Sako M78 fullstock .22LR

[bigcountry4me]

It's just my humble opinion, but it seems to me that the CZ is just about the best buy in quality rimfires followed by the Browning T-Bolt as far as new production goes. I have a pre-WWII Winchester 69A "Junior Target Rifle" that puts both the Finnfire II & the Zephyr to shame. I wouldn't trade it for both those rifles & it won't bring half what their price tag is.

Completely agree regarding the Zephyr rifle. I didn’t give the one I handled nearly the discretion you were able to, but for a grand I expected better finishes all the way around. Years ago I bought a Savage/Anschutz 141 Sporter which is a little tack driver. It’s not as polished as an Anschutz 54 or some of the other high end rimfires, but it’s very close.. Great wood and exceptional bluing.

I also have an early Winchester 69 which I refer to as my garden gun. I mostly shoot shorts or CB’s in it to reduce the noise. I’ve had this one for a long time, it’s killed raccoons, skunks, opossums, nutria, gophers, moles, starlings, squirrels, snakes, grouse, etc. etc. It’s been along on many big game hunt as a camp .22. Also very accurate for what it is - a 90 year old classic rimfire.

 

[gowyo]

I am a sucker for .22 rim fires. I need a half dozen scopes to complete my recent purchases so I can eke* them out. I love the old 580 series remingtons-581, 582, 541T and I had to by a Nylon 66. I have 3 variations of the cz 452- 2 Americans*, FS*, scout*, a BRNO ZOM 451* with gorgeous wood...(ok, nice wood usually sets the hook); Savage-Anschutz 54 sporter; Brownings- BAR, A-bolt*, repro 52; Marlin 39's- ANIB '69 Mountie, a TDS; Sako's- P94s and recent 78*, and a half dozen-.22 mags.- HK 300, BRNO ZKM 611 (Tom Knapp's aspirin shooter); Ruger 10/22m, Marlin 1894M, Anschutz 1720, keltech CMR*, Half again as many pistols. They never get old and are a joy to shoot. I love seeing these pictures guys, thanks. Ps I'd love to find an original zephyr, but the new version leaves me cold.

 

[icebear]

it seems to me that the CZ is just about the best buy in quality rimfires

Agree.

 

[kevinlg]

22's...........WOW!!!

Don't get me started.........PAAAAAAAAAAAAAALEASE!!

 

[stonecreek]

22's...........WOW!!!

Don't get me started.........PAAAAAAAAAAAAAALEASE!!

Aw, com'on Kevin and get started! I'll give you a boost:

Back in the "good ole days" Marlin made some accurate and higher quality .22's. My first .22 was Marlin 57 Levermatic, with which I won a turkey at a turkey shoot at age 12. Nice blue and genuine oiled walnut stock. I foolishly sold that gun in my teenage years and have missed it ever since. So, I started looking for one to salve my nostalgia pangs and finally found a nice one. But just obtaining the replacement 57 wasn't enough. I went on a roll and acquired the full line of Levermatics: 56 clip model, 57 tubular, 57M .22 WMR, 62 .256 Win, and 62 .30 Carbine. All shoot more accurately than anyone would think. By the way, in looking for these various Levermatics I came across more variations that I would have ever thought: Alloy receivers, steel receivers, rounded receivers, humped receivers, and even one model made for Sears and stamped "J.C. Higgins". Some of these left the factory without a serial number after the 1968 GCA went into effect and had to be recalled to send back to the factory to have a serial number stamped on them!

I've also collected quite a few Browning .22's, including a Belgian ATD, Japanese BLR, BAR, BPR, and a rare BPR in .22 WMR. All exhibit good accuracy.

European manufacturers tend to treat rimfires as utility guns, so very few invest forged parts and walnut stocks in them. Krico's from the 1960's are no exception since they used stamped parts and birch stocks, but both the bolt and auto Krico I have are very accurate.

I've already mentioned the Kimber of Oregon rimfires. Anyone who has had experience with K of O's early offerings needs no convincing of their quality.

I hold recent Remington products in rather low esteem, but their vintage stuff is sometimes excellent. Remington made a .22 on the Browning ATD patent called the Model 24. I inherited one of these from my grandfather, who bought it in 1929. It had suffered a lot of wear and tear in the years since, but still exhibits all of the craftsmanship that went into the milled steel and walnut that was once the hallmark of quality gunmaking. A few years ago I found a companion for it -- the same model in .22 SHORT ONLY. Talk about a delight to shoot! "Less" is often "more". Besides, its a great companion for my baby Beretta .22 short auto pistol.

 

[waterwolf]

I like .22s. They make me feel young again and take me back to my rural prairie childhood: big blue skies and endless pastures full of gophers.

Thanks for all the reviews of the Zephyr II. Very informative.

I believe that the best bolt action .22 that is still commonly available on the used market is the Brno and the best of the Brno .22s is the Model 5. Mine was made in 1958 and is still in excellent condition. (All scope mounts for the CZ 527 fit the Brno Model 5.)

 

[deersako]

Seeing we have drifted away from the fullstocks, here’s another of my favourites,
the P54 -

 

[gowyo]

C'mon South Pender, show us your custom P94s!

 

[stonecreek]

C'mon South Pender, show us your custom P94s!

Well, if he won't do it I will: http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8711043/m/9491088652

This is some of the most impressive work I've seen, regardless of whether a centerfire or a rimfire.

 

[stonecreek]

Seeing we have drifted away from the fullstocks, here’s another of my favourites,
the P54 -

Flamed birch! How mouth-watering.

We can thank Jan Winter of Firearms International that Sako even survived its commercial infancy, but he did us no favor by failing to import any of the P46 and P54 rimfires to the U.S. And I found that his successor at Garcia really didn't want to import rimfires, either!

 

[bigcountry4me]

Well, if he won't do it I will: http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/8711043/m/9491088652

This is some of the most impressive work I've seen, regardless of whether a centerfire or a rimfire.

I nearly fainted. Good thing I was sitting down.

 

[waterwolf]

If I had any of the .22s that I now have back when I was young...the other kids would have elected me king of the prairies. But my three brothers and I all got by with one family .22 (Cooey Model 60 .22 https://calibremag.ca/cooey-canadas-gunmaker/) and we didn't shoot .22LR, we used .22 shorts because they were cheaper....On the prairie we quickly learned about compensation for wind drift.

 

[icebear]

I am a sucker for .22 rim fires. I need a half dozen scopes to complete my recent purchases so I can eke* them out. I love the old 580 series remingtons-581, 582, 541T and I had to by a Nylon 66. I have 3 variations of the cz 452- 2 Americans*, FS*, scout*, a BRNO ZOM 451* with gorgeous wood...(ok, nice wood usually sets the hook); Savage-Anschutz 54 sporter; Brownings- BAR, A-bolt*, repro 52; Marlin 39's- ANIB '69 Mountie, a TDS; Sako's- P94s and recent 78*, and a half dozen-.22 mags.- HK 300, BRNO ZKM 611 (Tom Knapp's aspirin shooter); Ruger 10/22m, Marlin 1894M, Anschutz 1720, keltech CMR*, Half again as many pistols. They never get old and are a joy to shoot. I love seeing these pictures guys, thanks. Ps I'd love to find an original zephyr, but the new version leaves me cold.

Good grief! And my girlfriend thinks I've got a lot of .22's! In addition to the CZ 455 Mannlicher in .22 Magnum, I have a CZ 452, a couple of Ruger 10/22's, a Remington 513-T and a Nylon 66, a Savage 6A, and a custom Winchester "Winder Musket." The Savage has an odd feature that was found on some older .22 semiautos - you can use the cocking handle to lock the action and use the rifle as a single shot. I think this feature was probably intended for kids, to keep them from wasting ammo.

The most interesting of the .22's is the single shot Winchester. It started life as a .22 Short military training rifle and still has the military markings. Somebody added a nice custom stock and a target front sight, and relined the barrel to fire .22 Long Rifle. I got it cheap at a gun show because it didn't work. Needed a firing pin, a spring or two, and I forget what all else. The 1885 Winchester action is a real jigsaw puzzle, but I eventually got the thing working. The next step was to see what kind of ammo it favored. Well, the gun was marked .22 Short so naturally I started with shorts. Tried different brands, none of which gave acceptable accuracy. Just for laughs I decided to see if it would chamber a Long Rifle round. It did, and - Voila! - cloverleafs. Turned out to be a real tack driver, as accurate as the 513-T. What I later figured out, with the assistance of an expert in Winchester single shots, was that somebody had relined the barrel and not bothered to restamp it. There's enough difference in barrel twist that a barrel optimized for .22LR won't shoot shorts very well, and vice versa. Anyway it's a nice looking gun, with a fancy walnut stock, contrasting fore-end tip, and a hooked brass buttplate. It's the upper of the two rifles in the photo; the other is a refinished High Wall in .38-55.

 

[deersako]

If I had any of the .22s that I now have back when I was a kid...I would have been the king of the prairies. But my three brothers and I all got by with one family Cooey Model 60 .22 (https://calibremag.ca/cooey-canadas-gunmaker/) and we didn't shoot .22LR, we used .22 shorts because they were a lot cheaper.

Very nice Robin, what are the two bottom rifles ?

 

[waterwolf]

...what are the two bottom rifles ?

The bottom two rifles are a vintage Tyrol, a relatively rare rifle made in Austria, with the original bright Kahles scope in factory Q-D rings, and a brand new, still unfired Zastava, made in Serbia. (Most Zastava rifles don't have walnut like this. I got lucky with this one. I bought it with the intention of refinishing the stock but it is so nice I decided to leave it alone.)

 

[deersako]

I particularly like that Tyrol Robin, very unique.
I really haven’t taken much notice of the Zastavas, that one has a lot of appeal in the fullstock though, particularly with the nice timber. I nearly bought one in .22 Hornet recently for a project, a CZ turned up instead and I’m happy with it.

 

[deersako]

Does the Tyrol have a model number on it Robin ?
A quick search doesn’t show any so far with the double trigger.

 

[douglastwo]

….I've also collected quite a few Browning .22's, including a Belgian ATD,....

Stone, the prices for most Belgian Brownings have really declined in the last couple years. Only a few of the small gauge superpose and the small Sako action rifles, plus the ATD 22's seem to be holding their value. My mom and dad gave me a Browning ATD for high school graduation in 1964, and I still have it.

 

[waterwolf]

Does the Tyrol have a model number on it Robin ?
A quick search doesn’t show any so far with the double trigger.

Photos of the Tyrol. "Mod 5022" on the receiver ring. The 2.5X Kahles scope is bright, with a very modern looking duplex reticle (German #10).

 

[icebear]

A very nice little rifle, indeed. I've never seen or heard of a Tyrol gun before - I'll have to keep my eyes out at gun shows, whenever they return.