1959 L57 243 marked Forester and Bofors

[woodman]

1959 L57 243 marked Forester and Bofors. I came across this nice low mileage L57 this weekend and just could not put it down so she came home with me and here she is. Is this about when Sako started marking Bofors and Forester on the barrels? My other L57 was made in late 57 or early 58 and is not marked Bofors.

 

[misako50]

Very nice rifle, and yes. that is about the time they started marking them "bofors steel". The L57 had some real nice walnut. Some of it close to AAA. I always wanted a .243 but settled for .308-Misako

 

[bloorooster]

Yes! That is a real nice catch Woodman, Lovely Stock too!

Before long your bed won't hold 'em all for pictures!!:evil2:
Congrats on a Sweet rifle!-Bloo

 

[deergoose]

ok. that's what I'm talking about. thanks for sharing !

Questions: Where is "Made in Finland" located on your other L57s? I've got a deluxe where the "Made in Finland" is really small and right up against the receiver and right under the proof marks, but further away from "Forester". I also have a Mannlicher where "Made in Finland" is on the right side of the receiver very close if not in the same spot as where it is located on the L46/L469 Riihimaki rifles. This is just really cool to me for some reason. All of my L57s, I think I have three of them, are marked "Bofors".

Congrats on a terrific find, Woodman!

DeerGoose

 

[woodman]

Deergoose,

I was just looking at my older L57 and unless the stock is covering it up it does not say "Made in Finland". Is has the original Sako barrel that says "SAKO Cal .244" on top and nothing on either side.

Woodman

 

[stonecreek]

"Made in Finland" is sometimes found on the unpolished portion of the action just below the stock line so it is not visible when the gun is assembled.

 

[dhunter]

Deergoose,
My L57 deluxe is marked just like yours. The "Made in Finland" stamp is located right next to the action and is indeed very very small. It is very light impression as well. The stamp appears under the proof mark just above the wood with a large space from the "Forester" marking.
dhunter

 

[deergoose]

thanks dhunter.

I should try to take some pics of this, and the other "Made in Finland" markings on L57s. What I'm looking for is an L57 that is not marked "Forester".....gotta be an early one if it exists.

DeerGoose

 

[woodman]

I pulled the stock off of my older L57 and found the "Made in Finland" on the port side below deck. While I have it down I would like to adjust the trigger a little. It has a "OH SH_T" trigger pull now so I would like to add about a pound to it. Can anyone tell me the procedure.

Deergoose,

my older L57 does not say Forester on it.

Thanks

Woodman.

 

[stonecreek]

The screw protruding from the forward face of the trigger is your weight-of-pull adjustment. To increase pull weight, turn the screw inward (clockwise). The screw below it is the overtravel adjustment and ususally doesn't need moving.

This model did not come with the locknut like later triggers, so I use a dab of clear nail polish placed on the threads and adjacent face of the trigger to make sure the screw does not drift. Clean the screw and trigger face with some alcohol to make sure that the nail polish adheres. Nail polish works well and lets go easily if you need to re-adjust in the future, but almost any kind of lacquer or clear glue will work.

 

[woodman]

Thanks Stonecreek,

I'll do just that. The nail polish sounds better than even the mildest loctite.

 

[dhunter]

Deergoose,
I can't recall seeing a L57 that was not marked "Forester" but I never really took note until you raised the question. Now I am curious. If it helps you narrow your search the one that I was speaking of was not an early one. It would fall just past the middle of the pack at 57xx.
dhunter

 

[woodman]

Deergoose & dhunter,

My L57 pictured above with serial 5489 does not say Forester. Maybe they started stamping them shortly after mine was made or maybe mine was a "Monday Gun"

woodman

 

[deergoose]

This is just fantastic !!! thanks guys for answering a question that I've had for some time....so they do exist !!!!!

Now, here's one for you: My L57 deluxe in .243, which I recently added to the stash a year or two ago, has serial #5292. It is stamped "Forester". I have the hangtag with this one as well, it was inspected on 9/29/1959. thanks.

DeerGoose

 

[stonecreek]

My L57 deluxe in .243, which I recently added to the stash a year or two ago, has serial #5292. It is stamped " Forester". I have the hangtag with this one as well, it was inspected on 9/29/1959. thanks.

DeerGoose

Hmmm . . . like many Sakos, your Deluxe .243 seems well out of sequence. It was made in the last months of L57 production but has an SN that is right in the middle of the series, which ended at just over 10,000 according to our best information. But wider SN mis-sequences have happened with Sakos. What a find, though, a Deluxe with the hang tag!
I have an L57 .244, SN 64XX, which has nothing on the barrel other than the annular marking just in front of the receiver ring with "SAKO" and "Cal. .244" along with a couple of proof marks. No "Forester", no "Bofors", no "Finland" .

Well, looks like our mostly long-dead friends at the Sako factory more than a half-century ago are having another good laugh at us we try to make sense out of their serial numbers and inconsistent markings.

 

[deergoose]

Yes, Stonecreek. They are still laughing at us and all of our silliness on this website. But, it sure is fun for us, isn't it ?

I double checked the hangtag, it matches the rifle and was stuffed in the scope ring box that I bought with the rifle. thanks for confirming that your L57 also isn't stamped "Forester".

 

[dhunter]

Deergoose,
An L57 with the hang tag is indeed a great find. I was surprised by the inspection date as well.
This discussion got me thinking so I looked at another L57 which is in the 6000 range and it does not have a "Made in Finland" or a 'Forester" marking on the left side of the barrel just like Stonecreek described on his rifle. The left side of the barrel does have proof marks right along the wood however. The caliber is marked in the conventional manner around the top of the barrel next to the receiver.
dhunter

 

[aussiesako]

Sako obviously left their proof marker with a lot of independance--I have a couple of 57's that are different--one doesn't have '' bofors or Forester or Finland '' just Sako proof's & .243 accross the top-- another just has proofs & .243 not even Sako--- a 3rd one No 8998 has the lot --& all of them are original --but the 1st two much lower No's-- Also have 46's that just have proof's & calibre accross the top-- you can also tell they used more than one set of stamps in the 40's & 50's--very individual lot of tradesmen

 

[dhunter]

Aussiesako,
Thank you for your input. It would appear from the four rifles that have been identified here that maybe a fair number of L57's left the factory without the customary markings.
dhunter

 

[stonecreek]

Aussiesako: As you've been able to acquire three L57's, it sounds like quite a few of them must have been shipped "Down Under". Jim (L61R) and I were speculating a while back about how many of the total of about 10,000 L57's may have gone to which countries. My horseback guess was that perhaps half were exported to the U.S. and the other half were sold in Europe and Australia, with a sprinkling throughout the rest of the world. Would you have any clue as to how many actually made it to Australia?