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Sako question

Texas Hunter
LGS has a nice Sako riihimaki in 222 for sale. It is a deluxe model with the engraving and such. I see them for sale on the auction side but can't seem to find them listed in the blue book under a "rhiihimaki to get some more info on them. But was wondering if the riihimaki was standard from Finland and the deluxe was the version. Any info would be appreciated, thanks.

Todd
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7 comments

Date Votes
  • Texas Hunter
    As i understand it Sako's are a very fine rifle.
    However many times i will see them advertised on the GB auctions as "Pre Garcia".
    Just what does that mean??
    Also i see many advertised as boffors barrels.
    What does that mean??
    Are some Sako's not as desirable as others because of these issues??



    mike
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  • RancheroPaul
    The Sako rifle is made in Finnland. Therefore, it has always been an imported item. Until 1972, these fine guns were imported by a company called "Firearms International" and actually, this was a company that was a "front" for gun operations run by our own Government. Garcia, famous for fishing equipment purchased the company Firearms International and had Sako make some minor changes in the Sako Models and had Sako mark each rifle with the stamping, "Garcia" which denotes a rifle made after about 1972.

    Sako Rifles are extremely Good Quality and are even collectible, if made before they were stamped "Garcia." The "Bofors" marked barrels are 12 grooved rifling of the finest grade steel and are highly accurate. The "Pre-Garcia" guns, (made prior to 1972), were all marked on the barrel as "Bofors." Most of the Garcia guns were not
    although I have seen a few that had "Bofors" barrels......so I can't make a concrete statement regarding this, but mostly they weren't Bofors.

    The Blue Book of Gun Value advises to deduct about 25% of the listed value for Garcia guns made after about 1972. So a Retail priced gun of the Garcia era should normally be priced about 25% cheaper than a "Pre-Garcia" gun.

    Having said all this, I have not seen any Sako including the Garcia marked guns, that were anything but very fine guns. I have shot a couple of the Garcia guns and I see no difference between them and the Pre-Garcia guns......both are excellent guns. However, it may be a status symbol to have a Pre-Garcia, I don't know. Definitely, if you are going to collect Sako rifles, then you do want to get the Pre-Garcia guns for your collection. Hope this helps some.....

    I Miss The World I Grew Up In!
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  • Texas Hunter
    Thanks for the info RancheroPaul.
    Oh yea i would love to have one of these rifles but i better win some lotto money first!!
    Actually we had a guest at a ranch i hunted on in the 70's that had a Sako in .308 and it was a mannlicher stocked 18.5 inch barrel.
    He said that he had owned the gun about ten years at that time (1978).
    I have no idea which model of Sako this was but i do remeber the word "quality" was all around it.
    Any ideas which model it was??



    mike
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  • spike449
    I've owened a few SAKO's and have always wondered the same thing. In a recent article about the new SAKO rifles, they interviewed SAKO executives. One commented that when they sold to Garcia, the Garcia people wanted cuts in quality and finish for cost cutting measures.

    Good judgement comes from experience.
    Experience comes from bad judgement. Gen. Omar Bradley
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  • Guns & Glass
    All Sakos used Bofors steel.
    It's a special wear resistant alloy used in armarment barrels.


    Happy Bullet Holes!
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  • RancheroPaul
    G & G ............Thanks for that info! I have seen some that weren't marked as such.....but that doesn't mean much, as they could have been just not marked as a "cost cutting" procedure. Extremely fine guns.

    Some Trivia here, The Sako "Barrelled Actions" were used to make the early Browning "Safari" rifles, as well as the "Coltsman" and a few other brands of Quality guns. I'm talking about guns from the 50's and 60's here. There may have been some later actions used by some other companys also.

    The "Mannlicher" stocks were used on the "Forrester" and possibly on some of the "Finnbears" too.

    I Miss The World I Grew Up In!
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  • chuck
    Thanks fer the Info Guy's, I got one in 270 cal. stamped Garcia on bottom of Barrel, shoots great.
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