twist of sako .223

[Hal]

Does anyone happen to know what twist the Sako 461 in .223 had ?
Some of the .222s and .222 mags had a 1-16 .

Hal

 

[SmokinJoe]

Since nobody has replied, I will take a crack at helping you. It is definitely at least 1-14 twist and probably 1-12. Do you already have the rifle? If so, you can check it with a cleaning rod using a good fitting patch, then measure how far the rod moves for a complete rotation. There are some good Sako aficinados on saubier.com, so you might inquire there, too. Good luck & let us know what you find.

 

[JohnHenry]

The 46th. edition of the Lyman Reloading Handbook says Sako used a 1 in 12" twist for 223 and 222mag. It was my understanding that some of the early L46s in 222 had a 1 in 16" twist.

 

[rhbrink]

I bought a L461 barreled action back in the early 70's and I think that the .223 had a 12" twist, I bought the .222 Mag with a 14" twist.

 

[Hal]

Thanks guys , I was bidding on a
sako .223 barrel and was wonder what twist they were.

Hal

 

[flatlander]

I bought a new Sako Vixen 223 in 1971. The dealer who ordered it in for me had several hundred loaded rounds of LC68 5.56 FMJ that someone had sold to him, and I wound up buying 300-400rds of that ammo from him for use in my little Sako - as much to get the empty brass as for any other reason. Those FMJBT bullets weighed 55grs, and I shot a good number of prairie dogs with them when I'd run out of my handloads with HP or SP bullets. Sometimes they'd go right through the little dogs, other times, they'd evidently tumble and blow the dogs to pieces. Never had any tumbling or lack of accuracy with my handloads using 55gr flatbase soft point bullets, so I got curious and measured the twist rate with a snug fitting patch on a Dewey rod with ball bearing rotating handle. Turned out to be 1-12tw...

 

[Rick in Oregon]

flatlander, Are you aware that this post is 15 years old?
I'm pretty sure Hal has figured out his twist rate by now.

 

[flatlander]

Jeez - the date slipped right past me. Must've wanted to talk to someone pretty bad....lol

 

[17VLD]

Jeez - the date slipped right past me. Must've wanted to talk to someone pretty bad....lol

Don't feel too bad, Hal is still here and anything Sako is good info in my book.

Matt