Sako Finbear L61R in .375 H&H

Hotwheels81

Hotwheels81

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I have a 77*** serial Finbear in .375 H&H on a test drive at the moment, beautiful rifle BTW...


Anyway... I just picked it up tonite with some dies and brass as the owner has had very little time to play with it, are there any things to watch for with these rifles? This one looks like it has seen very little use but it's probably packed full of old dried up grease... Any adjustments to be made or known bedding issues I should watch for?

I have a partial box of 270gr flat based Hornady projectiles and IMR 3031, H4350, H4895, H1000, RL-22 on hand so some pet loads would be nice or suggestions for a shopping trip...

Can't wait to get this one to the range :)
 
I have had good results with 3031 and H4895 with 270 gr. loads in my 375, H 4350 should work well with 300 gr. bullets, but I think H 1000 and RL 22 are a bit slow for any bullet weight in the H&H.
 
You have a nice rifle there. H-4350 is a good powder, but you need a can or two of R-15. A Leupold 2.5-8X is a good choice of glass if you intend to go that way. Personally, I think pillar bedding is beneficial with any wood stock, but not to the exclusion of glass bedding if you detect uneven contact between steel and wood. If your arms are on the long side, beware of the front swivel stud cutting your support hand in recoil. Enjoy your new rifle.
 
You will have one and possibly 2 steel cross bolts on the Sako factory stock..... assuming it's been fired (which it was at the factory a long time ago) the recoil lug is likely already engaging the front cross bolt as far as it should. I would just ensure you have about 45 in lbs of torque on both action screws. Some guys do 50 front and 40 rear (or multiple variations on the "front is a little tighter than the rear")... I havent .. but that is because Sako usually installs U shaped shims front and/or rear to ensure that action/stock relationship is reasonably consistent. You could back off the screws several threads and set the action against the recol lug by tapping the butt against something soft a few times then bringing the action screws back up to torque ..front screw first. But shoot it before you start doing any glass bedding please!
 
They are a beautiful rifle, I have one I chambered out to 375 Wby. The best powders for the H&H are RL 15 and Win 760, I've never been able to get enough 4350 in a case to suit my needs..........cases always bulged before I got anywhere near even slight pressure signs.
 
Mine likes about 67 gr. of IMR4064 under most 300 gr. bullets, especially Barnes TSX. It might take a bit of experimentation, but when you find the right load you're in for a treat. I'll dig up some of my load data for you later today.

I've had problems with the stocks wanting to crack in the tang. Good bedding and a second cross bolt between the mag well and the trigger is a good idea. Another tip - I've had plenty of skinned knuckles on my index finger from those swept back bolt handles (I also have an L61R in .338). I had both of mine straightened over at Corlane in Dawson Creek. Huge improvement that took 5 minutes to do. I use the hell out of mine, they're not 'Sunday guns' by any measure.

All in all, they're terrific rifles - light, slender, and point like a pool cue. I'm a huge fan. Best SAKOs ever made, as far as I'm concerned.
 
c-fbmi said:
Poor Boomer, to you he's a westerner........to us he's an easterner...........when in fact he's just another crazy northerner............
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I remember when I first moved to BC and would be going out to Sask to see my folks. People would always refer to it as "going out East". Took a long time to get used to.
 
Yup. Cambridge Bay to Yellowknife = 'going down south'.

Edmonton is somehow 'northern Alberta', despite the fact that Edmonton is south of the geographical center of the Province by at least 150 km.
 
Another tip - I've had plenty of skinned knuckles on my index finger from those swept back bolt handles (I also have an L61R in .338). I had both of mine straightened over at Corlane in Dawson Creek. Huge improvement that took 5 minutes to do.
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I don't have that problem with my 375H&H Sako with 300gr factory loads (nor with my .338W Finnsport) - I would avoid any heating that might be required to straighten the bolt handle as the root of the bolt handle also serves as the "third" safety lug. It is unlikely you will ever need that provision but it was designed that way for a reason.
 
AP said:
You will have one and possibly 2 steel cross bolts on the Sako factory stock..... assuming it's been fired (which it was at the factory a long time ago) the recoil lug is likely already engaging the front cross bolt as far as it should. I would just ensure you have about 45 in lbs of torque on both action screws. Some guys do 50 front and 40 rear (or multiple variations on the "front is a little tighter than the rear")... I havent .. but that is because Sako usually installs U shaped shims front and/or rear to ensure that action/stock relationship is reasonably consistent. You could back off the screws several threads and set the action against the recol lug by tapping the butt against something soft a few times then bringing the action screws back up to torque ..front screw first. But shoot it before you start doing any glass bedding please!
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There aren't any cross bolts or shims in this stock....



All in all, they're terrific rifles - light, slender, and point like a pool cue. I'm a huge fan. Best SAKOs ever made, as far as I'm concerned.
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If that's the case if hate to see what you call fat because this girl is full figured, the forend is almost Mcmillian'esq and would be quite at home on a set of target bags, the palm swell has a pronounced bump on the right side and it has a very pronounced cheek rise to it...


It's a Garcia import, had it out of the stock just now and gave it a good cleaning, trigger breaks very nicely at around 4lb's so I dident mess with it, the forend is almost touching the barrel on the right side and has a slight gap on the left but I'm going to shoot it a bit and see what it does... The barrel is also ported with 4 long slits by the front sight and it has some copper fouling ahead of it but the ports were deburred inside the barrel very meticulously (I examined them closely) so I'm hoping it's coincidence.
 
Hotwheels81 said:
The barrel is also ported with 4 long slits by the front sight and it has some copper fouling ahead of it but the ports were deburred inside the barrel very meticulously (I examined them closely) so I'm hoping it's coincidence.
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Magnaporting a 375 should earn you getting your sack slit and your foot put through it. I know you didn't do it, but what is wrong with some people?
 
This one looks like it has seen very little use but it's probably packed full of old dried up grease... Any adjustments to be made or known bedding issues I should watch for?
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based on that I assumed that this was a factory original Sako. Sako did not magnaport barrels and I do not believe that is a factory Sako stock. Palm swells didnt appear on Sako stocks until fairly late; I have never seen the "dot" on a Sako PG nor the deep PG on your stock. Normally there is the outline of a "bear head" on the bottom of the PG if anything.

(edit to add - that is beautiful wood!)
 
AP said:
based on that I assumed that this was a factory original Sako. Sako did not magnaport barrels and I do not believe that is a factory Sako stock. Palm swells didnt appear on Sako stocks until fairly late; I have never seen the "dot" on a Sako PG nor the deep PG on your stock. Normally there is the outline of a "bear head" on the bottom of the PG if anything.

(edit to add - that is beautiful wood!)
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For the sake of clarity I was "loaned" this rifle, if I like it I will make a purchase from the current owner who knows little about it as buying and selling or trading is his niche as a gun nut.

The current owner and I were discussing the stock and he had also commented that it was quite possibly a non original stock... That does not bother me infact I rather enjoy the fit and the colour and texture of this stock... I'm not looking at it as a collector piece rather as one rifle to replace a 3 barrel TC encore set I have now for hunting everything from coyote to bison...
I figured since just about everybody on the hunting forum's who's opinions I would actually listen to proclaim the .375 H&H as the "one gun" I would see what all the hype is about... It's either this or a Sauer 202 in 30-06.
 
BigUglyMan said:
Magnaporting a 375 should earn you getting your sack slit and your foot put through it. I know you didn't do it, but what is wrong with some people?
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When I was musing over this rifle before I seen the ports I was considering a mercury reducer... I'm not a wimp when it comes to recoil but I don't find it enjoyable to have to put a rifle in a lead sled to work up loads when I have 30-40 to test...

Yesterday was sans sled zeroing my rigby with 400's over 106gr of H1000 (a mild load I will admit) and today I'm regretting it.





 
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