Mannlicher Calibers?

[mcgrif2243]

Hey all,
Due to the short 20" barrel, all of the Sako Mannlichers appear to be Heavy barrel. The magnum barrel mannlicher's are very heavy.
Regards, Will

 

[dhunter]

Will,
I understand what you are saying but there were a few real HB manlichers produced. Some speculate that they were from a special order program that Gander Mountain may have had in in the 1960's. The one that I am referring to is a L579 manlicher rifle with a 24" barrel not a L61R 20" carbine. I have set it beside several pre-Garcia and/or pre-72, L61R magnum carbines (20") as you sugested and there is no comparison. The real heavy barrel is much larger even in a L579.
dhunter

 

[mcgrif2243]

Hey dhunter,
I have seen late 50's maybe early 60's factory Sako Mannlichers with 24" barrels with what I remember to be short action's such as 222 Mag. As a strictly "Mannlicher" accumulator, I would love to see some photo's of your rifle.
Regards, Will

 

[dhunter]

Will,
You are correct. There were 24" short action manlichers produced, some with barrel bands and some without. They were produced in L46's, L461's and L469's early on. I know of at lest one 24" manlicher rifle in each of the following: .22 Hornet, .218 Bee, .222, .222 Mag, and .223. There may well be others in the short action but that is all that I can confirm. For clarity none of these were HB models. The only 24" L579 namlicher that I know of is the .243 HB that I mentioned earlier. There are probably others. Sako history seems to keep one guessing
Regards,
dhunter

 

[jldakota]

I have a Mannlicher L461 in 222mag. It has a 20" barrel.

Jim

 

[stonecreek]

dhunter: You can add a 7x33 L46 to your "long barreled" Mannlicher list as I have one in my safe.

Are you sure about a .223 Mannlicher with a "24"-inch barrel? I've never seen a long-barreled Mannlicher as late the date that the .223 was first chambered by Sako -- but you never say "never" when it comes to Sako.

By the way, barrels on the 46/461 action are approximately 23 5/8" (600mm) long, while those on the L57/L579 are about 23" (585mm). To Sako, a 24" barrel is an oddball measurment (between 609-610mm) which they have never produced. The L61R's came with a 620mm barrel (about 24.4"). I do have an L61R in .264 Win with a barrel that seems to measure almost exactly 26", which I am guessing is a 660mm barrel.

 

[dhunter]

Stonecreek,
All 7x33's are rare birds. Your long barrel mannlicher has to be one of the tougher finds here in the
states. That is one to be proud of. I know of a mannlicher carbine in a 7x33 but have never seen a mannlicher rifle in this caliber. Does it have a birch stock? I suspect that it has a barrel band.
As for your explanation of barrel length, I am sure that you are correct. I have not taken the time and measured them to be as specific as you have been. I have always referred in 'general terms' to the pre-72 mannlicher carbines as 20" and the pre-72 mannlicher rifles as 24". I had easy access to a 26" L61R sporter in .338 Win that I at measured exactly 26.0 and a 24" in .300 H&H that measured 24.4 as you suggested. Thanks for the clarification.
Yes, I an sure about the L461 .223 mannlicher rifle and that it's barrel is 'approximately' 24" in length. It does Not have a barrel band which is unusual for a mannlicher rifle in my experience. You are correct it is a later pre-72. If I remember correctly it is about serial #100,xxx. At one time I came across information that indicated that there were 10 of these produced. I cannot verify the accuracy of production number however.
Regards,
dhunter

 

[dhunter]

jldakota,
The L461 carbines have excellent balance in my opinion and are real gems. The .222 mag is a nice cartridge as well. How does it shoot?
Regards,
dhunter

 

[stonecreek]

dhunter:

My 7x33 Mannlicher has a walnut stock (!) and a barrel band. It has the old-style rear sight and the sight frame is still mounted on the barrel, but the sight itself is missing from the frame, which is about the only shortcoming of this particular gun. For its age (and having come to this country via unknown avenues), it is in pretty nice condition. I was fortunate enough to obtain about 150 rounds of ammunition for it, but am not willing to do more than test fire it until I'm able to find some bullets suitable for reloading. I found that an aftermarket magazine for .218 Bee only needs the feed lips opened a tad to work as a spare for 7x33's.

Thanks for verifying the .223 rifle-length Mannlicher. I suspect that 10 copies is in the ballpark for such a rare bird.

Also, thanks for the mention of the 26" .338. Heretofore I had only heard of the .264 with a 26" barrel. I think I'll post a question to find if anyone has ever seen other calibers with the 26" tube.

 

[hunter2054]

i have .308 mannligher carbine that ibought in 1984 - it has an 18 1/2 inch barrel - its a great deer rifle

 

[stonecreek]

Most of the Sako Mannlichers were 20", but in the Stoeger era there was a barrel-shortening frenzy. The Finnbear barrels were cut from 24.4" to 22.5", a "Handy Rifle" carbine was introduced with a 21" barrel, there was a "Battue" with a 21" (?) barrel, and quite a few 18.5" Mannlichers were produced.

The "style" seems to have drifted back to longer barrels since.

18.5" seems pretty stubby, but I'll bet it handles quickly and is quite handy in confined space like a deer blind or a truck. My 20" .308 Mannlicher generates chronographed velocities little different from my 23" sporter.

 

[hunter2054]

hi Stone Creek - its actuallya cool lookin grifle - very unique - when I take it to Canada it just makes it as a legal firearm cuz of the barrel length -18 inch minimum -it is accurate as al hell

 

[mattimoose]

I just bought a .222, 23.5" L46 in a mannlicher in about 95% condition. I really want a 7x33. Mine has a Leupold Vari-X II in 3-9x40. Would you consider a trade?-matti

 

[Anonymous]

matti,
You could try posting your rifle in the Wanted to Trade section. More people will see it there.
Kiitos!
S-A

 

[colj]

I have a 222 Remington Mag in my collection (Full stock not the two pice you see sometimes) and I have seen a 223 chambered in the manlicher style. I think you might have all the others listed but then I could be wrong because someone may come up with another one we are not aware of. I really like the style and have several in my collection. Thanks

COLJ

 

[douglastwo]

Stonecreek,

The August 1990 Finnmark newsletter lists certain Mannlicher manufacture info for the period 1966 thru 1971. I don't know if it's accurate but for the 223 they show

For year 1968, 10 with 24" barrel were shipped everywhere but the USA

For year 1970, 9 with 24" barrel were shipped everwhere but the USA

For year 1970, 7 with 24" barrel were shipped to USA

For year 1970, 50 with 20" barrel were shipped to USA

For year 1971, 5 with 24" barrel were shipped everywhere but the USA

So it looks like 57 total (both barrel lengths) were shipped to USA. I don't remember seeing any info about Mannlichers before 66 or after 71.

 

[hayseed51]

Well, I think that is .223 only data...

Doug - Thanks for posting - interesting stuff. Dick

 

[douglastwo]

Yes, all I addressed was the 223. However, that newsletter lists the manufacturing data for all calibers in Mannlicher.

 

[Anonymous]

Doug, Do you have a scanner? Is there more on that page that you could scan in as text and pdf. it so we could put it in our newsletter reference list that's being worked on? Are there too many pages? Maybe a link to it would work better. I know it's asking a lot, but that newsletter would be nice to see.
Thanks,
S-A

 

[douglastwo]

I'll be glad to get it to you, but I'm home and cannot do it from here. I'll have to do it from work next week, but I'm in Oklahoma and the ice storm knocked us for a loop. They sent us home early Thursday, and wouldn't let us come to work Friday, and I had no electricity Friday and it looks like winter wonderland outside today and I'm not certain when they'll let us come back to work. That newsletter is 5 pages total, and the Mannlicher information is on 2 of the 5 pages. You want the entire thing or just the 2 pages. Oh, and on a closing note, you guys have been calling me Doug, but my name is Don.....it's a long story I won't go into but my wife picked Douglastwo as my user name.