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mustang5.o

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Am new to this so will try to keep it short.
I recently inherited a rifle Marked Ithaca Mod LSA-55 Deluxe in .308
Gun is in great shape, and I really like the look and feel,but bolt is sticky.
Does anyone know where I could find an exploded view of this gun / bolt so that I can disassemble and clean.
Not having much luck on my own and have spent much time looking / talking to others.
Has steel scope rings that are marked TIKKA and appear to have a large screw in the center, for recoil ?
Any information on this gun would be most helpful.
 
Mustang, You have the proper mounts for the time frame of the rifle. Had the same at one time. Very easy rifle to like as far as the feel and the accuracy. The market is not as strong as that of the Sakos and that is a shame, as the quality from Finland shows in the workmanship of the rifles from Tikka.- Misako
 
scj - thank you for the link....I enjoyed cruizin your pages.
Lots of useful info that I'm sure I'll use more of in the future.
Looking at the 658..looks a little different, is the LSA-55 and the 658 the same ?
 
misako50, I agree, but the market doesnt know what its missing and I like it like that !
Am anxious to get it all cleaned up and maybe some warmer weather so that I can start working up some sort of load for it.
Would like to use some form of the barnes bullets, maybe 140gr.
Stock has a couple real small chips in the gloss finish, one on the pistol grip and one on the flat part of the stock.
Would it do anything to the value of this rifle if I were to refinish in satin, or would I be better off leaving as is ?
Dont plan on parting with it, but I guess nobody ever does.
 
Mustang- I used IMR 3031 powder in all my successful .308 loads with a 150 grn BT bullet. The little LSA 55s were not taking a back seat for accuracy. The combination of Winchester loading components and Noslers never gave me a reason to try much of any other combinations for the .308 round.- I always seemed to be able to keep the performance at high levels wwithout producing higher than normal pressures.-Misako
 
The 658 was the model after the LSA-55 & 65. It & the 558 were introduced just after Sako acquired Tikka. I had a 558 & a 595 they are very well crafted. The 558 & 658 have a polymer sleeve at the rear of the action that the bolt slides in. Smoothest bolt I have ever run. Wood is nice & the deluxe models have gorgeous stocks. The 595 & 695's succeeded the 558 & 658 & show lesser quality in the wood, fit & finish, but action is very smooth & accuracy is very good. Think they are show the Berreta influence like the new T-3, which IMHO reflect a further degradation of what used to be a very fine rifle. I wouldn't hesitate to refinish the stock with a hand rubbed oil. Looks better & easy to touch up. Magazines for the 658 & 695 are interchangeable.
 
mustang5.o said:
scj - thank you for the link....I enjoyed cruizin your pages.
Click to expand...

I wish they were my pages, but they are not. I found them doing a search for info on Sako's. He has a lot of older firearm catalog's from 2000 to 2011 that you can download here, including a couple of Sako one's. They help when trying to find out about what your buying.

http://stevespages.com/table2.html

Here is a link to a bunch of Owners manuals, including 15 on Sako's,

http://stevespages.com/page7b.htm

He also has a lot of old magazines and books on guns dating back to the early 1900's, all downloadable. Of course he has the required opinionated essays on politics, I avoid them and stay in the gun pages.

Have fun looking, theres a lot of interesting stuff here.

scj
 
The wood on my Lsa-55 is almost what I would refer to as blonde, it is quite light in color. Contrasts well with the end and pistol grip.
What type of wood did they use in the production of these guns?
And did they use more than one type?
 
Mustang- They used walnutfrom European countries. The popular term is "French" walnut but I wouldn't stake my life on the fact that it came from Fr. Most of what I owned was very plain jane in appearance with very little character other than the fact that it was a great stock to handle and shoot with.-Misako
 
Misako - yes I agree, the wood on mine is very plain and about void of character. Wanted to determine what type / shade of stain to use to try and coax a little more out of it. That being said it is one of "those" guns..the ones that just feel right and all but scream gotta have.
Problem is most people look at you like you have a third eye on your forehead when you try to explain.....unless you are a gun nut and appreciate the craftsmanship and pride some people / companies put into whatever it is they do.
This world would be a much better place if we stopped for a minute to think about how our grandparents made things.
Maybe that's one reason why antiques and other things from the past are again in vogue.
 
Mustang-I never use stain on blond walnut such as the sako deluxe or the LSA 55. Just use multiple coats of tru oil thinned with highly refined thinner and at times a witches brew for the final few coats . I have used the "in the wood" style of refinishing since I was a very young kid.-Misako
 
Thank you for the advise.
Please clarify a couple of things for me.
1)> Tru Oil - what is it and where can I find it ?
2)> Witches Brew - again what is it and if its a mixture what of & what formula ?
3)> In the Wood Style - ????
 
Mustang- Tru- Oil is available at many sporting good stores. After removing (stripping) all the old finish from the rifle ( remove or protect all non-wood parts with masking tape) and using a toothbrush to clean out the checkering, You will need to mask off the checkering and start the sealing process. Do a search (GOOGLE) for "Rifle Stock Bible" and it will direct you to an excellent source that can guide you through the refinishing process. He charges for access to the site. Let me repeat the part about protecting the non-wood parts. They are harder to find than anything Sako and the only source is Ebay or blind luck. The "in the wood" process is well defined in the Bible. As for the witches brew, it depends on the wood and how the finish is taking in most cases. It isn't rocket science or the least bit magical. You may wish to add about three drops of spar or even polyurethane to about 10 drops of tru-oil and 10 drops of thinner. I do this to any rifle I wish to hunt with but just on the last two or three coats.-Misako
 
Misako -first let me say thank you for all the information and patience. The information held by this group is most impressive. I did find the stock bible and intend on ordering it once I get back to the office where I can print and or save to a folder on my laptop. Action is removed from stock, so all metal parts are safe. Am also looking to get the bolt action rifle book, trying to get as much info on anything tikka / sako I can. I try to cruise some of the info on this site every night. Lots to look at and digest / retain. I do have a newer tikka t3 in 30.06 w/ stainless & gray laminate...with 150 gr accubond hand loads it consistently holds groups sub moa. The bolt is simply the smoothest of any gun I have ever used.
In fact I had to tilt and open the bolt after I shot my first deer with it in Ontario to see if it picked up the next shell !
Mustang
 
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Once stock is done am looking to put a Nikon monarch 4-12 on it, the newer style with the fixed eye relieve ( no more donut on high magnification). I noticed with the old bushnell 2x,the bolt handle came really close to the eye piece.
If I use the steel tikka rings, is this something that I might have a problem with ?
Gun is gonna put a lot of fatal hits on paper (hopefully), but I very well may hunt with it and if a rapid follow up is needed, would be a bad time to find out. - mustang
 
paulsonconstruction said:
The 658 was the model after the LSA-55 & 65. It & the 558 were introduced just after Sako acquired Tikka. I had a 558 & a 595 they are very well crafted. The 558 & 658 have a polymer sleeve at the rear of the action that the bolt slides in. Smoothest bolt I have ever run. Wood is nice & the deluxe models have gorgeous stocks. The 595 & 695's succeeded the 558 & 658 & show lesser quality in the wood, fit & finish, but action is very smooth & accuracy is very good. Think they are show the Berreta influence like the new T-3, which IMHO reflect a further degradation of what used to be a very fine rifle. I wouldn't hesitate to refinish the stock with a hand rubbed oil. Looks better & easy to touch up. Magazines for the 658 & 695 are interchangeable.
Click to expand...


Actually the M55 & M65 were inbetween the LSA and 58/90 series Tikkas.
 
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