Sako 30/378
 

I have a guy that tells me that he has two 30/378 Sako rifles for sale. He lives 100 miles away and I haven't gotten to see them. I have tried to research them and can't find where that caliber is produced by Sako. Don't have any more information. Does anyone know anything about these or their approximate value. Thanks

RE: Sako 30/378
 

I think that Sako used to chamber their TRG series rifles in .30-378 Wby Mag, but I believe that that cartridge has been discontinued. If they are in good shape (98%+), and the throats aren't too badly eroded, then they'd probably be worth $800-1000 used. Before I'd buy a used rifle in a cartridge like .30-378 Wby, I'd have the bore inspected by a gunsmith to measure throat erosion. .30-378 burns a truckload of powder at very high pressures, and that's a recipe for nasty throat erosion. No sense spencing top dollar for a rifle with a burned out barrel. I'd council caution.

Mike

RE: Sako 30/378
 

Tres Coyotes:

According to my "2005 Standard Catalog of Firearms" The Sako Trig-S: NIB: $800.00, Exc.: $650.00, V.G.: $500.00, Good: $450.00., Fair: $400.00, Poor: $400.00. Good luck.

I sent you a E-mail.

RE: Sako 30/378
 

These guns are supposed to be almost new in the box. The guy wants a trade. I will have $400 in each one. Sounds like a good deal, even if I take them and sell them. Advice is appreciated.

RE: Sako 30/378
 

I have fired one sako trg-s in 30-378 and the recoil was much harsher than my 300ultramags.Not at all comfortable to shoot.Be aware that this cartridge is very hard on the barrels throat area and significant erosion can occur with relatively few shots compared to most cartridges.If the throats are eroded,the rifles aren't worth much.

RE: Sako 30/378
 

According to Hawks, the 30-378 recoils more than twice as hard as a 300 ultra mag.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/recoil_table.htm

I'm sure that 400 bucks each for these is a good bargain. The caliber is faster than anything else when it comes to pushing bullets.

If they're NIB or close to it, just buy 'em.

And then go clear some timber on the back 40 with them.

RE: Sako 30/378
 

Actually I did not see the recoil figures given for the 30-378 in the link that you posted.However the recoil numbers given in the chart don't make for a very good comparison due to thevarying rifle weights used in the chart.To obtain better comparisons you need to use the same rifle weights.My point in mentioning the harsh recoil from the trg-s in 30-378 is that my 180gr reloads in my 300ultramag deliver less than 100fps less than the 180gr factory loads that I fired in the trg-s.As such I did not expect to see such a difference in felt recoil.The trg-s balance and stock design do seem to emphasize the recoil of the 30-378 cartridge.

RE: Sako 30/378
 

Well, I was assuming (and I know what they say about assumptions) a powder charge in the 30/378 equal to that of the standard .378 wby mag.

You do make (of course) valid points about gun weight, etc.


Actually, after I went back and cross-checked some reloading data, the 378 Wby mag and the 300 Rem Ultra are at least similar in powder charges (90-110 gr in the ultra mag) and the 30-378 sits in the 120 range. That's not 378, that's the necked down version, but the original 378's have a very simlar powder charge as the necked down 30's do.

.300 Ultra Mag brass is huge, but even it's puny when compared to that .378 Wby stuff.

There's just a bunch of difference, when it comes to recoil anyway, between the "old" magnums such as the 7mm Rem Mag, 300 and 338 Winchester Mags and the new and/or huge stuff such as the ultra mag line from remington and necked down 378 wby mags to fire 30 cal bullets.

RE: Sako 30/378
 

Assuming that the 30-378 and 378wby have similar recoil is not a valid assumption.The 378 is propelling a 300gr bullet which is more than 1-1/2 times as heavy as the 180gr bullet used in the 30-378.The extra bullet weight greatly increases recoil.

The 300ultramag case is smaller in capacity but it only produces about 100fps to 150fps less with 180gr bullets when both are loaded to design pressures.

RE: Sako 30/378
 

Tres 03 was the last year for anything in the TRG-S' except the 308 and 338 Lapua that they still build today. The TRG-S' are basically tactical rifles now and are over $3k! For $400 they are either stolen, really used or he possibly has had them for about 5-6 years and hasn't had a buyer for them (or he is simply willing to loose $400-$500 each on them to sell them that far back of cost if they were of the latest vintage).

The reason I know is because I shoot the bigger brother (MARGINALLY I might add) too the 30-378, I have a 308 Lazzeroni Warbird in the TRG-S. I bought it from my brothers manager who ordered them from Lazzeroni at the SHOT show in 99 when Lazz first put out the rifles. That was right before Beretta bought Sako and they were still imported by Stoeger. In fact my rifle has Stoeger on the underside of the barrel, all the other Lazz/Sakos we got after that were stamped Sako. The initial guns were considerably cheaper than they were after Beretta bought them out. The introductory dealer cost on my rifle was only $450 (now everyone knows why I wouldn't dream of getting rid of my 'bird!) and within a couple of years those same guns (of which the Firebird was added too) saw dealer costs raise too nearly $900 before being dropped by Sako after the 03 season.

You can't look in a book for their value, there simply weren't enough produced to begin with and since there aren't any others available in that price range, the value has gotten into the $1,200-$1,400 if they are still in NIB condition. If it has been shoot a few times they are still bringing in the $800 (give or take a hundred) range. Hell if nothing else, buy those guns if they are NIB and turn around in a month and double your money! (Personally I would sell one for $1k and keep one, then you have basically had a 30-378 Sako given too you and you were paid $200 to do so! :D )

Take your time shooting them as obviously 30cals that are this fast produce ALOT of heat. Keep the bore clean (I BoreSnake mine after each outing and don't scrub the crap out of it until season is over!) and you will have a reasonable life of 1500 too as much as 2500 rounds life expectancy from the gun.

Recoil wise, forget the charts! The big McMillan stock does a VERY VERY WONDERFUL job disappating the recoil, and of course the Pachmeyer Declerator pad doesn't hurt either. I have a KDF brake on mine but have shot it without it (to check for accuracy change, which it didn't) and the gun really didn't kick very bad, no more than several other mags I have. BUT the big thunder cartridge DOES produce considerable muzzleclimb without the brake. When fired from bags with the brake off the gun will stand up about 2'. Would make it hard to shoot out of shooting house windows without a brake. Other employees of my brothers also bought the Warbirds and Firebirds and I was the only one with a brake and ALL of them have dinged their guns and scopes while in shooting houses. With the brake I can watch the shot!

With that $200 you made on the gun, buy a set of Walker Game Ears!!!
RA

ps
And stick with Xbullets, nothing else will stay together at 3500-4000fps!!!

RE: Sako 30/378
 

The fact that the muzzle does rise 2' upon firing is an indication that the balance andstock design does not handle the recoil well at all.My mcmillan stocked 300ultramags do not have experience anywhere near that kind of muzzle rise upon firing yet produce much less felt recoil.
When the standard trg-s rifles were sold here in Canada the price was around $900 Canadian.The30-378 that I fired cost less than $1000 Canadian.

RE: Sako 30/378
 

This is a fine rifle, with the caveats noted above. I have a friend who converts these into a wildcat round he loads, designed for 1,000m shooting. He loves these rifles to start with. I've shot several of these (after converted) and hunted with one the last two years. They are large and heavy, especially with bigger optics on top, but they really reach out there if you need to.

RE: Sako 30/378
 

Well both of them, NIB, are in the gun safe as we speak. Seems that he bought them new when he opened his store, lots of years ago and has never had anyone want to buy them or look at them. Where his store is, it is the $200 guns that move and not the high dollar ones. Need to break out the reloading gear for it. I have the same 30/378 caliber in a Weatherby and think I will try to build one load that will suit all of them. Probably going to stick around 180 grain bullets in Nosler partitions or Barnes. Open to suggestions to what others have found satisfactory. This of course is just a place to start.

RE: Sako 30/378
 

TC that's GREAT news and yes those guns need to be in your safe, you STOLE them!!! :D

I don't know what kind of ammo plans you have, if you are planning on reloading then I FULLY recommend the Barnes Triple Shock. Either weight is your choice, and they will stand up too all the abuse the mighty Wby can dish out. As for factory fodder, Weatherby offers a 180 Barnes Xbullet. (Their data says 3450, that is HOT and I would think your gun would be closer too the 3300ish fps range but either speed spells LIGHTSOUT for anything with a pulse!) Pesonally I would stay away from Nosler Parts in these kinds of guns simply because they will essentially "melt" lol when they hit anything. Seperated cores and horribly deformed jackets will be your end result when firing them at these kinds of velocities. I shot a few 150NPs from my Warbird when new, but never hunted with them. A couple of my buddies with Firebirds stubbornly insist on NPs yet they grumble about the horrific damage the bullets do and how much fragmentation they suffer. The processor groans when he sees their deer and only smiles when he sees mine!

Good luck and congrats again, welcome aboard the "A-Train of trajectory"...
RA

RE: Sako 30/378
 

I will have to play with the Barnes. Early on it seemed that a rifle either loved them or hated them. Haven't been around the triple shock. Been on the big gun kick for a while. My main hunting weapon is the .340 Weatherby. I am strictly a horn hunter and don't meat hunt, don't need to. I took a Kudu in Namibia at 356 yards with the .340. That is the difference between hunting with something like that and a 3006. Nothing against 3006, great gun, but when you get to 350 and 400 yards you don't have to do a lot of figuring drop charts. The .340 drops 14 inches for me at 350 yards. Both shots were 6 inches apart and the first one I forgot to allow for a cross wind. Kudu bull didn't go 15 feet from the first shot. I had to explain to the PH that I wasn't from Europe and in the west a 350 yard shot with the right brace should be a chip shot.