Sako Rifles Afield (as intended)

[bloorooster]

Hey fellow Sakohaulics,
Thought I would try something new here.
It seems at times that we spend too much time talking about the Sako's we have in our gunsafes, or gunracks, or in glass showcases to display our pride in owning one of the finest Hunting Rifles on earth!
Surely this can not be the reason we have so many, to just sit there looking pretty? So why not show off some photos and memories for awhile instead and share the enjoyment of Sako's in the field! I have a few...

Old Hippie

 

[icebear]

Nice photos, good memories, and good eating. What are the details on the Mannlicher-style rifle in photo #2, with deer and snow? Looks like it might be an L579 with a 23" barrel and a full stock, which is a pretty rare bird.

 

[bloorooster]

Hey Icebear!
The first two photos are the same gun, same day. That’s my L579 mannlicher carbine. 20” I think.
The snow came in hard that morning, I sat there patiently through it on my rock chair by the “stump”. I looked the same as the rifle did, like freshly powdered pastries.. waiting.
The buck came thru a couple hours afterwards. I sent him a 90g Sako Pill (Vintage ammo as well), and he dropped like a sack of taters!
The rifle is numbered in the 25000’s. My son has one matching it and less than 200-300 digits between them. We usually try to have at least one “Mannlicher Day”

Hippie

 

[Deleted member 14372]

Awesome pics! Guns were meant to be carried afield. I assume the snow didn’t bother that rifle one bit.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bloorooster]

The snow isn’t really a problem if wiped away before it thaws..the gun was cold enough that you could almost blow it off. I always dismantle my rifles after wet hunts and get them dry and oiled. Even pulling the scopes to get to those “hard to reach” areas.

Hippie

 

[Spaher]

Here goes, field rifle: Sako Fiberclass .338 WM, circa 1987, Barren Ground Caribou
(interrupted caping for photo!)

 

[bloorooster]

That’s what I’m Talking About!
Magnificent Bull!
I bet there is a story to tell!
Fiberclass rifles are awesome , I had one in 25-06 , for years, recently traded away to someone who needed it more than me..wonder if Sako produced one in AII action?? I’d snag it up if they did!
Very cool photo!
Thanks for contributing!

Old Hippie

 

[Branxhunter]

Here is a few of mine over the years.



Marcus

 

[Branxhunter]

And a few more:



Marcus

 

[wombat]

Great pics.
These 2 are Sambar Stag taken with a Sako AV in .30/06 and a wild Dog with a Sako L61R in 7RM. Both taken last year hear in North East Victoria.

 

[bloorooster]

Oh boy! It’s getting better
Branx dude. You are in access to some very beautiful country side! Love those long rolling meadows. Nice count on the Foxes and Bunnies too!
Does the fur market suffer there as it does here. Fox pelts used to bring decent money, especially the reds. Now not so much.
You have a liking for the Bull or Heavy Barrel rifle I see. Gorgeous timber on the custom build!
Beautiful photos

wombat!
That is one fine Sambar Stag, taken with a 30-06! That’s awesome. No one hunts with that caliber anymore, it’s just boring I suppose. Gotta get huge banging short mags and trendy Creedmores to do what the old ‘06 used to do fine with! Very cool.
The wild dog is interesting, is it a feral type species? It’s appear to be so “house pet” in its coloration, even down to its white socked paws! Awesome photos!

this is great, I was beginning to worry that maybe no one hunts any more. Glad I was mistaken!

Thanks to everyone for the amazing photos and contributions to this thread..keep’em comin’!

Hippie

 

[icebear]

Branx: You seem to be making some inroads on non-native pest species introduced by the Poms. Australia needs a few thousand more of you.

 

[Branxhunter]

Great pics.
These 2 are Sambar Stag taken with a Sako AV in .30/06 and a wild Dog with a Sako L61R in 7RM. Both taken last year hear in North East Victoria.

Nice work there Wombat. That .30-06 looks just like one my brother bought for a good friend of his; it's a LH model though. They are currently up in FNQ chasing bigs, scrub bulls and buff.

Marcus

 

[Branxhunter]

Oh boy! It’s getting better
Branx dude. You are in access to some very beautiful country side! Love those long rolling meadows. Nice count on the Foxes and Bunnies too!
Does the fur market suffer there as it does here. Fox pelts used to bring decent money, especially the reds. Now not so much.
You have a liking for the Bull or Heavy Barrel rifle I see. Gorgeous timber on the custom build!

Hippie

There used to be a very healthy fox skin market back in the 70's and 80's. A Sako or Rem700 chambered in 17 Rem with a 8x56 Kahles was THE combination to have. Red fox skins sold for an average of somewhere around $Aus 30-40 each, with top dollar being $Aus 70 for a skin. For many fox skins were a significant source of income. With the rise of animal activism the skin market died away.
For the last 10 years or so there has been a $10 bounty for fox scalps here in the state of Victoria.

There also used to be a significant rabbit skin and meat market too, with many going towards the felt hat industry, such as the iconic Aussie Akubra. The introduction a Calicivirus 10-15 years ago cleaned most of the rabbits out and the rabbit industry has basically gone.

Marcus

 

[Branxhunter]

Branx: You seem to be making some inroads on non-native pest species introduced by the Poms. Australia needs a few thousand more of you.

Thanks Icebear. There are many who shot a lot more than I do. But I enjoy getting out there hunting, and reducing the numbers of foxes, feral cats or rabbits is a bonus.

I head out spotlighting foxes regularly with a friend down the road. He makes much more on a dent on numbers than me, I think last year his tally was over 500. Farmers ring him when they are losing lambs. This is a photo of one of the boxes of scalps he has cashed in:



We had our best night a couple of months ago and got 12, the Sako .20-222 accounted for 5 or 6 of them:



Marcus

 

[wombat]

Yep.. Fox, Deer, Hare, have provided some great sport, and income.
Not to throw a “wobbly” into the thread, but if it was not for the “Poms” and their foresight to bring “real Game” to this country, we may never had Sako’s here! Well not to the extent we have, and the Hunting sport we have.
I remember an old saying “ you don’t bite the hand that feeds you”
I just hope our Game survives for at least a couple more generations.
I don’t think it will be the Animal Activists that will end Hunting as we know it today, but technology,,,,!!!!!

 

[stonecreek]

Here is a cow elk in Colorado that I took with my somewhat worn L61R .300 H&H. Used a 180 grain Accubond at 2960 fps at just over 200 yards and a single shot did the trick. The Finnbear .300 H&H, despite its abuse at the hands of a previous owner (dinged wood, some corrosion on the outside of the barrel, and seriously bowed bottom metal due to mis-assembly), is one of those that they'll have to "pry from my cold, dead hands". Unfortunately, I just don't have enough hands for my favorite Sakos.

And here's a "still life" of a Sako Bofors .22-250 that I took many years ago when out hunting in Colorado. I had put it down to adjust my pack and notice how natural it looked leaning on the rocks and brush, so I snapped a photo. I'm anything but artistic, but even a blind hog will find an acorn eventually.

 

[stonecreek]

Here's my grandson when he was 10 years old with his first turkey, taken with a Sako Model 78 .22 Hornet.



And here he is the following fall with his first deer at age 11. The rifle is an H&R-Sako Model 317 with the 20" pencil barrel in caliber .223 on which I fitted a short and slim stock for a kid shooter (and to preserve my factory H&R stock). He is the third kid to take his first deer with this rifle -- and all have been one-shot kills.

 

[Branxhunter]

Terrific photos Stone.

Marcus

 

[stonecreek]

Well, I can't leave out my other grandson, just had a hard time finding a photo of him with his Sako. A couple of Christmases ago I gave both him and his younger brother each a Finnbear Deluxe in .30-06 -- the rifles are almost identical to the one I gave his father when he was 15 years old and which he still shoots almost exclusively as his game rifle. My grandson is pictured holding his rifle with a big feral hog he took with it.



For that matter, I don't guess I can afford to leave out my son with his Finnbear Deluxe .30-06, this time in Namibia in 2007 with a magnificent oryx.



And me with my African Sako, a TRG-s in .338 and the best Kudu ever taken on the property where we hunted:


Okay, now I'll give it a rest and let someone else post their Sakos in the Field.