The Rifle to Replace Them All......Sauer 202 Outback

Badlildoggy

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Gents,

If you have not had the pleasure of handling a Sauer 202, if given the oppurtunity, you have to give it a try. I just bought a Sauer 202 Outback lightweight in 270win. I have to say, that as an owner of many fine firearms, from many different eras, this rifle makes me want to throw them all in the scrap bin. I was skunked this season hunting so using this as a logical excuse and a cure for my broken heart (in my man mind), a change was needed and a new sibling was added to my gun safe.
I spent the whole day cruising around to gunshops handling various firearms, Bull Sh##ting the counter guys and then this ###y beast found its way into my arms. Good Lord, I feel my wallet already getting lighter with my desire for more of these to add to my collection, and I havent even shot this one yet. I have to say, there was only one comparison in modern hunting rifles IMO, and that is the Sako 85. Fit and finish is amazing, balance, smoothness, and trigger. I havent been that exited about a gun in awhile. I bought this rifle at an incredibly low price finding this out after doing some research. After handling many other high quality rifles new and used, this was the one that seemed to shame them all.

Anyways, I just wanted to share my excitement. I will let you know how she shoots.

Cheers,
 
Sauer markets a very nice rifle, the only thing that they seem to lack is a stainless barreled action. As far as changing barrels, having the bolt lock up into the barrel does make replacement barrels in other than the factory configurations, to be more complicated.Do you know if their synthetic stocks are molded plastic, or are they fiberglass?
 
Sauer Rifles are both artistic and modern precision. Not something that comes together in American rifles very often. My brother has two of them, they make me want to trade off a bunch of rifles and consolidate my collection. The nice thing about Sauer or any other German rifle is that the "tweaking" and customizing that is commonly required to get less costly factory standard rifles to shoot well has already been done. I have never heard of a Sauer that needed the action trued, the trigger tuned, the stock replaced, or any other "standard" customization. They work they way they are supposed to, from the start, every time.
 
Sauer markets a very nice rifle, the only thing that they seem to lack is a stainless barreled action. As far as changing barrels, having the bolt lock up into the barrel does make replacement barrels in other than the factory configurations, to be more complicated.Do you know if their synthetic stocks are molded plastic, or are they fiberglass?

I believe they are molded plastic, like the Blaser synthetic. The 202 has an alloy receiver so no need for stainless and their bbl finish is very durable, via a nitriting process, which also hardens the steel and makes it difficult for any gunsmith to do a rechambering,etc. So other than aesthetics, the rust resistance is supposedly very similar to stainless. In reading hundreds of user posts on various forums, I didn't see a frequent rust issue mentioned on either Blaser or Sauer 202 barrels.
Neither are a rifle for those who are used to stripping,rebarrelling and customizing Rem 700's and the like. They do it all out of the box, no need to "build" a shooter. The 202 is a very nice rifle with slightly superior fit and finish to the Blaser perhaps. I looked at both closely a while back and decided on the R93 Professional for personal preferences.
 
I drank the Blaser Koolaid a few years back, and don't regret it...but the 202 was the one rifle system that gave me fits when it came to choosing. The scope-on-receiver put me off a bit and influenced my final decision, but the Sauer was absolutely the smoother, slicker, classier rifle.
 
Whatever floats your boat. :D
An acquiantance owns a Sauer 202, and I have shot it a fair amount
Most of the firearms from that part of Europe are overengineered and overpriced.
And when something fails, the cost of repairs is astronomical. [downtime can be daunting as well]
Nice rifles, but I have absolutely zero desire to own one.
Regards, Eagleye
 
The 202 has an alloy receiver so no need for stainless

This picture was taken from the Sauer site, it looks like the untreated receiver and barrel rusted badly.

pic_ilaflon.jpg


Both the receiver and barrel appear to be depending solely on the coating to prevent corrosion.
 
This picture was taken from the Sauer site, it looks like the untreated receiver and barrel rusted badly.

pic_ilaflon.jpg


Both the receiver and barrel appear to be depending solely on the coating to prevent corrosion.

The newer versions, past few years, have an alloy receiver, that's how they get the weight down, like on the outback.
I don't quite get what you mean by the last sentence, of course it's the coating/treatment that prevents corrosion, hence the reason they apply it. :confused:

If you're truly interested, there's lots of info via google. IIRC, Sauer uses their "Ilaflon" finish, Blaser a nitriding process.
 
I don't quite get what you mean by the last sentence, of course it's the coating/treatment that prevents corrosion, hence the reason they apply it.

Just pointing out that the material itself is not overly rust resistant compared to stainless steel. As for coatings, in higher friction areas, coatings can wear through over time, and the corrosion resistance is effected. With stainless steel, wear doesn't effect the corrosion resistance.
 
This picture was taken from the Sauer site, it looks like the untreated receiver and barrel rusted badly.

pic_ilaflon.jpg


Both the receiver and barrel appear to be depending solely on the coating to prevent corrosion.

True of any non-stainless-steel gun. That photo is obviously a steel receiver...I'm pretty sure that Sauer offers both steel and aluminum receivers.
 
Whatever floats your boat. :D
An acquiantance owns a Sauer 202, and I have shot it a fair amount
Most of the firearms from that part of Europe are overengineered and overpriced.
And when something fails, the cost of repairs is astronomical. [downtime can be daunting as well]
Nice rifles, but I have absolutely zero desire to own one.
Regards, Eagleye
Boring! This Sauer rifle does not come in any calibre options that begin with a 4.
 
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The best rifle I have ever bought is a sauer 90. Nothing else I have ever handled have the the hight qualit feel of a sauer rifle. They are very accurate rifles also. Since I bought it 10 years ago, every other rifle I have bought has felt like a pice of junk. That includes many other high end rifles. If you ever have the chance to buy a sauer 90 or 202, buy it, you wont be sorry. If you take car of your rifle even with a rust preventitive coating that is work through, it will never look like the on in the picture above. Even a stainless steel barrel and reciever will begin to show rust marks if niglected because most grades of stainless steel still contain a certain amount of iron in them.
 
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