• Hey All! Lately there has been more and more scammers on the forum board. They register and replies to members requests for guns and/or parts or other things. The reply contains a gmail or hotmail address or similar ”anonymous” email addresses which they want you to reply to. DO NOT ANSWER ANY STRANGE MESSAGES! They often state something like this: ”Hello! Saw your post about purchasing a stock for a Safari. KnuckleheadBob has one. Email him at: [email protected]” If you receive any strange messages: Check the status of whoever message you. If they have no posts and signed up the same day or very recently, stay away. Same goes for other members they might refer to. Check them too and if they are long standing members, PM them and ask if the message is legit. Most likely it’s not. Then use the report function in each message or post so I can kick them out! Beware of anything that might seem fishy! And again, for all of you who registered your personal name as username, please contact me so I can change it to a more anonymous username. You’d be surprised of how much one can find out about a person from just a username on a forum such ad our! All the best! And be safe! Jim

What is this gun?

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

emmerth,
Just found this on Answers.com:
"Musketeer Rifles were a brand of high power center fire bolt actions
marketed in the nineteen sixties and perhaps a bit later by Firearms
International Corporation (FI). They were based on quality Fabrique
National (Belgium) mauser actions which were imported, barreled and
stocked in the U.S. by FI to make complete rifles. They used alloy
bottom metal (rather than steel) which is perhaps the only less popular
feature of them. Over about ten years of manufacture, the had several
succeeding stock patterns. All styles had good quality wood. Offered in
popular American calibers at competetive prices, they were nice rifles.
They are relatively uncommon but their value is as good hunting rifles
rather than collector items. On today's market (April 2009) they would
probably fetch in the area of $350 to $450, depending on variables of
caliber, condition and stock configuration.
Sako was a large
Finnish firearms manufacturere making hig quality rifles in the same
era and they are still in the same business, now under the auspices of
the Baretta firm. Their only connection with the Musketeer was that FI
was also the importer of Sako rifles during the Musketeer era. Other
than that, there was no direct connection at all and they were
noticably different action designs."
I.e., NOT a Sako
S-A
 
Hey emmerth,
I already contacted the seller a few weeks ago and corrected him. Seems he never got around to correcting the description. Anyway, I have two musketeers, one with Mannlicher stock. Nothing fancy, but very good quality, good shooters and of course the famous FN mauser action. Also, there was a connection with Sako. During a period of production, the Musketeer rifle FN action was fitted with a Sako trigger.
Regards, Will
 
2243,
Nice point, but this was not done by Sako if indeed, it was done at all. FI assembled the mouseketeers with FN actions (why a Sako trigger on a mauser action?) and, giving the benefit of doubt, may have used Sako parts. I don't think it would have been the intent of Sako to put their trigger on that line of rifle or action. Do you have a schematic that shows this? Just thought the FN action would have the trigger already. Just looking to learn something here. Maybe you could tell us how FI developed this production line of rifles?
S-A
 
Will is correct in that the Musketeer rifles utilized the Sako triggers. These were originally for the FN actioned highpower and then used for the Sako L57s. What is interesting to me is the part where Firearms International barreled and stocked them. Years ago I had my hands on a fullstock musketeer. Seemed a decent piece of workmanship to me. This little bit of information comes from a writter by the name of Layne Simpson. I realize that all things in print are not gospel but he is one writter I do trust.- Mike
 
Mike,
Thanks for that bit of information. I did give the benefit of doubt to Will. I admit I'd never even heard of a Musketeer back then. I was out of the country in the mid '60's for a couple years and change and missed a few things. Sounds like a mish-mash of a lot of stuff - maybe this should be the "frankenstein" gun I've heard mention of in the posts. The article I posted said it was decent, though. I guess I was mistaken that the original question was regarding it being a Sako-driven product (before the trigger came up). Looks like FI just tried to put a little bit of the good from this and that to make an all-around affordable good shooter for folks at a cheaper price than the Sako.
I asked; I listened; I learned. Thanks.
S-A
 
S-A- What I gathered over the years is a conception of Sako's workmanship being utilized in various ways. The Coltsman rifles and the Montgomery Wards and Sears rifles and the others that were largely all or partially Sako. I remember the old Musketeer ads as well as the FN Supreme, the H&Rs, and many other extended market rifles that had a connection to FI and Sako. It will never cease to amaze me how large the net was that was cast by such a small country. A fine attestation to the people of Finland. An old girlfriend of mine used to ask me where I learned to be "so rescourceful", and I would not so jokingly tell her- "from the Finns". Never explained it to her-- she would just look at me funny.-
[SakoCollectors.com] What is this gun?
Mike
 
Hey all,
Having two of these very nice rifles, I have done some research and talked with some folks over the years regarding the Musketeer. Firearms International (FI) actually imported two models, the Musketeer and the Musketeer II. Manufactured from 1963-1972, the earlier models had Sako triggers and later models had FN factory triggers. The Musketeer also utilized two different Mauser actions, the FN Supreme and the FN 400. Also, some information I have obtained is that the barrels were produced by High Standard and the stocks came from Fajen. The original attached (non-QD) sling swivels on mine are marked "made in Italy". These rifles, while not fancy, were very well made and it was FI's attempt to compete with the Winchester Model 70 and Remington 700. One of my Musketeer's has the Sako Trigger and the other is and FN trigger. The Sako Trigger assembly is marked "Finland" on the side. There is an old 1963 Musketeer Brochure is saw for sale on Gunbroker describing the new Musketeer with the famed FN action and adjustable Sako Trigger. Sako had it's hands in a lot of different rifles as Mike stated. H&R in their model 300 and 301 (Mannlicher) utilized Sako actions, FN actions and Zastava actions.
Regards, Will
 
2243,
Good research! That should just about close the book on this one. So, by the dates in your post, one could assume that when Garcia took the helm that was the end of the Musketeer?
Thanks,
S-A
 
Sako supplied FN with triggers after FN modified their action by deleting the wing safety which locked the firing pin in favor or a trigger safety. I assume that Sako designed their #4 trigger to universally fit '98 and '98-pattern Mausers (or more accurately, designed their L461, L579, and L61R to use the same trigger that would fit a Mauser). I have used a Sako #4 trigger (with the safety lever removed) on an older FN Mauser with wing safety and on a Zastava Mini Mark X. In both instances, the trigger was a drop-in fit and provided a superbly light and crisp pull.
 

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