Could anyone tell me who makes lakelander rifles and do they still exist? I think it may be Konsberg. Are they swedish or norwegian rifle makers? Also where could I find more information about these rifles? Many thanks before hand for anyone that can help me.
Tread

Hi tread.

The history of the Lakelander rifle is a long one and my English would get a overload or possible meltdown if I have to tell the whole story I�ll try a "light" version.

It all started in Finland i the seventies and whent on to Sweden afer a while. Here in Sweden the rifle had some moidifications and was called the "Varberger" The plant was located in a small town in southern Swe. named Varberg.

The Varberger company whent bankrupt and the buissnies was sold to another small willage, this time way up north, Kalix. It didn�t take the new owners long to go thru a few reconstructions of the buissnies and finally they whent bankrupt to. After that the buissnies was sold again but the new owners failed to get things rolling and to my knowlenge the Varberger company does not exist in any form or with another name any more.

During the time Varberger rifles was made in Varberg abiut ten years ago the Norwegian gun company Kongsberg started to make rifles looking exactly like the Varberger/Lakelander and claimed that they had bougth the patent and so on. Varberger whent to court with the matter but I dont know the outcome.

Kongsberg still makes the rilfle that looks quite similar to the Varberger rifle. The number of locking lugs have been cut down thru the years. The lakelander model had 9 and the Varberger 6. The Kongsberg rifle now have 3 lugs.

I hope I have sorted things out a bit in this "mess".

Reg.

Stefan.

Tread,

My stalking partner had two lefthanded Lakelanders and had nothing but trouble with them. The first a .243 suddenly lost accuracy after 3 or 4 years for no accountable reason. He took it to 2 different gunsmiths neither of which could explain the problem. He also had problems with an action screw fouling the bolt. And the stock cracked across the pistol grip!

The second he bought (used) was no better in that there were repeated problems with the safetly leading to two ND's. He got rid after the second and went to a Tika and has never looked back.

I am preety sure Swarovski UK used to import these to the UK, but stopped after some bad press about them in Stalking Magazine; in fact I believe they stopped there back page advert as a result of what they considered unfair coverage of the subject if I remember correctly. I think the lakelanders selling point was a unique bedding plate in the forearm which was supposed to reduce recoil. How i don't know, but it looked very over engineered to me. If you have a chance of one, I think the spare parts are now pretty hard to come by .

However another friend bought a Varberger from Litts and has been very pleased with it.

Regards,

Pete

[ 01-13-2003, 17:03: Message edited by: Pete E ]

Many thanks Pete and Stephan. I was curious as I bought one 10 years ago 30.06 had no problem bar the trigger guard scew but sorted that and it is very accurate. However it seems to be a kongsberg with the 3 lugs of which I still cannot find anything on the net about. Any ideas as to where to look? thanks
Tread

Tread,

I recall seeing some Lakelanders on a site somewhere, and there was certainly a bigger range than I ever saw in the UK. I also remember about 12 months or so after they stopped importing them to the UK reading an article in an American shooting magazine inferring they were about to be launched on the American market...what ever happened I don't know...

I will ask my friend how many lugs he had on his..but I am fairly sure it was a Kongesberg rifle. I remember the bolt had a very short throw and was silky smooth to operate. I also remember that it had a very nice piece of wood on it with quite a high flat topped cheek piece and the whole rifle was fairly heavy but handled well; it "felt" like a quality item.
Looking back, I wonder if the problems my friend had with the first rifle, including the split stock, might not have been down to the "unique" bedding system reassembled incorrectly??; perhaps we (including the gunsmiths) were not aware of the correct way to assemble it??

What was your problem with the trigger guard screw? Fouling the bolt?

I have just learnt that a friend of a friend was involved in the original import of these rifles to the UK; if you like I can see if I can get his contact details....

Regards,

Peter

The Kongsberg company also went bankrupt some years ago , but another Norwegian company bought the "Lakelander" bussiness.. it was called BANDAK and was located in Lunde in Telemark. Don't know if they still makes the rifle. Bandak was and is a production company and what happend with the "Lakelander" after or during the Bandak periode I don't know (Bandak web page is WWW.Bandak.no)

S

The Kongsberg 393 is still being made and sold in Norway, I think they are assembled at Kongsberg (a Norwegian town, home of the "national" weapon factory in the old days and still producing weapons for the military, its where the Norwegian Krags were made).

I had a Kongsberg 393 (Lakelander) in 6,5x55 for many years. The inletting of the stock was not perfect, so I also had incidents with the front bolt intruding in the action and the bolt release getting stuck, bedding and a little shim under the bolt took care of all the problems.

The rifle has a very slick action, I now use a Blaser R93 but I think I could easily keep up the same rate of fire with the 393, 60 degree bolt lift and glass-smooth action. The rifle is inherently very accurate, even though barrels can be a little rough. Norwegian benscresters has been known to use the single-shot 393 action to build bench rest rifles that can compete well with the specialized bench rest actions. The action is very stiff, solid and concentric, being "bench rest" quality from the factory so you never have to "blueprint" the action to make the rifle shoot. The trigger of the standard modell is fully adjustable and the best trigger I have used.

My rifle was, after som theeting problems, 100% reliable and extremely accurate. I sold it because I thought it was a little heavy for a 6,5 (3.4kg) and because I never got really comfortable with estethics of the stock, a high roll-over monte carlo, but they come with a straight classic stock too.

Available calibers are standard .30-06 class from .243 win to 9,3x62, includin .270 win, 7x64, .308 win etc. The magnum action takes short belted magnums, I think they chamber 7RM, .300 win, .338 win and .358 Norma Mag. Also they have a .22-250 on a short stroke action.

Actions are drilled and tapped for bases, but have integral weaver mount bases so you can just put on leupold QRW rings.

If you like the stocking and the weight is right for your use and the caliber you want I think these rifles are excellent, much better than a Tikka, Sako or not to mention the us varieties.
Tron

Thanks pete and trb. My problem was the bolt but a little alteration to the screw sorted that out.It is nice to know other people appereciate them as well. Saw them first at the 1st Birmingham G un fair many years ago and coverted it then! The monte carlo stock suits my build and how I hold my rifle. I am pleased to find out so much about them. It was a shot in the dark when I bought it due to all the bad press, Litt's was getting rid of their stock at a considerably reduced price. Again many thanks.

Tread,

Maybe you could clear up the business with bedding plate in the fore end...I recall there was almost a hook on the bottom of the action and a corrisponding plate bedded in the wood; it was quite unlike most rifles. Could you describe it further and maybe give your opinions of it....

Regards

Pete

I recommend you bed the action, with the recoil plate (this action has a recoil recess insted of a recoil lug, there is a steel plate fastened in the stock with a "bulge" on it that fits inti the recess) in place, so that the shrinking/swelling of the wood does not alter bolt tension. There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of these rifles in use in Norway and I only hear that they are very reliable and accurate. Tron

I will give it a try pete, and if possible take a picture with a digital camera (need to borrow it though) and will post it on the forum along with a high seat one.
regards tread