Gentlemen.
I am currently working on my L461 and would like to get in touch with gents that have customized their Vixens.
I may need some guidance.

I have three (sold the 4th and 5th) Sako A1 rifles that are all custom. I did not make them, but had Jim Kobe do the work. If I can answer any questions, PM me.

Some ideas: http://forums.accuratereloadin...1019521/m/5771028022

I built a 6x45 on a Sako L-461, 20" Douglas, barrel, and custom stocked it in English/African big bore style..Blood red piece of fancy tiger striped walnut, long in the grip, egg cheek piece, lean and mean, Neidner butt plate, Mod.70 three position safety made from a piece of bull barrel, Talley petite gripcap, weighs 5 lbs complete with Leupold compact 3x9, in and old set of Redfield rings and bases.....

Ive used it for deer, antelope, plainsgame in Africa, as well as rockchucks, coyotes and most varmint critters locally. Even kulled some Kudu with it. 75 gr. GS customs bullets work well on big game.

I never mounted the barrel band front sight, Island rear sights, or the barrel band swivel that I still have on hand, because it shoots .200 to .299, and that's benchrest quality form a walk about fwt rife, and Im scared to solder anything to the barrel..I will do that someday perhaps..

I can't post pictures but would gladly send you pics to your email if you like.

The fine little Sako L461 action has to be the royal princess of bolt actions. It deserves only the finest accompaniment of barrel, stock, and sights.

So, what caliber are you considering and for what purpose(s)? That would make a lot of difference in how you outfit your little princess.

Although metal's custom 461 is hard to beat, here's another one that you might like.
http://www.doublegunshop.com/f...Number=444201&page=1

The Sako L461 action has been the basis of many a fine custom rifle.

Here's a pic of a Winslow 17-222....made back in the 1960's.

Friend Of The 17
Kevin

223 and 17

I am really enjoying this thread. Some really pretty rifles being shown off.

What are people using for scope bases on these? The ones I've seen look kinda clunky.

I use Leupold ringmounts on my Sakos

Sako optilock are best.

For my nicer L461 actioned rifles, I like to use Conetrol mounts and rings. Very sleek and well proportioned to the small action.

The O'Brien Rifle Company thought so, and used them on many of their completed rifles.....back in the early 1960's.

I follow their lead.......see previous post.

Kevin

Here is the barrelled action for my L461 "Vixen". It has the original barrel chambered in 222 Rem. (For comparison a small ring G33/40, 98 Mauser). I'm not sure if I want to rebarrel it yet. This original barrel shoots like a dream even with the Norma 62 grain sp.
This actinon/barrel will be fitted with some new wood and a few other "pretty little things", like barrelband sling swivel and front sight. I hope to get hold on a m70 safety as well. Time will show. I had these Burris bases )and 30 mm rings) from my current Vixen (sold 21 years ago) and they will be used until I'm finished with shaping the stock.
The plan is to go for a kinda classic looking stock and i will fit it for my self the best I can. Since I'm no expert on wood this is a time consuming process.
I’m really enjoying to work with this little sweety.
More pictures, and I'm sure å lot of questions will be posted during the progressof the work.

This picture thing gives me a heartattack!

Trying again.

The Sako Optilock rings are obscenely bulky and heavy and have no place on a petite L461/A-I. The original Sako ringmounts are fine, as was the now defunct Conetrol. However, for the lightest and slickest mount on a little L461 I'd recommend the Leupold ringmount. Some people think they "look" fragile, but I've had them on a Sako .375 H&H for the last 20 years and they've never shown any weakness.

I used and old pre war set of Redfields with top screws and a 3x9 Leupold compact on mine, the are sleek and look good if you can find them.

The thing that draws attention on my rifle is the 3 position mod. 70 safety made out of a section of a 30-06 bull barrel by the late and great Tony Barnes of Twin Falls. this little rifle looks like a DG mauser such as you would expect to see in the hands of Harry Manners or Tony Sanchez hunting tiny elephants in the bush.

Ray,

Yep.....the "old" Redfield bases are my second favorite style....except I prefer Leupold rings on top of them.

Here's an H&R Model 317, in 223Rem....with both....and a Leupold Compact 3-9XAO.

Kevin

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
The thing that draws attention on my rifle is the 3 position mod.

Do you have any pictures or further details on this? It sounds interesting!

pictures should be posted shortly by Koofoo who emailed me with an offer to post them for me, a nice jester greatly appreciated by an old curmudgeon to tired and lazy to learn something new like posting pictures..

Very nice rifle, Ray!!

A round-top action?....and a mount/rings that I've never run across!!

Last year I bought an L461 custom rifle with the 3-position safty modification to the bolt. Pretty slick. Maybe one day I'll make some pictures of it.

Kevin

Very nice, thanks for posting the pictures! So was that receiver modified to make it a "round-top" and to use those rings?

I think those are Redfield rings from a couple of generations ago. They are clean, light, and strong. Don't know why Redfield ever changed them. The front ring uses two pairs of cap screws, while the narrower rear ring uses only one pair. They fit the same Redfield-type base as later rings.

Stone,

Yep.....and the slight curvature, to the bottom of the bridge-base, is a nice touch that is no longer encountered. Also, the base seems a little thicker than later versions.

Old stuff.....GOOD stuff.

Kevin
I'll add another oldie.....with Conetrols.

As to the "round top action"..Sako furnished L-461s to Marlin, Sears, H&R, Browning and a few other manufacturers and all those guns had round tops.

Fairly hard to find them but they are sure nice, and they are stamped L-461 and serial numbered by Sako..These companies produced all of the L-series best I recall in many calibers.

I built this gun about 1980 and have hunted it a lot over those years. My intent was to add a barrel band front sight, barrel band swivel, and a quarter rib or island sight with one standing shallow v..I still have those additions, but scared to put any heat on the barrel of a fwt rifle like this that shoots. 200 to .250 everytime..I may do that one of these days when I get too old to shoot! I made the gun for rockchucks in the Snake River Canyon with its terrible updrafts that move 22 bullets, but in reality Ive used it mostly for deer, antelope and plainsgame..Its deadly with GS Customs 80 gr. HVHP or the old Barnes X in 75 grs. (now discontinued) but I have a stock of them..The longest shot Ive taken big game with is about 200 yards max, and mostly under 100 yards and at those short ranges its as good as any other caliber Ive used..

Gentlemen. Thanks for posting pictures of your rifles.

Here's the new wood for my Vixen. It is still very roughly shaped and there is a lot of wood to remove. I have started the inletting and am trying to make it "tight and comfortable" for both the barrel/action and bottom metal. I will finish the inletting before slimming the outside.

quote:

As to the "round top action"..Sako furnished L-461s to Marlin, Sears, H&R, Browning and a few other manufacturers and all those guns had round tops.

Fairly hard to find them but they are sure nice, and they are stamped L-461 and serial numbered by Sako..These companies produced all of the L-series best I recall in many calibers.

Ray, I'm not quibbling about fine points, but thought I might expand on this.

The Sears Model 52 used a Sako L46 (detachable magazine) action which had the regular Sako dovetails.

Marlin also used the Sako L46 for its 322 and 422 rifles, and these also had dovetails.

H&R used the L461 (internal magazine), and some of their actions were dovetailed while some were round. H&R also used a few L579 (medium) and L61R (long) actions which were round topped.

Browning used the L461 and L579 in a round top, but the rear receiver ring was lower than the front, a bit like an FN mauser. Browning never used the Sako long action.

The other two round-topped proprietary Sakos that I can think of were the Beretta 500-501-502 series which used a round-topped A-series Sako action and the Magnum Research Mountain Eagle which used a long L691 Sako action.

Proprietary rifles using Sako actions were also made by or for Montgomery Ward, NAACO of Canada, Anschutz, Dumoulin (Belgium), Holland and Holland (Britain), Imperial Arms (Canada), O'brien, and Winslow, among others.

Colt had a fairly extensive line of proprietary Sakos. Some were assembled in the U.S. by contractors, and some were completely made by Sako in Finland. They used the L46, L57, L461, L579, and L61R in various incarnations, ususlly branded "Coltsman". I think there may have been some round tops in the mix, but most were dovetailed.

But not to stray too far off of subject, I consider the L461 (and its successor A-1) actions to be the cream of the crop, mostly because there are very few actions in their class that can compete. The Oregon Kimber 84 was nice, but expensive and now obsolete, while the Zastava Mini Mark X is well-designed but a bit crude. The CZ 527 has some truly terrible features that put it several steps behind. And so far as I know, Cooper is yet to produce a small action in anything but single shot. Bottom line: For a small action custom rifle, the little Sako action is almost alone.

quote:

Originally posted by 9,3x74R:
Gentlemen. Thanks for posting pictures of your rifles.

Here's the new wood for my Vixen. It is still very roughly shaped and there is a lot of wood to remove. I have started the inletting and am trying to make it "tight and comfortable" for both the barrel/action and bottom metal. I will finish the inletting before slimming the outside.

Nice looking wood. But we're still curious about the caliber and the intended use of your L461 custom.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:
But not to stray too far off of subject, I consider the L461 (and its successor A-1) actions to be the cream of the crop, mostly because there are very few actions in their class that can compete.

I agree. I've been on the lookout for a small action for years. I think this is why the howa mini is gaining a following. It's a small action that's well made. The plastic stock sucks, but that makes it ripe for building something custom. Brownells sells the barreled action alone, but for some reason it's cheaper to buy a whole rifle and toss the stock.

http://forums.accuratereloadin...9411043/m/7291044912

I know a guy with a vixen. Is there any interest in seeing a howa mini side-by-side?

Stonecreek, I'm sorry, I missed your question.

The rifle I chambered in 222 Rem, and I'm going to use it for small game, small antelopes and roebuck.
And ofor course just shoot it for pleasure!

quote:

Originally posted by 9,3x74R:
The rifle I chambered in 222 Rem, and I'm going to use it for small game, small antelopes and roebuck.
And ofor course just shoot it for pleasure!

Great combination. The princess of small actions with the king of small calibers.

The .222 has been stretched (.222 Mag, .223), shrunken (.221 Fireball) and necked up and down in its various incarnations. But the original will do just about anything that any of its offspring will.

When loaded up to the same (safe) pressures as a .223 it will come within 100 fps of it. And when backed off, it will duplicate the Fireball.

Cap it with forty grain bullets and it acts much like the .20 calibers; put a 60 grain Nosler Partition in it and you can dependably drop larger game.

But for 99% of my shooting the original load of a 50 grain bullet at 3200 fps does everything I need from a rifle in this class.

Stonecreek,
Your absolutely correct, I was going by memory more than anything else, my point being that the round top wasn't all that uncommon..Mine was an H&R and I built another on a Browning but sold it. It was a 25/222 Rem..

A small update.
Things are going slowly for an amateur.

That is coming along, thanks for posting pictures!

It's better to have too much wood on there than not enough...

Thanks jpl. It's my pleasure.
A small update.
God lord, this takes time for an amateur.

Gangeni,

What brand of bases are those? Be careful if you're using the two vertical anchoring screws.....as they can tilt the bases.

Yep......it's slow going. But remember.....nothing difficult is ever easy.

Kevin

Kevin, the bases is some older Burris for Sako. I might replace them later. Time will show. They fits like a glow though.

I haven't had a chance to do a lot more on the rifle. The action, barrel and bottom metal is in place and I have started to slim the wood and have done some shaping of the pistol grip.
I'm sorry for the forearm still looks like a Weatherby. I will slim it a lot more and then shape it. And mount a new ebony or another dark brown piece of wood as a nice tip. The ebony I had glued in there cracked.

And, I now see that my roughly shaping gave me a LOT of more wood to carve.
The good thing is, I don't need to get bored the next few days.
And this kind of work is giving me great satisfaction.

Another update...

Have slimmed the fore end and are working on the grip end.
Think I might cut it and make a grip end in ebony or some dark brown hard wood.

Thoughts?

That is really coming along! How did you do the cross pin?