they produce guns for special events and special friends, shooters discover a flaw and they correct it, and for reason after reason they produce guns that don't fit the norm. Makes for high interest and challenging collecting. And we argue a lot about a gun's factory originality. Sako's are great, fun and interesting...and more.
 
Laaku said:
I just received the factory data from the Factory Records Services and i found out that the Lyman diopter sight was actually factory equipped.
Click to expand...
For some reason I had a feeling that those sights could have been factory installed. Mainly because of the way the front globe sight was "fitted" to the barrel. This is another Sako anomaly that would have gone unnoticed if Laaku hadn't found our club & asked about his rifle. 200 Sakos waiting 59 years to be revealed! Thank you, Laaku!!!
 
deersako said:
Welcome to the forum Laaku, a nice rifle to own, along with plenty of sentimental value.

Here’s a thread that will be of some interest -

https://sakocollectors.com/forum/threads/sako-l579-243-heavy-barrel-questions.10370/#post-53125
Click to expand...

Hi deersako! and thank you, i was actually trying to find the model of the lyman sights since there is not any markings on the sight it self (except the brand name), but thankfully that thread you just posted had the actual model of the sight. Im at the moment trying to renovate the sight because some of the white markings had faded away and after a bit of cleaning the rest faded as well.
 
Sako used to advertise its products with the Capercaillie as their mascot. The 7x33 Sako was developed with this formidable Grouse in mind.


Here is an interesting video with Attenborough trying to not get flogged!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yeah capercaillie is one of the most hunted bird here in finland, i hope that next hunting season i might have a chance to get one my self.
 
Hi Laaku,
I was looking through the 1996 RI Auction catalog and guess what, Lot 1574 is a Sako L579 HB Biathalon rifle in caliber 243. The auction was in 1996 and it sold for $862 including the premium. RI Auction 10of15.JPG
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top