Many of Sundra’s early rifles were built around Sako L-series actions. This custom L61 chambered in his wildcat .375 JRS was used to take this Tanzanian buff.

The receiver was a pure cylinder with an eccentric "washer" sandwiched between it and the barrel to serve as a recoil lug. Two massive locking lugs of equal strength and a projecting nose on the bolt that encircled the case rim and fit into a recess in the barrel breech makes this one of the strongest, safest actions ever designed. From 1948 to date, some 51⁄2 million 720/700-series rifles have been sold.

Remington 7600/750
I've lumped these two distinct models together here because they are essentially the same gun, despite one being a semiauto and the other a slide action. Both guns have evolved considerably since their introduction as the Models 740 and 760 in 1952 and 1955, respectively, but the common attribute that puts these guns on my all-time list is that they are built on the same basic receiver, which remains the most streamlined, compact action capable of handling the .30-06 family of cartridges.

Essentially, what Remington engineers did was take the pump action 760; remove the twin action bars connecting the bolt with the sliding fore-end; and replace them with a fixed fore-end, inside of which they put a gas block, piston and connecting rod to actuate the bolt. You could say the slide action 760 is simply a manual version of the semiauto 740. You can tell that by just looking at the two guns side by side.

In carbine versions, these two guns come the closest to duplicating the wonderful one-hand carry and balance qualities of the Winchester 94/Marlin 336. Both guns deliver a rapidity of fire unmatched by other action types and are ideally suited for hunting close cover where running shots are often presented.

Pennsylvania, where semiautos are not allowed for big game hunting, has historically accounted for the vast majority of 7600 sales. While there are now several semiauto rifles capable of handling the .30-06 family and even belted magnums, the Model 750 is unique. And no one has yet to match it, or its brother, in compactness of design.

Sako
Here's a marque that makes my list not with a specific model but as a manufacturer that has continually produced rifles of superb design and quality. This Finnish gun maker established its reputation with the "L-series" actions that appeared between 1955 and 1964.

Sako was the first to offer rifles built on three distinct actions, each scaled to a specific family of cartridges. There were several confusing model designations over the years, but they are best represented by the L461 Vixen, designed around the .222 family, the L579 Forester for the .243/.308 Winchester, and the L61 Finnbear for standard/magnum cartridges. At one time during the 1970s, my limited battery of centerfire rifles was mostly built around Sako actions.

The L-series Sakos were replaced by the Model 75 and within the past year by the Model 85. Both these newer series represent complete redesigns with three-lug actions and 60-degree bolt rotations rather than the twin-lug Mauser-type L series.

Regardless of specific models, however, for the 60 years that Sako rifles have been imported here, they have all been extremely well-designed, well-made, accurate and cosmetically attuned to American tastes.