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Lots of older .243 Sako rifles available. Why?

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

Jaywalker

Member
I'm hung up on availability of spare parts, so I'm dithering between getting a newer 85 (so that I can buy spares easily) or buy another L579 (so that I can have the spare parts in the form of a spare rifle). But that's not the question and I'll resolve that in time.

The question is, why are there so many L579 .243 rifles for sale right now and so few .308? Are the 308 owners keeping theirs and the 243 owners dumping theirs for the 6.5 Creedmoor? Maybe they've burned out their barrels? Other?
 
Simple math. There were a ton of L579s made in 243, while the 308 was less so. Not sure what the ratio is, but 308 owners tend to hang on to theirs because they are harder to replace, which probably makes it seem like there are even less. One can buy a 243 L579 about anytime you want to. Parts thing is overblown. Of all the Sakos I've owned & shot over the years, I have yet to have a single part break. Part failure in any well made production rifle is an extremely rare event, so why deprive yourself of owning a nice rifle from worrying about it. Parts can be found or made or other remedies used regardless.
 
Agree with Paulson 100%.

If you buy a Model 85, by the time you might need a part for it they won't be available, either.

There were probably between two and three L579's in .243 for every .308, which is why they are more often seen on the market.

In over a half-century of owning and shooting Sakos the only part I've ever needed (other than cosmetics like sight hoods and recoil pads) was a broken extractor which was sold to me without mention by the seller. But the ones from the Remington 700 "Sako conversion" kits fit and work just fine, so that was no problem.

It is true that people are always looking for original sight hoods, sight blades, ring screws, recoil pads, and sling swivels, but none of those are essential to the function of the rifle and substitutes can be found.

Every now and then you find someone hopelessly trying to resurrect a Sako receiver from which major parts are missing. That is about like trying to build a truck from a Ford F-150 chassis by ordering the rest of it from the parts department -- it will be a virtually impossible task and would cost you ten times what a whole truck would cost.
 
Good to know. I was unaware that more 243 than 308 had been build and sold. With the US love for 30 caliber, I assumed it was the opposite.
 
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