Inherited rifle

[ADavis]

New member here I have inherited an older sako in 7mm Remington mag there is no indication as to what the model of the rifle is. The barrel is stamped with the caliber,made in Finland, and imported by stoeger. The serial number is stamped on the receiver but have had no luck finding any info. Was hoping that someone here may have some info.

 

[vigo]

Hello ADavis,
Is there an AII or and AV stamp in front of the serial number? Knowing that would be a start. Photo's posted here would be best. Also, what is the serial number? (for privacy you can post the first several numbers then XXX, such as 543XXX), knowing this can help with approximate date and model. Carl.

 

[ADavis]

 

[stonecreek]

ADavis, welcome!

You have a Sako A-III, which is the "long" action for cartridges of .30-06 or magnum length (magazine is about 3.6" long). The A-III is the successor to the original L61R action and differs very little. This model is often referred to as the "Finnbear" (medium and short action Sakos were called "Forester" and "Vixen", respectively). It should have a barrel measuring 24.4" and the magazine will hold four rounds of magnum ammunition. No firm information is available on the individual serial number, but the gun most likely dates from circa 1980.

The 7mm Remington Magnum chambering was one of the more common ones in the Finnbear and is a popular round for hunting North American game from deer up to elk and moose.

 

[ADavis]

Thanks for all the great information. Any idea of a ballpark value it's in great condition. Been considering rechambering but know that will ruin any true value it may have. Trying to weigh my options.

 

[paulsonconstruction]

If you want to make it a different cartridge you will have to choose one with the same diameter case head, which is the magnum bolt face. Going to a standard bolt face like the 30-06, 270, 25-06 etc would probably require bolt face modification. Rechambering would also more than likely require setting the barrel back, which would lessen it's value even further. Rebarreling would be a better option, as then you can put the original barrel back on later & maintain it's original value. Realistically & economically it makes better sense to sell this rifle & use those funds to purchase a rifle in your preferred chambering, if you don't want a 7mm Magnum.

 

[ADavis]

I misspoke earlier was planning on rebarreling and going to the 7mm STW.

 

[vigo]

Hello ADavis,
Just curious why you are wondering about the value if you are going to re-barrel it? Depending on condition, and since it is an A-III, with I assume the front sight with hood and rear Williams sight, In original pristine condition might bring $800-$900 tops. Your rifle is not a collector, but a fine shooter. Also curious why you would want to re-barrel to 7mm STW? The difference in ballistics between the 7mm Mag and the STW (FPS and Ft. Lbs of energy) is miniscule. Also, the availability of 7mm STW ammo at your local gun store would not be what is available in 7mm Mag, if it is even available. Not trying to rain on your parade, but re-barreling would decrease the value and would not show any significant increase in performance. The only ballistic tests I have seen where the 7mm STW out- performs the 7mm Mag is with the use of a 26" barrel, and even then the muzzle velocity is only about 60-100 FPS faster than the 7mm Mag with a 24" barrel. Just my thoughts,
Carl.

 

[GreyFox]

Stick with the '06 there's a reason it's been around forever.
Also, a bitter pill to swallow, the engineers and designers, working with slide rulers and pencils, were actually extremely smart at cartridge design.
Most of the new and improved and bigger and better are a result of marketing, not ballistics testing.

 

[stonecreek]

If you want to turn it into a 7mm STW you won't devalue it significantly (or at all) since it is considered a "shooter" and not a "collector" in today's market.

A number of years ago I owned a similar Sako 7mm and had it rechambered to 7mm STW -- just because I wanted to, not because I thought it was going to kill anything further or deader than in its original chambering. I eventually came across a nice factory Sako 7mm STW that I acquired, so traded the rechambered one off and actually got a bit of a premium for it since the 7mm STW was fairly new and in high demand at the time.

I recommend rechambering rather than rebarreling for three reasons: Your barrel channel won't have to be modified, you keep your fine Sako barrel, and rechambering is MUCH less expensive than rebarreling. The only down side is that your current 24.4" barrel is 1.6 inches shorter than the 26-incher you might choose to put on an STW. Although all things being equal (which they never are) a longer barrel yields more velocity than a shorter barrel, depending on the nature of two different barrels, your shorter factory barrel might possibly yield as much velocity as a replacement 26-incher. Also, in fifty years of messing with centerfire rifles I've found that it is easier to get good accuracy from a 24-inch sporter-weight barrel than a 26-incher simply because the shorter barrel is stiffer.

So, if you have a hankering for a 7mm STW go right ahead. Also, be aware that the new "hot" commodity is the .28 Nosler (for no particular reason other than it is new). You could just as easily rechamber for that round as it uses the same rim diameter. Its slightly fatter body might only allow three rounds in the magazine, but most rifles other than Sako have magazines which only hold three rounds of 7mm Rem, anyway.

Bottom line: It's your rifle, so do whatever you enjoy with it and don't sweat the insignificant change (if any) in market value that might occur. Besides, you're going to dump something over $500 in any rebarreling, so the change in market value of the rifle is insignificant compared to your other outlay.