• 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 L579 .243 Heavy Barrel Questions

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

I ran across this very nice Sako today and I could use a bit of information. It is a Heavy Barrel L579 chambered in .243 Winchester. It has a front peep sight and what appears to be the rear peep sight mount attached to the left side of the receiver. I also think it has Sako rings mounted to the top of the receiver. Would the rear peep sight have been on the gun when it left the factory? Is there any chance I will be able to find the correct rear sight for this gun? The wood and metal are just about perfect. Any thoughts on the value will be appreciated. I paid $700 for the gun just because it looks so nice. I have no idea how I did. This is my first post here and hope it is the first of many.






 
The front sight is what is called a globe sight with interchangeable inserts so the sight insert can be changed to match the target/shooting situation. I've never seen a Sako with this type front sight, so my "guess" is it is an aftermarket. The rear peep sight mount is not factory, as the Sako rear peep sights I've seen attach to the rear dovetail & will require the scope to be removed. I saw a rear peep for sale just a short time ago here on the forum. Check the classifieds here or Ebay, Gunbroker & the like. Be aware that the factory peep may not work with the globe front if it is a different height than the factory front sight. The scope rings appear to be the older Sako ringmounts, but in the white or stainless which is a first for my eyes. There is a wealth of info in this forum's archives about the L579. It would behove you to make the effort to look thru it. Appraisals over the internet are problematic & speculative. Values vary depending on many factors, so like I said do a little research & you will get an idea of it's worth.
 
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Welcome, bravastar!

From the serial number your Forester HB is a pre-Garcia rifle, which is somewhat more sought-after than newer Sakos.

From the apparent condition of the rifle in the photos, you got a bargain at $700. Paulson is correct that the sights are aftermarket. I don't recognize the make of the rear sight base and am not sure if apertures would still be available for it.

The old Bushnell Banner scope was Bushnell's mid-line scope at the time and was actually a pretty serviceable scope, but the older low-price variables have their weaknesses and you might want to replace it with a higher-quality scope if you want to wring the most accuracy from your Sako.

The immediate, but fixable, problem I see is that someone mysteriously switched the thumb nut on the front mount from the normal RH side to the LH side. The two nuts should be exchanged to have both of the large thumb nuts on the RH side, if for nothing more than aesthetics. Why the finish on the rings appears faded or light gray is puzzling, but is no doubt the result of someone's attempt at modifying the finish. They are normally a deep blue which matches the receiver. Nonetheless, unless the bore of the rifle is in badly worn condition (unlikely from its external appearance), your HB Forester is easily worth the $700 you gave for it or more.
 
Thanks for all the information. This has told me quite a bit I did not know. As far as the value goes how much is hurt by the receiver sight mount holes that were drilled? I am pretty sure there were NO holes when it left the factory. Those holes make me want to cry!
 
It is a desirable gun, but not a rare one, and it's value is as a shooter and not a collector piece. So, the holes don't hurt it all that much. You often see holes tapped in the barrel of HB models for barrel-mounted target scopes, and that doesn't hurt their value a great deal. In fact, the globe front sight which is a bit in the way of the scope picture might be a bigger problem for some buyers.

The only real downside to the holes is the arguing point that a buyer might make to a seller. If it were mine I might knock $50 off of whatever I would ask for it otherwise, and a buyer who wanted a greater discount would be welcome to look for one elsewhere.
 
You did well on your first Sako. I would relegate the front sight and that which is screwed to the receiver to the parts bin. Plug the hole or holes with a filler screw or two, re-blue those fine Sako rings , and upgrade to scope worthy of the rifle. This would leave you with a very nice shooter for not a lot of money.
 
Wow A Great pick up!
An original Sako Biathlon rifle in .243!
They only made a small number in L579 and even less in L57!
The rear diopter is a vintage Lyman 524, and the front peep is found on many Sako's including the P54 Rimfire. It may also be made by Lyman.

A few pics of Sako Biathlon rifles i have saved over the years
image_view (1).jpg
A very nice L579 example, these are really only seen in Scandinavia.
image_view.jpg
This is an earlier version L579, as you can see from the trigger guard.
the rear Lyman sight can be more easily seen here.


syyskuu-24-2879-SAKO-041.jpg
If my eyes are not too old, this is an L57 Biathlon also in 243. I have not heard of them in any other calibre. If you look close you can see the mount under the scope tube for the diopter.


93e6f9e52f37a4c885a92b40389d3f5d.jpg
A close up of the rear Lyman 'Lollipop' diopter, you can see it is in yards and meters.
I am guessing you can change eye pieces and the like to customise them.
The front diopter unscrews so the insert can be changed out. I have never seen any other inserts, but they would have been available at the time. The 17A Lyman insets may well fit too.

L-46
 
I have only heard of and never seen a Sako Biathlon model. Great sleuthing there, L46! Thanks for opening our eyes!

I don't suppose that Biathlon contests even exist anymore which use centerfires, do they?
 
had a chance to buy one many years ago....didn't think it was original and passed. This model is listed in Arma Fennica, which I managed to get a copy of after my missed opportunity. Yes, the early ones had factory recoil pads on them. The one I looked at was an early L579, with the pad, but without the white spacer.

I'm getting upset with myself just looking at this thread and typing up comments here. :(

DeerGoose
 
Well Bravastar, looks like you scored big. Finding out you found something special is a great feeling and should happen to us all on occasion. Thank you L-46 for the great info!
 
My P54T has the same front globe with a post inset. Have been looking for replacement set of insets for some time. A 34,xxx serial number
 

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