It would behove you to peruse the forum section on Sako long actions, as there are many threads & pictures to help you discover the variations & decide which ones are more appealing to you. During that time many subtle changes & nuances appeared, as Stone has touched on. The L61R, the AIII, & the AV were made over a production span of over 30 years. The rifle you are talking about is available about any time you care to buy one. Stonecreek has given some sage advice! I might add "don't get in a hurry". It will be your rifle and you are the only person who needs to be pleased by it. Something like having one of the rare floorplate engravings might make it of collector interest, but otherwise it isn't appropriate to think of Sakos of that caliber as collectible.īottom line: Choose the one you personally like best. Some people take a special interest in early rifles with barrels marked "Bofors Steel", but that mark alone doesn't make it a "collectible". 270, while one of the finest medium-game hunting rifles you can own, is relatively common and is not, at least currently, a "collectible".
And some had what is commonly called the "Tikka" trigger instead of the earlier Sako #4 trigger.Īny of them can have better (fancier) or worse (plainer) wood figure, with more better wood showing up in later guns - but that varies tremendously with the individual gunstock.Ī Sako chambered in. Some also had a slightly shorter barrel of about 22 7/8". The late A-V's had a slightly different stock configuration with a rounded forearm and a palm swell. Some very early Deluxe L61R's had a front sight, while later L61R, A-III, and A-V did not. The early (prior to about 1969) L61R's had a more slender stock and barrel, which is favored by some shooters, and had 24.4" barrels. The late L61R and the A-III and early A-V were essentially identical, and had 24.4" barrels. It depends on which L61R and which A-V you're looking at.