I have had a stock of old (circa 1965) Herter's ammunition in .222 for some time and have noted here on the forum that it is marked "Made in Finland". This begs the question as to whether it might be a Sako product.
Recently, SCC member Douglastwo generously provided me with some Sako factory .222 ammunition from about the same time period and suggested that I check it on the chronograph (an Oehler Model 35). I was also curious to see if it might show signs of having the same origin as the Herter's ammunition.
Here is a photo of each box and a representative 50 grain round:
And here is a close-up of the actual ammunition:
The Herter's ammunition appears to have a wider extractor cut and also a bit less exposed lead. This doesn't mean that they are not from the same factory since they may be several years apart and the cases from different drawing machines as well as the bullets from different dies.
I shot and chronographed three rounds of each in two different rifles: A Beretta-Sako Model 500 with 24 inch barrel and a Sako L461 Mannlicher with a 20 inch barrel.
Here is the Beretta target with the Herter's group on the left and the Sako group on the right:
The rifle was not zeroed with either ammunition, but it showed a definite preference for the Herter's ammunition, with that group going just under 1/2 inch C to C. The Herter's ammunition and the Sako ammunition turned in virtually identical velocities at 3190 fps and 3195 fps respectively.
Here is the target for the Sako L461 Mannlicher with 20" barrel:
This rifle didn't show as much preference for one over the other and the groups were approximately the same place on the target, but the velocities were a surprise: The Herter's went 3202 fps -- actually faster than the 24" barrel, while the Sako fell off to 3116 fps, or about what you would expect. This indicates to me that the nature of the powder in the two is somewhat different.
I can't draw any real conclusions from this effort, except to say that it is still possible that the Herter's ammunition is from Sako. But as I've mentioned before, it could be a Lapua product, or, taking into account how much license George Leonard Herter tended to take with the truth, the Herter's ammunition could just as easily be from Lithuania or Illinois. Regardless, in reloading the Herter's fired cases they have proven to be excellent and long lasting.
Recently, SCC member Douglastwo generously provided me with some Sako factory .222 ammunition from about the same time period and suggested that I check it on the chronograph (an Oehler Model 35). I was also curious to see if it might show signs of having the same origin as the Herter's ammunition.
Here is a photo of each box and a representative 50 grain round:
And here is a close-up of the actual ammunition:
The Herter's ammunition appears to have a wider extractor cut and also a bit less exposed lead. This doesn't mean that they are not from the same factory since they may be several years apart and the cases from different drawing machines as well as the bullets from different dies.
I shot and chronographed three rounds of each in two different rifles: A Beretta-Sako Model 500 with 24 inch barrel and a Sako L461 Mannlicher with a 20 inch barrel.
Here is the Beretta target with the Herter's group on the left and the Sako group on the right:
The rifle was not zeroed with either ammunition, but it showed a definite preference for the Herter's ammunition, with that group going just under 1/2 inch C to C. The Herter's ammunition and the Sako ammunition turned in virtually identical velocities at 3190 fps and 3195 fps respectively.
Here is the target for the Sako L461 Mannlicher with 20" barrel:
This rifle didn't show as much preference for one over the other and the groups were approximately the same place on the target, but the velocities were a surprise: The Herter's went 3202 fps -- actually faster than the 24" barrel, while the Sako fell off to 3116 fps, or about what you would expect. This indicates to me that the nature of the powder in the two is somewhat different.
I can't draw any real conclusions from this effort, except to say that it is still possible that the Herter's ammunition is from Sako. But as I've mentioned before, it could be a Lapua product, or, taking into account how much license George Leonard Herter tended to take with the truth, the Herter's ammunition could just as easily be from Lithuania or Illinois. Regardless, in reloading the Herter's fired cases they have proven to be excellent and long lasting.