I recently acquired a Sako rifle that is missing its bolt. I'm not that familiar with Sako rifles, but this one appears to have a Mauser-type action (i.e., bolt release is a spring loaded slide on left side). It is chambered and maked "22 Hornet" on the breech ring. The left side of the receiver is marked "SAKO Riihimaki" followed by "No 149XX" and two stamps that appear to be inspector marks; the right side of the receiver is marked "Made in Finland". I believe this rifle was purchased in Germany and brought back to the USA, most likely by a serviceman or civilian employee of the US Gov't, as the rather thin rubber recoil pad has embossed "Ramstein Rod and Gun Club" (Ramstein Air Force Base is in Germany). The stock is highly figured wood, perhaps French walnut, with a Schnabel forend that is deeply carved with what appears to be an "oak leaf" design. The rest of the forend, as well as the wrist, are finely checkered. The stock is of the Monte Carlo design; it has never been fitted with swivel studs, that I can tell. The front sight is adjustable for windage, and there is no rear sight. There are wedge shaped bosses on the top of the receiver, fore and aft, that I assume are some type of scope mount of which I am not familiar. Would someone help me identify this rifle; and, more importantly, direct me to a quality gunsmith that can obtain and fit a Sako bolt? I believe this rifle may be an older 75 in Delux furniture.
-
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
Missing Bolt
- Thread starter srma63
- Start date
Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum
deergoose
Sako-addicted
You have an L46 Riihimaki from the 1950s. Not a model 75. Finding a bolt will be difficult, as there are just not that many extra bolts or bolt parts floating around. It sounds as if you have a custom rifle, and I can't tell from your description if the barrel is factory or not. A few pictures are worth a thousand words. Good luck....
DeerGoose
DeerGoose
63 -
A pic would be helpful and appreciated. It sounds to me like your rifle is much older than a 75. From you description, it sounds like it's an L-46 with the s/n suggesting a production date of about 1954 or so. One question though - Caliber is stamped radially on top of the barrel, and not on the front ring of the receiver, right?
Although the metalwork sounds correct for and L-46, the stock, while nice, doesn't sound like a Sako product. In that era Sako did sell barrels, actions, and barreled actions as well as complete rifles. My guess is that the R&G Club there bought a number of barreled actions and had a local German gunshop stock them and finish them out. Imagine they would have been used as range rifles by the members.
The tapered dovetail flats on the top of receiver are indeed integral scope mount bases designed to be used with their rings. Sako also made a real nifty little peep sight that attaches directly to the rear pad also.
The bad news is that the bolt's gonna be tough to land. Any L-46 bolt for a 55 year old rifle will be difficult, but the Hornet uses the smallest of all boltfaces at .350 of anything chambered in that period... Another thing - Sako did scribe the last few digits of the s/n on to the root of the bolt handle when fitting, so any replacement bolt won't be 'the' bolt unless you're a very, very lucky guy.
It's certainly worth pursuing, but also good to be realistic. You may be in the right place to find a bolt here. If you want, I can redirect your post to either the 'Wanted' or 'L-46' catagory, so as to be more logical for someone to find in the future. Let me know on that and good luck.
Dick
A pic would be helpful and appreciated. It sounds to me like your rifle is much older than a 75. From you description, it sounds like it's an L-46 with the s/n suggesting a production date of about 1954 or so. One question though - Caliber is stamped radially on top of the barrel, and not on the front ring of the receiver, right?
Although the metalwork sounds correct for and L-46, the stock, while nice, doesn't sound like a Sako product. In that era Sako did sell barrels, actions, and barreled actions as well as complete rifles. My guess is that the R&G Club there bought a number of barreled actions and had a local German gunshop stock them and finish them out. Imagine they would have been used as range rifles by the members.
The tapered dovetail flats on the top of receiver are indeed integral scope mount bases designed to be used with their rings. Sako also made a real nifty little peep sight that attaches directly to the rear pad also.
The bad news is that the bolt's gonna be tough to land. Any L-46 bolt for a 55 year old rifle will be difficult, but the Hornet uses the smallest of all boltfaces at .350 of anything chambered in that period... Another thing - Sako did scribe the last few digits of the s/n on to the root of the bolt handle when fitting, so any replacement bolt won't be 'the' bolt unless you're a very, very lucky guy.
It's certainly worth pursuing, but also good to be realistic. You may be in the right place to find a bolt here. If you want, I can redirect your post to either the 'Wanted' or 'L-46' catagory, so as to be more logical for someone to find in the future. Let me know on that and good luck.
Dick
I once bought a .222 L46 bolt at a gun show (maybe 20 yrs ago) and sold it two years later. You may want to visit a few shows.
You might try calling Jim Lutes in Whitewater, KS 316/799-2509, but I doubt he has any bolts at all now. He has just about cleaned out his inventory of Sako parts.
You might try calling Jim Lutes in Whitewater, KS 316/799-2509, but I doubt he has any bolts at all now. He has just about cleaned out his inventory of Sako parts.
Your best bet would be to purchase another L46 rifle and use the bolt interchagably in either gun. There is always the issue of headspace, but Sakos are built to fairly close tolerances and I've found bolts from one to interchange with another pretty dependably. The further drawback is that an L46 in .22 Hornet may be priced much higher than you're willing to pay in order to have two guns, only one of which can be used at a time
I've sent you a private message with more detail. Click on the "message" button in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
I've sent you a private message with more detail. Click on the "message" button in the upper right hand corner of the screen.
Dick,
Thanks for all the good information. A few other members have opined that this is probably an L46. As for the caliber marking, yes, it is on the barrel, not the ring. As for the stock, I won't argue that it may not be OEM Sako, but it certainly is not a "club gun" (i.e., for gunless shooters), either. This is a very nice stock. I will get some pics up in the very near future.
v/r Mark
Thanks for all the good information. A few other members have opined that this is probably an L46. As for the caliber marking, yes, it is on the barrel, not the ring. As for the stock, I won't argue that it may not be OEM Sako, but it certainly is not a "club gun" (i.e., for gunless shooters), either. This is a very nice stock. I will get some pics up in the very near future.
v/r Mark
I'm more than pleased to report that after an exhausting 15 month effort, during which I acquired two complete Sako rifles (an L46 and a JC Higgins Model 52, both in .222 Rem, neither of which I could bring myself to cannibalize for a bolt), I finally found a fire damaged Marlin 322 action that became the donor for the needed bolt. I sent both rifles off to Dennis E. Olson - Gunsmith in Plains, MT. Dennis, who had done previous work for me, fabricated and installed a 22 Hornet extractor and polished up the bolt to where it appears "new". I also had him do a "hot" bluing on the entire rifle. I have to tell you, it is BEAUTIFUL!
Here's Dennis' particulars:
Dennis E. Olson - Gunsmith
P.O. Box 337
500 W. First St.
Plains, MT 59859
Phone: (406) 826-3780
Dennis isn't much at email correspondence and he doesn't have a web site, but he will discuss your needs on the telephone. Also, he likes detailed written instructions as to what you want him to do for you. If you contact him during hunting season, be prepared to exercise patience.
Here's Dennis' particulars:
Dennis E. Olson - Gunsmith
P.O. Box 337
500 W. First St.
Plains, MT 59859
Phone: (406) 826-3780
Dennis isn't much at email correspondence and he doesn't have a web site, but he will discuss your needs on the telephone. Also, he likes detailed written instructions as to what you want him to do for you. If you contact him during hunting season, be prepared to exercise patience.
Congratulations on getting 'er done! The damaged Marlin was a great find and an excellent donor. I'll bet you'll enjoy your rejuvenated Hornet.
