• 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

L61R Date?

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

That's a three lug bolt guide and two lug bolt. Also that guide doesn't have the pin through the bolt guide that I can see that is common to guide on a three lug , At least that's the way it looks to me. Jim
 
It is a Sako Classic. They didn't have a Monte Carlo design.-Misako
That's a three lug bolt guide and two lug bolt. Also that guide doesn't have the pin through the bolt guide that I can see that is common to guide on a three lug , At least that's the way it looks to me. Jim
I don't have my Classic anymore so I have nothing to compare it too. The bolt on mine was a two lug but I am thinking that the guide was a bit longer. I don't have pictures of it either.-Misako
 
I agree Paulson. I thought some years later. The stock does have a kind of finish on it that reminds me of the 72 I had. The later model Classics had low luster stocks, but the wood was still well figured like this one. Not out of the realm of possibility that it was restocked with a classic stock.-Misako
 
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It is a great looking rifle...but it does have some odd things about it. The grip cap is one..I thought the Classic had a solid rosewood cap..the checkering pattern says model 72 as does the squared forearm shape, not to mention the rear sight. The straight combed stock design of the classic also came with the A series actions.
I have seen a few with the cheek pieces and combs cut away...some were horrifying and some looked very nice. This one is one of the better looking...if it had a factory Pad on it , I could more so ponder the possibility that it came that way.....does the grip cap say Sako on it I wonder?.....my gut says it's a very tastefully done modification.
But...my hat has many bites out of it...I've been wrong before~Bloorooster
 
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I compared the stock to my Classic, and I'm pretty sure it isn't a Classic due to the pistol grip. The Classic has a very shallow wrist. Also the checkering panels are smaller in size with finer checkering. But there is a good chance that a previous owner modified the stock to reflect the Classic's appearance.
 
The new photo makes it clear that the stock Monte Carlo has been removed and the stock refinished with a custom grip cap added. The factory Model 72 checkering was preserved. It is a very professional job which even preserves the "orange-ish" stain unique the the Model 72.

It is true that the Sako Classic models (produced at a much later date than this rifle) had straight (non-Monte Carlo) stocks, but their shape and checkering pattern were much different from this stock and they were built with American walnut with an oil finish.
 
The shape and checkering pattern are identical to the one that is shown in the picture I provided, It is also identical to the Classic that I owned and sold. The differences are the cap and pad. The finish went from a glossy in the older models to a satin lacquer in the newer models. There is not a possibility that that stock that is on the rifle was ever a monte carlo. -Misako
 
If you'll look closely at most Classics, their forearm checkering wrapped completely around the rounded forearm (however, on some late L691 Classics the checkering did not wrap completely around the forearm, but it still had the rounded shape.) The rifle in question appears to have only side panel checkering, not wrap-around checkering, and its forearm appears triangular.

The photos don't provide sufficient perspective, but the stock of the Classic was very straight, making the comb the same height as most Monte Carlo stocks. I believe that the comb on the rifle in question is lower than a Classic.

Also, the bolt handle sits at 90 degrees to the bolt body and is unswept -- a feature almost unique to the Model 72.

Perhaps the owner could tell us if the tops of the receiver dovetails are smooth -- that would be one more piece of evidence that the rifle is a Model 72.
 
I agree that some of the classic stocks did wrap but the later ones looked just like the pattern on the questionable rifle. I don't think for a second that that metal goes with that stock but I do know the stocks will interchange nicely. I think a modification to a classic on that stock is completely out of the realm of possible. You would need to start with an LOP of about 17 inches to get it to the point of not showing if it began as a Monte Carlo stock and then the compression lines of the original machining would show up on the change in contour of the cheekpiece. -Misako
 
The only other way I know to get a final determination on the stock would be to check cast-off. The Classics had a great deal of it, whereas the stocks of the earlier rifles had little or none. A good friend of mine who is a southpaw is absolutely unable to fire my Classic from his left shoulder.
 
Any other member had a Sako (early model) that has had some engraving from a previous owner? I have got onto a couple, one owned by a Govt. dept. for putting down stock on local roads from car collisions or "downed" animals at cattle saleyards, initials were on the floor plate and another under barrel just forward of the forend wood, bit like Firearms International - markings on Sako firearms in the US. If in an inconspicuous place do you think it detracts from the desirability of owning one in a standard and common calibre in a hunting rifle that will be used?? Any comments - or if any others have come across any with "owner markings".
Jay
 
In general, markings by a government agency don't detract from a firearm's value and can even add to it. Of course, most of those guns are military or police-type firearms, so it is very uncommon to see a Sako with governmental markings. Such markings certainly wouldn't damage it as a "working" rifle.
 
do you think it detracts from the desirability of owning one in a standard and common calibre in a hunting rifle that will be used?

I think that's the key bit to your question. If its a rifle that is going to be used then to me it makes no difference. But if your after something to put in your safe and never fire it then it probably does detract a lot.

Its interesting however as I follow the L46's (non .222 cal.) a lot and have found some really high prices being paid lately for rifles many a few years back would consider only as hunting/using rifles and not pay a premium for. However, lately I've seen some pretty high prices paid for some pretty non original rifles so maybe the thinking is changing a bit on what is detracts on the appeal of these rifles nowdays.

Bottom line is if you like it that's what really counts ;)

Cheers John
 
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