Playing with my new Sauer 100 30-06

[Jon Bischof]

On the left is my Tikka 30-06 magazine. Holds 3. On the right is Sauer 100 30-06 magazine, holds 5. From what I can measure with caveman instruments, the Sauer mag appears to have a tiny smidge more length inside the mag to accommodate longer cartridges.

 

[AlphaDogs]

"Minute of big game" is at least 12". An 06' will kill anything in NA at the ranges 99.9% of animals are killed at.

ALWAYS have an 06' !!!!

 

[Ranger260]

On the left is my Tikka 3-06 magazine. Holds 3. On the right is Sauer 100 30-06 magazine, holds 5. From what I can measure with caveman instruments, the Sauer mag appears to have a tiny smidge more length inside the mag to accomate longer cartridges.

A "smidge more" room in the magazine is better than nothing. And the 2 extra rounds overall capacity is a bonus!

I recently purchased a Sig Arms SHR 970 in 7RM from my brother, which I think could be a predecessor to the Sauer 100 (and similar in design), and is the rifle that got me interested in these new Sauer 100s. You are killing me with this 30-06 of yours...had my heart set on a Sauer 100 30-06 until a good deal on a 30-06 CZ 557 in a Manners stock entered my life...now I gotta find a "hole" in my arsenal of rifles and choose a different cartridge to quell my Sauer 100 "lust".

 

[DBoone]

Now come on, don't be shy, this is a Sauer thread, so tell us who makes the barrel for the SAUM you having put on your action.

I'm just getting Benchmark barrel threaded up for it.

 

[Jon Bischof]

Ranger260: The Sig Sauer rifle you mentioned is Swiss and a completely different company than the J. P. Sauer & Sohn gunmaker in Germany. And I'm thinking it is a very different rifle as well. Here's my Creedmoor.

And the 30-06 with my ancient Burris Signature on it for testing.

I almost bought a CZ557 30-06 a couple of weeks ago. So I'm very interested in how your 557 shoots.

 

[DBoone]

This is my "smidge more" measurement. I can't do pics like Jon though.
Sauer magazine (A) internal length is ~ 3.390"
Sauer magazine (D) internal length is ~ 2.860"
Tikka magazine internal length is ~ 3.375"

I believe that would be the longest Sauer magazine (stamped A). Good for the 7mm Rem Mag, 300 Win Mag and 338 Win Mag.

The other Sauer magazine (stamped D) I have is for a .243, .308, and 6.5 Creedmoor.

I have modified my Creedmoor magazine with a simple file and got another 15-20 thou length out of it.

To me both bolt stops appear to be the same in the Sauer's.

 

[Jon Bischof]

DBoone, I was going to suggest using a file, but you beat me to it. I'm glad you got more room for longer bullets.
Wow! A guy who can use a file and has 20th century measuring instruments!

 

[Cesky fousek]

I wanted to shoot it and test out some factory ammo first before I bought a new scope, so I slapped some $10 Leupold bases on it and some $10 B-Square rings (Really!) and mounted my 30-something year old Burris Signature 4-16X Electrodot scope on it that I used to use to hunt in the woods where shots were usually under 100 yards. The crosshairs are pretty thick compared to today's scopes, so it is not very good for shooting much past 200 yards. Anyway, I just wanted to start shooting the Sauer before I decide what to put on it. It will probably be my woods rifle anyway, since I already have other rifles for longer range hunting.
Here's Federal Premium 180 Sierra GameKing soft point @100 Yards.

Here is the same ammo @ 200 Yards.

Here's Fiocchi Sierra GameKing HPBT @ 200 Yards

Beautiful

 

[Ranger260]

This is my "smidge more" measurement. I can't do pics like Jon though.
Sauer magazine (A) internal length is ~ 3.390"
Sauer magazine (D) internal length is ~ 2.860"
Tikka magazine internal length is ~ 3.375"

I believe that would be the longest Sauer magazine (stamped A). Good for the 7mm Rem Mag, 300 Win Mag and 338 Win Mag.

The other Sauer magazine (stamped D) I have is for a .243, .308, and 6.5 Creedmoor.

I have modified my Creedmoor magazine with a simple file and got another 15-20 thou length out of it.

To me both bolt stops appear to be the same in the Sauer's.

DBoone...thank you very much for those measurements. I look forward to hearing about your new Benchmark barrel...not sure how thats going to work with the breech ring...otherwise it's just threaded rather than press-fit.

 

[Ranger260]

Ranger260: The Sig Sauer rifle you mentioned is Swiss and a completely different company than the J. P. Sauer & Sohn gunmaker in Germany. And I'm thinking it is a very different rifle as well. Here's my Creedmoor.

And the 30-06 with my ancient Burris Signature on it for testing.

I almost bought a CZ557 30-06 a couple of weeks ago. So I'm very interested in how your 557 shoots.

Beautiful rifle Jon! I'm a bit hazy on the history of the company, but it is my understanding that SIG, J.P. Sauer and Sohn and Blaser have some connection. As for the Sig SHR 970...it is Swiss-made, but I heard that it may have been produced by J.P. Sauer and Sohn for Sigarms in the U.S. It was only imported for a few years, but word was SIG pulled the plug on this "sleeper" because they went all-in supporting Blaser rifles (too much competition) . Don't take my word on this...not a ton of info. out there on these rifles.

That said, my SHR 970 in 7RM is very accurate...1st time I shot it with 139 gr. Hornady Whitetail...cloverleafed a 3-shot group around 0.3" at 100yds. The Sauer 100 is definitely not of the same design, as this is a switch-barrel rifle...however, I can see some design cues. The 970 has a fat-bolt design, a short bolt lift, double-stack DBM and an extremely smooth throw, like the Sauer 100 but much earlier design. The bolt also locks into the barrel, rather than the action.

As for the CZ557, it is a very nice rifle for a very fair price...Old World craftsmanship. Mine has a CHF barrel with nice bluing, a crisp trigger and a beautiful Turkish walnut stock. The Manners stock was thrown into the deal, and that is how it now sits. I have the 20" barrel, but have not had a chance to wring it out. The previous owner reportedly shot factory 150 gr Hornady Whitetail at 0.81MOA @100 yds and 168 Barnes TTSX handloads @ 0.56 MOA...as well as taking the rifle accurately to 1000yds. I think this will make a great suppressor host for me and an awesome dark-timber elk thumper!

But I still want a Sauer 100...thinking of a .270 Win or .300WM to fill in the gaps

 

[Ranger260]

Do any of you have any experience with a Sauer 100 in 300WM? Seems like it would make a dandy elk rifle. However, I am disappointed with the 1-11" twist and 3.39" magazine. I would like to run a 200gr. Accubond. Nosler load data shows a COL of 3.34", so looks like it would barely fit... but would it be stable?

 

[Jon Bischof]

Ranger260, If I understand your question rightly, you want to know if maximum length handloads would feed reliably from the magazine. I would say that if you have enough room to push them freely down into the magazine, they will feed very well. The magazine fits very tightly with no play at all and it is almost flush and rounded on the bottom so it is comfortable to carry the rifle without the magazine protruding into your carry hand. I looked at the twist rates and noticed Sauer makes the Pantera with a heavier taper fluted barrel in 300 Win Mag and 6.5 PRC. The twist rate for the PRC is 1:8 if that helps you. My 30-06 is 1:11 just like the 300 Win Mag. I need to get some 220 grain bullets and see how it does with them. It shoots 180's and 190's the best so far.

PANTERA | Sauer USA

www.jpsauer-usa.com

 

[Ranger260]

Ranger260, If I understand your question rightly, you want to know if maximum length handloads would feed reliably from the magazine. I would say that if you have enough room to push them freely down into the magazine, they will feed very well. The magazine fits very tightly with no play at all and it is almost flush and rounded on the bottom so it is comfortable to carry the rifle without the magazine protruding into your carry hand. I looked at the twist rates and noticed Sauer makes the Pantera with a heavier taper fluted barrel in 300 Win Mag and 6.5 PRC. The twist rate for the PRC is 1:8 if that helps you. My 30-06 is 1:11 just like the 300 Win Mag. I need to get some 220 grain bullets and see how it does with them. It shoots 180's and 190's the best so far.

PANTERA | Sauer USA

www.jpsauer-usa.com

Jon,
The Pantera is sexy, but I am really interested in a classic sporter for the Sauer. I have about all the "sexy" I can handle in my Seekins Havak PH1 6.5prc with a 1-8" twist barrel...lol. I was referring to an 1-11" twist Sauer barrel being able to stabilize and accurately shoot 200+ grain bullets. Tikkas have the same issue with the slow 11-twist barrel, and it seems that some can run 200 gr bullets successfully and some cannot. Sounds like the magazine will barely accommodate a 200 gr AB...hopefully living at higher altitude in UT helps to stabilize the larger bullets with a slow twist. I wish the Europeans would get with it and start manufacturing .30 caliber chamberings with a 10-twist barrel. Flush-fit mags are a plus since I regularly carry one-handed, gripping around the magazine and action.

 

[Jon Bischof]

180 Fusion She likes her bullets cheap and heavy.