I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion in this forum that I have a long standing infatuation with Sako rifles. I’ve managed to root out a number that particularly appealed to me. I looked for the first “Vixen”, in triple deuce (222 Rem.), for four years before I found the one I wanted. So imagine my surprise when I walked into my favorite gun shop a short while back and saw this little jewel sitting on the used gun rack. A clip fed Riihimaki in triple deuce. Doesn’t look like it has ever been fired.
I think it took all of about 30 seconds for lust to envelop me. At the time I was temporarily financially embarrassed. Lucky for me this shop has a lay away. I grabbed a gunsock, filled out the 4473, gave them a deposit and stashed it way away.



Anyway I bailed it out yesterday. I’ve long wanted a “cousin” to my Vixen, as it is the heavy barreled “varmint” version. This to my mind is about perfection when it comes to a “walking varminter”. Light, svelte,wonderful balance and a joy to carry. The peep sight has an adjustment for setting at 100 yds. and 200 yds. I probably won’t even scope this rifle. Shoot it as is.
I usually say, I’m just one rifle away from being happy, but at the moment I’m happy as a pig in “slop” .

GWB

Are you going to rechamber it to .223?.....

Wow...perfect condition!

quote:

Originally posted by vapodog:
Are you going to rechamber it to .223?.....

Nope,

I had this Sako S491 action laying around so I did a 223 AI on it to avoid the temptation!




GWB

That is one sweet peep!

friar

excellent

thanks for sharing

quote:

Doesn’t look like it has ever been fired.

No Kidding ..... Sweet!

Really nice find there GEE-DUBJA.

Fecker.

I will give you $50 profit on it....

Please?

Not only great condition, but also with a nice piece of lumber! From the SN, it looks like about 1954-55 production. Not too shabby for a 55 year-old gun.

Yours is set up identical to mine (which I bought from an AR member a few years ago). However, mine is one of the last with the left-hand wing safety before the changeover to the right-hand rolling safety.

I'll bet that yours also has the 1-16" twist barrel, the same one that Sako was using for its Hornets and Bees. If so, despite the naysayers that worship at today's fashionable "church of the fast twist", it will shoot any 50-grain bullet just fine, and also do fine with 55 grain conventional cup-and-core bullets. Mine shoots as tight as I can aim with the peep sight.

I bought a peep sight like that one from SAKO in 1965 for my 243 SAKO Forester. They are damn accurate with that sight. It is a little slow to adjust, but it's not meant to be reset a lot. Those sights are a little hard to find today.

quote:

Originally posted by Stonecreek:

I'll bet that yours also has the 1-16" twist barrel, the same one that Sako was using for its Hornets and Bees. If so, despite the naysayers that worship at today's fashionable "church of the fast twist", it will shoot any 50-grain bullet just fine, and also do fine with 55 grain conventional cup-and-core bullets. Mine shoots as tight as I can aim with the peep sight.

Stonecreek,

I went out and did the old tape on the cleaning rod measurement. It is 1 in 16 by my measurement. I have a fast twist 223 AI set up for shooting porkers, so 36 to 52 grain bullets will work just fine in this rifle, for the stuff I do. I still have a number of the 45 gr. solid base Noslers in inventory. I'll mainly use this for grey fox and small stuff. I may try the barnes 45 gr. TSX just to see.

Best

GWB

A beautiful rifle, GWB. Well done.

quote:

Originally posted by Cliff Lyle:
A beautiful rifle, GWB. Well done.

Dumb luck will beat ability, most anytime

Best

GWB

WOW!!! A REAL TREASURE!!

rebarrel that thing to 7.62x39!

Geedub

I was given her twin by my grandfather. Its one of just a couple of rifles I will never sell. Still shoots wonderfully even after I tried to wear out the barrel shooting P-dogs Its my favorite turkey gun

Congrats and enjoy.

SSR

quote:

Originally posted by Cross L:
Geedub

I was given her twin by my grandfather. Its one of just a couple of rifles I will never sell. Still shoots wonderfully even after I tried to wear out the barrel shooting P-dogs Its my favorite turkey gun

Congrats and enjoy.

SSR

You're a lucky devil that's for sure. I had to pay for mine.

GWB

quote:

Originally posted by Geedubya:

quote:

Originally posted by Cross L:
Geedub

I was given her twin by my grandfather. Its one of just a couple of rifles I will never sell. Still shoots wonderfully even after I tried to wear out the barrel shooting P-dogs Its my favorite turkey gun

Congrats and enjoy.

SSR

You're a lucky devil that's for sure. I had to pay for mine.

GWB

GWB

If you ever get tired of her I would love a matched pair--



SSR

I think that is about the nicest one I have ever seen. Well done!

beautiful! I love the drop in the stock. I forget sometimes about the nice Sakos, I hardly ever see them in person is probably why, they are lovely though.

Red

I also have a twin to yours in features, stock colour, and condition. Saw it at the Roseburg gun show 3 years ago and bought it from its owner (he lives in in Corvallis) a week later.

Was a lot more money than when I was young, though. Back then they were common for under $200. I had to pay $600 for mine this time. (Maybe a hair less...I bought 3 rifles for $1,300 as a "package deal"). One of the others was an "as new" 24" barreled .444 Marlin . For some reason I can't recall at this moment what the third one was...still have it, though, so one of these days I'll remember.

(I find that as I age my memory is still absolutely perfect....but it has shrunk like everything else important. Now it is only .0033176 of a second long.)

Edited to add: Just remembered what the third gun is...a Remington Model 725 .244 Remington in NRA Exc or better condition. A real shooter, too.

GW, why do you have a brake on the AI? Just curious, guy, not throwing rocks...

quote:

Originally posted by Doubless:
GW, why do you have a brake on the AI? Just curious, guy, not throwing rocks...

In one of my earlier posts I dubbed this the spare parts rifle. I'd had the action and stock just sitting around for 10 years or so. I mostly buy used rifles,at cheap to reasonable prices. I had planned on doing something completely different. My original concept was a 6.8 SPC in a bolt gun, medium to light contour barrel such as you find on the Remington 700 LVSF, crowned at 22" with no brake. A walking varminter so to speak.
I had asked my smith to order me a Kreiger barrel. Well fast forward a month or so and I checked back with him. Barrel back orederd at Kreiger. Or at least that was the story. However he did have this 8 twist Shilen barrel there in his shop (how convenient).

Anyway, about this time there was a lot of back an forth about killing deer and hogs with a 22 cal. centerfire. Gatogordo, being the shy retiring sort was fending off numerous aspersions of his character. I figure if it's good enough for Gato, maybe I ought to come to his defense, him being a fellow Texan and all. Might take a couple months, but I could nail a few hogs and then post the results and catch a little flack myself. Didn't want him to have all the fun.
I got a wild hair and told the guy, since the thumbhole stock and the Sako S-491 action were not exactly on the light side, just do a 223 AI (since I didn't have one), 26" long and thread it for the Vias brake he had laying on his workbench. The brake is not needed, but with the weight of the stock, action, barrel and scope, add the brake and you can watch the bullet impact. Almost no recoil. That can be fun. So I guess you could either say it was a wild hair, or "why the hell not". That is the true story of how that Vais brake came to be threaded on that Spare Parts Rifle.
You can commence throwing rocks, if you like, but silver dollars would be much more appropriate!

GWB

quote:

Originally posted by Geedubya:
I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion in this forum that I have a long standing infatuation with Sako rifles.

You can tell a lot about a man by the guns he keeps.

I had shot a 222 Sako in a 75 that came with a brake on it, it was like shooting a rimfire. This was a real sweet rifle in a stainless HB with a laminate stock which for $1500 I could be its new owner. FS

What an outstanding find!!! Congrats!!

quote:

I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion in this forum that I have a long standing infatuation with Sako rifles. I’ve managed to root out a number that particularly appealed to me. I looked for the first “Vixen”, in triple deuce (222 Rem.), for four years before I found the one I wanted. So imagine my surprise when I walked into my favorite gun shop a short while back and saw this little jewel sitting on the used gun rack. A clip fed Riihimaki in triple deuce. Doesn’t look like it has ever been fired.

Boy are you lucky. If I had walked into that shop ahead of you.....Well, lets just say that you wouldn't have anything to write about.

What a great (and great looking) rifle you picked up, congradulations!

Beautiful rifle, do not alter it.

Super nice Sako but be very careful with the clip....they are worth more than the rifle these days.
Jim Lutes and I tried to get Triple K to make 1500 of these clips years ago. I still have their response letter in my files somewhere.
It was VERY short and sweet and a polite way of saying Hell No an X You.
We never even got to how much money.
Better tomorrows,

quote:

Originally posted by Harry:
Super nice Sako but be very careful with the clip....they are worth more than the rifle these days.
Jim Lutes and I tried to get Triple K to make 1500 of these clips years ago. I still have their response letter in my files somewhere.
It was VERY short and sweet and a polite way of saying Hell No an X You.
We never even got to how much money.
Better tomorrows,

And if you do lose your clip, be VERY careful if somone offers you a replacement. There is a seller in Alaska who advertises as having them available, but they are not the real thing.

I bought one of his supposed "genuine Sako .222 clips". It did not fit the magazine port of my rifle correctly. It would not hold or feed more than one round, and that very poorly. The clip was not the correct length internally to fit factory ammo with ANY weight of bullet, and the follower was the wrong shape too.

So, I complained to him and he said that if I would send it back, he would replace it with one he knew was original, from his own gun. I did send it back. The one he then sent me was identical to the first one he sent. It did not fit or function either. One glance at its construction and one could see it was a cheap rip-off by someone...my guess would be someone in China.

Anyay, be careful. The ones I got from Alaska were not the correct height, width, length, or contours. and it (they) cost me over $90.

The .222 clip is too short to use .223 ammo with. I know as I tried when I had to rebarrel mine. You would have to seat the bullet way too deep. I do believe they made some in .223 but the floor plate and clip had to have different dimentions.

Hip

I wonder what that rifle's history is. Who bought it first and why it sat in the safe without use for such a long period of time.

Just lovely!

Beautiful!

Nice find GW!!

Now tell us how she shoots!!