Resale value of rifle thats missing its bolt?

diananike

diananike

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Its really the stuff of nightmares.
Anyone who has ever stored their rifle with the bolt removed for safety has likely gone shooting or hunting only to realize they left the bolt at home!
In this case my Father in law was moving and lost the bolt to his Sako L479 heavy barreled .22-250
It appears to be hopelessly lost and likely thrown out.
We have attempted to find a bolt to replace it but once again to no avail.
He is looking to sell the rifle now as a parts or donor gun for someone who's into Sakos.
How much does a missing bolt diminish the value on a rifle?
 
Damn that's a tough position to be in...I feel for you!
If I was in your position I would advertise it on the EE with a price off the top of your head but open to offers and see what you could drum-up as putting a set dollar value on a boltless bolt action would be tough.

In the meantime,here's a similar tale of woe that I'll share with you so you know you are not alone.

About 10 years back I had an expensive Badlands pack full of high dollar hunting gear that got thrown away and ended-up in the local landfill.
I have a '66 Bronco that I use to get into my hunting spots before grabbing my pack and heading out. The Bronco is topless and on the logging roads everything inside gets quite dusty so I put my gear in plastic bags to keep them clean. I came home from hunting, grabbed my pack that was contained in a black garbage bag and set it down in the mudroom to grab a quick coffee.
Meanwhile my wife and son were doing a dump run, one of them picked up what looked like a bag of garbage on the floor of the mudroom and tossed it in the back of the truck with the rest of the trash!

I realized my mistake a few hours later and we rushed to the landfill to search but we never did find the bag, just under a grand lost in that debacle...I now have a box of clear plastic garbage bags available at all times! ;)
 
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Sorry to hear that story. He is not the first, and probably not the last, to do that.

Thinking about it, not certain why anyone would buy such a rifle?? Perhaps to strip for the parts?? Scope, rings, bases are worth same as they were before bolt went missing. Same with stock, barrel, bottom metal, trigger, magazine, etc. It is possible that a replacement bolt might be able to be purchased, but no assurance, at all, that it would headspace correctly into the existing chamber? Would need correct headspace gauges to even know if it was correct. No clue how common such a rifle was - what was available for spares - much, much fewer than Mauser 98's I am sure - goes to less likelihood to find a replacement bolt, but also increases likelihood that someone might want to buy parts?

A quick check on Internet suggest a Sako L479 is a pre-1972 model of rifle - I have no clue what they sell for - might be worth to do some Internet sleuthing to see if a bolt purchase is even a possibility or to see what those rifles (fully functioning) actually sell for.

So, if it is comparable to a nice Schultz and Larson centerfire, or perhaps a pre-64 Winchester Model 70, lets say they would sell for $1,200 to $1,500 (not counting optics or mounts)?? Without the matching bolt, I would not be buying, at all - I would be surprised if one could get $500 for it??
 
Generally speaking, and this is just general, but anytime I've enquired about bolts, most companies will only sell and ship to a licensed gun smith. (I would guess because of headspace issues, etc.) I would check with a gunsmith to see if even they can get you a new bolt. Selling it would probably only get you pennies on the dollar, because anybody buying it would be in the same boat.

Your issue is even advertising on the EE, as rules state that you must list a price with the ad, and you don't really have one. What is it worth? I really don't know, but as has been stated above I doubt you could get $500. It's just one of those things. A rifle without a bolt isn't even really a rifle, and if the bolt is unobtanium to source....... There might be others out there with the same rifle that might want the stock or bottom metal if it's in good shape. The barrel may be valuable to somebody that want to rebarrel theirs. But for that rifle it's probably a pretty small market.
 
diananike said:
Its really the stuff of nightmares.
Anyone who has ever stored their rifle with the bolt removed for safety has likely gone shooting or hunting only to realize they left the bolt at home!
In this case my Father in law was moving and lost the bolt to his Sako L479 heavy barreled .22-250
It appears to be hopelessly lost and likely thrown out.
We have attempted to find a bolt to replace it but once again to no avail.
He is looking to sell the rifle now as a parts or donor gun for someone who's into Sakos.
How much does a missing bolt diminish the value on a rifle?
Click to expand...

If the barrel, action and stock are in excellent condition I would say you can get $500 for it... someone with a similar rifle could 'bolt share' and shoot both rifles...

Getting a new bolt would first start by asking Sako if they can provide one and at what price. If they can supply one I would expect it to be costly... $500 or more.
 
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Did a google, found references to the L579, couldn't see references to a L479.

That one seems to have gone out of production in 1992. So, you are looking for a bolt thirty or more years old.
You might ask the Sako distributor, but don't get your hopes up. A call to Western Gun parts wouldn't be a waste of time, you might get lucky.

As it happens, I have a couple of AII actions. I think that is basically the same bolt. These are currently in a couple of unfinished projects.

As far as your question about how much a boltless rifle is worth, it is hard to say. Certainly depends on the buyer's circumstances.
 
some exploration on a niche forum may prove fruitful. As your rifle is very old and unfortunately this forum is poorly supported in the sense that you can only search back 3 years, or up to 8 I think with a premium account. There is plenty of great info on CGN but most of it rests in the archives you can't see

https://sakocollectors. com/forum/
 
You'd be surprised what people need/are looking for. For the longest time I was searching for an M98 Mauser without a bolt to match up to a spare bolt that I have. I have yet to find a decent one. List it for $500 and see what happens.
 
The Kurgan said:
You'd be surprised what people need/are looking for. For the longest time I was searching for an M98 Mauser without a bolt to match up to a spare bolt that I have. I have yet to find a decent one. List it for $500 and see what happens.
Click to expand...

The OP can't list it on CGN because he made it very clear in his first post that it is not his rifle. He cannot offer it on behalf of someone else.
 
Some of the sako Mags are over $100 .....old ones are metal

I have seen old sako from the 80's
either a L461 or a L579

any gunsmith want a project ? nice rifles
L579 29.01.1960 10091 118961 15.02.1973
L579 Special numbering 24.05.1973 1 310
L579 Numbering change 09.05.1974 300001 327115 27.12.1977
L579 Stamp change L579 ==>AI 03.11.197 327116
L579 Change of the rear part of the receiver 03.05.1982 351081 359880 28.12.1984
L579 Action manufactured by CNC-machines 22.05.1985 360001 372629 27.06.1989
L579 Two part trigger guard and new magazine opening 04.05.1989 380001 385127 31.01.1991
L579 Common numbering 06.02.1991 800316 821799 01.04.1992
 
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