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Sako Ammunition some old boxes

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

olli-finland

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Joined
Mar 7, 2011
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19
Sako has made a serie of cartridges for Mosin-Nagant action and still in 1970`s they were some how popular in Finland. The caliber are 6,3x53R, 7 x53R, 8,2x53R and 9,3x53R. The "mother cartridge" is the old soldier 7,62x53R (7,62x54R). Those calibers are made only by necking down or up the original shell. They are allmost unknown outside Finland or at least outside Scandinavia. Here are some photos of those old boxes and .25-35 and 7x33, too.
 

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Hello, the only other thing I can find on the 7.62x53mmR ammunition was a very old gunandgame.com post where someone offered up for sale some Finn ammo, on the page at
https://www.gunandgame.com/forums/mosin-nagant/37381-older-mfg-sako-7-62x53r-ammo.html
It was referred to as Finnish made Sako ammo in 7.62x53mmR. (a.k.a. 7.62x53r). I have been trying to find a supply of this for a long time.

At this point I have been looking for so long I would be willing to settle for unfireable rounds that could be emptied, reloaded with 147 grains and made ready to shoot, although in reality I would very much prefer to buy ammunition ready to shoot.

Do you have any 7.62 x 53mmR Finn ammo -- that I can shoot? The dimensions are very, very slightly different than the dimensions of the 7.62 x 54mmR round. Thanks for any help or guidance you can provide. Even some thoughts on who I should contact would be helpful. (I have a Finn M28 in excellent condition, dates back to Winter War, which is designed for the 53mmR cartridge -- technically it could take the 54mmR but it is not actually chambered for such and although I am sure past owners and users have utilized any ammunition they can find, I am trying to be as discerning as possible so I want to find 7.62 x 53mmR ammo to shoot through my Finn M28.)

Note: The only military rifle I know of that is actively in use today that still uses the 7.62 x 53mmR is the Finnish 7.62 mm TaK 85 sniper rifle, otherwise referred to as the 7.62 TKIV 85, TarkkuuskivxE4xE4ri m/85, or Sharpshooter-rifle m/85. Cartridge differences between the 7.62 x 53mmR and 7.62 x 54mmR are shown below:
53mmR Round length: 77.00 mm (54R: 77.16)
53mmR Case length: 53.50 mm (54R: 53.72)
53mmR Rim diameter: 14.40 mm (54R: 14.48)
53mmR Bullet diameter: 7.83 mm (54R: 7.92)

Please help and let me know if you have any 7.62 x 53mmR (otherwise known as 7.62 x 53r) ammunition available. Contrary to what everybody seems to say, it is NOT the same as 7.62x54r. I don't want to start an argument, I just want to buy some 7.62 x 53mmR ammunition, ideally, 7.62 x 53mmR that is loaded as 147 grain or close to it. I'm guessing Sako still makes these 7.62 x 53mmR since the Sako name is on the box in the first picture above that shows the number 7,62 x 53 R/L and 7,62 x 53 R -- and since the manufacturer for the TarkkuuskivxE4xE4ri m/85 is Valmet, I am guessing (just a guess here) that Sako is probably producing ammunition for those snipers that you can see firing the m/85s in the image at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:7.62_TKIV_85-2.jpeg
So....
To make a long story short....
Does anyone have any 7.62 x 53mmR (or 7.62 x 53 R, or 7,62 x 53 R...) ammunition from Sako, Lapua, or other source that I can actually buy? Any milsurp that would actually be fireable, ideally, if not, any information at all?
 
OK, I think my first post didn't work. So... Does anyone have any 7.62 x 53r (7.62 x 53mmR) ammunition of any kind from any source that I can purchase? Such as that in the image above, see the Sako boxes that say 7,62 x 53 R/L or 7,62 x 53 R.

Here is why I am needing this particular ammunition: I have a Finn M28 in excellent condition, dates back to Winter War, which is designed for the 53mmR cartridge. I am certain many people who have had this before me have put 7.62 x 54r rounds through it but I do not want to. I do want to obtain the 7,62 x 53 R (also known as 7.62 x 53mmR) ammunition... the kind which the old M28 Ski Trooper I have is chambered for. My M28 has a SIG marked barrel which was made in 1928 and the receiver was made in 1896.. matching bolt, barrel, CG district number, and so on. SY and SA marked. So the right ammo for this is 7,62 x 53 R.

Some time ago I saw a post offering up for sale some Finn ammo, on the page at
https://www.gunandgame.com/forums/mosin-nagant/37381-older-mfg-sako-7-62x53r-ammo.html
It was mentioned that it was Finnish made Sako ammo in 7.62x53mmR. (a.k.a. 7.62x53r)

I would like to buy some but want to confirm whether or not it is fireable... that is to say, ready to shoot.

Does anyone on this forum have any 7.62 x 53mmR Finn ammo -- that I can shoot? The dimensions are very, very slightly different than the dimensions of the 7.62 x 54mmR round. Thanks for any help or guidance you can provide. Even some thoughts on who I should contact would be helpful. Note: The only military rifle I know of that is actively in use today that still uses the 7.62 x 53mmR is the Finnish 7.62 mm TaK 85 sniper rifle, otherwise referred to as the 7.62 TKIV 85, TarkkuuskivxE4 xE4ri m/85, or Sharpshooter-rifle m/85. Cartridge differences between the 7.62 x 53mmR and 7.62 x 54mmR are shown below:
53mmR Round length: 77.00 mm (54R: 77.16)
53mmR Case length: 53.50 mm (54R: 53.72)
53mmR Rim diameter: 14.40 mm (54R: 14.48)
53mmR Bullet diameter: 7.83 mm (54R: 7.92)
 
Unfortunately, I am currently in the United States, specifically, in California, I say unfortunately because although I love it here, it is impossible to find this 7,62 x 53R stuff which, I believe, is the proper ammunition, cartridge dimensions, etc., for range for my Finn M28.

I have heard rumor that Sako is starting to import this into the U.S. again, the 7,62 x 53R stuff. However, after poking around all I have found out so far is that Beretta is the U.S. supplier for Sako, and I don't know if Beretta is just focusing on their gun sales or if in fact they are beginning to sell Sako 7,62 x 53R ammo in the U.S.

Based on discussions with people out at a nearby range, I have been told that it is advisable to use 7,62 x 53R if it can be found, for the M28, and some people have also recommended that the grain be 147 grains or close to it for the powder, although there is certainly tolerance in the SIG barrel.

There are four 7,62 x 53R cartridge types ready to shoot sold by Sako, which I cannot figure out how to purchase (in the United States), yet. There are no laws keeping me from it, the problem seems to be it is infrequently if ever sold in the U.S. (or perhaps I am just dumb about it and can't find out where it is being sold). These four Sako cartridge types are:
https://www.sako.fi/cartrid_centrefire.php

7.62x53R Speedhead

7.62x53R Super Hammerhead

7.62x53R Hammerhead

7.62x53R Range Hammerhead

I think for my purposes the 7.62x53R Range Hammerhead would be great assuming it in fact does meet the dimensions of the 53mmR cartridge as follows:

53mmR Round length: 77.00 mm

53mmR Case length: 53.50 mm
53mmR Rim diameter: 14.40 mm
53mmR Bullet diameter: 7.83 mm

I think I will not want to go through trying to purchase this stuff more than a few times so, first I am looking for fireable ammunition ready to go, but after that I will need to obtain the reloading dies, which for some reason ARE available easily here in the United States.

So with that said, does anyone have any thoughts as to how I can obtain this seemingly rare ammunition which I am sure is not actually that rare at all?

And perhaps if the round is being used for the TaK 85 in Finland, is there military surplus available?
 
Olli -- Thanks for the photos! I have a couple of boxes of 7x33 that are apparently of a slightly later issue. The Capraecelli (Sp!) on your boxes makes it appear that Sako had that particular bird in mind for the 7x33. Is the illustration on the other 7x33 boxes a stylized seal? I've always heard that the 7x33 was popular for seal harvesting.
 
Freethink -

In the past I've had some luck using Buffalo Arms in Idaho for obsolete ammo. I did check and they don't list the 7.62x53R, but it might be worth your time to call and talk to them. At least once they scared up a chambering for me that wasn't listed. You should be able to google them right up.

Best of luck, Dick
 
I checked with Buffalo Arms in Idaho. They don't have any loaded 7.62x53R but they do have the Lapua brass. I took their last 50 brass (empty) cartridges. The only other thing that is out there I can find is the 7.62x53R Mega by Lapua (with VihtaVuori) which has a soft-point, copper-jacketed bullet - 185 grains which is sold in the U.S. According to information I've read, Vihtavuori smokeless powder and Lapua components and ammunitions are imported to North America by Kaltron-Pettibone. There is some rumor that Sako might be importing the 7.62x53R loaded round to the U.S. (possibly via Beretta? sounds off) - but at this point that is only rumor, with Kaltron-Pettibone the only source I can find for sure. A link (for those of us in the United States) to purchase this loaded 7.62x53R Lapua-Vihtavuori product is at https://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=718056https://www.vihtavuori-lapua.com/762x53r-mega-p-166.html

If all you are looking for is brass, more of it can be found from the E. Arthur Brown Company in Lapua 7.62x53R at https://www.eabco.com/cgi-bin/shopper.exe?preadd=action&key=810-4PH7215

If anyone, anyone has any of this 7.62x53R loaded (Sako, anyone?) and needs to sell it, please reply to this post. I would really like to get the Sako 7.62x53R Range Hammerhead, which is in fact a loaded round intended for range practice. (The Lapua Mega 7.62x53R is a big-game round.) If you have that Sako 7.62x53R Range Hammerhead, or know who sells it in the United States, please post a reply here.
 
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