SAKO .222 Remington

Arlon

Member
Beautiful SAKO. That's kind of a dream rifle to me. I've lusted over a few of them.
Had a 788 in .222 that I traded off, ended up finding a Remington 722 in .222, have a 1968 vintage Ruger #1 in .222 and a couple of .222 barrels for the Contender. The old Ruger is the prettiest, the 722 the best shooter but none of them are even in the same league with that SAKO!
I made this comment a little over a year ago. Well, today the dream is fulfilled. A nice heavy barrel Vixen L461 in .222 followed me home from a local gun show. Decent price, beautiful condition and made in 1965. Now to see if it likes any of the cast loads I've come up with for the other .222s. Need a little break in the weather to get a chance to play with it. (-:}
 

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
What Ben said, for sure.

I had all-too-brief possession of a SAKO Vixen (I think) in 223 about 30 years ago. I rescued it from a pawn shop for very reasonable pricing when I still had my FFL. It was 'like new' condition, and just too darn nice to drag all over the desert. I had Rems and Rugers for that duty. One of my good customers was a collector/accumulator of all things SAKO, so I told him about it and it was Gonzo Moretti most ricky-tick.

ETA--It seems the Tikka lists their T3x as being made in 222 Rem. I am SERIOUSLY enamored with the recent T3x that joined the party at my house in 243; I doubt I will get the screamin' deal on one of those that was had on the 243. I never should have looked it up online.
 
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Mowgli Terry

Active Member
I got my late 70's vintage 700 Varmint Special out for a cleaning. The rifle still sports the vintage Unertl 10x scope, This combo did very well groundhog hunting in the day. I have had this rifle over thirty years. I have zero interest in rechambering this rifle to anything. That is, unless somebody can describe the degrees of dead. This gun shoots as well as the day it was made after many rounds. Nobody has spoken of long barrel life.

Added: My 222 SAKO L461 was the later Garcia imported gun. It was a very good rifle but not to my taste. Those older guns like OP's put those later rifles to shame.
 
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Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
I've been impressed with SAKO. They always had good quality at acceptable prices. I wish Beretta holdings hadn't acquired them, nothing against Beretta, they do fine work, but I understand the need to survive in a tough world market.
One of the many mistakes I've made in life (and that's a long list) was not grabbing a few SAKO action back in the 1980's.
They were reasonably priced and good quality new actions. I didn't have a lot of money and there was always something slightly higher on my "I want it list".
 

Mowgli Terry

Active Member
How about IMR 4198 and a 50 grain bullet in a neck sized bullet seated to the rifling. Also, with a 250 gr. point blank zero. Will work very well on varmints. I think that was the intended purpose originally.
 
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Jeff H

NW Ohio
...............I didn't have a lot of money and there was always something slightly higher on my "I want it list".

I don't think I could even count the guns I've missed for this very reason. If I'd gotten a SAKO back when they were more affordable, I probably wouldn't have needed all the others in between.
 

Mowgli Terry

Active Member
There was a long gone discount store here in town that had a rack full of SAKO Forrester's at very attractive prices. Slightly later I working in Louisville, Ky. There were plenty of used SAKO there. I picked up a nice 308 and the 222 from places that had extensive stocks of secondhand guns. The deal on the 222 Vixen included a set if 310 dies. That got me interested in reloading. The rest is history more of less.
 
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Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
Back before internet days, you could order SAKO actions from suppliers listed in Shotgun News.
I was all set to buy a L579 medium action. Had the FFL lined up, had the order form filled out (you know, like a sheet of paper you put in an envelope,with STAMPS and mailed along with a money order :D). Then along came a brand new Remington 700 that was heavily discounted for some reason I don't recall. I wanted the SAKO but the Remington was cheaper by a huge margin. There was no real choice. I didn't have much money, it was going to be the Remington.
The Remington eventually went in a trade and was replaced by a stainless Winchester model 70 with the classic (pre-64) type action and a synthetic stock.
Everytime I handled a SAKO or saw someone with a SAKO, I knew I had missed an opportunity.
Such is life.
 
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