Thread: School me on Sako Vixens...

Originally Posted by Mooseman

Bought one in the 70's for Goat Culling when in Forest Service ( $240.00 ) all up with 4x Weaver Scope. Super little rifle very accurate, 6 in mag from memory ( good for the bomb ups) Sold it to Beeman (Brother-in law) and he used it culling as well. We both madethe same comment jus the other day....should never had sold it.

Ha pretty much the same story with mine, Dad bought two vixens when he was OC NZFS, in Taupo 1970, and I got given one, once I got my licence, great we rifle, I've also got the Weaver 4x, still on mine, I've broken the stock, gouged big hunks out of the metal work, and love it all the more, many a memory's with that little rifle.
I've also got a L46 in .17 fireball, and model 75 in .223, love the small Sako actions, smooth, quite to load, good half cock on all mine, accurate, and none of them are picky about ammo.

If you are not a purest, then they can be a basis for a very nice custom. Got a 6.5 Grendel, 6x45 & 223 (rebarreled with match barrel) Only drawback is the mag length at about 58mm can be limiting on some applications. I've had the pretty little 222 A1 in original form and sold it and could well add an L461 original back in it's place some day soon. I find the original triggers fine for what I'm doing.......hunting with them

Originally Posted by 300_BLK

Looking for advice and what to look for when purchasing...

Are they as good as the hype?

Have you got one for sale?

Anyone near Palmy have one I can fondle?

Cheers

@300_BLK
I’ve got one you can have a look at and see if it’s for you.
Mine isn’t for sale but you can get the look and feel of one. I’m out of town but sure we can arrange something.

How do people find the magazine feed with the vixen ?
I'm borrowing one in 6mmPPC and depending how I rebend the mag spring the front bullet end can flick down and not feed into the chamver or else the back primer end flicks down and the bullet up so the bolt won'tt collect it. I'm reluctant to keep adjusting in case I break the spring. Is this usual to be fiddly to get it right or can I fix it by asking someone to make me a new spring ? @southernman it sounds like you must have done a bit of maintenance on yours over the years.
@Mathias , how is the feed with your Grendel ? I'm thinking of getting it rebarrelled but really want something that cycles slickly.

Had an ex nzfs one, sold it, shouldnt have, after a few different 223s I finally ended up with a zastava which I have come to love. In many ways its similar in others its not.

Bagheera: I used a 6mmPPC Sako and the feed was excellent. I used a 222Rem Sako which had been made into a 6mmPPC and the feed was not good; really only any good as a single shot. Check to see if it is actually a 222 or 223 which has been changed to 6mmPPC - the feed rails are different.

I would agree with Rupert, as far as I know the vixen, was not an option in 6ppc, yours may be a rebarell, and the short ppc case likely dosnt feed well as a result,
I have a model 75 in 6 ppc in a target (heavy barrel) repeater, and it feeds excellent from the magazine.
Given that most ppc rifles are for target shooting, single shot loading is the norm,
I was on the hunt for a sporter Sako 6ppc for years, dandy small game and deer in a close, should the chance happen.
Gave up and ordered a Cooper model 51 in 6x45, (.223).
I be a bit careful about bending mag spring, parts for vixens, are more scarce with each passing year, they are close to fifty years old now. That we are still using, and seeking them, shows how long, well crafted tools can be in service, and the care and quality, of Sako' older rifles.

Originally Posted by Bagheera

How do people find the magazine feed with the vixen ?
I'm borrowing one in 6mmPPC and depending how I rebend the mag spring the front bullet end can flick down and not feed into the chamver or else the back primer end flicks down and the bullet up so the bolt won'tt collect it. I'm reluctant to keep adjusting in case I break the spring. Is this usual to be fiddly to get it right or can I fix it by asking someone to make me a new spring ? @southernman it sounds like you must have done a bit of maintenance on yours over the years.
@Mathias , how is the feed with your Grendel ? I'm thinking of getting it rebarrelled but really want something that cycles slickly.

I modified my Vixen to suit the later S491 mag box which was made for the PPC. As Rupert said a standard 222-223 vixen wont feed the fat PPC case. Mine works ok in the modded form as the Grendel is loaded to near full length of the mag. Your mag spring could be too weak if theres not enough pressure to push case up against feed rails to keep it square, just a thought?

I'm old enough to have had one, my neighbor still has one from new.
They are a very nice rifle for the period
But honestly if you laid one down beside a Tikka M55 , I'd take the Tikka every time.

I used to keep new Sako actions in stock for building custom rifle years ago (back when Allan G Mitchells were the agents and bought them in). The Vixen action was the most popular choice by far (I mostly built .222 and .223's on them). The .300 BLK wasn't around in those days otherwise I would have needed a lot more of them!

Lovely little rifles...but rust...holly Molly, they go orange overnight if not meticulously oiled.

Originally Posted by kimjon

Lovely little rifles...but rust...holly Molly, they go orange overnight if not meticulously oiled.

MMm yeah my old browning A5 bit the same. wouldn't say it's rusty but not much bluing left-I reckon it went rusty if you turned your back on it.

that just means youve got another excuse to "give them some more love"....... quick rub down with oily rag at end of day is good for the soul.

Here is the one I'm borrowing. This is an after market fibreglass stock. I had to use the big base and ring system because the bolt handle lift was too high for the standard one piece optilocks. This is an old scope with a trim ocular bell too.





Most Vixens were .222RREM I understand but this one was factory 6mmPPC.
It is the Hunter model so has a 5 shot magazine.
The stock had been swapped by a previous owner for one from a single shot target rifle - looks and feels nice but very bulky and heavy. I won't show a pic of it. I don't have the original hunter stock.



Is the test pressure stated here a routine working pressure or a maximum before the rifle blows up and you need to leave a big safety margin below that ?





The feed is a bit erratic. Sometimes the back of the case gets stuck down so the bolt doesn't pick it up and sometimes the tip is stuck down so it rams into the action below the feed ramp. It seems as if stretching the spring in various places could improve matters but the balnce seems quite twitchy. I suspect the spring might be a bit weak as its 30 yr old and I do't like to bend it to increase the overall force. It seems to feed better with plastic tip bullets than the hollowpoints shown here.



I'd be interested to hear whether spring balance and force is "user adjustable" and whether people have ever got a new spring made. Can you just cut off a bit of spring out of an old .223 magazine grind it to size and pop it in ?