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Sako L-46 17-222 by Bill Morrison - Only One of Two Made!

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

ricksengines

Sako-addicted
What a great way to start the new year! I just purchased a Sako l-46 (Riihimaki) in 17-222 from a great dealer up in Pa. The rifle was built by Bill Morrison and as I understand it, Bill was one of the really great old time gunsmiths of the modern era.

I had never heard of Bill Morrison but I am researching him and his legacy now that I am getting one of his great rifles. I will be posting pics of this fine rifle when it arrives later this week but in the mean time I thought that I would share some information with you about Mr. Morrison. His contributions to our mutual interest in firearms should not be left to gather dust or be forgotten by history.

Back on October 30, 1987, Brad Hubbard published an article on Bill Morrison in the Bangor Daily News. In it, he referred to Bill as one of the 10 best gunsmiths in the nation. Bill was known for building rifles of superior quality and his barrel making skills were second to none and can only be described as perfection.

Please follow the link below to read the article. I think you will find it interesting and educational if like me you never heard of Bill Morrison. Please have a read and post any comments you might have about Bill and his rifles. I would be especially interested in hearing from any of our members that have one of his fine rifles.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...cadJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DA4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=7066,939174

As always I'll be trying to get information on the build of this rifle. As the information comes in I will post it for all to read.

rick
 
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Good stuff Rick. Its always interesting to follow and research the history of these rifles. I like the .17/222 a lot as well so will be interested to see some photo's when it arrives!
 
Hi Folks

I had to wait till the little guy arrived and the weather to settle down so I could get some reasonable pics of the rifle. My guess is that Bill made this in the later 50's or early 60's. I really won't know for sure unless I can get in touch with his son and hopefully he still has his father's records and is willing to try to research the build.

Here are the pics. I hope you enjoy them and as always any comments will be greatly appreciated.

Here you can clearly see Bill Morrison's name on the barrel. This is one of his trademarks so I am confident he was the builder.

P2100338.JPG

As you can see, the stock has a high roll-over cheek piece and is finished very nicely. Actually the stock is a Fajen and the wood has really beautiful tiger stripping in addition to the forend and pistol grip caps that I think are rose wood.
P2100337.JPG


P2100339.JPG

P2100340.JPG

P2100341.JPG

P2100344.JPG

P2100343.JPG

P2100342.JPG Everything about this rifle is just great. The metal finish is about 98% or better. I can see some blems but given the age of the little guy to my thinking it is near perfect. There are a few (very few) marks on the stock. They tend to lend character and since this rifle was meant to be hunted I can say that if it was it was handled very carefully.

Well, there it is. Once again I enjoy sharing this rifle with everyone. To me it is a real classic. One that is indicative of past passions and the creativity of skilled craftsman and suppliers that are long gone but not forgotten.

If any of our contributors have one of Bill's rifles or know someone that has one. Please share pics and prominence with the rest of us. I know we would all enjoy that very much.

Now for brass tacks. I found my .222 forming die and reamer set. I got a hold of some new .222 brass. I still have a few more things to round up before I can start forming and loading some rounds. I want to dovetail that operation with similar preparations for the .17 Javelina's. Then it will be off to the range for sight-in and trials. I can't wait and I will post results here and on the posts for the Javelina's respectively. Look for something around mid-March as that is the time frame that I am shooting for unless I can get to this a bit earlier than planned.

Finally, if you have not done so already, do follow the link that I posted earlier and have a read about Bill Morrison. It is certainly worth taking the few minutes it will take to read about him and hopefully provide a new appreciation for one of our really great craftsman.
 
I fellows,

As promised here is an update on my progress with getting some rounds ready for the range. I finally got the reloading bench up and operational (sort of). I'm still locating stiff that was packed away more years ago than I like to remember.

I set up two A2 presses and one Rock Chucker in a row and mounted the 17-222 form, trim and reamer die in each respectively. I wanted to see if my vision of a production setup would work out and as it turns out it was gangbuster.

I managed to get 20 new Hornady 222 cases formed and reamed in about an hour. Next stop is the FL die and chamfer then on to loading. I'm going to use my old stand by the 25 grain Rem Core Lokt and the CCI 400 primers. When I find a load that I'm comfortable with I'll post it. If you want to see pics of the press setup let me know and if I get a chance to I'll take a pic and post it.

If you care to post a suitable load please do so. Keep in mind that I am not interested in speed. I want an ideal load that is relatively gentle on the barrel and brass but still produces good accuracy.

Thanks a bunch for your continued interest.

rick
 
Hi Rick,
I have a .17/222 on a L461 s/n 77xxx with a Shilen 1/10" twist 23 1/2" barrel, medium sporter profile.
I load N133 powder with 18.7gns. (mild load) shooting a 25 gn. Berger HP.
I use Sako brass now, (used Remington initially, and Winchester small rifle primers.
I get 1/2" groups or better, and I am using it currently as my "go to" fox shooting rifle. I still have not chronographed it yet.
I have also used R-7 and also AR2207. Happy with this outfit, but will be trying other combo loads later on in the year, after winter.
All the Best - keep us posted.
Jay
 
Rick

I use the Hornady 17/222 Series IV Die set Item number 546202. My 17/222 is on a krico action. For brass I use .222 winchester cases and pass them through a modified .204 ruger die to get them to neck to .20 cal. then go through the Hornady full length die. No neck turning etc. I'll send you some load data from one of the Australian reloading manuals that you might be interested in by PM. I run 20grns AR 2206H with the 25 grn vmax - pretty mild velocity wise.

Cheers John
 
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Hi John

Thanks for the load data. I posted some thoughts on the thread so kindly have a read.

My RCBS 17/222 form set did a pretty good job of forming the cases. Although the neck reamer makes the necks on the cases look a little thin. I'm thinking about skipping that step on one or two pieces of brass. What I have in mind is to run them through the FL die after trim, chamfering the case mouth and putting a 25 grain pill in the case. That way I can chamber the dummy round and if it goes in without complaint I feel confident that the case will work.

I'll also seat the bullets in the dummy rounds way out in the case so when I chamber the round the bullet will contact he lands and be pushed back into the case as I ease the bolt closed. I can then use it to setup the seater die by putting a case in there and with the ram fully extended just turn the seating rod into the die until it contacts the bullet. When it does I back off the rod about a quarter of a turn, check the round again and if there are no complaints I use that for my seating setup. I usually get good results from that method. I mark the case so I know what it is and stick it into the die box so I can return to that version if I change anything for a different rifle or bullet configuration.

Thanks Again

rick
 
This is probably going to be my last update on this rifle. I have tried many times to reach Morrison's Gun Shop in the hope of speaking with Bill's son Carl. After making many calls and leaving numerous messages I'm giving up on that idea. Too bad, as I think Carl may have been able to provide some additional insight into the build of this fine rifle.

rick
 
saw 'bill' a few days ago. proper name Carl E Morrison, billy is a nickname by grandfather in 1920s. at 94 slowed down. hope in july he visits shop to his home of 4130 timken 5 star steel, oil, machinery singing of gun barrels making. I will ask him of your gun to see if memory remains.
 
Thank you very much for the update on Carl Morrison. Hopefully you have enough information from my post to get him to recollect the building of my Morrison 17-222. As you know from my writing I am just thrilled with the little Morrison rifle. His dad in all likelihood built it back in the day with Carl's assistance and getting any additional information on it will sure help me to round out the prominence on the rifle. Your information is very much appreciated. Thank you very much for adding to the post with this very valuable information.

rick
 
Thank you very much for the update on Carl Morrison. Hopefully you have enough information from my post to get him to recollect the building of my Morrison 17-222. As you know from my writing I am just thrilled with the little Morrison rifle. His dad in all likelihood built it back in the day with Carl's assistance and getting any additional information on it will sure help me to round out the prominence on the rifle. Your information is very much appreciated. Thank you very much for adding to the post with this very valuable information.

rick
carl e morrison born 7-9-1921 built your rifle and is generally addressed as 'bill' by friends and family. his son carl jr was born about 1950 and was never a gunsmith or rifle barrel maker, but an amazing target shooter setting sport records. carl jr served in vietnam and moved away serving in NG. carl jr did some rebluing of guns and helped in sales in the old shop. carl jr is a good man and very pleasant.
 
BTW, if you take a look at the article that I referenced (just follow the link) the writer stated that Bill's son Carl worked with him in the shop for about 15 years. During that time he apparently helped his dad doing a fair amount of gunsmithing. Apparently according to the writer, Carl specialized in bluing and polishing Bill's works of art. In any event, it will be interesting to find out if Bill remembers building the little 17-222 that I have with his monogram on the barrel.

Thanks Again.

rick
 
BTW, if you take a look at the article that I referenced (just follow the link) the writer stated that Bill's son Carl worked with him in the shop for about 15 years. During that time he apparently helped his dad doing a fair amount of gunsmithing. Apparently according to the writer, Carl specialized in bluing and polishing Bill's works of art. In any event, it will be interesting to find out if Bill remembers building the little 17-222 that I have with his monogram on the barrel.

Thanks Again.

rick
visited old bill last night. made in 1959 for Dewey Gosselin of Gosselin bakery fame. was supposed to make a pair the same, but second never done for the brother Harvey who also ran the bakery. Another gun exist that is in 222 rem mag.
17-222. Bill bought the tooling at big investment making 10 blanks and deal fell through to supply wildcatter Bob Pomeroy of waterbury ct. Two guns total were put together in that caliber. remaining 8 blanks rest in his shop all ready for shaping/fitting/chambering.
Dewy shot a fox with your gun, bullet blew up in fur & did kill fox.
 
Wow! That is an incredible bit of information. So the rifle that I have is only one of two that Bill made. So, Bill made it in 1959. Bob Pomeroy didn't get the rifle. Dewey Gosselin got mine and he killed a fox with it. Doesn't surprise me about the bullet performance back then. There really weren't too many .17 caliber bullets being made at the time.

Did Bill happen to recall what happened to the second 17-222 that he made? It would be interesting to find out if it still survives today.

What a super piece of information. Thank you very much and please thank Bill for passing along this information as well.

Also, do you know if the other blanks are threaded for the l46 or the L461 action? Even if they are not chambered there would be a world of possibilities associated with them if they were. For example, I would ask if one could be chambered in 17 Javelina for a l461 Action that I happen to have.

rick
 
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Hi John

Thanks for the load data. I posted some thoughts on the thread so kindly have a read.

My RCBS 17/222 form set did a pretty good job of forming the cases. Although the neck reamer makes the necks on the cases look a little thin. I'm thinking about skipping that step on one or two pieces of brass. What I have in mind is to run them through the FL die after trim, chamfering the case mouth and putting a 25 grain pill in the case. That way I can chamber the dummy round and if it goes in without complaint I feel confident that the case will work.

I'll also seat the bullets in the dummy rounds way out in the case so when I chamber the round the bullet will contact he lands and be pushed back into the case as I ease the bolt closed. I can then use it to setup the seater die by putting a case in there and with the ram fully extended just turn the seating rod into the die until it contacts the bullet. When it does I back off the rod about a quarter of a turn, check the round again and if there are no complaints I use that for my seating setup. I usually get good results from that method. I mark the case so I know what it is and stick it into the die box so I can return to that version if I change anything for a different rifle or bullet configuration.

Thanks Again

rick
i
Thank you very much for the update on Carl Morrison. Hopefully you have enough information from my post to get him to recollect the building of my Morrison 17-222. As you know from my writing I am just thrilled with the little Morrison rifle. His dad in all likelihood built it back in the day with Carl's assistance and getting any additional information on it will sure help me to round out the prominence on the rifle. Your information is very much appreciated. Thank you very much for adding to the post with this very valuable information.

rick
I've been looking online for information on morrison rifles? I have a 22-250
 
Please post some pics of the Morrison 22-250 that you own. I'm sure we would all enjoy seeing it. Unfortunately getting info on the rifles that bill made is very difficult these days. I would give a lot to track down the other 17-222 that he made.
 
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