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
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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
Contact Graham Champion in Hawera. He always has quite a few to sell. Quite expensive but well worth it.
I know he has one in .222 for about 2 k
There have been a couple come (and go) from my cabinet, none currently reside. Depends on your expectations, but I'd definitely try one quite a bit before buying one thinking you'll fall in love with it.
They are petite, smooth functioning, have good triggers and nearly always shoot well (a cobber had one that didn't and we tried quite a few things). For me the stock fit and function is OK. but the squared fore-end is something that I never got used to or liked so mine were sold.
They are generally a nice rifle, but I also couldn’t get past the square fore end.
A great classic rifle, and no you can't have mine.
Im a sucker for them, really like the micro action and 6-7 round mag. The later A1 Hunter has the better stock shape with round forend etc. Handle one or two first to see if its you.
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Like a T3 but older and not as accurate:XD:
I am not very impressed with the standard trigger weight on the AI. The match trigger is much better if you can find one. It is very difficult/expensive to find an after market match-type trigger for the AI.
How do they compare to the LSA-55 Tikka's?
The 222 M55 Tikka is a bigger action (i.e. not a micro like the Vixen) with great trigger (I never struck the Vixen trigger issue mentioned by Rupert) and usually superbly accurate. Detachable magazine as opposed the the nice milled bottom metal of the Vixen. Still has a boxy fore-stock but not as noticeable as the Vixen. I wish I hadn't sold mine - and I only think that about a few of the many rifles I've "rented" over the years, a nice sporterized VZ-33 and a Valmet combination gun spring to mind
Get it checked properly. They are old. I bought a beautiful one Awesome nick
Bent barrel wouldn’t group at all . Piece of scrap was not gonna re barrel it .Probably had a fair few rounds thru
Not a real comparison but shit my brand new Tikka would run rings all over it
Love mine, deadly accurate with 50 - 55 gn pills. Sold a plastic stainless tikka T3 to buy the Vixen 222.
Vixen handles like a dream. Have got plenty of stainless synthetic boom sticks in the safe, but have a soft spot for classics like 222 and 7x64 in walnut & blue. Buy yourself a classic piece of NZ history and cherish it
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.
+1. 7 - 8mm groups at 100m with 50 - 55gr HDY SP projectiles when the stars are in alignment. Easy carry, easy to reload for, 6 +1 great for goat culling, a sock full of 50 cartridges weighs bugger-all in the pocket. Fitted a Timney Sako trigger and it shoots light a dream.Quote:
Originally Posted by chainsaw
Bequeathed it to either one of my two oldest sons in my will...
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mooseman
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 :)
@300_BLKQuote:
Originally Posted by 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, :pissed off:
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. :cool:
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?Quote:
Originally Posted by Bagheera
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!
:useless:
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.Quote:
Originally Posted by kimjon
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.
Attachment 85004
Attachment 85005
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.
Attachment 85006
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 ?
Attachment 85007
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.
Attachment 85008
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 ?
@Bagheera that magazine floor plate & trigger guard are not sitting correctly in that stock. They should be flush & flat, so this could be part of your mag operation problem. The mag box has to sit into the floor plate housing cutouts properly and then up against the underside of the action. If you assemble it all out of the stock, you will see what I'm on about. I had to fiddle with mine a bit to get it lined up correctly in my aftermarket stock.
I completely agree with Mathias, rifle isn't assembled correctly.
I see you had a pressure question,
I can't find a psi limit for the 6ppc in my load books,
60000 psi is the pressure limit for the .243, .260 Speer#14,
65000psi, is the limits on the likes of the .243Wssm, and .270 Wsm,
The 6ppc is loaded pretty hot in custom chambers, I've got load data for my Sako, that is 3gr more than I can fit in of VV133, original owner was using a 400mm drop tube,
I doubt you get enough powder in, as long as it benchmark, Vv133, one XBR8208,
Keep an eye on your brass, and use common sence
