Sako L461 varmint stock - DIY- Now 20/222

[MISSED]

love it

[Ned Kelly]

G'day Bruce,
to avoid over runs use your thumb nail as a stop, it will help a lot....well I found it helps (as recommended by Geoff Slee)
Cabinet scrapers can quickly clean up them anyway but many light cuts are easier to control (and repair) That was a hard lesson to learn and to do one layer of light cuts then go back over slightly deeper. I found I'd concentrate of one part and find inconsistent depth became a problem.
Then the magic of hiding all the little things that messes with your OCD is the best!
Cheerio Geoff

[B4408]

Hi Geoff, I will try the thumbnail trick. If it ends up checkered I will think of you, need to be careful as the thumb is already missing a bit from the middle.
I use a sharp knife to scrape , already learnt that one.

Bruce

[barryb]

Care - extreme care Bruce , look after those fingers because there could be a lot more stock work to come after this one

[barryb]

Just thinking , thats all ,BUT must be getting close to another update eh !

[B4408]

Your just ahead of me Barry.

Finished the offside checkering a couple of weeks ago. Have been rubbing in some more oil and buffed it up yesterday.
Turned out OK

fist direction done

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Just waiting on the barrel and chambering, should be getting close. I will be able to cut the bolt handle notch then and a trim for final barrel fitting.
Then

Bruce

[barryb]

That's just brilliant Bruce. Well done.

[dashooter]

Very nice indeed Bruce.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[B4408]

The big day came last Friday. Was handed a barrelled action before lunch then headed out to the campsite. Setup camp and sorted my gear into a makeshift workbench so I could finish fitting the barreled action to the stock. The barrel channel need widening about .5mm each side, not to bad as I left it tight. Then had to cut the bolt handle relief.
Next was remount the scope. Ooops, forgot about the thicker barrel and not enough clearance. The twin rifle had the same problem, so a coke can came to the rescue.
Scope fitted and bore sighted, bludged a loaded round from Missed and fired a test shot. Yeah, it worked. There is always a possible problem when working with wildcats.

A few details:
Sako L461 (started as a 222mag)
Cheetah barrel .20 cal- Sako varmint profile 24". These were the first two .20cal barrels he has made.
Chambered in 20/222 by Russell from Group Solutions in Canberra
Walnut stock blank from Barry - WillowBrookTan
Stock shaped, checkered and finished by myself.
Scope is currently at Zeiss Conquest 4.5-14x44 but will be changing.

So next was to load up some rounds using Branxhunters info on the forum. My goal was to get 3900+fps as a usable load. Tried the following with a magneto speed attached.

ADI 2219, 32gn Zmax, Rem 7.5 primer, Rem 222 brass, 24" barrel
23.5gn = 3825 fps
23.8gn = 3870 fps
24.0gn = 3935 fps
Only at 50m but showed good accuracy potential and no pressure signs on the primers. So my 3900fps is easily achieved which is what was expected. I plan to do more testing and should easily get 4000+fps but will see where the accuracy is.
Next day I loaded up some more at 24.0gn to go shoot something and did a sight in at 100m.

100m first target.

They are 1moa squares, conditions were gusty wind, a pretty good start.

Later in the arvo we found some rabbits and claimed its first two.

3rd rabbit

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Followed the next morning with a couple more.

4th rabbit

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And a few scenery pics.

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I have a little bit of cleaning up to do on the stock inletting and finishing and a big decision on a different scope. Think it may deserve some really nice glass. Shouldn't have looked through a few Kahles on the weekend.
Will also do some more load development but it does work as is.
Very happy and the 20-222 seems pretty easy to work with.

Bruce

[B4408]

A few more pics

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The Twins.

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[barryb]

Great post Bruce - thanks for sharing.
If your looking for a bit of serious speed & want to try some Hornady 24 grainers I've come across a bloke whose got a few left overs. Only trouble with them there's no spread - all go in the same hole

[Tackleberry]

You have to love it when a plan comes together like this and very nice pics too thank you

[pepperC]

Very impressive.
When you die can I have that one and your anvil
Outstanding work and great post.
Really enjoyed following this one
Looking forward to your next project
C

[B4408]

Very impressive.
When you die can I have that one and your anvil
Outstanding work and great post.
Really enjoyed following this one
Looking forward to your next project
C

Glad you like the work.
You want the anvil too? Gee there I was considering it up to then. Been in the family for 53 years, I used it for about 20 years shoeing horses.
Bruce

[barryb]

Not wanting to hijack this thread by any means but methinks Bruce has got some new equipment to put on that nice rifle . Maybe it could look like this , just wondering.