• 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

Hello from Alabama

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

Hell0 from Northport folks! Been lurking for a couple of weeks. But now I went and did it. I picked up a L61R in .30-06 off GB. It has the Stoeger import marks. It was listed as a NIB Finnbear but I’m thinking I have something else. Can y’all tell me what I have (other than a fine Finnish rifle). I hope to get a scope on it most ricky-tick and get in some quality range time. So what kind of bases will I need? Is there a barrel break in procedure? Thank you for your time. I’ll post more photos tonight.
 

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Congrats on your purchase - your gun is a long action model L61R which is known as a Finnbear. The short action bolt Sakos are known as Vixens I.E. 17, 222, 222mag, 223 . The medimum action bolt Sakos are knowl as Foresters I.E. 22-260, 243, 308, etc. and the long action bolt Sakos are kown as Finnbear I.E. 270, 30-06, 7mm, 300, 338 etc.
So L61 is the model and Finnbear referd to the action.
 
Congrats on your purchase - your gun is a long action model L61R which is known as a Finnbear. The short action bolt Sakos are known as Vixens I.E. 17, 222, 222mag, 223 . The medimum action bolt Sakos are knowl as Foresters I.E. 22-260, 243, 308, etc. and the long action bolt Sakos are kown as Finnbear I.E. 270, 30-06, 7mm, 300, 338 etc.
So L61 is the model and Finnbear referd to the action.

Does it matter if it doesn’t say Finnbear on it? I ask this because this particular rifle does not have it in front of the “Made in Finland” label. And thank you kindly for the information. Much appreciated!
 
No it does not matter if not marked Finnbear. All long actions such as yours regardless if L61R, AIII or AV models were known as Finnbears. Even some of the current Mod 85 were produced as Finnbears.
 
Typically Finnbear would be stamped along the stock line on the left side of the barrel in front of the action. I know there are variations in the stampings as I remember a discussion where stonecreek has a L61R that had variations from the norm, so it is as had been said many times nothing with Sako is a firm hard rule.
 
Thank you very much for the info! Sure looking forward to shooting a venerable Sako. Here’s more photos. Not great but at least something to show.
 

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https://www.leupold.com/scope-mounts

Check out Leupold's scope finder page.
Sako
Tapered Dovetail Rail Receiver
Add your scope series
Add your scope

You can go with Optiloc rings and mounts but I don't like them

Roger that! I had looked at that (as I am topping it with a piece of Leupold glass) but I wasn’t sure till I got more info about the rifle. Excellent advice and I will look at that page again. If I may ask, why do you not care for the Optiloc rings/mounts?
 
If you can find the Optiloc rings that fit the Sako dovetails, great. I could never find them. Always need to go with bases and rings which I don't like.
 
[QUOTE So L61 is the model and Finnbear referd to the action.[/QUOTE]

Marlin.....

Isn't it the other way around??

L61 is the action.....and Finnbear refers to the rifle model.
 
Nice looking wood on that one. It is a very late L61R. The bolt shroud is typical of the later AIII and AV models but a few late L61R rifles were built with the newer feature. Presumably Sako ran out of the older style bolt assemblies and produced the last of the L61R series rifles with a few AIII parts.
 
Your (very nice) rifle is a testament to just how crazy and unpredictable Sako was in skipping around with its serial numbers.

L61R serial numbers originally ranged from "1" into the 90,000's. Sako started the serial numbering of the L61R over with 500,000 not too long after Garcia took over importation in 1971-72. Garcia-imported L61R's run up into the mid-500,0000's. Garcia was the importer until handing off to Stoeger around 1978-79. Your rifle, with a number in the 510,000's would normally be assumed to be a Garcia import, but it is clearly marked with the Stoeger import mark.

I've never seen a Stoeger import with a serial number this low before and without seeing your photos would have said it was certain to be a Garcia import. This is just one more lesson on how you can never fully depend on the serial number of a Sako to be anything other than "indicative", as the caution on a commonly referenced compilation of models and numbers warns.

I'm wondering if we shouldn't to them as "serial" numbers since there is very little serial about them. Maybe we should call them "identification" numbers -- but that would just further confuse things since everyone considers the number on a gun to be its "serial number".
 
Thanks Stonecreek! Great info! The rifle came with a label dating it as 1978. It doesn’t appear to have been fired. A nice safe queen ready for use. Can’t wait. So much to learn about Sako. I (like everyone else, I’m certain) has oft heard of reliability of the Sako and can recall many stories of professional hunters relying on a Sako product. Can’t wait to put some lead down range. Hoping for back strap on the grill this winter.
 

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I thought it looked familiar in your earlier pics but your last pics looked like it for sure. Used mine to carry my 300WM a lot of years back. A great hunting buddy of mine got it for me for a Xmas present back then.
 
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