My very first Sako rifle was a Vixen in 223 that I had a local ffl order in for me back in 1971 when I was 20yrs old, and had decided that shooting PDs with my M70 in 243 was overkill. It was never the most accurate rifle I owned, but I loved it then, and still love it.
I'd never owned a 222 until last Thanksgiving, when I found a custom stocked Sako A1 in 222 online and managed to snag it before anyone else found it. Then an old friend of mine & his son started making trips to Europe to buy used rifles to import. They particularly enjoyed going to Finland, and have imported quite a number of used Sako rifles. I'd always thought about finding a used Sako Vixen to re-barrel, so when I walked into their shop not long ago, after a rather large number of Sako rifles had arrived, I found myself looking a a nice Vixen and a very nice Riihimaki Deluxe both in 222. I couldn't decide between the two, so brought both of them home. Just a couple of months later, I saw an A1 Deluxe that they'd listed on GB. No one had placed a bid on it the day before the auction ended, and I came so close to bidding the starting amount, but decided I didn't really need another 222...until the auction ended without anyone bidding on the rifle. I mentioned it to the son, and he wound up bringing that Deluxe back into his shop for me to look at. That's all it took, and so now there are four Sako 222s here, and I'm very fond of each & every one of them...but since they all shoot very well, I'm still without a Sako to re-barrel. Sooner or later, they'll get in another Vixen with a broken stock or something and will list just the action for sale, and my addiction will kick in...again.
From the left - the Sako Vixen 223 that started it all, custom stocked A1, Vixen, Riihimaki Deluxe, A1 Deluxe, and just for fun, a single shot A in 6PPC. I had put a Weaver K6 on that 223 when I bought it, and had one spare when I got the custom stocked A1. Decided to stick with the K6, and bought three more of them I found on eBay for the other 222s.
