Belgian Browning .458

[Potsy]

I saw a Belgian Browning .458 in a Gander Mtn. last week.
The tag was hand written and said it had a Sako action (?).
Didn't really know they ever used Sako actions (it looked like a Mauser without the externa claw).
It was very light for a .458 and pointed very well. I thought it'd make a dandy boolit gun.
The tag said $1250, I didn't know much about the rifle or it's worth, I figured it was worth at least a grand so I offered $1000 and hoped they wouldn't be too insulted. They politely declined.
Wood and Blueing was beautiful with a little gold inlay around the floorplate and triggerguard.

Anybody know much about these rifles? What do they usually sell for?

[seppos]

Sako used to make so called Sako High Power rifles bitween 1951-1960.
Rifles where made using mauser actions made by FN.
calibers where: 30-06, 270 Win, 8X60 and 9.3X57..
So.. 458 was not the original caliber in Sako HP rifles.. :(
serial numbers are up from: 100.001

S

[Potsy]

This one said browning on the barrel. Had a browning recoil pad on the stock.
I thought browings back then used FN mauser actions but this was not a mauser action. There was a large extractor on the bolt face.

[seppos]

FN Browning used sako action mod. 579 in one of they models.. That is medium sized action though.. It would really help to see the pics..

S

[Lloyd Smale]

i had one years ago and it was a great shooter. the only problem with it was it was very prone to rusting. I dont know if they used a poor bluing salt or what the problem was but just sitting in the safe it would rust if you didnt wipe it down with oil about every month

[Potsy]

Don't have pics. About 400 miles from the gun. Mostly just wondering if I should go back and get it!

[waksupi]

Lloyd, that sounds like you had a stock made of salt wood. For a time, some companies were using salt pack to cure wood quickly. Problem was, once it was dry, the salt remained in the wood.

[Lloyd Smale]

Someone else told me that after i sold it.

[Just Duke]

Lloyd, that sounds like you had a stock made of salt wood. For a time, some companies were using salt pack to cure wood quickly. Problem was, once it was dry, the salt remained in the wood.

The Japnese have been buying wood for years and dumping it in there bay to cure. Possibilty?
I use a chemical similiar to Polyethelene Glycol on green wood my buddy makes. Also knowm as PEG.

[Jack Stanley]

Salt !?! and here I've been drying wood wrong all this time Now I'm gonna hafta run out and salt down that pile O' cherry in the shed huh? :mrgreen:

Jack

[BarryinIN]

As has been said, Browning used both Sako and FN Mauser actions in them. The Mauser action is more "Mauser-like" than actually Mauser, which may be why it looks like neither a Sako or Mauser to you. The first ones had the long Mauser type extractor (and then only on long and Magnum or maybe just Magnums), but most had the extractor in the boltface. The safety was a sliding tab that ran to the trigger unit instead of a Mauser wing-type on the bolt.

The easiest way for me to identify them from a distance or at a glance is by the bolt shroud and trigger guard. The FN Mauser actions had a Mauser-shaped bolt shroud that stepped down in size and was left in the white and polished. The Sakos had a tapered shroud that was blued.
The trigger guard of the Mausers has the floorplate release button in it, on the forward area. The Sako action had the Sako-style trigger guard, which I always thought had a distinctive sort of tear drop opening (although Howas look similar).
The FN Mauser bolt stop is rather distinctive too, I think. It's one of those things tou have to see to know what I mean, but it's made up of a couple of flat pieces of steel/spring steel you press inward instead of the Mauser type block of steel you pull out.

The serial number should tell you when it was made. The 7mm Mag I had had a serial prefix of L71, which meant it was made in 1971. "Salt wood" years were roughly 1966-71. Personally, I think too big a fuss is made over this, because if rust hasn't crept all over the area by now, it probably won't. But you may have to hear about it in negotiations if/when you sell or trade.

They had three basic grades- Safari, Medallion, and Olympian (lowest to highest). I don't think those words were on the rifle anywhere and you just were supposed to know. My Safari wasn't so marked.
The Olympian had some gold, but I don't know if the Medallion did or not. They all had at least a little engraving, even if it was just a small swirl on the floorplate. Higher grades had more. I think the Olympian had some silver-colored inlays, but I don't know if they were nickel, chrome, silver, or what.

Then there were variations beyond that. They had different barrel weights, sights or no sights, etc. I think the .458s like you are looking at were all the same barrel weight and had sights but could easily be wrong there.

I can tell you this-
I would not rush to shoot one in .458 Mag.
That Safari 7mm Mag I had just beat me to death. I guess the stock shape didn't agree with me, but whatever it was, the recoil hit me harder than it should have. I've shot a lot of rifles before and since in similar or larger calibers, and none gave recoil that was more out of proportion to what they shot. It wasn't a light rifle by any means, either.
I've heard others who owned them say they got pounded also, so I must not be the only one who found the stock didn't work for them.
I did not enjoy shooting it, and would not look forward to shooting one in .458.

I still think it's one of the nicer looking bolt action rifles ever made. I don't usually like shiny rifles, but I like these. I'm not sure what it is, maybe the dark wood they always seem to have against the white metal of the bolt, or what, but I do like their looks.

[Lloyd Smale]

funny i always thought the recoil was milder then the #1 tropical 458 i had.

[Potsy]

Thanks for the info Barry. I didn't buy it. Left it on the rack. Probably gone by now.
From your description it had the "Mauser-esque" action.
I had NO INTENTION of shooting full house .458's through that rifle. WAAAY too light for me.
I did think it would make an excellent ".45-70".
I guess I've spent $1250 on more foolish things, I just didn't know enought about it to want to offer past a grand.
It was an absolutely beautiful rifle.

[BarryinIN]

funny i always thought the recoil was milder then the #1 tropical 458 i had.

It's funny you should use that as a comparison. A friend and I both have 375 H&Hs, his a #1, mine a Sako. I think his #1 is easier on recoil, and he thinks my Sako is better.
I think it's mostly in stock fit. Those guns' stocks are different, and he and I are built different.

[Snapping Twig]

As has been said, Browning used both Sako and FN Mauser actions in them. The Mauser action is more "Mauser-like" than actually Mauser, which may be why it looks like neither a Sako or Mauser to you. The first ones had the long Mauser type extractor (and then only on long and Magnum or maybe just Magnums), but most had the extractor in the boltface. The safety was a sliding tab that ran to the trigger unit instead of a Mauser wing-type on the bolt.

The easiest way for me to identify them from a distance or at a glance is by the bolt shroud and trigger guard. The FN Mauser actions had a Mauser-shaped bolt shroud that stepped down in size and was left in the white and polished. The Sakos had a tapered shroud that was blued.
The trigger guard of the Mausers has the floorplate release button in it, on the forward area. The Sako action had the Sako-style trigger guard, which I always thought had a distinctive sort of tear drop opening (although Howas look similar).
The FN Mauser bolt stop is rather distinctive too, I think. It's one of those things tou have to see to know what I mean, but it's made up of a couple of flat pieces of steel/spring steel you press inward instead of the Mauser type block of steel you pull out.

The serial number should tell you when it was made. The 7mm Mag I had had a serial prefix of L71, which meant it was made in 1971. "Salt wood" years were roughly 1966-71. Personally, I think too big a fuss is made over this, because if rust hasn't crept all over the area by now, it probably won't. But you may have to hear about it in negotiations if/when you sell or trade.

They had three basic grades- Safari, Medallion, and Olympian (lowest to highest). I don't think those words were on the rifle anywhere and you just were supposed to know. My Safari wasn't so marked.
The Olympian had some gold, but I don't know if the Medallion did or not. They all had at least a little engraving, even if it was just a small swirl on the floorplate. Higher grades had more. I think the Olympian had some silver-colored inlays, but I don't know if they were nickel, chrome, silver, or what.

Then there were variations beyond that. They had different barrel weights, sights or no sights, etc. I think the .458s like you are looking at were all the same barrel weight and had sights but could easily be wrong there.

I can tell you this-
I would not rush to shoot one in .458 Mag.
That Safari 7mm Mag I had just beat me to death. I guess the stock shape didn't agree with me, but whatever it was, the recoil hit me harder than it should have. I've shot a lot of rifles before and since in similar or larger calibers, and none gave recoil that was more out of proportion to what they shot. It wasn't a light rifle by any means, either.
I've heard others who owned them say they got pounded also, so I must not be the only one who found the stock didn't work for them.
I did not enjoy shooting it, and would not look forward to shooting one in .458.

I still think it's one of the nicer looking bolt action rifles ever made. I don't usually like shiny rifles, but I like these. I'm not sure what it is, maybe the dark wood they always seem to have against the white metal of the bolt, or what, but I do like their looks.

Thanks for the write-up!

I fell into one of the Mauser versions in 30-06 from an estate sale. Mine is a Safari grade with tiger striped walnut (salt) stock. The light rusting allowed me to work a fantastic deal. I was able to date the rifle to 1972 and found an exact copy of my rifle shortly after I bought it in another shop labeled Parker-Hale. Of course it was more highly refined, better wood and bluing, but the same rifle exactly, right down to the barrel markings with FN featured prominently.

The salt was largely gone after all these years, so I was able to refinish the stock and relieve the barrel for a full float and re blue the metal with oxpho. Now you can not tell it ever had an issue - and it's a shooter!

Reminds me of a pre '64 Winchester in that it has controlled feed and ejection. Perhaps the least expensive rifle I own and one of the best.

Speaking of bargains, I also fell into a deal on a sporterized 1917 Eddystone. This is a professional job, worthy of a craftsman and again, a fantastic - ridiculous really - deal.
I spent, no lie, a solid week in terms of hours, cleaning the copper out of the bore. I have no doubt that the previous owner thought the bore shot out, so it was sold at fire sale pricing. The rifling is crisp and looks new, but the fouling was thick before cleaning, a cleaning I am certain it never had since it's manufacture in June of 1918.

I had hopes this rifle had served our troops in the Great War, but I am certain it never left the continental U.S. as the war ended in November. Heavy rifle and sure to be a bench rifle - I'm not lugging it in the woods of N. Calif. when I have lighter options. :)

[BarryinIN]

A bargain Browning Safari would be a great usin' rifle. I think it's a pretty good hunting rifle action, but most of those old Brownings cost a lot more than a new Remchester, and buying one just for the action doesn't make sense. Not at the going rate anyway. Getting one for deal like you did is another story.

Your M1917 action probably spent most of it's time serving 25 years after it was made, riding over a private's shoulder as he guarded a stateside factory or shipyard.