• 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

Did Sako ever make a rifle chambered for 6mm Remington?

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

Hey Woodman,
Supposedly, and I don't know the time frame, Sako chambered the Heavy Barrel (Varmint) in .244 Remington, which of course is identical to 6mm Remington (just a name change), Also, when the Finnwolf was being advertised for release in 1963, it was supposed to have been chambered in .244, although most believe that none were ever produced, and offerings were only .243 and .308.
Will
 
I have seen a few .244s over the years, and it is an identical chamber to the 6mm Remington. However, most 244s had a twist rate designed for light bullets, and they are not ideal for 95 and 100 grain bullets. It does make an awesome coyote rifle with 75 and 80 grain bullets.
 
Sako made the .244 Remington on both the L57 and the L579 actions. They are uncommon since the .243 was apparently much more popular.

I have one of each, and both of the sellers from which I bought them used Remington 100 grain factory ammunition in them. Both provide stellar accuracy with this ammunition, in spite of the fact that it is (ugh!) factory ammunition and the slower rifling twist typically used with the .244 isn't supposed to adequately stabilize 100 grain bullets.

The best I can measure the twist on these guns it runs around 1-11.25", a bit tighter than the 1-12" attributed to most .244's, but some bit slower than the 1-9" or 1-10" most frequently found on .243's.

Rumor has it that the very first hundred or so L57's were chambered for .257 Roberts. I'd love to own one of those rumors.
 
Stone!
IxB4ve seen that info too, about the .257 Roberts, but later it was made clear that it was probably only the first one which was made in that caliber.
As always, nothing is sure when it comes to Sako!
Jim
 
Thanks for all the replies guys,

I'm going to look at a fat barrel .244 this weekend. I think it is the L57 action. Is this action the same as the L579?

It has a 2.5-8 power Bausch & Lomb - Balvar scope on it with no adjustments, the owner says the adjustments are done with the scope mounts. Anybody familiar with this set up? Is it any good?

I'm one of those guys that likes period scopes on certain rifles.
 
It is real close, woodman. The bottom metal is different (fishbellied) and the threading for the barrel is different. The back of the bolt is also different in that the safety is housed in it and the shroud is squared. The magazine area is also different in shape and size. I am only somewhat familiar with the older B&L setup. I'll let someone else dwell on that one. I think, in it's day the setup was excellent. I think it is still serviceable even though the shooter may have outlived his enemies-Niclas
 
The externally adjusted Balvar's are obsolete, but were regarded as a high-end scope in their day. There is nothing about them that keeps you from using them successfully today, and there is even a small following for them among B&L diehards. A company in a small town in upstate New York specializes in buying and selling both the scopes and mounts. They used a B&L mount, but another popular mount was made by Kuharsky Bros. and is about as common as the B&L mount.

A heavy-barreled L57 in .244 is not found under every bush. If it is in nice condition and priced afforably you would do well to buy it.

As niclas pointed out, the biggest single operational difference in the L57 and L579 is the safety. The L57 safety blocks the firing pin (much like a Mauser), so it is a more positive safety, but is harder and noisier to use. The L579 uses a trigger safety which only locks the trigger, so it does not protect as well against accidental discharges from something like a hard jarring of the gun. The L579 safety is, however, quick and silent. Either is a beautifully made action.
 
An old friend passed away back in '99 at the age of 88. He owned quite a collection of Sakos which his wife decided to give away to his friends each getting a single gun. Unfortunately he had plenty of friends. Regardless he owned a factory A series "Forrester" in 6 mm Remington with a yellowish so called classic stock. I distinctly remember the rifle as he could never get it to shoot accurately as his pair of .243s and always swore that he was going to rebarrel it to .243 which he never did. I suppose that was the only one I ever saw. By the way I received a mint Sako in .17 Rem which I cherish to this day. It is like new as he owned two others that he shot a lot.
 
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