Thread: Sako why no 223 ???

Ok so I'm gonna lay it all down for everyone please no hate as I have had to learn most things by trial and error and stubbornness of what I wanted vs what people told me I should have (this could be a little long winded bear with me).

I've owned some very nice rifles and the list thus far is a little eye watering as I could've just bought what I've ended up with and saved a lot of experimenting.

*jw15 .22 (still own and use it regularly)
*sako a7 7mm rem mag (not a great all rounder and not a good beginners caliber) sold it
*bergara single 223 (absolute laser but hard work on varmibt style hunting) sold it
*bergara single 308 (again very accurate however I wasn't comfortable shhoting it at longer ranges) sold it
*remington 700 sps 7mm rem mag (impulse buy as a few mates do long range and I convinced myself I needed it) sold it
*weatherby vanguard stainless in 223 (currently own it not immediately in love but its growing on me)
*sako a7 270 (love it and will be most carried as a medium to large game caliber all rounder)

I'll be the first to admit I've bought a lot of rifles on impulse or out of envy of others, I do love my sako it just fits and is well finished.
I have decided I want bolt actions for the types of hunting I do.
Open and medum range.
The occasional goat hunt.
I have recently aquired a weatherby 223 in stainless and it's nice and well finished but I'm not immediately in love with it.
I could probably grow to like it and to be honest if sako did an a7 in 223 no question I would own it.
So begs the question ....... why does the sako a7 not come in 223 such a useful caliber ?
I guess I could get a short action a7 rebarreled to 223 but I imagine the cost would be up there ? (Anyone got a rough idea of the actual cost ?)
I could persevere with the weatherby (who knows I may learn to love it)
Or cut my losses and buy a tikka 223 (never really liked the tikka nothing against them just not my bag)
My motivation for 223 is its cheap to feed and it works on most small game from bunnies up to fallow.
It's a great stepping stone for my kids to progress from the .22
It just seems weird that sako don't have this caliber in the a7 line up ?
Anyone shed any light on any of this ? Happy to hear others opinions

Or do I just suck it up and get a sako a7 243 ?

Well sort of. Your Weatherby Vanguard is a rebranded Howa with a few cosmetic changes (I think to avoid being identical to the Howa) and the Howa is a very good copy of an older Sako design /action so technically you are about as close to owning a Sako 223 as you need to be. (like a mate I knew that had a Mazda 323 hatchback and wanted a Ford without realising they were the same car with a different badge. (I know , why would he want a Ford Laser....?) The Vanguards will grow on you and are very good, if somewhat under rated, rifles. Personally, I would rate them over the Tikka. Especially seeing as while the Tikka are supposed to be lighter, they still use a long action on the 223 where Weatherby and Howa made it a short action.

NB While you wont get it from me some will probably have more to say about the 270 than the 223.....

At a guess, it's because of the action length. All of the other calibers look to be larger rounds that will require a longer action than 223.

So, either: Persevere with the Weatherby, start looking for some really soft 243 loads for your kids, or Get an AR15

Originally Posted by Max Headroom

At a guess, it's because of the action length. All of the other calibers look to be larger rounds that will require a longer action than 223.

So, either: Persevere with the Weatherby, start looking for some really soft 243 loads for your kids, or Get an AR15

The a7 comes in 22-250 surely that would be a good candidate for 223 re barrel ? And no ar15 is out of the question not my thing at all

Originally Posted by timattalon

Well sort of. Your Weatherby Vanguard is a rebranded Howa with a few cosmetic changes (I think to avoid being identical to the Howa) and the Howa is a very good copy of an older Sako design /action so technically you are about as close to owning a Sako 223 as you need to be. (like a mate I knew that had a Mazda 323 hatchback and wanted a Ford without realising they were the same car with a different badge. (I know , why would he want a Ford Laser....?) The Vanguards will grow on you and are very good, if somewhat under rated, rifles. Personally, I would rate them over the Tikka. Especially seeing as while the Tikka are supposed to be lighter, they still use a long action on the 223 where Weatherby and Howa made it a short action.

NB While you wont get it from me some will probably have more to say about the 270 than the 223.....

It's mostly the stock on the weatherby I'm not in love with, I know that can be changed I'm just feeling out if that's worth the effort, thanks for your insight.
Hmmmm so if 7mm08 is the latte does that mean .270 is a short black

Just joking re the AR. Don't know re the 22/250. Beyond my area of expertise. Another thought though,


Tikka 223 with a wood stock?

223 is a great round man
Get a t3 with a 1-8 twist
Simple and done

Belmont makes a factory loads that are $650 per 1000 rounds

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Max Headroom

Just joking re the AR. Don't know re the 22/250. Beyond my area of expertise. Another thought though,

Attachment 93036
Tikka 223 with a wood stock?

They look nice but don't think I've ever seen 1 with 1:8 twist

Originally Posted by dannyb

They look nice but don't think I've ever seen 1 with 1:8 twist

Neither had i until i picked this up off trademe ( bare rifle ) Walnut stock , 223 , 1:8 twist , lefty

You can take meat off a bolt face but you cant add to it so good luck rebarelling any a7 to 223..

Weatherby Vanguard = Howa = Sako A1 Copy

Sako A7 = Tikka Deluxe = Beretta Owned = Not a real Sako

Same thing....

Originally Posted by Ryan_Songhurst

You can take meat off a bolt face but you cant add to it so good luck rebarelling any a7 to 223..

Guess that answers that question, I was unsure of that, guess I'll either be sticking with the weatherby or going tikka, I'll probably persevere with the weatherby for now I guess unless a wood stocked 1:8 twist tikka falls into my lap

Originally Posted by Creep

Neither had i until i picked this up off trademe ( bare rifle ) Walnut stock , 223 , 1:8 twist , leftyAttachment 93043

I think dannyb was saying he's never seen a 22-250 w/ a 1/8 twist.
But yes the tikka t3x line is available in .223 w/ 1/8 twist.

Originally Posted by 300_BLK

Weatherby Vanguard = Howa = Sako A1 Copy

Sako A7 = Tikka Deluxe = Beretta Owned = Not a real Sako

Same thing....

What's your point ? This wasn't about brand pissing contests, I like my "beretta" a7 as it fits me hence why I was asking about the lack of a 223