Hello all, some of you have had doubts about my posting and asking questions and what my motivation was or is? I'm real.
I wanted to inform others who own these rifles and to see if anyone else has had such a mishap. I have asked Saeed to post more pictures and will be sending him more for you all to see. Mr. John Charlie Noak has posted some of the already and I just sent him 5 more for you to see. (THANKS JOHN)I would also like to thank those that had kind words for me.
The story behind the explosion is: I ordered it back in Jan04 and recived it in Sept04. I shot 18 rounds through it,the first 9 were 165gr Nosler Balistic tips with 4831, and i found the weapon to be not to Sako or my standars with 2 inch 3 shot groups. I then loaded it with 180gr
Balistic tips also with 4831 66.5 grs Max is 67.5.
Still no tight groups. Thinking the scope was bad (cause I doped it while i was mounting it) I sent it back to Leupold, when it came back it took the gun to the range That was the 13th of Oct. The first shot I fired through it it exploded, it was the 19th round.
I was lucky. I broke 5 bones in my left hand and have several laseration, but all my fingers are still there. It will take some time to heal but I will.
Like I told John just think if this were to have happened while I was hunting or letting my son shoot it. Think about it what if it were your son you bought it for.
It will be hard for me to squeez the trigger again very hard. I hope that this info. gets out to all that own one of these guns. An yes I still would like to speak to others that have had this mishap.

I, for one, am glad you posted it. Hope you heal well, and I hope you'll be able to get rid of that flinch.... Dutch.

Man, that's rough. Good luck there and I hope everything heals up well and you get back to shooting again soon.



I can't imagine the flinch that you're going to have to get over though.



EDIT: Dutch types faster than me.

Hey Mark,
I'll post the other pictures when I get home this evening. I'll give you a call about 8:00 pm your time.
JCN

Mark

What has Sako had to say?

Shawn

Guys, this is some info after speaking to Beretta. Posted it where I could, we really need to get the word around. Mark, I appreciate your input and hope we don't learn of others with exploding barrels.



An update with a little info. I contacted Beretta this morning and spoke to a live human for about 20 seconds, and then he transferred me to the 'recall line' There was a voice message stating that any SAKO stainless rifle received by the customer after February,2004 was subject to the recall. The recording then requested that you leave them your serial numbers for any guns that you owned and that they would contact you telling you how to proceed.

Just an update, I thought all might want to know.



P.S. Just got off the phone with Cheryl from Beretta.(1:17 pm EST) She stated that none of my guns were on the recall list. They had tracked the problem down to a 'specific batch of raw material used in the barrels' on the guns that had problems. She stated that there were quite a few, but not a large number, ??? of guns with this problem. I spoke to JB at Accuflite which is where 3 of the 4 stainless guns I purchased were from. He told me that Beretta had called in September requesting the serial numbers of all of his recent SAKO deliveries, but without telling them why. This might support your position MarknLinda that they are handling this recall in a 'hush-hush' manner. JB at Accuflite was perturbed that they as a Dealer ( a large SAKO dealer) were not/had not been better informed by SAKO on this issue.

Shawn,
They want me to send them the gun back for there inspection.
Mark

IM SOOOO SORRY! that happened to my uncle only with a weatherby. he had shot it about 80 times. and offered me to shoot it (it was a accumark in a 7mm weatherby mag i think, i cant remember i was 9 years old) my dad told me not to shoot it. it would hurt if i did shoot it. anyways he looked through the scope and when he fired the bolt came flying back and broke his cheek bone crushing his teeth and his trigger finger was torn off in the process. he got his finger sewn back on and now im 15 years old and i wont touch a weatherby. good luck on ur next big game animal if u can manage to pull the trigger and may it be a record.

Mark:

please read my initial post on this topic. If you have not contacted an attorney, then do so. Well, I am not telling you what to do; rather I will tell you like I would handle it:

1. Don't touch the pieces of the rifle together.
2. Don't handle them
3. don't let others handle them.
4. do not modify the pieces in any way.
5. do not talk about the incident (including on BBS's such as this one) and do not show the pieces or pictures of th epieces to others.
6. do not let the pieces out of your custody
7. find an attorney that deals in firearms liability cases. If you do not know one, email me (for all of the clowns in the poeanut gallery, no, I am not a lawyer).
8. if Sako or any of their representatives contacts you before you have retained an attorney, politely and professionally doccument all of their statements and requests. THen very poilitely tell them you can not do anything without further advice from your counsel. If they contact you after you have retained an attorney, then refer them to your counsel.
9. When you find a lawyer you feel comfortable with, follow their direction. If they tell you it is ok to discuss this in public or post pictures, only then should you do it.

That is exactly how I would handle it.

I will restate what I said in my original post , I sure do hate it happened to you and I hope you heal quickly and have a complete recovery

Mark,
I am sorry this happened to you and I am glad you brought it out in the open, no matter what the previous poster has said. You may well be saving lives by telling your story. I am going to send you an email. Don't know where you are in Washington, I am up in Wenatchee. Well I guess "up" is relative. If you are in Okanogan, I am down in Wenatchee.

I'm sorry for coming across like I was advising to hide the problem. A statement has been made to the public now. however, from a legal perspective, he does not need to discuss it again unless an attorney advises him it is OK to do so. I am glad the word is getting out, especially given the way it looks like Sako is trying to do this under the table instead of having a very public recall. I just can't beleive this. If they were still Finnish, I doubt very seriously this would be happening in this manner. Even the way Sako is handling this is bordering on criminal, and at the very least has strong civil implications.

Again, I am not suggesting anything be hidden. Quite to the contrary, I am trying to put this other Mark in the best postion civilly and legally. The only way he can have protection is to keep quiet until speaking to a competent attorney with experieince in this field. And if there is time to post here and send pictures to people, there is time to get on the phone and find an attorney.

It may not be the way I, or any of us here, think it "should" be where we have to keep our mouths closed. But what we think means nothing in court. Again, I am not an attorney, but I do have enough experience with product liability to know the proper protocol. ALl I am doing is advising Mark on what my professional experience has shown to be the best way for him to procede.

And if he chooses not to follow this up with legal action, that is 100% his decision. But it is one of those htings where once you have screwed somehting up, it can't be unscrewed and you will be asking yourself "why di I say that?!?" Only an attorney can tell him when he can talk and what he can say

Here are a few more pictures:

It's really disturbing, especially since it's a Sako. I own several older ones and have been delighted with them, considering them very strong and well made firearms. I guess you never can tell. You certainly don't hear of this often. I suppose the manufacturer doesn't matter. They're all capable of turning out a lemon on occasion. Sorry it happened to you and hope you get adequate compensaion for the mishap. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

i thought of somthing to give u a lil better feeling when teh time come for u to pull the trigger again. invest in a savage rifle. they put more work into a barrel than any other rifle thats mass produced very strong. im 15 and will be getting one thursday, they r very nice.