Best Factory Ammo for L579?



I have an L579 (No. 926xx Forester on Barrel, Sako 243 on top of barrel just past stock) that I inherited from my father. I have been shooting Hornady Custom 100 gr BTSP and think the accuracy or consistency could be better.

What factory ammo do you guys use in this rifles for Whitetail and how accurate are they? It will save me a lot of $ trying to shoot every bullet out there!

Thanks,

Do yourself a favor and take that old sweet rifle over to Doc's in Carrollton 1 block east of 1-35E in the little white house across from the RR track and water plant and get him to look at it and tell you what he knows about it.

If it were mine, and I wish it were, 'cause I had one given to me from the late 1950's or early '60s after I first started hunting in 1966 with a cheap sporterized Springfield rifle from WW I, and the SAKO had been well used but had been sitting for an extended length of time, I'd make sure:
1. the bore is spotless and not gunked up with dust, old lube, lead deposits yadda yadda.
2. the crown is undamaged
3. the stock is not warped and putting pressure on the barrel
4. the trigger group is clean and not full of dust, burnt powder residue & accumulated dietrus.
5. make sure the scope mt's are tight and there are no issues with the scope.

My 243 SAKO shot late 60's era Rem/'chester factory ammo with my novice level skills at about 1 1/2- 2" groups....which was a significant improvement over the old Springfield. After I learned how to shoot correctly I got it to under the 1 1/2" groups size consistently, but whn I learned to reload even with the components from the late '60/early '70's I was able to shrink my group sizes to 5 shot that could be COVERED by a dime frequently at 100 yards. The only tuning I had done to that SAKO was to free float the barrel and have the trigger pull adjusted down to about 2lbs pull.

SAKO's are noted for their accuracy but every rifle has it own appetites. In current factory ammo I'd start with Federal and hunt with 90 or 100gr Fusion's, or Sierra Game King's or Nosler Accubond or even their plain solid base bullets - I am NOT a fan of the Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets on game, all under the Federal brand. Hornady Custom stuff is also pretty good in either the SST's or Spire's. In cheaper stuff I prefer Winchester over Remmy's & have had good experiences in Federal Blue Box stuff too.
Have fun and treat it like a treasure 'cause ya got a keeper.
Cheers
Ron

That Sako should be a great rifle for whitetail in Texas. I have several 60's era Sako's in the long action that shoot very well. I would expect nothing less from your 243. The above post has good info on bullet types to try. Reloading can really help shrink group size. My Sako 270 consistently shoots a .6'' 3 shot group with the Barnes TTSX HP. Factory Hornaday Superformance ammo in my 270 has grouped around an inch to inch and a half. Keep in my mind that to take down a deer a 2" group will work just fine but a Sako should group to around an inch with ammo it likes.

I have a Sako L579 Forester Deluxe chambered in .243 with a old Leupold VX-II 3-9 that has seen better days i do love the rifle but on a good day with hand loads im lucky to get a 1.5" a standard easily achieved by modern rifles and manufacturing techniques it is true Sako is known for their accuracy but its also relative to the time it was manufactured, back in the 1960's a 1" group took a lot more work than it does today i will say that the rifles breeds confidence with its excellent feel and low recoil though and IMO confidence with your weapon means a lot more in a hunting situation than a half inch in group size off a bench

Do you have a photo of yours?

Klapper, I was going through my watch lists and saw your request for a photo, so here you go! Thanks for an excuse to get my L579 out for the photo!


I bought a Sako 75 270 to shoot in Breckenridge because the deer are much bigger that the LLANO deer I used to shoot with the 243. That was my excuse anyway! The stock is not the original. I tripped over a rock embedded in the ground and did a little flip, and cracked the original in half! So I bought this one off Ebay, which I think is from a 308 L579, due to the crossbolt. If you know otherwise, let me know!