• 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

A hard-used L461 HB .223 (now .17-222)

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

I still think that the action is usable, or could be made usable. However, there is such demand for Sako parts like the ejector, housing, trigger, bolt sleeve, magazine parts, etc. that you might get enough money out of those to pay for most or all of a better action.
 
So I have put in a permit to acquire for the $650 Sako in the LGS, so the Bofors is available for you collectors out there - I will put a more comprehensive post with extra photos in the for sale section for those interested.

Marcus
 
I would have the smith pull the barrel to get a good view of the lugs. If you found a new bolt the action might be usable, but hard to say without a look at the action lugs. It definitely looks like some one made a living with it. I saw a Sako 243 a few years back that had absolutely no rifling left in it. It looked like a shot gun barrel is was so worn out.
 
Reading back through this old thread I realised I should give an update. The old well worn L461 is still going strong.

I sold off the big Hakko scope for $400 (all $ are AUD) from memory, leaving me $200 in the rifle. The Tasco WC bridge mount that was on the rifle had gone onto the .20-222. I already had an old Hillver bridge mount and 1" rings that came on the .20-222 donor so they moved across onto this rifle.

I also has a Tasco World Class PLUS 3-9x44 scope that had come to me when I bought my Brno Mod 2, and had sat in a box on the shelf for the last 4 years. It mounted up perfectly just clearing the barrel, and was a evaluation under the spotlight - beautifully bright and clear.

I picked up a second hand 21" Tobler stainless fluted barrel already chambered in .223 and threaded for an L461 for $90. Once screwed in it was evident that there was excessive headspace due to the worn bolt lugs. To check whether it would shoot I necked 10 cases up to 6mm and then incrementally sized longer portions of the necks them back down to .224 until they chambered with a slight feel. It proved to shoot well with reloads using 55gn Sierra SP, 40gn Sierra BKs and 40gn Nosler Varmageddons.

To enable factory spec rounds to be safely fired I sent the rfile to a local gunsmith who turned a little off the read of the barrel shoulder to tighten the headspace up. Testing then found the barrel loves the factory OSA round with the 55gn Sierra SPs, disliked the OSA plastic tip Blitzking loads, and shows various results with a limited selection of other factory offerings I tried.

One aspect that transpired with all this testing was that reloads couldn't be run too warm as cases would quickly get sticky, and this was mainly due to the worn bolt lugs and worn extractor cam on the bolt leading to no contact and hence no initial camming as the bolt is lifted. A mate from work built up the bolt extraction cam with a TIG welder and I filed it to the required shape. It certainly improved the issue significantly but hasn't completely fixed it.

In keeping with the low cost approach I used Birchwood Casey cold blue to reblue the action and bolt which I had polished when this old thing was going to be a donor.

More to come.

Marcus
 
So the old .223 has been on duty for the last few years knocking over foxes,rabbits and other beasties. Because of what it is it is the only rifle that tends to sit in the safe in an unclean state, and so it is the one I can just grab, slide some shells into, and go a chase something in the paddocks around the house.

Here are a couple of photos of it in action:

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.

I had recently been running a Zeiss 4.5-14x44 HD5 on this rifle, but yesterday slid it off (it too is mounted in Hillver bridge mount and rings, so just loosen off the side screws and slide off backwards) and slipped the Tasco back on in its bridge mount. These were the first two shots at 100m to check zero:

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One click up and zeroing done.

Marcus
 
That’s great Marcus !
You’ve cleaned the stock up nicely, looking at the original pics I thought that stain would have been hard to remove ?

What trigger did you put in it ?
 
Cheers DS.

Yes the stock came up OK, although the checkering needs repointing and there is an oil mark on the LHS that is still there, and a square-edged compression dent across the top of the wrist I couldn't steam out. Cam Hatcher saw it and knew what it was immediately; his father was a pro-shooter and had a Sako varmint with exactly the same dent, which was caused by the holder the rifle sat in within the the cab of the ute while spotlighting. I'm not too fussed as it means it is the perfect work tool that I don't need to coddle.

The trigger is a Timney I bought second hand from member 6x47l. I swapped out a spring and it now has a very nice pull weight. I also ground the front of the trigger finger lever, as it had a sharp transition from vertical into the curved finger piece that sat below the line of the stock and was uncomfortable. It has a much better and more comfortable shape now.

Reading back through the thread I see Topgear mentioned having a .17-222; I bought a barely used heavy stainless Shilen chambered in .17-222 from a friend to try on this action. Its threaded for a Zastava 85 which is close but apparently not identical, as it will screw on about halfway. With the .223 barrel still shooting so well the urgency to sort out the .17 barrel isnt there at the moment.

A few more of 'Ol' Dependable':

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All three foxes were shot at seperate times in one of the paddocks bordering our house yard. Last thing at night I headdress out and lock up the chooks (chickens for you yanks ;)) and I sweep the Solarforce LED torch across the paddocks while I am outside.

If see somethingI grab an un-oiled rifle - usually the old .223 - put the torch on top and go for a walk. I think the tally for 2018 might have been around or 8 or 9 from within 300m of the house. :D

Marcus
 
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Well I finally got around to sending the action and .17cal Shilen barrel away a couple of months ago, and it returned three weeks ago. I spent some time doing some pressure tests with the variety of powders I have on the shelf, all in Lapua .222 brass with Rem 7 1/2 primers and 20gn v-maxes.

The data:

AR2207
17.2gn AR2207 - 3590 fps

BM8208
20.0gn - 3727 fps
20.2gn - 3686 fps
20.4gn - 3768 fps
20.6gn - 3798 fps

AR2206H
19.7gn - 3489 fps
19.9gn - 3526 fps
20.1gn - 3518 fps
20.3gn - 3542 fps
20.5gn - 3673 fps

BM2
21.0gn - 3857 fps
21.2gn - 3953 fps
21.4gn - 3948 fps
21.6gn - 4000 fps
21.8gn - 4033 fps

AR2208
20.4gn - 3408 fps
20.6gn - 3418 fps
20.8gn - 3461 fps
21.0gn - 3508 fps

The idea was to check for pressure and velocity. For most of these powders there is no listed loads so I looked at 17FB, .17Rem and .222 listed loads for guidance. All were easy to extract with no pressure signs, and could be loaded with heavier charges. I have tried more increments for BM8208 and BM2, with the latter being the clear winner:

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Tried it out under the light last weekend:

bb8315a718dc3a5ba525fc5666112dbf.jpg


Marcus
 
Hi Marcus, You are the man.

I'm getting cranked up for the 14 walker Hornet build. I'm using a Ruger SS rig for the receiver and stock. Managed to get my mitts on one of the very last medium 14 cal barrels that were made by Pac-Nor. Just ordered a new Grizzley mill (sold off the older machines in the hopes of getting an upgrade). So within a month or so I should be up and running.

rick
 
I'm getting cranked up for the 14 walker Hornet build. I'm using a Ruger SS rig for the receiver and stock. Managed to get my mitts on one of the very last medium 14 cal barrels that were made by Pac-Nor. Just ordered a new Grizzley mill (sold off the older machines in the hopes of getting an upgrade). So within a month or so I should be up and running.

rick

Excellent, I have been looking forward to this one.

Marcus
 
In my opinion, the .17 on the .222 case provides all the powder capacity that caliber can use (and probably a little more). In fact, the .17 Fireball may be as close to perfect as you can get; I'm not sure why Remington used the .223 case as a basis for its original .17 when the .221 or .222 would have made more sense.

Looks like your Vixen is a great shooter!
 
I'm not sure why Remington used the .223 case as a basis for its original .17 when the .221 or .222 would have made more sense.
Marketing! A new cartridge based on the .223 is cooler to the average Joe who has an AR-15 and wouldn't know a .221 Fireball from a spicy meatball. Also, there would likely have been a cost advantage. Remington produces .223 brass blanks in enormous quantity so the unit cost would be lower even though a Fireball has slightly less metal in it.

Look at the evolution of the 7mm Remington Magnum and the assorted Winchester and Weatherby Magnums (.300, .338, .264, etc.). All those cartridges have a belt; the Winchester design is based on a blown-out and shortened .300 or .375 H&H. The original Holland & Holland design had a belt for a very specific reason - the long, gently tapered case needed it for headspacing. The later magnum cartridges need a belt like a cigar store Indian needs a bra. With their steep shoulder angles, all of them could easily have been designed without the belt. However, gun writers had made the phrase "belted magnum" into some kind of magical incantation, so Remington, Winchester, and Weatherby all put completely superfluous belts on their Magnums. As with the .17-.223, coolness trumps optimal engineering.
 
Hi Marcus, good project and a great calibre/cartridge combo. I made one nearly the same about 7 years ago, an L461 s/n 77***.
With medium weight Shilen sporter 24" barrel. I have stuck with the 25gn. Hollow points, either Hornady or Berger, for some reason? I reckon the Bergers shoot better groups?? I have a Meopta 4-12x50 on it, under rated optics.!
Shoots 3/8" to 3/4" groups all the time, with any of the following powders.
AR2207, AR2206H, RL7 and N133.
Perfect fox medicine as you have shown in those great pic. Enjoy.... Jay
 

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Nice one Jay. I would
Be happy to read and see more on your rifle and experiences.

I have tried a couple of loads with 25gn Hornady and Rem HPs, and the results look promising.

Marcus
 
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Mixed results with the whistle. I had one came in very well last weekend and subsequently missed it....:(

We have called in a couple of others in the last few weeks though. Still others show no interest, and some hightail it into the next postcode...

Starting to see a few pairs as well.

Marcus
 

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