Sako A III 300 win mag rifle

[brennan_chapman]

Hello im fairly new to this site so if you could help me out that would be great! I have a sako A III
rifle chambered in 300 win mag and i was curious as to what this rifle
is worth. I think it will be a good start for a build i want to do (264
win mag). It has a mint wood stock i imagine its the original but its
in perfect condition. Are there any replacement stocks
(mcmillan/manners) available for this rifle? Can i buy a new bottom
metal with detachable box magazine for it anywhere in Canada or USA?
The trigger is amazing and im not sure if it is the original but its a
feather light trigger. It accepts the optilock rings and bases. It is
not free floated but that can be fixed easily enough. I don't know much
about this gun and could not find anything online so if anyone has any
information on them i would really appreciate it also a ballpark of what
you think it is worth? Hopefully someone has some knowledge they would
like to share as it would be much appreciated!

 

[Anonymous]

brennan,
Welcome to the forum. I have moved your post to the discussion thread on your action type.
Glad to have you aboard.
S-A

 

[stonecreek]

Brennan: Welcome! Yes, the A-III in .300 WM can simply be made into a .264WM by rebarreling. There is no need to alter the magazine or action in any other way.

Some people like to float barrels. All Sakos come from the factory with bedded barrels using some up-pressure near the fore end. If you prefer a floated barrel all you have to do is relieve that point. The Sako action (and stock) can be bedded like any other bolt action with pillar bedding, glassed action, glassed barrel, or floating barrel. It's up to you and your gunsmith.

There are several aftermarket sythetic stock for the long action Sako. Most of them are made for the Sako A-V, which has a slightly longer tang than the Sako A-III (identical to Sako L61R), but the action screw holes are in the same place, so all the A-V stock requires to be used with an A-III action is filling the space behind the tang with some type filler. You can see a great example of this on a thread posted earlier here on the SCC forum by Wookie.

 

[brennan_chapman]

Thank you for all the info and help! It is a beautiful rifle and the trigger is amazing. Action works perfect and there were no problems with the test shoot. I have a 300 win mag in the 75 finnlight and love it, by far the best gun i have ever owned. I think a 264 win mag will be a nice deer caliber and i reload so the ammo is not an issue. I am just curious as to what the rifle would be worth as it is right now at about 85% and also what length of barrel would be optimum for the 264 if you have any experience with it i would really appreciate your input. Thanks again and this is a great forum!

 

[stonecreek]

I have two Sako factory .264's, one with the reguar 24.4" barrel and the other with the somewhat rarer 26" barrel. The 24-incher is adequate to get respectable velocities from the .264, but I don't find the 26-incher to be excessively long and it does boost velocities a bit and slighly reduces muzzle blast. Suit yourself, but I wouldn't go shorter than 24".

As to the market value of the A-III in question, condition is everything. On the low end, very few standard Sako sporters go for less than about $600 unless they show alot of use, lack of care, or have undesirable modifications like a chopped barrel with a muzzle brake on it. On the upper end, very few Sako standard sporters go for more than about $900 unless they are near flawless, maybe have the box and papers, and perhaps have particularly appealing wood or are chambered in a scarce caliber. Sometimes gullible buyers will pay more for one claimed to have been owned by someone like Buffalo Bill or George Armstrong Custer, but you don't see that too much. (I'm sure one of my .264's was once a part of the Malcolm X gun collection, but sadly, I've lost the documentation

. I didn't get it until after it left Bob Hope's estate when I bought it from the guy who bought it from Clint Eastwood.)