I bought a Sako Finnbear, Pre-Garcia L61R on an internet auction today and in one of my reference books it says it is a "long mauser action", so I assumed it is a CRF action. I noted a post here on AR which contradicts that. It was advertised as a "Pre-Garcia", very early model with a 25-1/2" longer barrel.

What do you think I bought, Push or CRF?

It is a pushfeed, but with the Mauser static ejector. You have the finest pushfeed action ever made, period and the entire rifle is outstanding. This is a "keeper" and it will surprise you with it's accuracy and never let you down. This is the only pushfeed rifle I would buy.

kutenaymtnboy; Although to learn that the rifle is pushfeed, your comments are reassuring about the attributes of the design. What are the features you feel that set this rifle apart?

I have a .375I made on a Sako L61R. I selected the action back in the 60's before I appreciated CRF. The name Sako had prestige then and I got a good deal as well.



Besides the lack of CRF the safety only locks the trigger and is two position instead of the more desirable three.



There are some other small things like the fact that the guide had be assembled backwards so the bolt will overcome the stop and come out in your hand when retracted. The mount system does not require screws as the receiver has tapered dovetails. This limits the options and I ended up with Sako mounts which are quite good after the Redfield ones fell apart.



The recoil lug on the action is very small. This resulted in the bedding getting pounded to death. So now the rifle is pillar bedded.



If the smith who made it had not been such a nice guy the rifle would be gone long ago. I would not take it on a DGR trip. I might not even take it to Maine for moose.

Those old Sakos were beautifully made and finished. They are indeed of the highest-quality, and if you luck on to one in a highly-desirable caliber such as .338 Win. Mag., you've found a prize. Push-feed or no, those rifles feed from the magazine perfectly, and are superbly reliable. Back in those days, very few .338s were sold, and a pre-1972 Sako in that chambering is by no means common.

I'm bettin' that it'll shoot..........

AD

Almost anything will feed and shoot. The finish is nice sure but there are better actions for DGR's.

The tang is wrong on them as well and has a 90 degree end to it. Thus unless there is a space left in the inletting there it will split the stock.

The safety alone is reason enough to move on if one has the chance.

As to a potential rifle blow up the Sako is a contaiment action. This can be very good. There is a blown up Sako in a gunshop here where it took an overload of pistol powder. The barrel blew off and the front action ring split. I understand that the shooter was not injured seriously and the barrel was salvaged.

I have found the scope mount system to be outstanding and have always used the Sako rings AND the Sako backup peepsight, I found this setup to be extremely useful.

The safety is not my favourite, it can be changed out to a Mod. 70 type, which I prefer. I hate a safety that does not lock the bolt, the number of positions are a matter of personal taste. Most of my current custom rifles use two-position Mod. 70 types as they are a lot cheaper and work just fine, some DGR users prefer a two-position safety.

The recoil lug is too small, but, I glassbed every serious using rifle I have, so, it doesn't matter. The tang can be an issue, but, Mauser 98, FN, Brno, Husqvarna and even Mannlicher-Schoenauer tangs can and do split stocks, a relief cut and glassbedding = no further problem.

As far as a DGR is concerned, most people NEVER need a DGR and the Sako is a fine, accurate and light action and will last longer than you and I will; there is too much rhetoric about DGRs on most gun forums, IMO. I have spent my entire life in Grizzly country and have encountered many of them. I prefer a GOOD CRF rifle for this purpose but one of my friends used a Sako .338 for several years prospecting in northern B.C. and shot several bears. He traded it in on a custom CRF .338 on a FN action and just recently told me that his old rifle fed better, so, go figure.

I think that you have scored a very fine rifle and I hope you use it long and well.

I have one,too.The small Mauser recoil lug can be problem on any Mauser.Sako knew this and put a fitted cross-bolt right up against it.JBelk reffered to the receiver as the truest forged receiver ever made.The down side,the trigger requires a honest sear ingagement.The gunsmiths can explain.