rifletuner
AH veteran
Well, not exactly my first, but bear with me, this will take some explaining. As a young kid, I was fascinated with firearms - military, sporting - if it went bang I was interested. I always loved the outdoors and hunting. I dont really know why, as I had virtually no influence from anyone in the family. I applied for my firearm license the day I turned 18. Back then you just walked into the local police station, filled in the application, and a piece of paper arrived in the mail some time later. I cant remember how I payed for it back then.
I always liked going into a local gun shop, and bought most of my early rifles from them, just based on whatever caught my eye browsing the shelves. As a left hander, I always instinctively shot off the left shoulder. Never had any concept of a left bolt rifle until an interest in hunting Africa lead me to a copy of Craig Boddington's "Safari Rifles". I bought a few more Boddington books, then decided I needed a new rifle to hunt Africa and it was going to be a left bolt this time.
By then I had been told by a hunting friend that I should be getting my shooting supplies from a large gunshop about an houres drive away from where I lived at the time. I arrived there one Saturday morning, and they were always packed on Saturdays. When I worked my way to the front of the queue that morning, I was asked what I wanted, and I told him I was after a left bolt 375H&H. I had no clue at the time that I was asking him to bring me a Unicorn. He just disappeared out the back for a while, then reappeared with what turned out to be a left bolt Sako AV in 375H&H. There were no permits for individual rifle purchases required then, so I just paid him and walked out the door with my new rifle. Looking back now, and actually understanding the odds of finding that rifle in stock, on the shelf, I would love to know how it came to be there and how long that had been sitting there.
As well as roaming the Vic high country for sambar with the 375, I hunted NT buff and plains game in South Africa with that rifle. I had also sold off all my right bolt rifles fairly quickly after that and everything I replaced them with was a left bolt action. I never had any issue with the 375, but I decided I needed a proper "stopping" rifle if I was going to take the next step and hunt cape buffalo in Africa. I had the Sako stripped to basically just an action, then rebuilt as a 450 Ackley (this predated the 458 Lott being a factory chambering or I would probably have gone that way). I went on to take a cape buff in Zambia with the 450 version of that rifle.
By then I had a lot of left bolt rifles, and a lot of different cartridges. With many of them overlapping and doing similar jobs, I decided I would sell the 450. I hind sight, I should have just kept the AV in 375 and found another donor action for the 450 build. And of course I regret that I moved the AV on when I did.
I have kept an eye on the listings on the abusedguns website since than, and I once saw that same configuration rifle come up for sale. I debated it with myself, but eventually decided not to by it. It looked to be in excellent condition, and once again I regret letting the opportunity go by.
Just recently, I happened to be searching online for something completely unrelated, but inadvertently found a listing at a LGS just 10 minutes down the road for a second hand Sako AV in left hand, chambered in 375H&H. I found the listing on a Sunday, but the store didnt open again until the following Tuesday. I called within an hour of the store opening and confirmed the rifle was still available. I got in there that morning to take a look. It was obvious the rifle had been carried a lot. I am guessing maybe owned by a sambar hunter as it didnt look to have been shot a lot. The blueing is mostly in good condition, but the bluing on the bolt handle has the been worn pretty significantly. I think maybe the owner always worked the bolt to empty the mag rather than dumping the floor plate. There is some rust in the bore (not pitting), but otherwise the bore is in good condition. Anyhow - no regrets this time around. Even though its maybe not the best example, its only the third iteration of a Sako AV in 375 that I have seen in over 30 years, so its in my safe now.
I always liked going into a local gun shop, and bought most of my early rifles from them, just based on whatever caught my eye browsing the shelves. As a left hander, I always instinctively shot off the left shoulder. Never had any concept of a left bolt rifle until an interest in hunting Africa lead me to a copy of Craig Boddington's "Safari Rifles". I bought a few more Boddington books, then decided I needed a new rifle to hunt Africa and it was going to be a left bolt this time.
By then I had been told by a hunting friend that I should be getting my shooting supplies from a large gunshop about an houres drive away from where I lived at the time. I arrived there one Saturday morning, and they were always packed on Saturdays. When I worked my way to the front of the queue that morning, I was asked what I wanted, and I told him I was after a left bolt 375H&H. I had no clue at the time that I was asking him to bring me a Unicorn. He just disappeared out the back for a while, then reappeared with what turned out to be a left bolt Sako AV in 375H&H. There were no permits for individual rifle purchases required then, so I just paid him and walked out the door with my new rifle. Looking back now, and actually understanding the odds of finding that rifle in stock, on the shelf, I would love to know how it came to be there and how long that had been sitting there.
As well as roaming the Vic high country for sambar with the 375, I hunted NT buff and plains game in South Africa with that rifle. I had also sold off all my right bolt rifles fairly quickly after that and everything I replaced them with was a left bolt action. I never had any issue with the 375, but I decided I needed a proper "stopping" rifle if I was going to take the next step and hunt cape buffalo in Africa. I had the Sako stripped to basically just an action, then rebuilt as a 450 Ackley (this predated the 458 Lott being a factory chambering or I would probably have gone that way). I went on to take a cape buff in Zambia with the 450 version of that rifle.
By then I had a lot of left bolt rifles, and a lot of different cartridges. With many of them overlapping and doing similar jobs, I decided I would sell the 450. I hind sight, I should have just kept the AV in 375 and found another donor action for the 450 build. And of course I regret that I moved the AV on when I did.
I have kept an eye on the listings on the abusedguns website since than, and I once saw that same configuration rifle come up for sale. I debated it with myself, but eventually decided not to by it. It looked to be in excellent condition, and once again I regret letting the opportunity go by.
Just recently, I happened to be searching online for something completely unrelated, but inadvertently found a listing at a LGS just 10 minutes down the road for a second hand Sako AV in left hand, chambered in 375H&H. I found the listing on a Sunday, but the store didnt open again until the following Tuesday. I called within an hour of the store opening and confirmed the rifle was still available. I got in there that morning to take a look. It was obvious the rifle had been carried a lot. I am guessing maybe owned by a sambar hunter as it didnt look to have been shot a lot. The blueing is mostly in good condition, but the bluing on the bolt handle has the been worn pretty significantly. I think maybe the owner always worked the bolt to empty the mag rather than dumping the floor plate. There is some rust in the bore (not pitting), but otherwise the bore is in good condition. Anyhow - no regrets this time around. Even though its maybe not the best example, its only the third iteration of a Sako AV in 375 that I have seen in over 30 years, so its in my safe now.
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