The barrel must be a perfect fit in the receiver ring; if it is the slightest degree out of alignment, the insert won’t slide into the barrel slot. Even if the barrel is installed without the insert, however, there’s no danger as the bolt lugs will not turn into their seats in the barrel shank. But it is extremely unlikely that the insert will be left out as the piece also serves to anchor the forearm attachment screw. Because the bolt lugs lock directly into the rear end of the barrel, thus controlling headspace, it impossible to assemble a working rifle without the shank being fully inserted into the receiver. Standard and magnum calibre receivers and barrels have different dimensions, so that barrels are interchangeable only within the same bolt face group.

Barrels are interchangeable within a given cartridge family (standard to standard and magnum to magnum). Chamberings include most popular American and metric calibres starting with the .222, .223 and .22-250. Both the Sauer 202 Standard and Supreme top out with the .416 Rem. Mag. and .458 Lott offered with bull barrel and open sights. The Sauer 202 Standard is also available with a synthetic stock and as well as an oil-finished Turkish walnut stock.

The Sauer 202 Lightweight weighs less than any other model and features a black synthetic stock with a schnabel-tipped forend. The barrel and bolt are fluted and finished with Ilaflon, a proprietary finish that is

highly resistant to corrosion and abrasion. The aluminium receiver has an integral Weaver-style rail for scope mounts. No magnum calibres are listed for the Sauer 202 Lightweight, but standard calibres include: .22-250, .243 Win., .25-06, .270 Win., .308 Win., and .30-06.

The Sauer 202 Varmint is equipped with a heavy match-grade fluted barrel and Turkish walnut stock with an adjustable cheekpiece and broader beavertail forend. The forend has an accessory rail for a bipod. Calibres available for the Sauer 202 Varmint are: .22-250 Rem., .243 Win., and .25-06 Rem.

The Sauer 202 sent for review is the Classic model with steel receiver and 56cm fluted barrel coated with Iliflon. The gracefully contoured barrel has a diameter of 29mm at the receiver ring and the chamber section extends forward for about 59mm before tapering off at the start of the flutes which extend to within 28mm of the muzzle which has a dished crown.

The magazine well is located just behind the clamping screws and houses a detachable, single-column magazine that’s released by pressing a spring-loaded button in front of the well. Further to the rear is the trigger mechanism, a modular unit attached with two pins. The trigger is not user adjustable, but on the test rifle it let off at a consistent, crisp 1.59kgs. the trigger can also be put in the set mode by pushing the blade forward, to let off at a feathery 340 grams.

Test Report

Specifications Sauer 202

Manufacturer: J.P Sauer & Sohn GmbH, D-24340 Eckernforde, GermanyModel: 202 ClassicType: turn bolt repeaterCalibres: Most popular American and Metric calibres .25-06 testedOverall length: 11145mmBarrel length: 600mm std cals; 605mm magnum calsWeight: 3.5kgsMagazine capacity: 3 roundsRifling: 4 groove righthand twist 1:10”Trigger: single-stage non-adjustable; weight, with set featureSights: none, drilled and tapped for scopeStock: Turkish walnutAccessories: disassembly wrench and extension.Likely price: starting at $2845.00 (synthetic Ilaflon)Trade enquiries, contact Outdoor Sporting Agencies. PH: (03) 9741 1174 Email: duckhunting@bigpond.com.

SPECS

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LEFT: Zeiss Victory 3-12x56 scope is a top choice for the .25-06.

Its range of magnification and bright, sharp image enhances the role of the Sauer 202 as an all-around rifle.

RIGHT: Bolt shroud is sharply angled to match the contour of the receiver. Red ring visible around botton in the tang indicates that the safety is “OFF” putting the rifle in firing mode.

Test Report

The 202 has two safety buttons, one in a recess on the tang and the other inside the trigger guard just forward of the trigger blade. Depressing the upper tang button engages the sear- blocking safety and releases the button inside the trigger guard, allowing it to drop downward. To place the rifle in firing mode, the shooter’s finger is inserted through the trigger guard to push the button upward to the fire position. This also lifts the tang safety button and exposes a red ring. The safety can be engaged only when the firing mechanism is cocked, and the bolt handle cannot be lifted with the safety engaged. The bolt is removed by pressing a metal tab at the left front of the trigger guard.

For testing, the rifle was mounted with a Zeiss Victory HT 3-12x56 scope and fired for accuracy. There no malfunctions of any kind and the Sauer 202 shot very impressively with both factory ammo and selected handloads. Accuracy results are shown in the table.

Those who don’t fire enough shots in a year to make handloading worthwhile can choose from a variety of factory ammunition. Remington lists three loads with its 100gn Core-Lokt PSP, 115gn Core-Lokt Ultra-Bonded and 120gn Core-Lokt PSP at respective velocity readings of 3230fps, 3000fps and 2990fps in a 600mm barrel.

Or, if you prefer the Super-X logo on your ammo boxes, Winchester offers a 90gn PEP (Positive Expanding Point) at 3440fps; a 115gn BST at 3060fps and a 120gn PEP at 2990fps.

Hornady’s two standard loads have the BTSP Interlock and 117gn SST both doing 2990fps; and two Superformance loads which have the 90gn GMX scooting along at 3350fps and the 117gn SST boosted to 3110fps.

If your preference lies with Federal, their ammo for the .25- 06 is no slouch, starting with the Premium V-Shok load driving the 85gn Ballistic Silvertip at 3550fps; four Vital-Shok loads featuring the 100gn Barnes TSX at 3210fps; the 100gn Nosler BST at 3220fps; has the 115gn Nosler Partition doing 3030fps; and the 117gn Sierra GameKing BTSP at 3030fps.

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Factory ammunitionFederal Premium Nosler 85gn Ballistic Tip 3465 .85

Federal Premium Nosler 100gn Ballistic Tip 3190 .75

Nosler Custom 110gn AccuBond 3024 .88

Winchester Super X 90gn PEP 3320 .98

Hornady 90gn GMX Superformance 3350 .70

Remington 100gn Core-Lokt PSP 3185 .85

Hornady 117gn SST Superformance 3115 .98

Accuracy is the average of five, three-shot groups fired from a benchrest at 100 yards.Velocity is the average of ten rounds measured 3 metres from the muzzle of the Sauer’s 600mm barrel.All handloads assembled in Federal cases with CCI 250 primers. Reduce all powder charges by 5 percent for starting loads.

.25-06 Sauer 202 accuracyBullet (Gns)

Powder (type)

charge (Gns)

Velocity (fps)

100-yard accuracy moa

75 Sierra AR2208 49 3667 .70

75 Sierra WIN-760 56 3698 .65

87 Speer WIN-760 54 3550 .85

100 Nosler BT Re-19 55 3130 .68

110 Berger Supreme 780 54 2990 .55

117 Hor. SST Supreme 780 53 2965 .50

120 Hor.SP AR2209 50 3080 .80

aBoVe: the Sauer shown taken down into its major component parts with magazine left in place. the long-reach hex-wrench is necessary for attaching the buttstock and forearm to the receiver.

In case you’re wondering how the .25-06 compares with other .25 calibre cartridges. Assuming that barrel length and chamber pressures are equal, the .25-06 is about 300fps faster than the .250 Savage, 200fpsfaster than the .257 Roberts, and about 200fps slower than the .257 Weatherby. And if owners of improved cartridges are interested, the .257 Ackley Improved is only about 100fps slower than the .25-06, while the .25-06 Ackley gives away just 100fps to the .257 Weatherby.

In the bush the Sauer 202 handled well and bolt operation was smooth as silk - showing not the slightest inclination to bind. Alas, I found I couldn’t lift the bolt handle and work the bolt to reload without taking the rifle down from my shoulder. This is going to blow any chance of getting off a fast second shot any time there’s a chance for a follow-up shot at running or wounded game. This feature may not be important for the European sportsman who shoots from a hochsitz over a rest, but its not very desirable for the foot hunter and stalker.

I started shooting the .25-06 nearly six decades ago when it was still a wild and wooly wildcat. The first rifle I ever saw in this calibre was a rebarreled Mauser 98 owned by Doug Roberts from Orange, NSW. In those days the only powder we could get was military surplus 4740 the Canadians used to load .303 ammo. It had a burning rate about like IMR 3031 and was much too fast for the .25-06 turning up velocities not much better than the .303- 25. The old wildcat didn’t really achieve its true potential until Hodgdon’s slow burning H4831 arrived on the scene. Then its performance took off like a bush fire fanned by a gale force wind.

Hodgdon’s H4831 has been supplanted by AR2213sc which is still sold in the U.S as H4831, but it is an improved version of that grand old propellant with finer granulation which means it metres more smoothly through a volumetric measure and doesn’t need to be as heavily compressed as the original propellant. AR 2213sc is as good a fuel as you can get for this cartridge, but it

faces stiff competition from several other slow-burning powders. They include: medium-slow burning AR2209, WIN-760 VV N160 and Re-19. Slower numbers like Re-22, Re-25, and AR2217 are especially good choices with the heaviest .25 calibre bullets.

Today there are any number of good bullets available for the .25-06 weighing from 75gn to 120gn making the cartridge a versatile performer on everything from varmints to deer. I’ve always preferred 75 to 90gn bullets for varmint-predator work, but load heavier 117 and 120gn bullets in .25-06 game loads. However, it seems to me that a 100gn Barnes TSX leaving the muzzle at 3350fps might be a more sudden killer on feral goats and pigs. The 100-grainer shoots a bit flatter, bucks wind almost as well, and hits hard enough to drop ‘em in their tracks even a long way out yonder.

Excellent bullets in this weight include the Nosler Ballistic Tie Nosler Partition, Hornady Interlock and Speer spitzer boattail. Any of those 100gn bullets will kill like lightning on ferals, but for larger game such as fallow and chital deer, I always use the Barnes TSX. To date no animal has ever taken more than a few steps after being hit in the chest.

One of the best, if not the best all-purpose, all-around calibres, the .25-06 deserves a better fate. In fact, it is such a stellar performer that there’ll be a feature article about it in an early issue.

Anyone looking for a versatile switch-barrel rifle that incorporates Old World craftsmanship with modern high-tech design, will find it hard to go past the Sauer 202.

Test Report

32  sporting shooter  OCTOBER 2013 www.sportingshootermag.com.au

LEFT: This right side view the receiver reveals the threaded attachment for the forearm and three screws that must be loosened when interchanging barrels.

INSERT: One-diameter bolt has six locking lugs in a dual array, Bolt face is deeply counterbored and houses a Sako -type extractor and a plunger ejector.