topgear
Sako-addicted
Well not technically a book but rather a catalogue
For all the die hard sako fans out there, there has been a few mentions of the Rock Island Auction of 1996 on the forum when around 130 sakos where offered up for sale which had some pretty fine heritage and pedigree. Its taken me a while to find a copy of this catalogue and its pretty interesting so I thought I'd share a little of it with everyone on the forum as I think some would find it interesting and may want to track down a copy for themselves.
The auction was the Rock Island Auction of November 18, 19 & 20th, 1996 and the cover is shown below.
Around 130 sako's where offered in the sale and what makes it special is that most of them where very rare rifles which at one stage belonged to Mims Reed. I had always thought that Mims sold/auctioned the rifles, but from the "About This Auction" in the catalogue the rifles where actually being sold by Mr. Ralph Sylvester. The information below is taken directly from the catalogue:
"This auction includes numerous collections that are notable in their own right. The Sako rifle collection is the absolute finest to ever come to auction. The original basis of this collection came from Mimms Reed the founder of the Sako Collector's Association. Mr Ralph Sylvester added to this core collection over the years. This is a rare opportunity to own some very rare and one of kind Sako's."
There has been some pages of the catalogues put up by Jim (L61R) here on the forum which 1st piped my interest in trying to locate a copy so I won't show those images again but to give you a taste of some of the beauties on offer:
A L46 sako 5.6 x 33, .22 Vierling
and one to really get your excitement levels going:
A Sako L57 mannlicher (one piece) in .222 Mag
Along with these there are other rare beasts like a mannlicher 7.62x39, sporter 7.62x39, Mannlicher .220 russian, Mannlicher deluxe etc and a whole host of other rare sako rifles. Its certainly some great eye candy to sit back and enjoy.
A couple of things struck me. Many of the very early rifles where stated as re-finished (L-46, hornet and 7x33 mannlicher) and close to half the rifles sold where mannlichers. Mims and Ralph certainly had good tastes! The catalogue is certainly a great resource for the one off's and if you get a chance to lay your hands on a copy its well worth it.
I've heard it mentioned on the forum that many of the rifles didn't make anywhere near reserve price and I'd be interested to hear from anyone that was there. I'm trying to track down a list of realised prices for the auction and it will be interesting see just what things actually sold for. I also know one or two rifles made it out to Australia!
I managed to pick my copy up from ebay but it was long wait. I tried emailing Rock Island Auctions to see if I could purchase a copy from them but with no luck. So best bet is probably to look on ebay etc if your interested in a copy.
Anyway hope this sparks some interest and would love to hear if you know more about the auction or indeed own one of the fine rifles now. It would be interesting to know if the collection was largely split or remained as a core nucleus?
For all the die hard sako fans out there, there has been a few mentions of the Rock Island Auction of 1996 on the forum when around 130 sakos where offered up for sale which had some pretty fine heritage and pedigree. Its taken me a while to find a copy of this catalogue and its pretty interesting so I thought I'd share a little of it with everyone on the forum as I think some would find it interesting and may want to track down a copy for themselves.
The auction was the Rock Island Auction of November 18, 19 & 20th, 1996 and the cover is shown below.
Around 130 sako's where offered in the sale and what makes it special is that most of them where very rare rifles which at one stage belonged to Mims Reed. I had always thought that Mims sold/auctioned the rifles, but from the "About This Auction" in the catalogue the rifles where actually being sold by Mr. Ralph Sylvester. The information below is taken directly from the catalogue:
"This auction includes numerous collections that are notable in their own right. The Sako rifle collection is the absolute finest to ever come to auction. The original basis of this collection came from Mimms Reed the founder of the Sako Collector's Association. Mr Ralph Sylvester added to this core collection over the years. This is a rare opportunity to own some very rare and one of kind Sako's."
There has been some pages of the catalogues put up by Jim (L61R) here on the forum which 1st piped my interest in trying to locate a copy so I won't show those images again but to give you a taste of some of the beauties on offer:
A L46 sako 5.6 x 33, .22 Vierling
and one to really get your excitement levels going:
A Sako L57 mannlicher (one piece) in .222 Mag
Along with these there are other rare beasts like a mannlicher 7.62x39, sporter 7.62x39, Mannlicher .220 russian, Mannlicher deluxe etc and a whole host of other rare sako rifles. Its certainly some great eye candy to sit back and enjoy.
A couple of things struck me. Many of the very early rifles where stated as re-finished (L-46, hornet and 7x33 mannlicher) and close to half the rifles sold where mannlichers. Mims and Ralph certainly had good tastes! The catalogue is certainly a great resource for the one off's and if you get a chance to lay your hands on a copy its well worth it.
I've heard it mentioned on the forum that many of the rifles didn't make anywhere near reserve price and I'd be interested to hear from anyone that was there. I'm trying to track down a list of realised prices for the auction and it will be interesting see just what things actually sold for. I also know one or two rifles made it out to Australia!
I managed to pick my copy up from ebay but it was long wait. I tried emailing Rock Island Auctions to see if I could purchase a copy from them but with no luck. So best bet is probably to look on ebay etc if your interested in a copy.
Anyway hope this sparks some interest and would love to hear if you know more about the auction or indeed own one of the fine rifles now. It would be interesting to know if the collection was largely split or remained as a core nucleus?
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