Just couldn't do it

[gerry]

Sell my Sako that is, just can't do it. No matter how much I try I can't move it out the door, I have to much history with it. When I think of this gun the memories come back like my first Mountain Goat, first Caribou, first Stone Sheep and a whole lot of other animals. This gun started out as a 308 Norma rechambered from a 300 WM after a few years I got a second bolt for it and had my 35 Whelen made. The gun didn't feed as well as it should have as a Whelen, I probably should have kept it a magnum cartridge. With my new Whelen coming along I was going to move it out but just couldn't do it, so since I have the original bolt it's destined to become a 7mm RM instead. The Sako L 691 action holds 4 magnum rounds and feeds 7mm RM rounds very well, a 160 gr AccuBond at 3000 fps or a 175 gr Partition at 2900 fps covers a lot of different hunting situations and won't kick badly at all. Hopefully there will be some other firsts with it like my first Elk over in DrMike's neck of the woods in the next couple of years. This will likely have to wait a bit since there are other projects on the go and unfortunately I'm going to have to find a new job since I just can't continue to work for my present employer, I'll go nuts if I don't do something. So my 264 WM is the one that's going out the door, I'm keeping the McMillan Edge for the Whelen and selling it wearing the Remington SPS stock, it's been a good gun but I would like to sell it before the barrel burns out, it has plenty of life left in it right now.

So I will have:
260 Remington - Savage heavy barrel.
7mm Rem Mag - the all around gun
303 British - youth right hand/spare rifle
35 Whelen - mountain gun
375 Ruger - the bear stopper

Stay tuned for a new version of this gun hopefully in the fall or winter time.

 

[Guy Miner]

I'm a big fan of the 7mm Rem mag. If that's the decision you make - it should work out just fine.

Selling a Sako? Hmmm, that's something not done lightly either. Seems like a good decision to me.

 

[SJB358]

Gerry, I think that is a great plan. I am with Guy, selling Sako's is always tough.

On another note, you are dead right, a 7RM is about as versatile as it gets to be honest. I have both a M70 7RM and M70 7WSM. Both do the same work, but the 7RM has alot of good history with me. Took my moose, caribou, deer, black bear.. It was my first rifle and I have a new B&C Medalist sitting at home for it. Pretty excited about it. Might even get some new bottom metal for it as well. The 160 and 175's really are something out of them. Good ballistics and alot of penetration with them too.

I am a little saddened by you letting your 264WM go, but in all reality, the 7 does everything better for the most part. Good luck buddy!

 

[gerry]

I'm a bit saddened by letting the 264 WM go but I can't keep them all. With a 260 all ready the 7mm RM makes more sense. I never thought it would be so hard to part with something like a gun but know I would always regret selling a gun that I had so much history with. This gun has been together with me in a lot of different places and seen many amazing things.

 

[SJB358]

I'm a bit saddened by letting the 264 WM go but I can't keep them all. With a 260 all ready the 7mm RM makes more sense. I never thought it would be so hard to part with something like a gun but know I would always regret selling a gun that I had so much history with. This gun has been together with me in a lot of different places and seen many amazing things.

Makes sense to me!

 

[Oldtrader3]

Like Scotty, my first serious bigger game rifle was a (Husqvarna 3000) 7mm RM (in 1963). I shot out the barrel in 10 years and had a custom Mark X made up which I still use today. In fact, I sold my .280 Rem and settled on this as my 7mm Mountain Rifle. I have not killed a lot of deer with this rifle, maybe 12 or so (who knows?), but it has delivered the goods (DRT) over the years with 160 gr Partitions.

I also have a Sako Model 85 in .338 Federal. They are very nice rifles, accurate, well made and I like mine quite a bit. It sounds as though most of your issues are feeding related and rebarrelling it back into a 7mm magnum should give the rifle a new lease on life and many further years of good use and accuracy.

 

[6mm Remington]

Gerry those Sako's are pretty darn nice rifles. It would be extremely tough to give one of those up.
David

 

[FOTIS]

I love the 264 but it can not hold a candle to the 7mm mag with the heavies.
This is the reason that it almost went the way of the dodo bird.

 

[Desert Fox]

I only owned 2 and sold both. Talking about brain freeze. I have the AV in 300 Win Mag and a beautiful Forster in 243.

 

[DrMike]

Good choice, Gerry, at least in my estimate. The 7RM is a superb round that will not let you down. You've got a pretty good stable of cartridges there.

 

[joelkdouglas]

Nice touch on the bolt, having a different colored bolt body vs knob. Makes it unique for a viewer.

 

[gerry]

Like Scotty, my first serious bigger game rifle was a (Husqvarna 3000) 7mm RM (in 1963). I shot out the barrel in 10 years and had a custom Mark X made up which I still use today. In fact, I sold my .280 Rem and settled on this as my 7mm Mountain Rifle. I have not killed a lot of deer with this rifle, maybe 12 or so (who knows?), but it has delivered the goods (DRT) over the years with 160 gr Partitions.

I also have a Sako Model 85 in .338 Federal. They are very nice rifles, accurate, well made and I like mine quite a bit. It sounds as though most of your issues are feeding related and rebarrelling it back into a 7mm magnum should give the rifle a new lease on life and many further years of good use and accuracy.

It was a mistake on my part to go away from a magnum chambering in this gun so now that mistake will be rectified. My brother has a 7 mm RM as well in a Sako TRG-S (AKA model 995) that is another good reason to have the same chambering. The Sako is is a high quality firearm that would be very expensive for me to replace today with something similar. Never thought it would be so hard to give up a possesion of mine but we have been together since 1996.

Joel, I had to go back to the picture to see what you were talking about, what you are seeing is the Teflon coating has worn off the knob, it isn't very tough :lol:

Thanks guys for letting me talk about this and slowly figure out what I want in a gun.

 

[noslerfan]

After a few years my rifles become part of the family. Be like getting rid of a kid. Hard to improve upon a Sako, that why the prices stay up there on a Sako. You have all the bases covered with your rifles.

 

[ScreaminEagle]

Good choice. It's not worth anything anyways. The bolt is on the wrong side of the gun! Probably a factory screw up :twisted: