• Hey All! Lately there has been more and more scammers on the forum board. They register and replies to members requests for guns and/or parts or other things. The reply contains a gmail or hotmail address or similar ”anonymous” email addresses which they want you to reply to. DO NOT ANSWER ANY STRANGE MESSAGES! They often state something like this: ”Hello! Saw your post about purchasing a stock for a Safari. KnuckleheadBob has one. Email him at: [email protected]” If you receive any strange messages: Check the status of whoever message you. If they have no posts and signed up the same day or very recently, stay away. Same goes for other members they might refer to. Check them too and if they are long standing members, PM them and ask if the message is legit. Most likely it’s not. Then use the report function in each message or post so I can kick them out! Beware of anything that might seem fishy! And again, for all of you who registered your personal name as username, please contact me so I can change it to a more anonymous username. You’d be surprised of how much one can find out about a person from just a username on a forum such ad our! All the best! And be safe! Jim

L461 Project

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

ejfudd

Member
Joined
Dec 8, 2010
Messages
6
Location
Connecticut, USA
I am beginning a custom rifle project in .223 with a L461 donor action. I plan to add a Weibe bottom metal,a LaPour safety and probably a Timney trigger. I would like to use Sako rings to mount the scope and use a Sako peep sight for back up irons. The barrel contour will be lightweight sporter with an English stalking rifle style stock. Question for the forum: I am looking for a donor action and I am wondering if I should use a post '72 Vixen as they seen to be more affordable and the receiver is going to be polished, blueprinted, re-barreled and re-blued anyway.
 
I'm sure that the bottom metal, safety, and trigger you plan to use are all excellent products, but what causes you to believe that they are superior to the factory accessories? Regardless, it sounds like a very nice project and I have no criticism of what a person builds to suit his own tastes.

No, I see no advantage to looking for any particular vintage of L461 action. For that matter, the A-I is fully the L461's equal in terms of quality.
 
Stonecreek, As with most custom projects of this type it is fashion at the bottom. I would like a .223 on a scaled action that looks like my larger rifles. The stock on a factory Sako of this era is not to my taste, for example. To your point, however, A friend is offering me a mint .223 Sako, Bofors Steel marked that is in mint condition - I could not bring myself to break it up.
 
Two-two-three's with the Bofors barrel are very scarce items, so it's a good thing to leave that one in tact and look for a "beater" in some other gun to use as your donor. The magazine and everything else is the same regardless of whether the donor is a .222, .223, or .222 Magnum, so you have a lot of opportunities in the later L461's and A-I's to find something appropriate.
 
Sounds like a brilliantly conceived project. Will you be doing the work yourself or do you have a gunsmith you're working with? I do love the look of an English style stalking rifle stock. I hope you'll provide some photos as the project proceeds.
 
OK, in business - found a L461 donor in .223 Bofors steel of all things. I may have a barreled action if I am lucky and the bore is in good shape. I will post some pics when I get everything gathered together. The answer for epeorus is it depends. I have done several stocks and enjoy that work; I do not have the skill for metalwork. On the other hand, pressing life issues may send the raw materials to a well known gunmaker and I may watch from the stands.
New question for the project, scope mounts. What are my current options for a L461 action? I would prefer QD rings as I am planning to include a Sako peep sight in the package. Alternatively, what do I look for in vintage rings if I plan to fight it out at auction for those?
 
Welcome to the forum and Good Luck with your project. If it was me, I would stick to the true Sako "set-up". Use vintage ring mounts, keeping the peep for back-up( maybe supply a storage compartment in the butt w/ trap door!). This is ,from what I understand, a rare caliber for a bofors marked barrel, I would keep it as original as possible. Please post pics as his project goes along...We love pictures!-Bloo
 
For the little L461 action I am partial to the trim, clean lines and light weight of the Leupold ringmounts. Although not represented as "quick detachable", if you mount the Leupolds at some indexed position (for example, the front ring base precisely aligned with the forward edge of the front dovetail), then they should theoretically return to zero if removed and replaced at that index point.

Personally, I don't trust anyone's "QD" mounts to reliably return to zero and would always check the zero from the bench before using the rifle for serious hunting.
 
I am looking at mounting a Leupold VX II 2x-7x Scope (33mm Bell) using original Sako split ring mounts. They are "low" mounts - any thoughts about how (if) the scope is going to fit?
 
It depends on your barrel contour and how far forward or rearward you mount the scope. The Sako "low" mount is really low and is sized for mounting a straight-tube scope with about a 20mm objective. However, if a scope with a 33mm objective mounts far enough forward for the bell to reach beyond the chamber swell then the low Sako rings might work.

I have "low" Sakos with 28mm objective scopes (like the old Vari-X 2-7 or the 2-7 Compact) and those do fine. You'll just have to give the 33mm scope a try to see if it fits.
 
Stone, I think I can still buy a VXII Compact wit the 28mm objective, maybe that is a better way to go. The rifle has a lw sporter contour - I am hoping to take some pictures of the project components and post them soon.
 
The 2-7X Compact is a great little scope, but the problem with it is that it is so short that its bell tends to end up right on top of the fattest part of the barrel. However, while that can be a problem with L579 action, the shorter L461 usually works with this scope. I have at least one 2-7 Leupold Compact on an A-I (same as L461) in the "low" Leupold ringmounts and it does fine. The "low" Sako ringmount may be just a tad lower, but I'll bet it will work nicely with the 2-7 Compact and the L461 with a light sporter barrel.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top