#Sako riihimaki l46 .222 1949 serial

So the proposal was made for the following: Townsend Whelen, Julian Hatcher, Warren Page and All Barr.ДЇirst and foremost was the gun to be introduced in calibers that were known on this side of the ocean. At the same time he was consulting with people who were reputed to know something about rifles like Col. Winters contacted Sako about refinements to the rifle. Hayden and Sako a new eara was about to begin. That man was Jan Winter, president of Firearms International, an import company based in Washington D.C. The new owner regreted his purchase and thought of ways to refine this otherwise ugly rifle. Nichols and when he realized that the odd 7MM round was now where to be found in the US he put it up for consignement. That same year a man walked into Abercrombie and Fitch in New York City and bought an unusual little bolt gun for around $60. The gun business wasn't looking very good and the end of Sako rifles was immenent. Sako was more or less owned by a state organization and under the management of Col. L46s sold steadily to both domestic and foreign markets but in snall numbers, approximately two thousand during 19.

#Sako riihimaki l46 .222 1949 serial

Jsaw the first full-stock rifle come off the production line and it was serial numbered 1843. The first L46 was thought to have come off the production line on Sept. I have seen the Garcia Corp and Stoeger stamps. Regards, Rick.ДЇirst I must admit that I have owned Sakos by the dozens and I have never seen the underside of a pre-Garcia stamped Firearms International. Hope this helps and others may chime in where I have been wrong or actually mis-spoke, thank you Hillary. I do own one, however, as it's a 7MM STW which were made for only one year in limited quantities making it a collectable in my eyes. And of course, the first thing Beretta did was screw up a damn fine rifle. In 1972, The garcia corp took over the import rights and in 1978, Stoeger took over until Sako was purchased by Beretta in 1997? I'm sure you could call Beretta and get the exact date.

Anyway, Firearms International became the Sako importer and their mark is on the underside of the barrel just in front of the end of the stock and are referred to as 'pre Garcia' which is goofy as older rifles are not referred to as 'pre Firearms International'!!! The ones made prior to 1957 are L46 models and refered to as Riihimaki the city in Finland where the plant was located. For instance all Zavodi imports were halted as they weren't granted import status.Tito being a commie and all. The Kennedy Administration required all firearms during that period to have a US importer and the barrel stamped as such.part of the Berlin Wall and Cuban missile crisis aftermath. From 1946 till around 61 they were imported direct to dealers.