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I just bought my European rifle for American woods deer.

TomTeriffic

TomTeriffic

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$931 on auction. No plastic modern laser-engraved-markings junk for me. You are hard pressed to do any nicer than this bolt-action-wise for under $1K. Old-world craftsmanship from Europe with old-fashioned blued steel and genuine hand-checkered wood. Sako even sounds classier than CZ.

Sako Forester L579 .243 With Heavy Barrel​


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I assume thats used. Hopefully its not shot out. At least its not a savage. How are the markings? Clear and defined? and not covered up with a scope?
 
The gun appears to have been fired some. There is some bluing wear on the bolt's striker left side but the beauty side of the gun is the right-hand side where the bolt handle is anyway. The roll stamping is impeccable. The gun's metal surfaces were machined only after the roll stampings were impressed. Smith & Wesson often put roll stampings on guns, even blued revolvers of the 1970's, without machining away the burrs. Colts of old ensured the neatness of stampings. Some old-fashioned European craftsman took special care building this Finnish Sako gun. You can observe the pictures here. This gun model was produced from 1957-1992. The serial number on my particular gun indicates the year 1971. This is Sako push-feed based upon some Mauser action. This push-feed is far superior to a Remington 700 action due to an improved extractor design. I can't imagine the barrel to be pitted or burned out given how impeccable the gun looks on the outside. The previous owners obviously did not beat this gun like an old truck.



sako wear mark.jpg

 
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I don't care for the glossy look. Very much a North Anerican thing. Europeans usually go for satin oil finish. Those Sako actions are smooth as silk.
 
OntarioHunter said:
I don't care for the glossy look. Very much a North Anerican thing. Europeans usually go for satin oil finish. Those Sako actions are smooth as silk.
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Same here. But the finish on the wood was not the deal breaker. I bought a new Ruger American Predator 6.5 CM back in 2020 and got rid of it a year later. Action definitely not smooth as silk. The damned bolt was often hard to close in a hurry. Cheesy matte finish and plastic stock to boot. This Sako is not my beloved minty Savage Model 99 or Husqvarna Model 3000 Crown Grade, but she will still warm my heart and soul as I stalk my whitetail venison for the freezer come future doe gun seasons.

For hunting in the woods on dry November days, I will have to carry a plastic bag in my hunting vest to protect the nice finish should I have to set the gun down. Of course, I could always sling the gun over my back to free both hands. This is not a rain, mud or snow gun. Well, I might carry the gun on snow-covered ground but definitely not while it is falling. In South Dakota, one is lucky to get a deer in the bag and tagged before the first snows.

I have two minty unused scopes: a Bushnell Banner 3x9 and a Leupold Freedom 2x7 both in matte black finish. Not perfect color match for the shiny vintage Sako, but the Leopold Gold Ring will have to do.

If you have an old-school shiny blue wood stocked bolt-action rifle with a matte black scope, please post to see what that outfit looks like. Thanks.
 
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TomTeriffic said:
Same here. But the finish on the wood was not the deal breaker. I bought a new Ruger American Predator 6.5 CM back in 2020 and got rid of it a year later. Action definitely not smooth as silk. The damned bolt was often hard to close in a hurry. Cheesy matte finish and plastic stock to boot. This Sako is not my beloved minty Savage Model 99 or Husqvarna Model 3000 Crown Grade, but she will still warm my heart and soul as I stalk my whitetail venison for the freezer come future doe gun seasons.

I have two minty unused scopes: a Bushnell Banner 3x9 and a Leupold Freedom 2x7 both in matte black finish. Not perfect color match for the shiny vintage Sako, but the Leopold Gold Ring will have to do.

If you have an old-school shiny blue wood stocked bolt-action rifle with a matte black scope, please post to see what that outfit looks like. Thanks.
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in the case.jpg
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Rings are also matte finish. Not the prettiest but not bad. Seems to kill game just fine.
 
scope.jpg
I suppose looking at this color scheme on a hunting outfit hurts less than a punch in the nose still. Should the rings be matte like the scope or gloss like the rifle. How about silver rings for greater contrast? This has the Sako dovetail scope mounting system.
 
JLS said:
Silver would look like ass. Gloss black or nothing. Don’t be a $*)Q!#@$ lame millennial. Do this right Boomer!
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I'd say matte to match the scope. But hold your horses... Mr. GunBlue490, my favorite gun talker, has a shiny rifle with both matte Leupold scope and rings. It's not half-shabby looking. The scope is matte to even match his butt pad. Think of matte black tires on a shiny black automobile. The metal on his rifle is shiny blue but his wood is satin.

 
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JLS said:
You can justify that half assed look all you want. I expected more out of a guy who appreciated 1950s lawn mowers.

Gloss black rings and scope. Stop being a candy ass.
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But the gloss scopes are out of production and I already own a matte Leupold scope anyway. The scope makers of today had to get silly on all us Boomers by dropping gloss black production scopes altogether. Leupold, shame on you! I thought I had more faith in Beaverton, Oregon than that.

You think Leupold could offer just one lousy gloss scope out of their hundreds of models. I guess they think all shiny guns will be safe queens never to be hunted anyway. Who taught the later generations not to appreciate wood and blued steel guns? Do children do this crap to rebel against boomer parents and grandparents?
 
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Team FX3 6x42 Glossy on a blued/walnut #1 25-06 about a decade ago while Lupe still offered.
 
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