Sauer 80, 90 and 92 are
bolt-action
Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed).
Most bolt-action ...
rifles with a non-rotating
bolt
The BOLT Browser was a web browser for mobile phones including feature phones and smartphones that can run Java ME applications. The BOLT Browser was offered free of charge to consumers and by license to mobile network operators and handset manuf ...
and rear-locking rotating lugs. The rifle is known for having a short and smooth bolt travel, but also for being technically complicated.
In Europe the rifle was originally sold under the name Sauer 80. The rifle was sold in USA as Sauer Colt from 1973 to 1985, and Browning had a special model with steel panels between 1979 and 1984.
[Hunters House - Colt/Sauer 80](_blank)
/ref> Sauer 90 and 92 were later and updated models only sold in Europe, with the main changes being related to the trigger guard and stock.
Sauer 80 was designed in 1970 and introduced to the market in 1972.
"Models 80, 90 and 92 are similar in design and are all classic hunting bolt-action rifles. Sauer 90 was released in 1982. Sauer 90 and 92 were produced until 2006.[Welcome to ColtSauer.com](_blank)
/ref>
After the Swedish rifle company Husquarna/Carl Gustaf for a while stopped producing civilian rifles, they decided to import finished and semi-finished rifles from Sauer. A variant of Sauer 80 was therefore produced in Sweden under the name Carl Gustaf 3000 (M.3000 or CG 3000). They were very similar to the original, but with a few differences in for instance the stock and scope mount
Scope mounts are used to attach telescopic sights or other types of sights to firearms. The scope sight itself is usually made for only one of two main types of mounts, which can be classified as ''scopes for ring mounts'' (for example a 30  ...
s. Most of the rifle was made in Germany, while the barrel and final assembly was done in Sweden. All receivers were made in Germany, and the Carl Gustaf rifles therefore had house mark
A house mark was originally a mark of property, later also used as a family or clan emblem, incised on the facade of a building, on animals, in signet and similar in the farmer and burgher culture of Germany and Scandinavia.
These marks have ...
s from Sauer. The Lux editions of CG 3000 were built completely by Sauer in Eckernförde
Eckernförde ( da, Egernførde, sometimes also , nds, Eckernför, sometimes also ) () is a German town in Schleswig-Holstein, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, on the coast of the Baltic Sea approximately 30 km north-west of Kiel. The population is a ...
, Germany, while the standard versions were assembled in Sweden using receivers made by Sauer, barrels from Carl Gustaf and MonteCarlo stocks from Sweden.
Technical
The rifle is known for having very good precision, and has been used by hunters
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler ...
and sport shooters, and also in a sniper version known as SIG Sauer SSG 2000
The SIG Sauer SSG 2000 (''Scharfschützengewehr 2000'', literally ''Sharpshooter Rifle 2000'') is a bolt-action, magazine-fed rifle.
Service use
The SSG 2000 sniper rifle is a joint effort by Swiss company SIG Arms (now SIG Sauer AG) and German ...
by police and defense forces.
For being a hunting rifle, the Sauer 80/90 is known for having a somewhat high weight compared to competing models.
Stock
The rifle was delivered with different types of wood stocks, and especially the German stocks were known for having a high quality. The safety is conveniently placed on the tang of the stock, but little wood in this area makes it a weak spot which is known for breaking if the rifle falls. The rifle is also known for being difficult to glass bed due to the shapes of the recoil lug and barrel nut, as well as ensuring that the magazine is seated correctly.
Trigger
The trigger has a special construction built on rollers. It is known for being complicated and sensitive to dirt, and needs regular cleaning to avoid misfires. The rifle was also sold with a set trigger which could be activated by pushing the trigger forward.
Bolt
The bolt has a lift of 60 degrees, making the rifle easier to operate with a scope sight mounted. There is a button on the bolt allowing the rifle to be emptied with the safety engaged.
Three massive flapper locking "lugs", or struts, can be found on the rear of the bolt. Rear locking ensures a shorter bolt travel, but also makes the brass case (as well as the receiver, but with modern metallurgy it's strong enough to not influence anything) stretch considerably more during firing. This gives more wear on the spent casings, and the brass can therefore not be reloaded near as many times as with more conventional rifles with locking lugs on the front end of the bolt (which wasn't initially seen as an issue since the gun was marketed in the upper segment for well-off buyers who don't reload their ammunition).
It is known that the bolt recesses should be cleaned regularly to avoid stoppages. Due to the rear locking lugs, the precision of the rifle is also known to be very sensitive to oil or water entering the chamber, even more so than the Krag–Jørgensen
The Krag–Jørgensen is a repeating bolt-action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Norway, Denmark, and the United States. About 300 wer ...
.
Receiver
The Sauer 80/90/92's and the Lux variant of CG 3000 have an empty chamber bolt hold open mechanism and a steel bottom metal. The standard edition of CG 3000 has an aluminium bottom metal and lacks an empty chamber bolt hold open.
The receiver was produced in four variants. The different receivers (and some of the different calibers{{citation needed, date=July 2019) used different types of single stack magazines.
; Short action
:.222 Rem
The .222 Remington or 5.7×43mm (C.I.P), also known as the triple deuce, triple two, and treble two, is a centerfire rifle cartridge. Introduced in 1950, it was the first commercial rimless .22 (5.56 mm) cartridge made in the United States ...
, .22-250
The .22-250 Remington is a very high-velocity, short action, .22 caliber rifle cartridge primarily used for varmint hunting and small game hunting. It is capable of reaching over 4000 feet per second. It does find occasional use by women and yo ...
, .243 Win
The .243 Winchester (6×52mm) is a popular sporting rifle cartridge. Developed as a versatile short action cartridge to hunt both medium game and small game alike, it "took whitetail hunting by storm"Ron Spomer.Whitetail Deer Cartridge Shoot-Out ...
and .308 Win
The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar but not identical to the 7.62×51mm NATO ...
.
; Medium action
: .25-06 Rem, .270 Win
The .270 Winchester is a rifle cartridge developed by Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1923 and unveiled in 1925 as a chambering for their bolt-action Model 54The Complete Reloading Manual for the .270 Winchester, Loadbooks USA, Inc., 2004, ...
.30-06.
; Magnum action
: 7mm Rem Mag, .300 Win, .300 Wby Mag and .375 H&H.
; Safari magnum
:Only in .458 Win Mag.
The rarest caliber chamberings for the Colt Sauer are .22-250 in short action, .25-06 in medium action and .375 H&H in the magnum action.
The SSG2000 was chambered in .223 Rem
The .223 Remington (designated as the 223 Remington by the SAAMI and 223 Rem by the CIP) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge. It was developed in 1957 by Remington Arms and Fairchild Industries for the U.S. Continental Army Command ...
, .308 Win
The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar but not identical to the 7.62×51mm NATO ...
, 7.5×55mm and .300 Win Mag
The .300 Winchester Magnum (also known as .300 Win Mag or .300 WM) (7.62×67mmB, 7.62x66BR) is a belted, bottlenecked magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a m ...
.
Barrel
The Sauer 80/90 barrel mounting differs from traditional action threads. While the barrel does indeed have threads, it is headspaced using a separate hex key
Hex keys of various sizes
Socket head screws of various sizes
A hex key (also, hex wrench, Allen key and Allen wrench) is a simple driver for bolts or screws that have heads with ''internal'' hexagonal recesses (sockets).
Hex keys are fo ...
. This way the barrel can be changed using only simple hand tools, eliminating the need for a vise
A vise or vice (British English) is a mechanical apparatus used to secure an object to allow work to be performed on it. Vises have two parallel jaws, one fixed and the other movable, threaded in and out by a screw and lever.
A vise grip is ...
and an action wrench
A wrench or spanner is a tool used to provide grip and mechanical advantage in applying torque to turn objects—usually rotary fasteners, such as nuts and bolts—or keep them from turning.
In the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zeala ...
. This mechanism can be seen as a forerunner of the barrel change system later introduced in Sauer 200
Sauer 200 is a bolt action rifle introduced by SIG Sauer in 1984 and produced until 1993. The rifle was one of the first consumer rifles with easily replaceable barrels. Sauer 200 has also been sold in Scandinavia under the name Carl Gustaf CG&n ...
, SIG Sauer 202
The Sauer 202 is a lightweight bolt-action rifle manufactured by Sauer & Sohn in Germany between 1993 and 2015. The rifle was imported to the US by SIG Arms. This rifle has a modular construction which allowed easy replacement of components and ...
and 200 STR.
Original replacement barrels can be difficult to find.Hunters House - Sauer 80/Carl Gustaf 3000
/ref>
See also
* SIG Sauer SSG 2000
The SIG Sauer SSG 2000 (''Scharfschützengewehr 2000'', literally ''Sharpshooter Rifle 2000'') is a bolt-action, magazine-fed rifle.
Service use
The SSG 2000 sniper rifle is a joint effort by Swiss company SIG Arms (now SIG Sauer AG) and German ...
* Krag–Jørgensen
The Krag–Jørgensen is a repeating bolt-action rifle designed by the Norwegians Ole Herman Johannes Krag and Erik Jørgensen in the late 19th century. It was adopted as a standard arm by Norway, Denmark, and the United States. About 300 wer ...
* Husqvarna 1900
* Carl Gustaf 2000
* Remington Model 7600
References
Eksterne lenker
Sauer 90 Jungjägerfragen - Lutz Möller Geschichte
Rifles of Germany
Rifles of Sweden