l61R mag question

[Webphut]

So I inherited a Sako L61R 300 Win Magnum in very sad condition. Someone slapped a glass stock on this and it has an aftermarket sporter barrel. I am at my last degree of patience on waiting for a used Sako stock for this rifle to pop up on any of the auction sites that is in decent condition.

I spoke to my gunsmith about putting a really pretty laminated stock on it and rechamber it in a lower felt recoil caliber with a #6 contour Krieger SS barrel. His suggestion was one of the new calibers and recommended the 26 Nosler, but I was thinking 6.5x55 SE. He said he could do either, but to do Sweed, I need a new bolt which he can get.

I was leaning towards the Sweed, because I know the felt recoil will fall somewhere around the 30-06 Springfield and less than the 7 MM Remington Magnum, but the 26 Nosler I have no experience with. Can anyone chime in on how the recoil is on the 26 Nosler. Are there other .264" calibers that I might have missed that are not magnums? Magnums = too much ouch.

I have a 7 MM Remington Magnum, but that is my limits far as felt recoil goes. My 7MM Mag is for Putting meat in the fridge, but the L61R build will be for some predators, but mostly bench shooting at targets at the range. I do not plan on shooting competitively.

As much as I hate using a Sako action on a custom build, this thing is already in a donor state of condition. With this in mind, I do not mind putting the money into it to turn it into a tack driver.

 

[stonecreek]

A .26 Nosler will still bump you with pretty good recoil. Its powder capacity is even greater than that of your current .300 Winchester chambering, and it is the weight of the powder and bullet combined with (high) velocity which yields the recoil. I doubt you could tell the difference in the recoil of a .300 Win shooting a 150 grain bullet and a .26 Nosler shooting a 140 grain bullet. And muzzle blast might be even worse with the .26.

There are two lesser-recoiling (factory) cartridges you could rebarrel to without modifying your action. One would be the 6.5 Remington "Magnum". It is the original "short magnum" built on the regular belted case but about .4" shorter than most. But don't let the term "magnum" deceive you. Its powder capacity is about the same as a .25-06, and it shoots any .264" diameter bullet, but in my opinion does best with those in the 120 grain area. The other I can think of would be the .257 Weatherby. Although a full-size magnum case (just shorter than your current .300 Win), it shoots bullets usually ranging from 100 to 120 grains and is relatively mildly recoiling compared to a .30 magnum.

Of course, there are dozens of potential wildcat cartridges that you could dream up which would fit in the action without modification, but I figured you'd prefer to stay with a factory speced cartridge.

 

[Webphut]

Thank you very much. 6.5 MM Remington. I forgot about that cartridge. I like that idea. I'm going to do some research on it. Thank you!

Yeah, my Magnum days are over with. I'm convinced there's plenty of non Magnum cartridges out there that will satisfy me. My favorite cartridge, which I just stumbled upon by a fluke accident, is by far the .243"/6 MM diameter. It is such a pleasure to shoot and after doing research, it's going to be my goto deer cartridge. I just want make use of this Sako action, and I always wanted a tricked out custom target rifle like some that I see old timers shooting these days. I would love to do a .308" Winchester, but it would not all be blessings to such a long action.

 

[Woodsman]

Also consider the 6.5-06, there is nothing wrong with a 270 Win either.

 

[Webphut]

Will a L61R non mag Bolt safely work in my L61R action which set up as a 300 Win Mag. I know I will need to have a different barrel built, but will it work? I think I'm going to go the 6.5 x 55 SE route with the new build. Turns out the blonde bolt currently in the non blonde action is a swapped bolt anyway. Gunsmith thinks the action was purchased separately and the 300 was built around the action for Alaska type Hunting. My father did a lot of Alaska and New Mexico hunting. Everything I am reading says the L61R came in the mag, bigger bolt face, and non mag, smaller bolt face. If I understand correctly, that is the only differance. Please correct me if I am wrongly informed.

 

[GreyFox]

Listen to your gunsmith!!! Good luck finding parts!

 

[stonecreek]

Will a L61R non mag Bolt safely work in my L61R action which set up as a 300 Win Mag.

Yes, any (two lug) bolt for an L61R, A-III, or A-V should work in your action (if you could find one you could afford!) However, I assume that the feed rails for a magnum action would be a tad wider than those for a non-magnum action, so you might have trouble with the magazine retaining standard-diameter (.470" head) cartridges as opposed to magnum diameter cartridges (.530" head). Best to keep your magnum L61R chambered in a "magnum" cartridge.

 

[Webphut]

Ok, so for clarity, the only hang up might be the feed rail may be a an issue when cycling from round to round when loading from magazine. Ok. Thank you all for input. I was able to find a bolt at a neck spinning price, but since it was so long since I seen another for sale, I took the plunge. Worst case scenario, my four daughters can fight over the money after they sale it.


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