The history of Sako is certainly known to all enthusiasts and the acronym that gives the name to the company in Italian means a repair shop for weapons and equipment of the Civil Guard: the start-up year is 1921 and from there onwards the Finnish nation has supported the greed of the bulky neighbor of the East, perfecting himself in precision weapons and their use. Fortunately, the resumption of a certain normality well after the end of GM II allowed to devote a large part of the company's energy towards sporting weapons with the double intention of competitions and hunting. Technology, materials, treatments must ensure precision and robustness even in extreme conditions together with a class of design and execution well beyond the average: the Sako rifles fully satisfy these needs. As for steels, it is worth remembering how Swedish ones are usually used, derived from the material extracted from the Swedish mines of Kiruna, considered the best in the world.
Around the 50s / 60s, a series of three rifled rifles appeared with a sliding swivel shutter movement with two flaps on the head, to which was added one, limited in time and numbers, with lever movement. Since the time, Sako has chosen to produce actions proportionate to the series of calibers adopted, also giving them a nice fancy name. The refinement of the project, the care of the production and the materials used give their results and the expansion, above all beyond the Atlantic, but equally in Europe, allows for the production of high numbers. The L 46 chamber model the .22 Hornet and the .218 Bee while the later L 461 Vixen was initially proposed for .222 Rem cartridges. and shortly after for the .222 Rem. Mag. Which will be joined by the .223 Rem. the .17 Rem. and the 6 PPC: we have found an example in this last caliber born for competitions and used with great success also in hunting, here with us in particular for roe deer.
The monolithic castle, with a flat bottom for greater stability, has the front ring internally threaded to screw the barrel and under which the integral force discharge prism protrudes; the closed rear bridge shows an elegant and functional two-diameter design which is matched by the profiles of the partially knurled handlebar and rear cap: a characteristic, elegant and anti-reflective note. The two apical elements have dovetail bases at the top, facilitating the assembly of the specific Optilok® attachments, and are joined by rounded sides with a large expulsion window on the right side. From the left side of the bridge protrudes the block with rounded button for the release of the shutter at the end of the stroke. The slit is made at the bottom for the passage of the cartridges from the fixed magazine: there are still living sections guaranteeing adequate rigidity. Two large screws ensure the fixing of the mechanism to the wooden frame. First of all, of the cylinder shutter with two front tenons, the exquisite workmanship in a single block with the handlebar, as in the historic Mauser K98, seems to recall this archetype also the longitudinal prism connected to the cylinder by a median elastic ring, but the function here it is limited to that guide in sliding while the extractor does without the powerful nail with the long plate of the German progenitor relying on a simple hook on a prism base embedded at 10 o'clock in the bolt head, pushed by a piston with internal spring: the positioning does not interfere with the resistant section of the contiguous fin while the opposite one is cut longitudinally for the passage of the fixed ejector, obtained from the shutter stop block and adjusted by a feather spring. Finally, the lowered face supports the cartridge bottom and in the center you can observe the clear firing pin hole. Under the cap protrudes a foil with a red dot as a warning of armed mechanics while on the right side of the stock there is the striped button of the two-position safety: here too a red signal indicates the possibility of operating the trigger.
Stock, fixed magazine, trigger and sights
The specialised farming model De Luxe under examination shows a beautiful walnut stock with very compact vases, worked in favor of vein and with substantial sections without ever becoming heavy. The priming of the base was almost an obligation at the time: fortunately here it is not too mortifying due to the color and grain of the wood. You can see classic American-style lines with raised cheek butt and Montecarlo stop, arched and long pistol to fix the hand of a boy like that of a lumberjack, guard carried in lighter wood with a recessed profile of the fox's head, in analogy chromatic with the tip of the shaft: this boasts a tapered prismatic section with rounded edges, consequential to the barrel in which the fixed cartridge magazine is inserted, made of sturdy boxed sheet metal within which the elevating metal sole slides, pushed by the connected W spring to the pivoting lid. This presents the front hinge concealed in the base, a convexity and a bottom polishing carried out with accuracy and the opening button placed on the outside, in front of the trigger guard; in addition there is still the stylized profile of a fox to implement the aesthetics, while the technique still sees the strap attachment pegs and the elegant scottish checkering done manually. The direct trigger, with adjustable weight only by disassembling the package, uses a trigger with a grooved finger support surface: release around 1 kg without pre-stroke and with clear and well noticeable detachment. The fixed sights are provided, but removed in the specimen in our hands where a reliable Meopta Artemis 2000 7 × 50 with fine reticle was mounted: perhaps not ideal for very narrow long-range shot patterns, but excellent for roe deer where you often shoot in sizes that are not excessive, but in conditions of visibility and very limited execution times. So this optic gives its best with a wide field of view, high brightness, no parallax, quick targeting of the game. The rediscovery of these talents can make us say that there is a future in our past.
La 6 PPC USA cartridge is a little robot seen with the eyes of those who handle at least a .300 Win. Mag., But properly loaded, it has a trajectory voltage that is broadly sufficient for the above needs, it allows anyone an accurate aim without being there with the fear of recoil, almost non-existent, and when the right ball with weight around 70 - 85 gr arrives to destiny it completely surrenders its energy demonstrating a valid stopping power without causing damage. Employ these pairings a little old fashioned of weapons, cartridges and optics is giving hunters full of experience some satisfactions that, turning in the automotive field, we could compare to those of a 60s English spider: whoever has driven it will be aware of what we have in mind.
Data Sheet
Manufacturer: Sako Oy - Tikka, Sakonkuta 2, FIN-11100 Riihimäki, Finland - [email protected] - www.sako.fi
Distributor: a company of the Beretta group that handles its distribution in Italy
Model: L 461 Vixen
Type: ordinary repetition sliding swivel bolt-action rifle
Castle: front ring and rear closed bridge
Shutter: with two flaps on the head with closure in the castle
canna: in special rotary hammered steel - conical cylinder profile 560 mm long - floating mounted
Tank: fixed by 3 cartridges in deep drawn steel sheet, silicon spring and lifting sole in light alloy - steel pivoting lid
Materials: all the metal parts of the weapon are in milled steel - some in sheared sheet metal
Stocking: in walnut chosen with scottish manual checkering
Triggering device: direct with single trigger
Extractor: claw and spring inserted in the shutter body
Ejector: foil fixed in the castle
Safety: a button located on the right side of the castle - locks trigger, percussion and shutter
Look: supply the open metal ones removed from the specimen in view - bases obtained on the ring and bridge for specific Optilock® attachments
Finishes: burnishing of the metal parts - glossy for the bolt body - stock with half glossy oil paint
Weight :: About 2.950 grams without optics