• 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

L61R in .264Win

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

L61R

SCC President
SCC Board Member
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Aug 6, 2011
Messages
1,372
Location
Sweden
Hi All!
I would like to know a little about L61RxB4s in .264Win. I have never seen one of these here in Sweden and the caliber itself seems almost obsolete!
I know they were made the in the 60xB4s for some years but please feel free to fill in the gaps!!
[SakoCollectors.com] L61R in .264Win

Thanks!
Jim
 
I own two of them. Both are standard models. One has a SN in the 3XXX range and has a 26-inch barrel. The other is in the 7XXX range and has a 24.4" inch barrel. In addition, I found one several years ago for a hunting companion who admired the performance of my rifle. His is the Deluxe version with a SN in the 5xxx range, I believe and also has the shorter barrel.

Apparently only a handful of the earliest production guns came with the longer barrel. I purchased the 26-incher I have just a few years ago and have not worked with it a great deal.


My 24-incher I purchased new in 1965 and have owned it ever since. With it I have killed everything from jackrabbits to elk, having taken coyotes, bobcats, feral hogs, whitetails, mule deer, pronghorn, and no telling what else in between. I use a 140 grain Nosler Partition as my only load. This bullet is propelled at 3150 fps with a capacity charge of WW-872, a surplus powder originally made for the 20mm gun. This gun has had exactly 21 rounds of factory loads through it -- a box of 20 Remingtons which came as a store courtesy with its purchase -- and 1 round of Winchester I put through it to chronograph (at a blazing 2800 fps). Accuracy of this gun has always been excellent, and even with untold thousands of rounds down the barrel remains so today. The stories of "barrel burning" in this caliber are greatly exaggerated. The gun with the 26-inch barrel will top 3200 fps with the 140 Nosler.


So far as I know, Sako dropped this chambering at least at the " Garcia" changeover in 1978, and may have done so prior to that. Come to think of it, I have never seen a .264 with a five-digit SN, although they certainly may be out there. Thus, all L61R's in this caliber are the three-lug bolt variety.


Yes, it would be fair to say that the caliber is "obsolete", as least insofar as factory ammunition is concerned. Unfortunately, factory ammunition never reach optimum performance in this caliber, so the lack thereof is little loss as far as I'm concerned. Actually, Ruger is chambering the caliber right now, and Remington has done so fairly recently.
 
Stonecreek
I take my hat of!! Thanks
The reason for asking is IxB4ve found one in the UK with a serial number in the 9xxx range and it has the early type of release mechanism for the magazine.
I donxB4 t know about the barrel lenght or anything really but it did wet my appetite!!
As always with (for me) unusual models!
[SakoCollectors.com] L61R in .264Win

IxB4 ll send them an email and see if I can get some more info
Regard
Jim
 
I've seen one .264 WM AV or possibly AIII in Norway. I can get you in touch with the owner if you want?
 
Hi Ola!
Thanks but no thanks! I was just curious about the caliber itself and of Finnbears with this caliber in general!
But if youxB4 ve found an AIII or AV _in 264Win, my guess would be itxB4s a later special order and made with factory spare barrel._
264Win was last marketed in a Garcia catalog from around 1974 and that is well before AIII and AV.
But you just _canxB4t be sure of Sako can you??
Jim
 
I have one in .264 WM, but have not carried it in years; too many other nice Sakos to hunt with. Mine is a four digit serial number. All original, but it has been nicely refinished and reblued. Any idea what it is worth?
 
A .264 usually brings a premium over more common calibers like .30-06, .270, and 7mm Rem. However, a reblued and refinished gun is a little tough to put a value on without seeing it in the flesh. I can only say that it should bring $50-$100 more than an identically refinished .30-06.
 
I have a Shilen barrel chambered in 264 Win Mag that would fit a L61R action. It's 25.5 inches & Magna-ported. It shot like a dream, but did copper foul bad. that's why I pulled it off, I hated cleaning it.
 
Question here????? Are you guys saying that the 264 Win Mag has not been produced in a Sako since the middle to late 70's? Did these guns come in anything other than the Deluxe model? I know of one for $900 but I am not sure what condition it is in. Would go look at it if anyone thought it was worth the money. Thanks for any response.
 
That latest factory Sako .264 Winchester that I am aware of is one from the Garcia transition period of the early 1970s. They were made in both standard (not "Hunter", which is nomenclature from a later period) and Deluxe. I believe there were also a few Mannlichers (very inappropriate in this caliber in my view.)

From time to time in later years it seems that Sako would crank out a few of the calibers that it had earlier dropped from its line, like .300 H&H and the .264 Win. So it is not impossible that you could run into a later .264, just highly unlikely.
 
One thing about this gun. It has a refinished stock. Would that hurt the value?? It looks to be a quality refinish from the photo's but as we all know photo's can give a false image as to the real quality in some cases.
 
Yes, in my opinion a stock refinish, like any modification, substantially impacts a Sako's value. No matter how nice the refinish, the fact that it has been refinished indicates hard usage and/or lack of care. Even if the gun is otherwise in excellent condition with great bluing and a top notch bore, the lack of originality of the stock finish is a big turn-off for most people who appreciate Sakos.
 
wookie316 said:
I'd still scoop it if it has the factory barrel. It's a rare caliber & a new stock can always be found. Is it a "standard' model. Or for us young lads & our slang "an old style hunter stock"

I believe it is a Deluxe model. But I could be wrong here also. I'll go look at it today.
 
av270,

I would be cautious of spending $900 for a refinished standard great .264. If it is a deluxe, I would not hesitate to spend the $900 with the refinished stock. When you go look at it, take a few pictures and post them for us to enjoy. Also dont forget to measure the barrel. The 26" barrels usually bring more money.
 
It's all in the eyes of the beholder. If you like it, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks. It's like saying you shouldn't fix a smashed fender on a '63 Corvette split window. Let the new buyer fix it and you take the loss. I'd rather buy a rifle with a nice refinish known up front than look at how beat up it was. However,unlike the Corvette you won't realize a return on investment if that's what you are really after. Further, what about the guy who replaces the original stock with another stock of the same period? That would also really not make it the "original" rifle would it? Perhaps the fitment would make for the worst groups possible. I think we may tend to get a little myopic sometimes with the "collectibility" issue. Especially about rifles that have been around the block. NIB is another story. I'm in DC and suffering from road rage! Forgive me Father Jim, for I no not what I say under this bad influence.

S-A
 
emmerth said:
av270,
I would be cautious of spending $900 for a refinished standard great .264. If it is a deluxe, I would not hesitate to spend the $900 with the refinished stock. When you go look at it, take a few pictures and post them for us to enjoy. Also dont forget to measure the barrel. The 26" barrels usually bring more money.

I did go over to look at the rifle. The barrel is a 24" unit. The refinished stock is real amatuerish. Not very good at all. Also, the guy re-blued the barrel and receiver. It is a matte now instead of polished. The serial number of the rifle is 13,496 which I believe makes it a Garcia import, if I am not mistaken. There is nothing to indicate it being a Garcia but the number is really high for what was listed earlier in this thread. It is a "Bofors Steel" barrel. I passed on it.
 
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