• 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

Browning Safari Grade .308 made in 1964 by SAKO

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

It is a mystery why so many different bases and hole spacings were apparently found on the Browning-Sakos. It is also a bit of a mystery why Browning had Sako cut the rear action ring down like a Mauser instead of leaving both rings the same height. There couldn't be even a half-ounce of metal there.

Both the rings in the black Browning boxes and the Redfields were made by Redfield, which makes things seem even odder.

Johnny66: Although the Redfield base is nice, I have one on my Safari .243 HB and I find that the bridge across the action opening is slightly in the way of accessing the loading/ejection port. It's never been a real problem, but because of the slight obstruction it represents I've always preferred two-piece bases. And not that there is any real weakness in the one-piece base, but it is held on by only three screws whereas the two-piece bases are attached with four screws. If you are striving to keep your pencil-barrel Browning as light as possible, the one-piece steel base is somewhat heavier than the two-piece Weavers. None of this is a big deal -- its just to say that there are some advantages of each system (like the windage adjustment on the Redfield) and either will serve you well.
 
Good for you Johnny! It warms my heart to hear you say that just maybe that fine rifle deserves as fine mounts. If your search for the Brownings or Redfields, or any other quality turn-in mount becomes too lengthy, I'll bet you could get Conetrols. I know George Miller passed away, but that fellow sure knew what fit what. Some don't like Conetrols, I do, but we all agree that they make mounting glass painful. You have to like them to put yourself through it.
 
Base for Sako Browning L579.JPG
Base for Sako Browning L 579.JPG
Johnny66, to me $20 to $40 is a fair price for condition of good+ to NIB. But I've been able to find them available at that price, so maybe I'm paying too much. Keep in mind, they made them with many variances. I've seen them with 3 or 4 mounting holes, and with the windage adjustments in front of the rear holes allowing more eye relief. And these variances apply to all codes, so you can't assume the windage adjustments are always in front of the rear holes, they may be between the rear holes.
 
Does anyone know if the Sako round top one piece bases were made by the same company, Redfield for Browning or vice versa? They look identical except for possible quality of the bluing.

J66, I paid $20 for the above Redfield base (Ebay find).

Other options include Buehler which I have on a custom 260 that I built from an L579 round top action. These were the only bases and rings I could find at the time I acquired my Browning Safari.



or Conetrol



For reference is a pic of Warne rings with the weaver bases on another custom L579 round top.

 
Well fellas,
I have a few days before the stuff I purchased even arrives. I think I will take that much time -at least- and see what I can discover. Now that I am aware of many of the pitfalls, I might just get lucky and find a real gem!
You guys never cease to amaze me with the knowledge,
J.

PS. What rings do I have to choose from if I get Controls, or the one-piece Browning made by Redfield?
 
Any STD Leupold type rings ( Leupold, Burris, Redfield, etc) will work with the one piece bases.

Conetrol CS is excellent and will guide you as to which bases and rings to order.
 
Deerhunter, Redfield began making scopes, rings and bases for Browning in 1962. In January of 1974 Burris took the scope business away from Redfield. Burris made the Browning scopes until 1976 when Browning dropped their line of scopes. I don't know if Burris also took over the ring and base business from Redfield in 74 or not.
 
Douglastwo,
When I tried to find new Redfield bases, through Redfield, I was told that Leupold had taken over the scope-end of their operation and ATK had taken over their mounting systems. I contacted ATK. They said that the L579 compatible bases were no longer being manufactured. The tech then referred me to the Weaver #71/#72 combo as an alternative. The Browning website offers a "Bob's" gunshop in MO for all rare firearms. Bob may be a terrific guy, but he's not big on answering the ph when I have tried him (7x). The number for ATK is
(800) 635-7656.
J.
 
If you go with Conetrol bases, you must use Conetrol rings. The people at Conetrol will hopefully know what you need for height. Be forewarned, they are as expensive as they are a pain to put on. They come in 3 grades, and you will need one of the top two to look good on that Browning.
 
16b410,
Your avatar is a fair representation of how I am looking right now. I have been poking around a bit and look forward to "looking" at them. This IS a shooter after all. Marks on the wood on my rifle and the fact it has never had a scope on it, makes me wonder if it didn't spend a fair amount of time as a truck gun.
 

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Wandering a little far afield here, but as to the relationship of Redfield/Burris/etc.:

Redfield originated the turn-in scope ring system and built it for many years. Burris was a Redfield employee who went out on his own along with some other key Redfield employees when the old Denver-based Redfield company was in decline (or the company was in decline because the key employees left, whichever.)

Redfield eventually quit making scopes, but someone, maybe it was Omark or ATK, picked up the line of Redfield mounts and continued them. Since the patent on the John Redfield turn-in dovetail had long since run out, Leupold, Burris, and Millett all adopted the design and began making mounts identical in dimension to the Redfields.

The Redfield name as it applied to scopes was sold several different times, and several different lines of imported scopes have been sold under that name. Most recently the Redfield name was purchased by Leupold, who used it originally for a line of scopes the components of which were made in Asia, but were assembled in the U.S. Then, Leupold opted to drop that line and simply import a line of scopes under that name from Asia.

The first "Browning" labeled scopes were made by Redfield and were identical to contemporaneous Denver Redfields. As douglastwo says in his post, Burris may have also produced some "Browning" branded scopes later.
 
Douglas and SC,

Thanks for the Redfield/Browning/ Burris history.

16b410,

You are so right about what a PIA installing Conetrol rings can be. The first set that I ever fooled with was frustrating as can be. They ultimately were not the best choice for the intended rifle and to this day they serve as a paper weight on my office desk and a reminder to me that sometimes pretty is not always better.
 
douglastwo -

I removed the front two piece base on my Browning/Sako 222/461 and it was marked FN and has 3/4" hole spacing. The rear has 1/2" hole spacing so I have FN bases whose front hangs off the back of the front ring and a functional rear base.

With regard to my BH-marked one piece I was hopeful to use... I confirmed it is 3.5" center to center like yours in your earlier post. However, my non-abused receiver is 3.375" center to center. Go figure. It appears there are two front holes spacing (7/8" and 3/4") and two lengths (3.5" and 3.375"). I have a 3/4" / 3.375".

So... what does my BH base fit? You may know, you have one. And, can anybody tell me what bases, either one or two piece will fit my Browning Sako 222 medium barrel, 3/4" / 3.375".
 
Bob,

The weaver bases should work with your L461 222. The #71 front base is 3/4" hole spacing and #72 rear base is .5" hole spacing.
 
Bob58 I'm sorry to say I'm at a loss, I've owned several Sako action Brownings in 222 and 222 mag in both pencil barrel and heavy barrel, and none I've owned had receivers tapped with front and rear holes with a center to center spacing of 3.375". The spacing on all was 3.5". Also, I've never heard of or seen a two piece Browning base for the Sako action Browning rifles we've been discussing. Other base manufacturers yes, but not a Browning labeled base. All this means is never say never regarding gun specs or features. One last comment, the only browning bases I've owned or seen with a code mark of FN are models 1671, 8117, and 217, all of which fit only the mauser action Browning.....and of course they fit certain other manufacturers rifles made with FN actions.
 
Well it appears The 2-piece Leupold FN Mauser bases fit my round top perfectly... the 3/4" front base does not hang off the back of the front ring and the 1/2" rear base fits well.

Therefore, my NOS Redfield base 511145 JR BH marked " Scope Mount Base with Folding Peep Browning Sako .222, .222 Magnum" is of no use.

Anybody have a need? $30 shipped.
 
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