Rifle Opinion -- Sell Sako 6PPC or Re-barrel to 22 ARC

[Tesoro]

IF you would consider bastardizing a never to be be found again hand built ultra accurate rifle made by classic gunsmiths just to change chambering then cut off your d**ck while at it. My last Vixen shot better than than, or equal to, any custom rifle I could have put together for 3x the cost. No offense! sakocollectors.com hint.

 

[Oso]

I love my vintage Sakos. I understand the purest view of keeping it Vintage. However, if it is a rifle chambered in a highly desired cartridge, especially for target or varmint shooting, then after 50-70 years it is likely that the barrel is less than optimal. If the stock is cracked and the barrel has been modified then it is no longer has Collectors value so now maybe $1200 - $1500 rifle with an L461 being more desirable than a L46.

I purchased a beautiful 1956 Vixen L46 (even had the etched bottom metal and magazine). The previous owner decided to convert it to 300BO... WHY?! I had it re-barreled into a 20 Vartarg. If it had not already been modified I would not have changed it. I bought another beautiful Sako in 17Rem, which had a 16.5" barrel. By all appearances the barrel had be cutback and reset several times (3-4) as the throat got torched from high usage. It is now a 6TCU. Yes, I am a Collector but also a pragmatic user as well.

Your Sako is cleared for take-off. The decision you need to make is What kind of rifle do you want your 22ARC to be. What is the intended use of the rife - Is this a bench gun, long range precision, Varmint, or field rifle. What type of stock or chassis would you want to use and what size barrel you need for the type of shooting that you want to do. What type of bottom metal, external magazines or internal magazine. All of these decisions will help shape what type/size of receiver and size of barrel. It is much more difficult to outfit a vintage action with modern accessories...

Based on some of theses answers you will be able to quickly determine whether the Sako action is best suited for this job or whether it is time for a more modern custom action. Also, your budget will help determine/ balance out "What you want" and "What you can have".

 

[jackieschmidt]

I am not much into nostalgia, but I agree with the majority. There is something special about those little Sako Rifles. keep it like it is.

 

[ricco1949]

With diminished collector interest, I'd re-chamber to 22 PPC with a Lilja Vixen contour.

The Lilja will fit without any mods needed to the barrel channel.

I too would stay away from the ARC out of respect to the rifle's pedigree.

 

[CJ6]

As the barrel has already been modified, the collector value is gone. Put a new barrel on in the cartridge of your choice.

 

[Spike A]

I know it’s tough to put a price, but if I sell it it would be with apx 75 -100 brass mixed between ssa and norma, dies , scope rail… any idea of rough value, besides crack in stock is in very good condition

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Best of both worlds...find a mint sako, pull the bbl and put it up. Rebarrel to whatever you wish and shoot the heck out of it. Restore it's collector value by swapping back to the original bbl whenever you choose.
I too, love the old sakos. I got outbid on a mint vixen varmint .222 just the day, by not paying attention at closing time. Wound up going for around $1100 after all fees. Well worth it in its condition..made between 1958-1962

 

[FNSafari]

Speaking about under appreciated vintage rifles, check out the Browning Safari grade rifles made for Browning by FN. I have two, one a 308 Norma Mag the other a 338 Win Mag. Honestly both rifles are tack drivers. They are moderately heavy, pushing 10 lbs with scope and loaded. My 308NM will easily group at about 1" at 100 yds with 220 grain Nosler partition semi-roundnose bullets and RL 19. The 338 is as accurage but harder for me to shoot as accurately off a bench due to recoil. Beautiful rifles.

You want real beauty check out the Medallion and Olympic grades. Just be aware of the Browning salt wood problem from about 1968 into the early 1970s. I'm amazed that in their zeal to get more wood cured due to the demand that they though that the Morton dry by salt would be a good thing to do. What a boner of a decision that cost them lots of $ to replace stocks. Many stocks were not replaced by the owners and they are the problem...they rust the metal. You can pull the barreled action or remove the butt plate and look at the wood screws. Fail safe method is to knock off a sliver of wood and use silver nitrate to test it.

 

[Pyscodog]

When I read the first post, I grit my teeth and cringed about cutting up a Vixen. Then I scrolled down and read where it had issues, cracked stock and threaded barrel and thought its already ruined as a collector anyway, so may as well use it for a donor. I have a Vixen that the previous owner had a Wilson barrel screwed on it. It shoots good but wouldn't have been my choice of barrels. Now its just a nice rifle built on a Sako action. Value is what ever I can get for it if I ever wanted to sell it.