Sako M78 Hornet

Straffan1979

Unfortunately my Uncle passed away suddenly and Ive been left his rifle. I know very little about this rifle but Its old and id like to keep it as he bought it in the late 70's.Very little information available on these I think they are rare- anyone come across them?..
It needs a bit of attention as it's dirty and a bit rusty on the barrel but overall it could clean up I think nicely. The scope is kassner 3-9 x wide angle , steel tube-which means nothing to me. We used to shoot foxes every spring during lambing and he told me the last time he zeroed it was in 1983!!!He didnt seem to be joking either.
I was goin to upgrade the scope but im unsure as to what to do -it's probably shooting well as it is.Anyone recommend somewhere to get it completely stripped down and cleaned etc???im a bit reluctant to start to take it apart ;Cheers

meathstevie

Straffan1979 wrote: »

Unfortunately my Uncle passed away suddenly and Ive been left his rifle. I know very little about this rifle but Its old and id like to keep it as he bought it in the late 70's.Very little information available on these I think they are rare- anyone come across them?..
It needs a bit of attention as it's dirty and a bit rusty on the barrel but overall it could clean up I think nicely. The scope is kassner 3-9 x wide angle , steel tube-which means nothing to me. We used to shoot foxes every spring during lambing and he told me the last time he zeroed it was in 1983!!!He didnt seem to be joking either.
I was goin to upgrade the scope but im unsure as to what to do -it's probably shooting well as it is.Anyone recommend somewhere to get it completely stripped down and cleaned etc???im a bit reluctant to start to take it apart ;Cheers

If my bit of googling on Kassnar is correct they were Japanese, definitely not high end but far from crap as well. I suppose not having required zeroing for 30 years is testimony in itself.

Sako are Finland made and are good quality stuff. If given the right bit of tlc and maybe a good blueing that .22 hornet can serve as a good foxing and rabbit rifle for another few decades.

Straffan1979

Cheers- i decided id have a go at taking it apart and cleaning it up myself.I dont want or expect to get it looking like a brand new gun as it has a bit of character after nearly 40 years.After a bit of research online/youtube I stripped it down tonight despite some seized screws near the action.
I Soaked the whole trigger mechanism/ bolt in alcohol to remove dust/dirt/ oil etc- it was manky.
With the trepidation of makin a bad siuation worse I went at the rusty barrel with very fine steel wool and oil- surprisingly good results, lost a bit of bluing on the very heavy rust spots but unbelievably 75% came up very good.I stripped dirt/oil from the stock again with alcohol, gave a couple of hours lightly sanding a few dints and knocks and started on a coat of boiled linseed oil. I might post a picture if I get it back to some sort of decent shape..... I'm not recommending any of the above by the way- a little knowledge being a dangerous thing some of it mightn't be a great idea but it was in poor shape to begin so nothing to lose.