icebear
Sako-addicted
I just picked up this L46 .222 with the Type 2 Mauser-style wing safety on the left of the bolt. It is an interesting gun for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it was one of the first 100 guns Sako built in .222 Remington. Completed in February 1951, it was originally exported to Ellwood Epps, a dealer and custom builder in Ontario, Canada. The seller knew very little about the rifle. He advertised it as an L61, and stated it was built in 1949 (before the .222 Remington was introduced).
For a 70-year-old rifle, it's in amazing condition. The stock has a few dings, but the finish appears to be original. The buttplate is not scratched up, the metal is in excellent condition, and the bolt looks like it's had maybe a box of ammo through it in the whole 70 years. Bolt operation is very stiff as there is no lubricant in it at all. Trigger is light, with no take-up, but with a slightly soft feel. I'll be pulling the action out of the stock and cleaning and lubricating everything before test firing.
Something that really impresses me about Sako rifles from the 1950's is the craftsmanship, especially the checkering, which is finer and better executed than on the later L461/L579/L61R rifles. I consider the L46 to be a better-made gun than its successors.
The odd thing about this rifle is the lack of a front sight. There is little if any sign of the factory sight being removed; if the sight was removed it was a very professional job. The upper part of the barrel where the sight would be does appear to be slightly less glossy than the rest of the barrel, so this could be evidence of removal. I'm guessing that since the original dealer was a custom builder, he might have removed the front sight at the request of the buyer. I e-mailed the Ellwood Epps company in Canada, which is still in business, but they do not have records going back that far.
Has anyone ever seen or heard of an L46 that left the factory without a front sight? I haven't, and I don't find any reference to such a thing in my Finnish-language reference sources. The front sight issue affects collector interest in the rifle, but I think the price I paid reflects the loss in value. I'm comfortable with it.
The scope and mount are Stith-Kollmorgen. The 6x Bear Cub and the Sako mount were a hot item in the early 1950's, so I am guessing they are probably original to the gun. The Kollmorgen scope is in excellent cosmetic and optical condition - bright, clear, and sharp (at least by the standards of 1951). The plain crosshair reticle is less prominent than the duplex most of us are used to, but it will work just fine. I plan to leave the scope and mount in place. As a side note, the Kollmorgen scope is 26mm, as are the Stith rings. This makes a vintage Stith mount a good option for anyone who wants to put a 26mm European scope on an L46.
Kollmorgen is a long-established, high-end optical company in the U.S. It has been manufacturing periscopes for the U.S. Navy since World War I, and still does. Kollmorgen sold its rifle scope business to Redfield; I don't recall when but I think it was in the late 1950's. The Kollmorgen Bear Cub formed the basis for Redfield's line of scopes; those familiar with Redfield will recognize the signature knurling on the ocular.
When Sako decided to chamber the L46 in the newly announced .222 Remington, it was necessary to lengthen the action by milling a longer feed opening on the bottom, lengthen the bolt travel by changing the bolt stop, and redesign the magazine for the longer cartridge. The basic dimensions of the action remained unchanged. The L46 had been made in 7x33, .25-20, .218 Bee, and .22 Hornet - all of which are much shorter than the .222.
Here are photos, some of which show this rifle next to a later L46 with the boxy-looking rotary safety on the right side of the bolt. There's also one photo with the two rifles and an L469 in .222 Magnum, which has the late style stock with the squared-off forend and Monte Carlo cheekpiece of the L461, which replaced the L46/L469 series.
Buttstock of the 1951 rifle. Pretty tiger striping, but hard to capture an image because the striping is only visible with the light at certain angles. After that, the two L46 stocks compared.
Various details of the 1951 rifle
Safety off
Safety on
And finally, one shot of the muzzle area, taken from above. It doesn't really show much. My autofocus digital camera didn't want to give me a good image. I'll pull out the D750 and the Micro-Nikkor when I get time and take some better photos.
For a 70-year-old rifle, it's in amazing condition. The stock has a few dings, but the finish appears to be original. The buttplate is not scratched up, the metal is in excellent condition, and the bolt looks like it's had maybe a box of ammo through it in the whole 70 years. Bolt operation is very stiff as there is no lubricant in it at all. Trigger is light, with no take-up, but with a slightly soft feel. I'll be pulling the action out of the stock and cleaning and lubricating everything before test firing.
Something that really impresses me about Sako rifles from the 1950's is the craftsmanship, especially the checkering, which is finer and better executed than on the later L461/L579/L61R rifles. I consider the L46 to be a better-made gun than its successors.
The odd thing about this rifle is the lack of a front sight. There is little if any sign of the factory sight being removed; if the sight was removed it was a very professional job. The upper part of the barrel where the sight would be does appear to be slightly less glossy than the rest of the barrel, so this could be evidence of removal. I'm guessing that since the original dealer was a custom builder, he might have removed the front sight at the request of the buyer. I e-mailed the Ellwood Epps company in Canada, which is still in business, but they do not have records going back that far.
Has anyone ever seen or heard of an L46 that left the factory without a front sight? I haven't, and I don't find any reference to such a thing in my Finnish-language reference sources. The front sight issue affects collector interest in the rifle, but I think the price I paid reflects the loss in value. I'm comfortable with it.
The scope and mount are Stith-Kollmorgen. The 6x Bear Cub and the Sako mount were a hot item in the early 1950's, so I am guessing they are probably original to the gun. The Kollmorgen scope is in excellent cosmetic and optical condition - bright, clear, and sharp (at least by the standards of 1951). The plain crosshair reticle is less prominent than the duplex most of us are used to, but it will work just fine. I plan to leave the scope and mount in place. As a side note, the Kollmorgen scope is 26mm, as are the Stith rings. This makes a vintage Stith mount a good option for anyone who wants to put a 26mm European scope on an L46.
Kollmorgen is a long-established, high-end optical company in the U.S. It has been manufacturing periscopes for the U.S. Navy since World War I, and still does. Kollmorgen sold its rifle scope business to Redfield; I don't recall when but I think it was in the late 1950's. The Kollmorgen Bear Cub formed the basis for Redfield's line of scopes; those familiar with Redfield will recognize the signature knurling on the ocular.
When Sako decided to chamber the L46 in the newly announced .222 Remington, it was necessary to lengthen the action by milling a longer feed opening on the bottom, lengthen the bolt travel by changing the bolt stop, and redesign the magazine for the longer cartridge. The basic dimensions of the action remained unchanged. The L46 had been made in 7x33, .25-20, .218 Bee, and .22 Hornet - all of which are much shorter than the .222.
Here are photos, some of which show this rifle next to a later L46 with the boxy-looking rotary safety on the right side of the bolt. There's also one photo with the two rifles and an L469 in .222 Magnum, which has the late style stock with the squared-off forend and Monte Carlo cheekpiece of the L461, which replaced the L46/L469 series.
Buttstock of the 1951 rifle. Pretty tiger striping, but hard to capture an image because the striping is only visible with the light at certain angles. After that, the two L46 stocks compared.
Various details of the 1951 rifle
Safety off
Safety on
And finally, one shot of the muzzle area, taken from above. It doesn't really show much. My autofocus digital camera didn't want to give me a good image. I'll pull out the D750 and the Micro-Nikkor when I get time and take some better photos.
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