Mannlicher 270

[coldspring]

Looking for a Sako Mannlicher in 308- preferably an older rifle; seeing far more 30-06 and 270 rifles. I like the 270 but the caliber does not seem compatible with a short 20" barrel length. What say you?

 

[stonecreek]

Agreed. A .270 with a 20" barrel will be pretty loud and lose 100 fps or more compared to a 24" barrel. However, there's never been a deer born which could tell the difference, so if you need a short and handy rifle I wouldn't dismiss a .270 entirely.

 

[icebear]

I have an AIII Mannlicher in .30-06. I fire it exclusively with handloads, due to excessive noise, recoil, and muzzle flash when it is fired with factory ammo. The muzzle flash was amazing; you could kill your deer and barbecue it with one shot. The short barrel negates any performance edge a .30-06 has over a .308, as the extra powder won't burn completely in a short barrel. I don't own a chronograph but I'd estimate that my .30-06 handloads are in the .308 performance envelope. An additional advantage is that the carbine shoots consistent sub-MOA groups, with many in the half-inch range at 100.

I'd give the same advice for a carbine in .270. If you handload, it could be a great hunting rifle, but if you don't handload, a .308 is a better choice. Unfortunately, the L579 or AII Sako carbine in .308 is pretty scarce. These guns were made when the .243 was all the fashion, and it's been my observation that the .243 outnumbers the .308 by a factor of about five. For reasons I do not understand, long-action carbines outnumber the medium actions by a substantial margin, so you're more likely to find a .30-06 or a .270 than a .243 or a .308, and a ,243 than a .308. I guess American buyers just didn't get the relationship between barrel length and cartridge length. I've even seen quite a few 20" carbines in 7 mag, .338, and .375 H&H. Perhaps needless to say, these tend to be in pristine condition with only a few rounds ever fired from a 30 or 40 year old rifle. I can only imagine the muzzle flash and noise from a 7mm Remington Magnum in a 20" barrel.

.308 carbines tend to bring high prices when the do turn up on Gunbroker or wherever. I managed to snag an H&R .308 carbine on an L579 action a couple of months ago, but it wasn't cheap and there were multiple serious bidders.

Personally, I would think that .260 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor, or 7mm-08 would be ideal for a carbine with a 20" barrel, and I've thought of getting an L579 in .243 and having it rebarreled or rebored. However, I've got a lot of projects going already, so that one will probably stay in the "wouldn't it be nice" category.

 

[coldspring]

Right- I'v thought quite a bit about this; the long action never made sense coupled with the 20" barrel. I recently saw a 308 L579 with a 1500 min bid which sounds about right. Unfortunately, I was not able to get that one. If I had to have a second choice I would love to have a Mannlicher in 6.5 Swede which is my favorite caliber.

 

[icebear]

Right- I'v thought quite a bit about this; the long action never made sense coupled with the 20" barrel. I recently saw a 308 L579 with a 1500 min bid which sounds about right. Unfortunately, I was not able to get that one. If I had to have a second choice I would love to have a Mannlicher in 6.5 Swede which is my favorite caliber.

Unfortunately, there are very few of those in existence. There was one on Gunbroker several months ago; the final price was in the $3,000 range. I bid on it but dropped out.

 

[paulsonconstruction]

I have an AIII Mannlicher in .30-06. I fire it exclusively with handloads, due to excessive noise, recoil, and muzzle flash when it is fired with factory ammo. The muzzle flash was amazing; you could kill your deer and barbecue it with one shot. The short barrel negates any performance edge a .30-06 has over a .308, as the extra powder won't burn completely in a short barrel. I don't own a chronograph but I'd estimate that my .30-06 handloads are in the .308 performance envelope. An additional advantage is that the carbine shoots consistent sub-MOA groups, with many in the half-inch range at 100.

I'd give the same advice for a carbine in .270. If you handload, it could be a great hunting rifle, but if you don't handload, a .308 is a better choice. Unfortunately, the L579 or AII Sako carbine in .308 is pretty scarce. These guns were made when the .243 was all the fashion, and it's been my observation that the .243 outnumbers the .308 by a factor of about five. For reasons I do not understand, long-action carbines outnumber the medium actions by a substantial margin, so you're more likely to find a .30-06 or a .270 than a .243 or a .308, and a ,243 than a .308. I guess American buyers just didn't get the relationship between barrel length and cartridge length. I've even seen quite a few 20" carbines in 7 mag, .338, and .375 H&H. Perhaps needless to say, these tend to be in pristine condition with only a few rounds ever fired from a 30 or 40 year old rifle. I can only imagine the muzzle flash and noise from a 7mm Remington Magnum in a 20" barrel.

.308 carbines tend to bring high prices when the do turn up on Gunbroker or wherever. I managed to snag an H&R .308 carbine on an L579 action a couple of months ago, but it wasn't cheap and there were multiple serious bidders.

Personally, I would think that .260 Remington, 6.5 Creedmoor, or 7mm-08 would be ideal for a carbine with a 20" barrel, and I've thought of getting an L579 in .243 and having it rebarreled or rebored. However, I've got a lot of projects going already, so that one will probably stay in the "wouldn't it be nice" category.

I've thought a L579 rebarreled with a matching contour by Pac-Nor in 6.5 Creedmoor would be about the prefect Mannlicher Carbine. The Creedmoor loses very little with a 2" shorter barrel with regard to velocity & the muzzle blast & recoil would be quite acceptable based on my 22" barreled L57 in Creedmoor. I have a L579 Mannlicher in 243, so please stop putting ideas in my mind. I should just sell it & remove the temptation! I just don't get why anyone would want to shoot a 20" carbine chambered in the long action rounds, let alone a magnum unless for a specific hunting circumstance that required the compact handiness. IMHO, the Sako long action Mannlichers are just curiosities that only collectors have any interest in. That's why almost every one you see is "unfired".