Just took delivery of this beauty today. It's a Sako Vixen "Deluxe" in .222 Remington topped with a Leupold VX-1 3-9x40mm. It's a Pre-Garcia and all that jazz, but I'm not really sure what that all means...?

I bought it out of the classifieds off Will270Win. He was great to deal with and treated me right on the price! Thanks, Chris! He described it as being in "excellent condition", and he wasn't lying! Doesn't look to have been fired much at all and is in fantastic shape for a nearly 40-year-old rifle.

I've been stockpiling AA2230, Remington brass, and 40gr Vmax's for the occassion...

Sorry the pictures aren't the greatest quality. I was in a hurry and sunlight was fading fast. They don't really do her justice, but they're the best I have right now....

Sweet....now you just gotta find a place to go and call El Bun (yote) to break it in.

Congratz

Mark D

Congrats, I love bringing a new hunting buddy into the safe! That caliber is a classic.

I freed a 204 Ruger from the store last week. He looked at me with those puppy-dog eyes and i just had to take him home.

that's one cherry looking piece. wish I was smart enuf to post photos, somewhere in my rack I've got an old heavy barreled one that don allen had stocked in a true exhibition piece of french walnut Its a joy to sit back and plink the corners off postage stamps at 100 yds

Buster,

Congratulations, a very nice looking rifle, with solid optical accessories in one of the all-time great classic cartridges.

Have lots of fun with it.

The only reco I could make is that old ventilated recoil pad, after 40 years is it O.K.? Still soft and supple or is brittle and cracked? A nice brown Pachmayer Old English perhaps?.....in this case even with a white line since it would match the forearm & pistol grip.

Those 40 grain V-Max's (and NBT'S) have shoot well in every .222 & .223 I've tried them in but don't forget the .222 classic, either a 50 or 52 grainer - give some Speer 50 grain TNT's a try too.

Thanks for the comments, guys. I can't wait to get out and shoot it.

Gerry,

The pad is still pliable and not dry or flaky at all. My only concern with the stock is that it's almost too nice to use as a hunting rifle. As funds permit, I may eventually put the barreled action in a McMillan for field use.....

Keep it off those rocks and you won't need a McMillan .
Tried to buy something similar a few months ago without success . Ended up with a new CZ 527 which is great but not quite an L461 Sako .

Congratualations! You've done cut a fat hog!

I have L461's in .222, .223, and .222 Magnum, all pre-Garcia, and the magnum is a Deluxe. Of the three, while all shoot magnificently, the .222 has a very slight edge in accuracy. I use 50 grain Speer TNT's in it exclusively.

Your "pre-Garcia" will have slightly slimmer barrel and stock contours (and if it were a standard grade, would have a little brighter bluing) than the later models. Many of the pre-Garcia's .222's had twelve-groove rifling, which is sometimes criticized -- but my .222 has the 12-grooves and gives razor-edge accuracy.

Whoa! I just looked at the photos again, and that gun looks like it has an awfully heavy barrel, almost like the varmint model. However, the varmint model was never made with the Deluxe stock. Is this a replacement barrel, or is the actual contour of the barrel just deceiving in the photos? Most pre-Garcia barrels will be marked "Bofors Steel" on the right hand side of the barrel a few inches in front of the action. Also, I can't tell if the sling mounts are actual swivels or only swivel studs. The pre-Garcia's used fixed swivels, while the later guns were equipped with quick-detach studs.

Stonecreek,

The barrel looks that way because of crappy pictures. It's a light sporter contour and the bluing is deep lustre.

The stock has swivel studs. I'm assuming they're original, but don't know for sure...? There's silver inlayed engravings of oak leaves and acorns on the trigger guard and floorplate, and a fox (Vixen) inlay in the grip cap.

From what I can tell in comparing the serial number with what little information I've been able to find on the "net", it was made in 1969.

I'm new to all this Sako stuff. When exactly was the "Pre-Garcia" period? I was told they quit stamping "Bofors" on the barrels in 1968....?

Had a guy tell me the magazine capacity is 8 rounds, but I can only get 7 rounds in the magazine. I'm wondering if he meant it was 7 down and 1 in the chamber...?

I'd appreciate any info you might have...

"Pre-Garcia" is also referred to as "pre-1972" as Garcia took over distribution from Firearms International sometime in 1972. As with any trasition, there are features that cross lines between the two importers. In general, Garcia tried to cut some costs as the exchange rate between U.S. and European currencies was making European goods increasingly expensive at that time (about the same time that Browning moved most of their production from Belgium to Japan).

It appears that the "Bofors Steel" mark was not necessarily related to the date of manufacture in that I have one L461 in the 70,000's that does NOT have the Bofors stamp and another in the 100,000's that is stamped Bofors. Ya just never know. About all you can say for certain is that MANY pre-Garcia Sakos had Bofors barrels and most, if not all, Garcias did not.

I've never seen an L-461 magazine that would hold more than 7 .222's, although an eighth will just a-l-m-o-s-t go.

Assuming that the gun is a pre-Garcia, the stock studs are surely a replacement for the original fixed swivels. This is very common as most people feel the studs are better than fixed swivels and changing them out is a two-minute job. By the way, original Sako fixed swivels were a tad tight for standard 1" straps, so most people referred to them as 7/8" swivels. Being on the tight side may have been another reason that they were often replaced.

Any way you cut it, you've got a super nice gun.

Stonecreek, thanks for the info....

Buster: Great looking Rifle you have there!
Have you shot it yet? Be sure and let us know how it shoots!!!
I have always loved the Sakos in Varmint calibers and own a few of them now.
I wish I had every Sako back that I ever owned!
Best of luck to you and your new Rifle!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy