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Just bought a pristine Sako A2 308.

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

Larshak

Member
Hi guys, Thanks for the membership.
My name is Lars, i live in Norway.

I have been interested in sako for some years now and been wanting to buy a
Sako A2 cal. 308
Then i came over a Pristine/unused Sako A2 from a not so well known gunshop Just outside of Trondheim, it is a Long ways from where i live so i couldn't Just drive there and look at it so i just bought it :D but i want u guys to give me some more knowledge on this rifle, i can post the pictures from the sales ad since the rifle is being shipped next week wondering about the stock, buttpad and serial nr and generally what u guys think, bought it for $650
 

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Looks amazing to me. Beautiful wood. Seems like you stole it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I believe that is the solid red Sako factory pad from the later A-Series production.

That is very interesting, if so it looks very Nice indeed, is it manufactured pre 85 or post 85? It is very difficult to get hold of information about The 340.000 serial number, at first i tought it was manufactured in around 1981

I hope there Will be some more information about this
 
I can also add to the story that the gunshop salesman wrote to me that he had sent the rifle to 2 different gunsmiths to look at it and both of them had told him that the rifle had never been fired
 
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Establishing an exact date for any changes Sako made is difficult, but the solid red recoil pad is generally believed to be from the second half of the 1980's. Sako serial numbers jump all over & are not a good predictor of when a rifle was made. There was probably a mixture of pad types as Sako used up the waffle type pads as they started to use the solid red one.
 
I agree it is a solid red pad, but the profile seems off, as does the color, thickness and the toe grind is a little flat. Does it have the Sako name on the pad?
 
I agree it is a solid red pad, but the profile seems off, as does the color, thickness and the toe grind is a little flat. Does it have the Sako name on the pad?
I dont know of the Sako name are on the pad but i can take a closer look in a few days when i have picked it up
 
That's some very nice wood in the A-II. A great buy!

I see that it has the "herringbone" checkering pattern on the triangular forearm of the earlier A-series stock. However, the pad, while similar to the later pads on the A-series with the "hunter-style" (rounded fore end) stocks, appears to be too thick to be a factory pad. I suspect that it may have originally had a Sako "waffle" pad. As we know, many of those were subject to deterioration due to poor chemical compound or improper curing. Even though the rifle was never used (and may be unfired -- except for the factory test firing that all rifles receive), the original waffle pad may have been deteriorated and replaced with whatever aftermarket pad was available.

Another possibility is that the rifle was made as Sako was transitioning to the "hunter" stock. A stock of the previous style was used, but no waffle pad was available so the factory simply used one of the later solid pads instead. With Sako you can never tell.
 
That's some very nice wood in the A-II. A great buy!

I see that it has the "herringbone" checkering pattern on the triangular forearm of the earlier A-series stock. However, the pad, while similar to the later pads on the A-series with the "hunter-style" (rounded fore end) stocks, appears to be too thick to be a factory pad. I suspect that it may have originally had a Sako "waffle" pad. As we know, many of those were subject to deterioration due to poor chemical compound or improper curing. Even though the rifle was never used (and may be unfired -- except for the factory test firing that all rifles receive), the original waffle pad may have been deteriorated and replaced with whatever aftermarket pad was available.

Another possibility is that the rifle was made as Sako was transitioning to the "hunter" stock. A stock of the previous style was used, but no waffle pad was available so the factory simply used one of the later solid pads instead. With Sako you can never tell.
Thank you so much, that was a very informative answer, is there something special about the rifle i should be aware of when the rifle arrives next week to determine more information about it? Iam asking since i dont know much about the Sako history since iam a New sako owner :)
 
What the rear face of the pad has on it will resolve that question. However, the "Herringbone" checkering & the satin finish also suggest a later 1980's manufacture date. I have an AI with that checkering & finish that I bought new 1986 & that checkering was a recent cosmetic change at that time. Like all things Sako, changes & modifications they made are difficult to place in time. The changes during the AV period being more sweeping & difficult to date, especially without a factory hang tag. The corresponding AI or AII of that period will exhibit the same changes & timing, so a hang tag or receipt from any of the later A-Series rifles showing any cosmetic changes is helpful. If your "new" rifle comes with a factory box or hang tag, many questions will be resolved.
 
What the rear face of the pad has on it will resolve that question. However, the "Herringbone" checkering & the satin finish also suggest a later 1980's manufacture date. I have an AI with that checkering & finish that I bought new 1986 & that checkering was a recent cosmetic change at that time. Like all things Sako, changes & modifications they made are difficult to place in time. The changes during the AV period being more sweeping & difficult to date, especially without a factory hang tag. The corresponding AI or AII of that period will exhibit the same changes & timing, so a hang tag or receipt from any of the later A-Series rifles showing any cosmetic changes is helpful. If your "new" rifle comes with a factory box or hang tag, many questions will be resolved.
Thanks for the good answer, it Will be interesting to see what the gunshop has sent in the package together with the rifle. It was mentioned in the sales-ad that Sako 1" rings were included, but Who knows, maybe it arrives with more information like a hang-tag etc :)
If so i Will post more pictures of it
 
So now i have picked up the rifle at the post office, i looks great

Some few things to mention, as you can see in the pictures the red recoil pad has no "Sako" mark on it, so this is likely an aftermarket pad
And the open sights is removed so we have the screw-holes left, so my question is, what do i do with the holes?

And one last thing, on the bolt its engraved the nr "945" if this means anything?
 

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So now i have picked up the rifle at the post office, i looks great

Some few things to mention, as you can see in the pictures the red recoil pad has no "Sako" mark on it, so this is likely an aftermarket pad
And the open sights is removed so we have the screw-holes left, so my question is, what do i do with the holes?

And one last thing, on the bolt its engraved the nr "945" if this means anything?
The pad is definitely an aftermarket but seems well executed. The screw holes can be plugged with the proper fitting screw plugs, or you could track down original irons. The three numbers should correspond with the last three numbers in the serial number.

Beautiful rifle by the way.
 
And the open sights is removed so we have the screw-holes left, so my question is, what do i do with the holes?
You can buy plugs to fill the holes. The plugs are very short, headless screws with a slight flare at the slotted end to stop the plug from going too deep. You will have to determine what thread they are, and if they are inch or metric. Sako used a lot of Williams sights on A series rifles, so it is possible that the hole spacing and thread is for Williams sights, and in that case the mounting screws were most likely inch thread rather than metric.
 
The numbers on the bolt were etched on by hand after the barrel was fitted & the chamber cut to proper headspace. This is to insure the bolt & barreled action remain together through the rest of the manufacturing process. The numbers should be the last three digits of the serial number.
 
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