Sako Riihiaki 17 Javilena

[rockhound78]

found one at the local gun store. Supposedly re-barreled but never shot, just stuck in a closet. Outside of barrel is pitted, but inside is perfect.
Can you tell me about this gun? Never had a Sako before. Will have to bone up on the 17 Javilena(sp). Still have some bullets (and dies and brass) left over from my 17 Rem. days 40 years ago. No dies with the gun, unfortunately

 

[Oso]

Get some CorrosionX to help clean and stop any further rust/pitting to the exterior of the barrel. I see your comment about the bore being perfect. Have you run some patches through to see if there is rust on them? As you know from your 17 Remington, the .17 cal is a small bullet and older barrels had issues with quickly getting fouled leading to a rapid decline in accuracy. This was result of how shallow the rifling was cut. It was common enough that some required cleaning after every 20 shots.

The Sako "Riihimaki" is actually a Sako L46 and most likely was originally chambered in a .222 Remington. Riihimaki is actually the name of city in Finland where these rifles were manufactured. See the link at the bottom that directs you to the Sako Collectors Club for determining manufacturing date of your rifle. The model L46 rifles were manufactured from 1949-1963 and are easily identified by its petite removable metal magazine. In 1964 the model L46 was replaced by the L461, which featured an internal magazine with a hinged floor plate. I believe that there were only two factory cartridge offerings for the L46 Riihimaki, .222 Remington and the .222 Remington Magnum (rare).

The Javelina is a neat little cartridge that was formed from a .222 Rem case, with the shoulder pushed back (shorter case then a 222 Rem). Unfortunately, your .17 Remington Die will be too long to help. You will need to track down dies. If you haven't already done so then you might also post on Saubier.com for help finding a set of Javelina dies.

Aside from the barrel condition, the next most important thing that you need to know is that the cute little L46 magazines are almost impossible to replace since they haven't been manufactured in +50 years. You will find both vintage factory magazines (caliber engraved into bottom plate of magazine) and there are vintage aftermarket magazine (no markings on floor plate of magazine). On EBay the vintage magazines sell for +$250 in descent shape. You don't want to loose it! I bought a crappy rifle just to gain a spare magazine.

It has been my experience that there can be minor variations in the magazine that may impact how well a magazine fits a specific rifle. The wall thickness can vary with the no-name aftermarket magazines being constructed out of thicker sheet metal and maybe some variations on the spot welding along the rear spine. No guarantee to the fit when marrying up your rifle with some random magazine that you bought off the internet... ask me how I know.

Sako L46: Date of Manufacture by Serial Number

 

[rockhound78]

"Thanks for the info.

 

[rickiesrevenge]

Awesome! I've been slowly gathering stuff to make a 17 javelina for a while. I have most of it except a barrel now.

 

[Zero333]

If you can't find load data for this cartridge, I can run Quickload reloading program for you as long as I know what bullets and what COAL you'll be loading.

Also, Quickload is more accurate if you know the actual bullet length and case H2O capacity, otherwise I'd have to go with the default numbers for the bullets / case / cartridge.

PM me anytime.