Well I reckon I've probably had the SCC record service run about 15 times for just the basic service. Personally I wouldnt buy a collectable Sako now if it wasn't in the records. You get an actual photocopy of the records as written so you can make up your own mind. So there may be entry error when they were originally written but I wouldn't take the chance personally if it was something rare like the deluxe hornet I hope to find one day if it wasn't written in the records in my opinion then there is something amiss to me and I would pass, unless it was cheap. The only time the SCC records couldn't help me was with the Sako Enfields and for one of the rifles the shipping record couldn't be found. The records for me matched well with birch and walnut stocks across multiple old sakos being indicated etc At the end of the day everyone's free to do what they want, but personally the SCC records are my gold standard. Sure check other things out but you'd be crazy not to use the SCC records if your looking for collectors and people are asking top dollar for them, especially in this day and age when there are many 're-manufactured' rifles floating about.
P.S. Just cause there 'collectors' doesn't mean you shouldn't be taking them out for a shot as well and keeping them locked in a cupboard. That's abuse - Sako abuse Maybe a better term than 'collectors' should be 'fine weather hunters'
Yes. If a gun club on a military base was the entity to which the gun was originally shipped it is so listed in the Sako records. There are several different rod & gun clubs which were located on U.S. military bases listed in the records. There are no "mistakes" in the records created by the copying process (microfiche, actually). No serial number or date was changed due to copying. The legibility of a date or a number might be subject to interpretation, just as any handwritten number is, but nothing in the copying of the records (which was done by Sako factory personnel) in any way altered anything. The images are sharp and clear. Also, there are no missing pages. All records begin at the beginning and are demonstrably complete and in order up until the point that they end. The "completeness" of the records depends on the company's record keeping; not on how they might have been copied or reproduced. They are as complete and accurate as Sako made them, no more, no less. If a serial number in the inspection records has a blank beside it then the number likely had not been used at the time the records were copied. Or for some reason it had not been recorded in the master ledger (Defective receiver discarded? Used for experiment or prototype? Misplaced, stolen, or otherwise not in the records chain? Who knows?) As Topgear says, when you order the factory records for a rifle you get a copy of the actual ledger page on which that rifle is recorded. This is all the Sako factory has, and, so far as anyone knows, all that exists. On the other hand, it would be a huge prize if the distributor's records of Firearms International, Garcia, and Stoeger were available (as well as D.W. Custer and the larger European distributors of Sakos). Those would help verify the Sakos which those distributors handled and perhaps show when and where each Sako was shipped after its imporation. Also, wouldn't it be great to have the records of Colt, H&R, H&H, Browning, Sears, Marlin, Anschutz, Magnum Research, Montgomery Ward, North America Arms, Imperial Arms, Winslow, O'brien, and all of the others who produced rifles on the Sako action? (By the way, Colt Factory Letters are NOT available on Colt-Sako rifles. We've made requests and been told that records don't exist.) No one at the Sako Collectors Club is holding the Sako Factory Records out to be anything they are not. What they are is the most accurate and valuable source of information on Sakos from the 1930's to the 1970s which exists anywhere. We feel incredibly lucky to have them and are proud to make them available to our members for their use as they see fit.
You don't "file" anything with Sako. You send your rifle model & SN to our club & if it is within the data base we have the club will search those records & provide the info you request. Just click on "Factory Records Service" at the top of this page & follow instructions.
Does the level 1 option include a copy of the ledger page? It's not mentioned in the description so I am not sure what is actually provided. All that is mentioned is that date of manufacture/inspection will be emailed. It is an early L46 so the sales info is not available which means I can't go with option 2 but I do want all the info that is available including the copy of the page.
How soon is a response? If you ask for the Level 3 do you get the other info by email before it arrives? I am excited to see what shows up for a very early family L61R 270. I am stunned how bizaree the banned person was. This is so great a archive its almost unbelievable. While its possible I won't get an answer, I expect I will and it will be interesting and regardless, its what we all have hoped for and wanted. Sour grapes is really baffling.
I got the response back in 2 days. Issues with the form as they note but they emailed the data, I got it the next day.
Hi rc20... so what info did you get. ? I would be interested to know. That's very good response time! Jay
Thanks for that Jim. I just paid for the details of my rifle through the service but did not pay the member fee ha ha. I accidentally paid the non-member fee. Oops. Is it a waste of time changing this? Also, do we a digital copy of our factory configuration etc if it can be found? Any direction would be greatly appreciated.
I just received my service records for mtt L579. You replied with this statement in your email to me and I don't understand. I need a little clarification. "Sako Model L579 serial number 39055 was inspected 12 December 1964, is in caliber .308 and was inspected as a barreled action only ("a-koht")." Can you please existin exactly what that means and what 'a-koht' also means?
Barreled action seem to suggest that it was inspected without a stock. 'A-koht' must be Finnish. Hard to say what it means without context. 'Koht' could be 'kohta' meaning 'place, point, spot...' Hard to say why the 'a' would have been left out. Could be also 'kohdistus' which means 'adjustment, aiming shot' and many other things.
Sako produced and shipped actions, barreled actions, and finished rifles. The factory records recorded the inspection of all three but did not record the shipping of actions, only the shipping of barreled actions and finished rifles. If you have a serial number that is noted in the records as "a-koht", then it was inspected as a barreled action, not a finished rifle. These typically were purchased by gunsmiths and individuals for custom stocking.
That would explain why my rifle was a sporter, but had a deluxe stock on it. That completely clears up my confusion. Thank you for the explanation.
I’d like to by saying thanks for having me. I joined here for my dad more than anything as he is 87 and does not do the internet. My dad has a Sako VL63, serial number 7341. He thinks he brought it in England in the mid to late 1960’s but is not certain. I know you can’t tell me when and where it was sold but I was hoping for any info that you might be able to give on it. Thanks in advance Mark
Not a question but a big amount of praise to the SCC and those within the Factory Records Search! Sent in my request today for my Sako, no model number, 222 Remington and got the results the same day to confirm the model number and inspection date. Pleased that you offer this service and extremely pleased with the lightning fast response to my order.
If you'll order the Level 2 from the Club's Factory Records Service (see link at the top of this page) you'll get both the date of final factory inspection (the "born on" date, so to speak) and the information on when and to what outlet it was shipped. If he bought it in England then it was likely shipped to either "Messrs. Firearms & Co" or "L. Le Personne", both of which distributed Sako rifles in Britain.
