Can anyone tell me what rifle this is?Its chambered in 223 and has nothing stamped on the barrel,just what looks like proofmarks on the action.Thanks

Looks like a Krico,on my monitor..............

Nope...'tis a Sako(the extry images finally loaded for me).........................

A Sako L461. Lovely little rifle. Also known as the Vixen (I think).

Thanks guys.The guy wants 450 for it with the older Redfield scope.Is it worth it? 223 barley fit in the mag but cycle through ok except for the last one,weak spring.Could this be chambered in any other round?Im out of cerrosafe at the moment.

[ 06-29-2003, 23:18: Message edited by: 264winmag ]

Absolutely it's a good deal. I'd buy it in a heartbeat if it's in the condition your pictures make it appear. Why rechamber? The venerable .223 is a fine round. If you don't buy it, let us know. I'm sure someone here is interested...Hell, I'm interested.

DRam,I wasnt thinking about rechambering I'm just not positive its a 223.Just curious if any other round would chamber and cycle but not be a 223.A 222 wouldnt cycle right?

I have a Sako L46 S.N.54xxx that I bought used in 1963. It looks the same as your's.It is a 222 & the clip will only take a 222 length round.

264, If it chambers a 223 but isn`t marked so on the barrel it might be wise to check and make sure it`s not a 222 mag. I believe the old Sakos` were chambered in 222 mag at one time and the 223 will fit in a 222 mag chamber.

264winmag, I posted this just in case you do have a .222mag.

The small Rem's(.222,.223.222mag) all share the same shoulder angle of 23 degrees. Ditto for the base, rim, and case body.

My point: the .223 can be chambered and fired in the .222mag!! Doing so will leave a headspace of .029".

packrat

A Sako of that vintage woould more likely have been a 222 Mag than a 223. The superior cartridge was still the most popular then. However, the factory barrel would have certainly been marked. My guess would be a later 223 rebarrel after 222 Magnum components became scarce.

Your Sako L461 appears to be a fairly early one (in the last photo it looks to have the lever in the trigger guard rather than the plunger-type magazine floor plate release, although it is very hard to tell for certain from the picture). The serial number range puts it in the pre-72 or pre-Garcia era. It has obviusly been restocked, and if there are no markings on the barrel, then it has likely been rebarreled. Other evidence it shows of "gunsmithing" is the scope mount. This mount appears to have been adapted to the Sako action by drilling and tapping the flat surfaces of the dovetails and screwing a one-piece base down on top of the action. Sakos usually use a mount that clamps directly on the factory dovetails and uses no other base or screws. This "smithing" would devalue that action a little, in my opinion, but it is still a very desirable action, and the vintage Redfield scope is probably worth $100 to $150 or more, depending on how well it's been preserved.

If the chamber accepts a .223, then it could be either a .223 or a .222 Magnum. It would be advisable to either do a chamber cast or obtain a .222 Magnum shell to see if it chambers. All of this assumes that the bore measures .224" and that it is not a 6x45 or 6x47 or some other wildcat.