Sako Forester (L579)

BLUEROLL

Well-Known Member
I have a mate who has inherited a Sako Forester (L579) 308 that apparently has hardly been used, but poorly stored, resulting in a pitted barrel. He was wandering whether its worth getting re-barreled, any suggestions from owners or rifle smiths please ?
 
In my experience pitting during storage is less likely to be near the crown so accuracy may not be affected.
 
He says he has tried it and its crap, which is why he is seeking advice about the quality of the action compared to the newer model Sako`s.
Well that's it then I doubt he'd get much change out of £600-700 for a rebarrel in saying that sako actions are good.
 
Good action, but somewhat out of fashion- let's face it, most shooters were either not born or at school when it was produced. Very limited availability of aftermarket parts for it and whether you'd want such add-ons or not, it does limit the desirability of the action.
If he likes the rifle, why not avoid faffing about with a variation and re-barrel? If he has no attachment to it and just wants a serviceable rifle it makes financial sense to buy something else. I'd have it re-barreled, but that's me.
 
Our Sako L579 308 sporter always shot bad, must have just been a bad barrel. Re-barrelled with a Lothar Walther and she is perfect since. The trigger on our rifle must have been tinkered with at some stage, is one of the best I have. The feeding was not great and jammed a lot. I changed her to AICS mags. Overall a waste of time if one is only looking for a reliable rifle, get a T3.
edi
 
Another thought it might be a good idea to let a smith take a look he may have missed something obvious like a bedding issue.
 
I have a mate who has inherited a Sako Forester (L579) 308 that apparently has hardly been used, but poorly stored, resulting in a pitted barrel. He was wandering whether its worth getting re-barreled, any suggestions from owners or rifle smiths please ?

Overall not a very rare action, parts like the bolt guide, extractor, bolt stop and ejector can fail and replacements are not easy to find.

Still a good action but rebarrel costs in the UK are high.
 

This ones returning single hole accuracy

Parts available from several sources if they break or wear out

Revarrel cost is no different to any other threaded actioned rifle
 
I like mine, it’s the one ronin describes. It was a bit of a labour of love however it shoots well and has a lot of soul. If you were to use ronin he now knows all the suppliers and all the foibles of l579.


Several stock options and parts not hard to come by from Finland.

The action itself very solid.

Accuracy is a given, it will shoot better than I can.

Horses for courses though, I have friends who are very happy with their new s20 but I’d much rather have a semi custom, choose the twist and length etc.
 
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I have a SAKO L579 originally it was a 308 , 34 years ago when purchased , its now a 243 on the same action and Trevor Proctor put a McGowan barrel on mine with 1/2 inch unf thread for moderator
 
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