• 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

Howdy Fellas...

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

No, the Club has no copies of Arma Fennica. It is a useful book, but be aware that, like many reference books, it contains some demonstrable errors.
Stonecreek is correct. While Arma Fennica is an extremely useful source, it has a lot of errors and omissions. I use it all the time, but I need to be careful. Also, the Finnish text is considerably more complete than the English. That's not a problem for me, but it would be for most American readers.

Note that there are three volumes to the original Arma Fennica. Volume 1 is the only one of interest to collectors of sporting rifles. Volume 2 is all military and Volume 3 is knives and bayonets.
 
There is a softcover copy on “Abe books” for around $65.00
Stonecreek, Sadly, the only copy of Arma Fennica available now on Abe Books is a hardcover for $250.
Stonecreek and Icebear, Is either of you familiar with a work titled Sako - Aseet, 1921-2000, which is for sale (new) at https://www.armafennica.fi/? Is it entirely in Finnish, or is there enough English to be useful to someone who does not read Finnish? Best, Merritt
 
I apologize for my misunderstanding
Best of luck on your search
I worked in a bookstore for 35 years and spent a lot of my time searching out obscure titles.
I Just couldn’t help trying to make a connection for you.
 
I apologize for my misunderstanding
Best of luck on your search
I worked in a bookstore for 35 years and spent a lot of my time searching out obscure titles.
I Just couldn’t help trying to make a connection for you.
No worries, Unclekax. I appreciate the effort. Best, Merritt
 
My FN-Sako (.300 H&H magnum) described earlier in this post does NOT have a "Bofors Steel" mark? Should it? My gun's serial number is 105xxx and it shipped from Finland on Nov. 1, 1954. Three FN-Sakos bearing the "Bofors Steel" mark have been described in previous SCC threads, but all have had a 111xxx serial number. Could someone please explain the history of Bofors and Sako. Specifically, did Sako manufacture FN-Sakos WITH a Bofors steel barrel but WITHOUT the "Bofors" mark? Stonecreek has written in an earlier thread, “Sako lost a lawsuit in 1968 and had to never mark their rifles with the Bofors Steel ever again.” Thanks in advance. Merritt
 
My FN-Sako (.300 H&H magnum) described earlier in this post does NOT have a "Bofors Steel" mark? Should it? My gun's serial number is 105xxx and it shipped from Finland on Nov. 1, 1954. Three FN-Sakos bearing the "Bofors Steel" mark have been described in previous SCC threads, but all have had a 111xxx serial number. Could someone please explain the history of Bofors and Sako. Specifically, did Sako manufacture FN-Sakos WITH a Bofors steel barrel but WITHOUT the "Bofors" mark? Stonecreek has written in an earlier thread, “Sako lost a lawsuit in 1968 and had to never mark their rifles with the Bofors Steel ever again.” Thanks in advance. Merritt

Why does it matter? What difference does it make? If your FN-Sako does not have the Bofors stamp, why "should it"? Maybe it's just that Sako didn't stamp them with "Bofors" at that time, as evidence by Icebears rifles. Just food for thought!
 
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Bofors steel barrels were used from the beginning on Sako rifles. They were not stamped as such until around 1958-59. The L 46 and the Hi Power (FN action) were the first production centerfire rifles Sako marketed until 1957 with introduction of the L 57 medium action rifle. The Bofors steel barrel continued to be used into the mid 70’s and Sako moved to what I believe was Lakota or Lakoda steel.
The Bofors Stamping only ran for around a decade. Give or take……bloo
 
Bofors steel barrels were used from the beginning on Sako rifles. They were not stamped as such until around 1958-59. The L 46 and the Hi Power (FN action) were the first production centerfire rifles Sako marketed until 1957 with introduction of the L 57 medium action rifle. The Bofors steel barrel continued to be used into the mid 70’s and Sako moved to what I believe was Lakota or Lakoda steel.
The Bofors Stamping only ran for around a decade. Give or take……bloo
Bloo, Thank you very much for this new information, which I have not seen in other threads.

Others have mentioned a 1968 law suit in which (apparently) Bofors sued to enjoin Sako from using the "Bofors Steel" name on its rifles. Can anyone tell me where the suit was filed (Sweden? Finland?) or how to obtain a copy of the decision? It would be interesting to take a look at it and it might further illuminate the Bofors issue.

Paulson, Thank you as well. Why does it matter? Fair question. Many, including (I think) you, have pointed out previously that Bofors steel alone did not make Sako's rifles more accurate, that the Bofors issue is overblown. But it has also been noted that, rightly or wrongly, the "Bofors" name adds market value to a Sako. So it makes sense to try to figure out whether a particular pre-1958 rifle like mine actually has a Bofors barrel even if it lacks the "Bofors" stamp.

Best, Merritt
 
I was not aware of the lawsuit over the Bofors stamping until recently. I have heard tell of other lawsuits Sako dealt with in the early days, mostly about Sako’s Deluxe Stock designs that were close to resembling Weatherby stocks ( Sharp Diamond pistol grip cap accents and forward slanting rosewood forearm tips) , which Sako tried to correct in different ways , finally settling on what we see in DeLux stocked rifles after 1962-63…
The Bofors stamp doesn’t necessarily add dollar value as much as it identifies a period of higher interest, which I attribute to the slim barrel contours and stock designs. They handle better than the later versions from the end of 1969 into the 70’s. Rare chambered rifles add more to dollar value in this aspect.
Bloo
 
Others have mentioned a 1968 law suit in which (apparently) Bofors sued to enjoin Sako from using the "Bofors Steel" name on its rifles. Can anyone tell me where the suit was filed (Sweden? Finland?) or how to obtain a copy of the decision? It would be interesting to take a look at it and it might further illuminate the Bofors issue.
We use the term "law suit" as shorthand for a copyright or patent dispute. Whether there were actual lawsuits involving the Bofors mark, the Weatherby "slant", or Howa's Finnbear copy "Golden Bear" isn't clear. What we do know (or at least believe) is that in each of these instances there was some kind of complaint or action which resulted in the allegedly offending party ceasing its use of or production of the disputed product.

Old Hippie is correct that the "Bofors Steel" mark did not appear on Sako barrels until approximately the introduction of the L57. Whether it was simultaneous or merely coincidental isn't known.
 
In terms of quality, Finnish steel is just as good as Bofors. It's interesting to note that the most accurate general issue infantry rifles ever built were the Swedish Model 96 Mauser and the Finnish m/39 and m/28-30. One had Swedish steel, the other Finnish. Both are superlative in quality and accuracy.

I believe Sako added the Bofors mark to its barrels as a marketing tool in the US market. In the post-WWII period, US shooters were likely familiar with the Bofors name from the "Bofors gun," a 40mm anti-aircraft gun used by the US Navy. The gun was designed by Bofors and built under license in the US. WWII newsreels and movies featured film of the quad-mounted 40's shooting down Japanese kamikaze planes. It remains a mystery to me why Bofors would want to stop Sako from giving it free advertising.

photo.JPG
 
I have never been able to find any evidence of a "Law Suit" between Bofors & Sako. Sako was a customer to Bofors, so it is much more likely that any "differences" would have been worked out between the two parties. My guess is that Bofors thought their steel added value to the rifles & Sako should pay for the use of their name. Sako just decided to drop the Bofors stamping rather than pay, but continued to use Bofors steel for their barrels. Anyway, that's my story & I'm stickin' to it. BTW, Bofors gained their reputation for quality steel through it's use in large military weapons like anti-aircraft guns & the like. Not sure how that translates to sporting rifle barrels, but that little stamp on the side of the barrel trips some people's trigger. I see icebear provided a pic of some "Bofors" barreled squirrel guns while I was typing.
 
I enlarged the photo of the anti-aircraft guns but still couldn't see any "Bofors Steel" stamp on the barrels. Maybe they put it on the left hand side? Anyway, if the Bofors stamp is missing they may still shoot just as well, but I would discount the value of these guns if offered on Gunbroker by at least $100.
 
OK- I will wade in on this. Sako was using their own steel (Finland) at the onset of their production. I believe it was called Locomo steel. When they were unable to supply their own, they sought out Swedish steel to complete their demand quotas. The steel was purchased from Dynamit-Nobel and the formula used was consistent throughout the production history of the Sako rifles considered vintage. I am not aware at exactly what point Sako went with barrels of Swedish steel but somewhere in the History they started to advertise it. You can get a bit of a clue from when the ambering of the steel that was not "Bofors" Started showing up on rifles with Bofors Steel marked barrels. About 1959.
 
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