Sauer 101 Hunting Rifle

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Sauer can be easily called a byword of quality. They have close ties to Swiss companies “Sig”, “Mauser”, “Ruag”, “Zeiss” and “Blaser”. All rifles with the “Sauer” name are top quality firearms, no matter the type. Their hunting carbines, S303 semiautomatic and S202 repeater are some of the best models available anywhere. The only real “flaw” of these weapons is exceptionally high price. Price of $2,500 can be daunting for an average hunter, no matter where they’re from, especially during this economic crisis. This is why the marketing and technical departments of “Sauer” decided to develop a modern, accurate and reliable bolt-action hunting rifle for 1,500 € (just under $2,000). Which, according to their data, is the highest limit a European hunter is willing to part with (I know people in US and UK who are willing to part with more, but let’s not tell them that).

This is how the hunting carbine Sauer 101 was created, keeping all the characteristics that made the company such a highly respected brand.

Match Grade Heat Pressed Barrel

For this rifle, that aims to be a part of mid-range offer, “Sauer” has made the match grade barrel, paying special attention to the muzzle. It provides a tight shot grouping both when hunting and during competition shooting. The rifle can come both with and without iron sights. This model has 60° bolt throw, which allows for quick shots in rapid succession and you won’t have to worry about accidentally catching the scope. The barrel is heat pressed into the receiver, meaning they are fused together, making it very difficult to replace the barrel.

The rifle comes in a variety of calibers, standard: 22-250 Rem., .243 Win, 6.5×55, .270 Win, 7×64, .308 Win, .30-06, 8x57IS, 9.3×62; and magnum: 7mm Rem Mag, 300 Win Mag, .338 Win Mag. Standard calibers have a 22 inches long barrel, while magnums require 24.

Perfect Silence

Sharp wide extractor and two round spring ejectors guarantee safe removal of empty casings. Wide side opening on the receiver serves to evacuate hot gunpowder gas in the case of burst primer and casing breach. New Dura Safe safety system lock is completely silent. It has a button and a lever, ensuring the lever cannot be pushed accidentally. The silent operation of the lock allow you to keep the rifle in the safe mode right up to the moment you need to fire it. Top part of the receiver can take Remington 700 long rail scopes, making mounting of optical scope much cheaper. Sauer 101 designers decided to use factory adjusted firing mechanism, with 2 pound trigger with no creep or overtravel.

Reliable Accuracy

The stock was made in accordance with the “Old School – New Rules” slogan. No matter if you’re using cheaper composite or more expensive wooden stock, both have the new Ever Rest bedding. One of the Sauer’s designers has stated that S101 bedding is a completely new method of joining the barrel mechanism and stock. Ever Rest combines ultra-solid stable bedding with maximum isolation of stock from the receiver and the barrel. He claims that not even multi-year use of the rifle with constant weather changes will not disrupt the bedding and that accuracy will remain reliable no matter how much you use it.

The system of match grade barrel, Ever Rest bedding and excellent stock has shown unchanged accuracy even in harshest tests. The accuracy is easily a match for the more expensive Sauer 202. Ergonomic properties of the stock were really taken into consideration. Shooter’s head is ideally positioned in relation to the axis of the optical sight. Shape of the stock, its weight distribution and the pistol grip have reduced the recoil immensely. That the stock is ambidextrous goes almost without saying.

Indestructible Polymer Magazine

Lever is revolver knob, and it’s been done superbly. It does not slip and adds to the smooth feeling of the weapon. No matter if you’re bare handed or wearing thick gloves, bolt handle grip is always secure. Pressing on the button behind the lever allows you to reload the “dura safe” locked rifle.

Although the magazine is separate, it is possible to reload it through the rifle, when the magazine is in the rifle and the bolt is in the rearmost position. The magazine is made of indestructible polymer and holds five standard or four magnum rounds. One round more than similar rifles. Magazine catch is just in front of it, like in other Sauer carbines. When you press that button, the magazine drops safely into your palm. It is a tried and true solution.

Up to (High) Standard

S101 both meets and exceeds the standards set up by the Sauer company, excellent quality rifle with perfect bluing, well designed safety and with smooth lever action and trigger mechanism. CEO of “Sauer” claims that this rifle will set the standards for other hunting carbines. The only downside is its price… while this is an excellent rifle, it is still an exclusive and pricey model, and there are other manufacturers, who can offer comparable quality for significantly lower price.
Images with courtesy of bulletin.accurateshooter.com, www.sauer-101.com, www.bignami.it.