Which Sako Varmint?

S

Straitshot

New member
How can I tell which Sako varmint rifle I have? I know it is a Stoeger import made in Finland. It is cal. .223 Rem. and has the A1 action, Walnut oiled checkered stock, no cheak rest, hard orange rubber butt pad with black 1/4" spacer, and has Sako Finlanl embossed on the end.
 
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Sako .223 cal. short actions

1979 : L461 changed to A1

1992: A1 changed to S491

So the rifle was made between 1979 and 1992 with this action number !

The Sako home website has info for its older models !
 
The butt pad is almsot certainly not original.

Sako used a brown pad and should have Sako on it.

They are very fine guns.
 
Still confused.

Their models and how to differentiate between them is very confusing for me. The best I can tell by the serial numbering they show on their web sight is that it is a L461 made around 1990, but I don't know if it is a L461 Vixen or just a L461 varmint. What, if any, is the difference?

The burnt orange hard rubber butt pad is original to the gun and it does have Sako embossed into it. If I can get photobucket to work right I will post a picture later.
 
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The Sako Varmint has an extra wide fore-end on the stock where the Vixen has the standard sporter looking fore-end ! It should have a heavy ( varmint class weight ) barrel as well...the Vixens are fairly light weight rifles if it is anything like my old Sako L579 Forester that is even heavier than the Vixen !
 
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I had not seen one with burn orange, add that to the list.

And yes they are confusing. Between being imported via various distributorships (FI, Garcia and Stoerger, i.e. not their own network ) and Finnish the variations can be strange.

I found one in 06 (L61R) that looks to be all OEM and is not a Deluxe, but has no front sight and no indications that it had one or was re-blued after one was removed.

More or less that's a Deluxe style (sans front sight) without the magazine plate decor/etching (and the stock is non deluxe).
 
Mine has the wide fore-end and a heavy barrel so it must be the L461 varmint model.

Thanks to everyone for their input. I still can't get photobucket to work or I would post a picture.
 
You have a very fine rifle, I have 8 Sako's, and in 223 it is a 1:12 twist which Sako dose not import anymore. All there 223's are now 1:8 twist which might be too fast for the lighter 40-55gr bullits.
 
Finally have picture of rifle.

I finally got photobucket to work so here is a picture of my Sako varmint rifle. As I mentioned in an earlier post I believe it to be a L461 varmint model.

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Thanks Straightshot. It does shoot very well and I am also reloading for it with extra care. It is hard to believe that my Vixen will be C&R eligible in 6 weeks:).

Have you checked out the Sako forum?
 
Thanks. Depending on good ammo, it shoots as excellent as the old Hensoldt Diasta 4x32 allows. The 4 x magnification makes it a little harder to shoot good groups at 100 yards but at 50 yards it is better than 1MOA.

The scope is period appropriate and of high quality, it does not give the tunnel feeling and the optics are clear, so the low magnification does not bother me so much.

I love the rifles and scope set-up:).
 
That is a nice setup I have 3 Sakos and swear by them my most recent purchase is a sako hunter stainless(the grey wolf model) in 22-250 hoping to have some success with coyotes
 
L-461

As a general rule pre 72 sakos had one of the "L" actions. I have a heavy barrel wide forearm Sako varminter in .222. Stamped just after the serial number on the left side of the action is "L-461"

I also have an older Sako sporter in .243 and it is stamped "L-579" in the same location.

To add some to the confusion, I have a pre vixen L-46 .222 with detachable magazine and it is referred to as a Sako Riihimaki and is stamped as such.

I believe the "A" designation, as in A-1, A-II, and A-III are generally action length indicators that included some changes from the "L" actions.

I would assume that if your action is not stamped with an L-461 and is stamped A-1 then that is what it is.
 
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