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What rifles other than sako's do you hunt with?

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

I'll add another.........at work in the PD fields of the Texas high plains

My 20BR......is a Searcy(Hall clone) action with 10 twist K&P barrel, in a McMillian stock, topped with a Leo 8.5-25xAO varmint hunter reticle.

It shoots the 40VMax at 4150fps, and the Berger 50LTB at 3950fps........PD's hate it. :)

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I'll add another.........at work in the PD fields of the Texas high plains

My 20BR......is a Searcy(Hall clone) action with 10 twist K&P barrel, in a McMillian stock, topped with a Leo 8.5-25xAO varmint hunter reticle.

It shoots the 40VMax at 4150fps, and the Berger 50LTB at 3950fps........PD's hate it. :)
That looks like a superbly-accurate rifle, Kevin. Quarter-inch groups? Does the brake keep the muzzle flat so that you can see hits?
 
That looks like a superbly-accurate rifle, Kevin. Quarter-inch groups? Does the brake keep the muzzle flat so that you can see hits?

If memory serves.......about 0.35 to 0.4" 5-shot groups.

The Vais muzzle brake works well, with recoil about that of a 222.
I consider double ear protection a must........and staying away from friends, so they remain "friends". :)
Even so........too many shots, in too short a period of time, may induce a mild headache. Of course, I could say that about many PD rifles.
 
Deersako, wasn't there a population explosion of bunnies in Oz a few years ago, creating a problem for land owners? I can see that you're doing your part to deal with the issue!:D Has the problem pretty much subsided now?

It’s generally boom and then bust, pardon the pun, for rabbit populations in Australia. Rabbit calicivirus strikes in the right conditions and brings the numbers back down.
I’ve seen it once in the last 10 years on our place where it had become a very noticeable issue, along with my ammunition budget skyrocketing.
 
I plan on hunting deer with this new old rifle. Lakelander 6.5 x 55 Carbine. Made in Sweden, probably in the late 70's. Free-floated 19.5 in. barrel with iron sights that line up immediately upon shouldering the rifle. Front sight hood bolts on. All steel fully adjustable rear open sight. Rotary magazine. Blind magazine. Bolt with 6 locking lugs. Sako-type extractor. Very (very) smooth bolt travel. Low rise bolt handle. Trigger breaks clean at 3 lb. On the right side of the receiver, from the rear, are a smooth, silent safety that locks both trigger and bolt, a (slothead) bolt release button and then a push release that ejects cartridges from the magazine. Aside from the blind magazine, the stock is very similar to the Tikka M55/M65, including palm swell, style of checkering, the semi-matte finish, apparently even the same variety of walnut. Probably made by the same contractor. Weighs 7 lb. on my scale. Front and rear receiver rings are the same height. Very well thought out and very well machined.

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Fascinating WW,

I'd never even heard of Lakelander let alone seen one. It looks great, sounds like very complex workings to keep sorted and functional however.
 
Waterwolf shows us a very fine example of a little-known rifle. The original Lakelander was designed and built by Tampereen Asepaja (TAP) in the 1970's. The tooling and name were eventually sold and Lakelanders were later built in Norway and Sweden. The Lakelander was considered a high-quality rifle in all of its Nordic incarnations.
 
Fascinating WW,

I'd never even heard of Lakelander let alone seen one. It looks great, sounds like very complex workings to keep sorted and functional however.

Very rough history: 70's through to 90's...Varberger (Finland, then Sweden), Lakelander (Sweden), Kongsberg (Norway), all the same basic design evolving through various corporate entities and various models.

And, like most Scandinavian design, not "very complex" (the most reductive version is the three-lug Varberger Model 717, aka "Jaguar.")

Also, not really all that rare, at least not in Canada. I see various versions for sale fairly often. I can think of at least five for sale in Canada right now. All in 30-06 or 6.5x55.
 
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Also, not really all that rare, at least not in Canada.
This is another one where the 49th parallel makes a difference. To my knowledge, the Varberger/Lakelander/Kongsberg was never imported to the U.S. from any of its manufacturer origins in Finland/Sweden/Norway. I saw my first one when I visited the Finnish Hunting Museum in Riihimaki.
 
I plan on hunting with this new old rifle. Lakelander 6.5 x 55 Carbine. Made in Sweden, late 70's. Free-floated 19.5 in. barrel with properly positioned iron sights that line up immediately upon shouldering the rifle. Front sight hood bolts on. All steel fully adjustable rear open sight. Rotary magazine. Blind magazine. Bolt has 6 locking lugs. Sako-type extractor. Very smooth bolt travel. Low rise bolt handle. Trigger breaks cleanly at 3 lb. On the right side of the receiver, from the rear, are a smooth, silent safety that locks both trigger and bolt, a bolt release button and a release that ejects cartridges from the magazine. Aside from the blind magazine, the stock is very similar to the Tikka M55/M65, including palm swell, style of checkering, the semi-matte finish, apparently even the same variety of walnut. Weighs 7 lb. on my scale. Front and rear receiver rings are the same height. Very well thought out and very well machined rifle.

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Interesting rifle.

I assume the button on the side under the cartridge port is the magazine unload? Sounds like the another rotary rifle magazine I have read about before, might be the MS?

And the button on front of the bolt - bolt release?

Marcus
 
Interesting rifle.

I assume the button on the side under the cartridge port is the magazine unload? Sounds like the another rotary rifle magazine I have read about before, might be the MS?

And the button on front of the bolt - bolt release?

Marcus
"On the right side of the receiver, from the rear, are a smooth, silent safety that locks both trigger and bolt, a bolt release button and a release that ejects cartridges from the magazine."

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WW: Thanks for the detailed photos of this interesting rifle.

I'm having difficulty figuring out the function of the screw/pin with the slotted head on the RH side of the receiver just in front of the bolt handle cut.

Also, there appears to be a slot cut in the underside of the receiver ring a little like that of the Sako TRGs (Model 995). On the TRGs the slot serves in place of the recoil lug by engaging a "hump" on the synthetic stock inletting. However on your Lakelander the recoil lug is bolted to the underside of the receiver, a little like that of the Sako "91" series.

Can you tell us anything about either the screw/pin or the receiver slot? I'm sure that some features varied as the manufacturing moved from country to country, so the Swedish version may not be identical to the Finnish or Norwegian versions.
 
Out of curiosity only, I would like to see a picture of the empty stock showing the inletting of this rifle. (Don't take it out of the stock just for my curiosness, however. I see some incredible grain in that stock that is covered up by the dark finish, also. Thanks for sharing that excellent example of a fine firearm.
 
Also, there appears to be a slot cut in the underside of the receiver ring a little like that of the Sako TRGs (Model 995). On the TRGs the slot serves in place of the recoil lug by engaging a "hump" on the synthetic stock inletting. However on your Lakelander the recoil lug is bolted to the underside of the receiver, a little like that of the Sako "91" series.
On a Norwegian Kongsberg iteration of this design (a Kongsberg M393) that I've seen pictured, I believe that slot functions as you describe with the Sako TRG. The inletting has glass at that point which flows up into the slot to provide recoil resistance. Incidentally, this same recoil "lug" arrangement is used in my Dakota Varminter and so I guess not that unusual.
 
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WW: Thanks for the detailed photos of this interesting rifle.

I'm having difficulty figuring out the function of the screw/pin with the slotted head on the RH side of the receiver just in front of the bolt handle cut.

Also, there appears to be a slot cut in the underside of the receiver ring a little like that of the Sako TRGs (Model 995). On the TRGs the slot serves in place of the recoil lug by engaging a "hump" on the synthetic stock inletting. However on your Lakelander the recoil lug is bolted to the underside of the receiver, a little like that of the Sako "91" series.

Can you tell us anything about either the screw/pin or the receiver slot? I'm sure that some features varied as the manufacturing moved from country to country, so the Swedish version may not be identical to the Finnish or Norwegian versions.


Blame my photography. What you can't see is that there is actually a hump on the steel bracket that fits up into the receiver slot. The bracket locks (and is also held with a screw) into the stock. The entire unit functions as a recoil lug.It works fine but also see this video: (Fabulous Lakelander Rifles - YouTube) The next time I take down the rifle, I will post a picture of the stock inletting...could be quite awhile though.

I've put more info on gunboards: Lakelander 6.5x55 | Page 2 | Gunboards Forums
 
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Just got back from an Oklahoma hog hunt & just wanted to share my experience using the 6.5 Grendel cartridge in a CZ 527 bolt gun. CZ has discontinued the 527 model so when I had the chance to get one in 6.5 Grendel I jumped on it as I have a Howa actioned target rifle in that round & really like the cartridge. I have 2 other CZ 527s & have found them to be a quality, accurate rifle. Just a shame they stopped making them. Cut the barrel from 24" to 16.5" & installed a thread adapter so when the BATFE finally gets me my Tax Stamp I can install a suppressor. Was hoping to use the suppressor on this hunt but, alas, the BATFE let me down again. Worked up a load using the Sierra 120 grain Pro Hunter cup & core soft point bullet @ a little under 2400 fps. Bullet is designed to expand properly from 1800 to about 2600 fps, so felt it should be about right for close range hogs. Hog hunting is mostly a night time affair so I put a 1-4X Trijicon scope on it with the triangle on a post reticle. Using the top of the triangle as an aiming point I was able to put 3 bullets in a half inch circle dead on at 100 yards. I LOVE that reticle! It glows red, day or night without any batteries or intensity adjustment. Trijicon is top shelf stuff, IMHO. Attached a Predator Tactics Night Raid green light to the scope using a QD Picatinny scope mount. This set up allows me to see & shoot out to 200+ yards at night, but I put a personal 100 yard limit on myself as I think it is better to anchor the pig with a precise shot behind the ear. Tracking a wounded pig in the dark is not something I would recommend unless you like an adrenaline rush. The sows & piglets, which I prefer, evaded me on this hunt but I was able to shoot two lone boars that came to my stand about 3 hours apart on one of the nights. The smaller one was shot at about 40 yards. The Big Boy was near 70 yards. Both shot behind the ear & both dropped dead instantly. This little Grendel is turning into my favorite hunting rifle. Hardly any recoil, very mild report (even with the short barrel), very effective on medium game like deer or hogs. I got a 95 grain varmint load I'm looking forward to using on coyotes this winter. It would also be a fantastic youth or ladies rifle. For those not familiar with the round, it is basically a 6mm PPC necked up to 6.5mm. Not very many options for it in a bolt action, but it is readily purchased in the AR platform. If you find one & are looking for a very fun bolt action hunting rifle, don't hesitate or just call me & let me know where I can pick it up!!!! BTW, I don't know what the Big Boy weighed but it took 4 of us to get it in the pick-up bed. Over 3 inch tusks, which is why I don't chase them in the dark. Biggest hog I ever shot! For a perspective, I'm 6' & weigh 215.

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