Sako A1 17 Rem

[Todd]

Acquired this at a garage sale. Not necessarily outside, she told me she had a couple of guns in the house she wanted to get rid of. I paid $300 for this Sako with a Leopold fixed 4 power . The other one is a Remington 6 mm lever action that is frozen up "same 4 power scope though" doesn't look like it's worth anything. However I'm seeing things on the Internet about this one. Stock is in great shape no scratches, no rust. slight wear, about a 1 inch spot on the barrel but no scratches. Looks to be in good shape. Gun has not been cleaned by be. She said it's been in this case for probably 15 years . Sako A1 190*** on side of gun. On barell it say 17 Rem Finland. Any help would be appreciated
Thanks

 

[Foxhunter223]

Todd it looks like you have got the bargain of the century.
Pete

 

[Todd]

Todd it looks like you have got the bargain of the century.
Pete

Can you please elaborate? I have just in the last few months familiarized myself with the cartridge . Yes I know about Sako, and had it not been for the scope I wouldn't have known that this was an older rifle.

 

[gowyo]

1980's AI lightweight hunter. Sweet rifle and sweeter deal. The scope is worth 100 bucks, so I'll give you 250 for just the rifle. . Really, you could easily triple your money if you sold it online. You are lucky x2, leaving a gun in a case is the fastest way to surface rusting in some climates. Clean it up and shoot it! Factory ammo is a bit spendy, you may want to reload for it. Definitely save your brass.
Gary

 

[wombat]

Hi Todd, hang onto it n enjoy shooting it, reloading for
It will make it a cheap shooter.... you will not lose on that bargain...... Jay

 

[ricksengines]

Hi Todd. Welcome. Some people have all the luck. They walk out of the house and fall into a pile of rifles one being a great Sako 17 Rem. You will like the 17 Rem. It is a real great cartridge and not to terribly difficult to handload. Good luck wit the rile you lucky dog.

rick

 

[barreltwister]

I hope you were wearing a mask....you stole it..

I sold the same rifle also in 17 Rem last year for $1300 CDN

 

[Todd]

Thanks a lot guys! I had no idea. Ordered some different ammo today and will see what it likes . Once again thank you

 

[Foxhunter223]

Can you please elaborate? I have just in the last few months familiarised myself with the cartridge .

Todd I bought the same rifle who my youngest daughter promptly stole off me for her personal use. I can assure you no rabbit is safe under 300 metres. It shoots like a laser and no recoil. Different scope though, this one is fitted with a 8x Kahles.



Pete

 

[Todd]

I really like that mount! I would imagine it's hard to shoot 3 or more rounds at a time at the range? It seems like that barrel would get extremely hot with 4000 +ft./s bullets? Seems like my 223 opens up after five in sequence . That's out of a 16 inch barrel at roughly 2850-2900 ft./s. I still can't believe the velocity out of that 17! Amazing

 

[Todd]

Todd I bought the same rifle who my youngest daughter promptly stole off me for her personal use. I can assure you no rabbit is safe under 300 metres. It shoots like a laser and no recoil. Different scope though, this one is fitted with a 8x Kahles.



Pete

I can't believe the shape there in after getting hit with the velocity of that bullet. In your opinion what should I be shooting out of it? Was that a hollow point? I'm assuming it's a 1/10 twist? Only because I saw that someplace on either this site or another, that this particular model has that twist rate. And possibly Remington has a 1/9

 

[Foxhunter223]

I can't believe the shape there in after getting hit with the velocity of that bullet. In your opinion what should I be shooting out of it? Was that a hollow point? I'm assuming it's a 1/10 twist? Only because I saw that some place on either this site or another, that this particular model has that twist rate. And possibly Remington has a 1/9

Hi Todd,
I load 20gn V-Max projectiles pushed along by 23.5 gns of AR2208 or as you know it Varget ignited by Remington 7 1/2 primers. I have not verified the fps figure but the Hodgden site tells me it is 3936fps which is a mild load. Just to give you an idea what they can do here is the other side of a rabbit taken with it.



Pete

 

[ricksengines]

Hi Todd. I've been shooting 17s' since the 1960s' here is some sage advice for you based on my experience over the years. First my favorite 17 Rem rifle isn't a Sako. It is a 1971 Remington 700 BDL. The thing is a real needle gun but it wasn't always that way. Most guys become enamored with pushing the limits of velocity on the 17. Yep I was one of those people back then but running above 4,000 fps doesn't produce great accuracy and it is hell on fouling out the barrel.

Regardless of manufacturer, running any lead core bullet at or above 4K causes the lead inside the bullet to start to boil and there goes the ball game. Fliers become the norm and the shooter wonders why. The best bullets for those velocities are the Remington 25 gr corelokt jobberdoos but Rem isn't offering them for hand loaders any more. You can find a box on Gunbroker every now and then so snap them up when you find them. For all other pills keeping the velocity under 4K will help with accuracy and keep fouling down to a minimum. Be sure to clean the barrel with a good solvent about every 5 rounds. Some can get more rounds than that out of the barrel before cleaning but I have found the cleaning after 5 rounds maintains peak accuracy.

Barrel heat is the enemy. If you only want to get barrel life consistent with the old 220 swift overheat a 17 barrel and watch the accuracy go into the bucket because the lands are gone. With proper care, prudent loading and a good cleaning process your 17 should shoot really excellent for years. My trusty 17 Rem still shoots flies off of targets at 100 yds and yours will to if you take care of it.

rick

 

[kirkbridgershooters]

I had a 17 Remington, early, before there were any components available to reload. Hornady had the 25 grain and it never did shoot as good for me as Remington factory ammunition. I was also reloading with IMR4320 and it doesn't pour into that 17 neck worth a damn.

Years later I got back into the 17 and then found this deluxe. I use Ramshot Big Game powder and it pours into the case like water. The 20 grain Hornady V-Max works great with it...

 

[ricksengines]

The reason that the old Hornady 25 gr hollow points did not perform well was two fold. The lead cores did not extrude consistently when the bullet was formed. This cause the bullet to start to wobble as soon as it left the muzzle. The second reason was that the lead started to boil out at the higher velocities and the bullet literally went poof when it hit the air outside of the muzzle. While accurate none of the newer bullets are as accurate as the Rem 25 grain I spoke about earlier. Some might disagree but I am talking virtually single hole groups at 100 yards with the Rems. My handloads not factory fodder.

rick

 

[gowyo]

I've used 4320 almost exclusively in my Sako. I throw/ drop charges into a custom made al++ funnel that sits on the case. No problem. I also only use Rem 7.5 BR primers to prevent piercing.

The only bullets Ive encountered lead venting was with Starkes. (No longer made.) I have several hundred RP's hoarded, as well as the older match 25gr Bergers of lore. (Best fur bullet ever!) Ive shot hp and tipped hornadys but only achieved good accuracy. Not great. I also only clean every 40-50 shots
I let the gun say when. Despite bore guides and coated/SS/ etc. rods, I still think excess cleaning does more damage to barrels than anything else, a little Cu fouling will always and some say should be there. YMMV.

 

[Todd]

Good info

 

[ricksengines]

I disagree with gowyo on several points. 40-50- rounds pushed through a 17 rem is way too much depending on the velocity. If your rifle isn't capable of the kind of pinpoint accuracy (or the shooter) then substandard performance is something you get and learn to settle for. In addition, lead problems with 17 bullets is a fairly common problem but it takes real know how to tell if that is actually happening. Try setting a target at 15-25 yds. Push the pills through a chronograph and make sure you have everything locked down to assure consistent point of impact. Fire a few rounds noting the velocities for each round and mark their point of impact on a paper on the bench. After about three to five rounds check the target. Anything less than a single hole (or just a tad larger) is an indication that something is going wrong very close to the muzzle. If you begin to see oblong holes chuck the bullets because they are definitely wobbling in flight. I have had imprints on the target that are the shape of the entire profile of the bullet. 17s are capable of .25" accuracy at 100 yds if you know what you are doing.

rick

 

[gowyo]

Therein lies the crux. Do you want to use a thin barreled varmint rifle for making pinholes in paper, or do you want to use it for its intended purpose? If it's the former you might look for a heavy barrel gun. I guarantee that Sako barrels are a bit smoother than Remington barrels manufactured 46 years ago, when the horrible fouling legend began. I'd rather spend a full day leisurely shooting in a prairie dog town like KBS and clean at the end of the day. But apparently I don't know what I'm doing. Good luck with your new rifle. Now take your savings and put some good glass on it.

 

[ricksengines]

Just trying to help. To each his own but my experience is with over 47 17 caliber rifles including Sako, Remington, Cooper, Kimber, Ackley, Morrison, H&R, O'Brien and others. I like super accuracy and load to achieve that objective. I don't believe that any commercial barrel maker ever achieved what is referred to as a smooth barrel. Not even Pac-Nor, Greg Tannel, or Sako are that good Close but no cigar. There was only one barrel maker that ever achieved perfection in a 17 caliber barrel and that person was Bill Morrison.

rick