As a Sako collector, I have seen thousands of Sakos; however, I don't recall seeing any in 300 H&H - not to say they didn't chamber a few for a special run. I am certain they didn't chamber the AV or later guns in 300 H&H. Nonetheless, it would be rare and desirable. If one exists,especially in good condiiton, it coud fetch $1500 or better. If I am wrong, please correct me. Lou

Thanks for all the info. Actually a friend of mine ended up buying the gun and I haven't seen the rifle yet. So I don't really know anymore particulars on it. I think he ended up giving $850 for the rifle.

The .300 H & H was catalogued in the L 61R for just a short time before being supplanted by the then-new .300 Winchester. So the production could have only been for about two years at the most, and the total number of L61R's in all calibers would have only been a few thousand during that period, so the .300 H & H is a rather rare bird in an L61R. On the other hand, prior to Sako introducing the L61R they produced "long action" calibers on an FN Mauser, and the preponderance of those I have seen have been orignially chambered for the H & H (although many were subsequently rechambered for the Weatherby version ).

By the way, does your friend's rifle have a 26" barrel? I think most of the H & H's were built that way, while some L61R calibers had a 24.3" barrel only, and others were found in both.

I agree that Blue Book prices for Sakos are not particularly dependable. I don't see a big difference in magnum vs. "standard" calibers, except to the extent that some magnums, like the H & H are somewhat rare. The Blue Book also lists the mini-action L461 at less money than the others, while this is the opposite of my experience.

I think it is also true that the spread between "asking" prices (the "pie in the sky" phenomenon seemingly caused by people looking at internet auction site prices and failing to note that the items didn't sell at the inflated "starting" price) have grown much faster than actual "selling" prices. For instance, I bought a pre-Garcia .222 Magnum HB in 95-98% condition from a gun jockey last week for $600, which included 5 boxes of hard-to-find factory ammunition. We were both happy with the price, but I'm sure that if someone were to list this gun on an internet auction site they would ask half again as much for it.

Despite a divergence of opinions as to the appropriate price for pre-Garcia Sakos, one in 99% condition is a raging bargain compared to the prices of the current production Sakos.