So, we're here in Southern Germany and we're at the Sauer and Blaser
factory having a look at the showrooms, the production plant and hopefully
have a go on the shooting cinema as well. Really looking forward to it they can fit us in.
As you know I shoot a Sauer 404 in 338 Win Mag
and I shoot a Blaser R8 Professional Success in 300 Win Mag. You do, yes I do.
So, it's great to be able to come to the factory see where they're made
have a look at the new models, any upgrades that are available and keep an eye on
how we might want to change our setups moving forward. Yeah, it's gonna be good
fun. It is gonna be good fun. Wildey's already got his Blaser hat on, I have got
Sauer and I think the next thing is we're going to meet the guys and let's get cracking. Let's do it.
Good morning and a beautiful snowy
morning it is here in Germany. We're at the Sauer Factory. This is
Frederic Hanner, who is International Sales Manager for
Sauer and as you know I shoot Sauer 404 in 338 Win Mag and that's what I'm
taking wild boar hunting in Hungary with me. So we thought we'd come to the
factory, have a look at how the rifles are made, what specifications are there
available and get a better idea as to why the Sauer 404 is an ideal rifle for
international hunting for travel. But the Sauer that I've got is Syncro XT, so it's
quite a basic version but there's so many other options that are available.
Definitely. So, what I'm gonna do first guys, I'm gonna show you what a Sauer 404
can do and that's the same on all models. We've got a Sauer 404 Syncro XTC here.
The C stands for carbon, so it's superlight 2.7 kilos and the perfect
driver for active hunting, stalking. So what we've done with the Sauer 404 is
actually build a rifle that is modular, meaning you can change everything on it
and at the same time you can individualize it and make it fit to your
body. We're all different, different heights, different hand sizes, so you can
adjust all of that on your Sauer 404. So, in the forend you have your sling
swivel. Now, most people say okay every gun has a sling swivel, but with the 404
you take it out and there's a number four allen key included in there. You can go
in the for-end, quarter of a turn you unlock it and you can take your for-end
off. That's already super useful when you're stalking somewhere where it's wet
you strip it down, you can clean your rifle, clean the for-end and get the
moisture out. Then on the one side, you can adjust your trigger pull. So, from
550, 750, 1000, 2000.
Whatever the hunting situation may be
like, whatever you prefer you can adjust it on the rifle. Go in there with your
allen key and adjust it to the weight you like. The trigger itself moves eight
millimeters front to back, five degrees right to left so again speaking before
about the modularity, you see one, two, three actually written on the rifle so
the rifle tells you what to do. Again use your allen key and loosen the screws one turn each.
Open the lever and then you can just pull the barrel out. So, it's
super easy you don't need a gunsmith and you can do it wherever you are whenever
you want to because the tool is always with you. This action will take anything
from a treble two all the way up to a four-four Geoffrey. If you change between
caliber groups standard, mini or Magnum you need to change the bolt head which
I'm going to show you now how to do. But first barrel back in, wait for the click,
turn it in, close the lever and again one, two, three that's what you do. Stick your
for-end back on and just lock it tight and the rifles complete again. Your bolt
catch on the left side next to the trigger guard push it you can take the
bolt out and then there's actually just a small lever on the side which you pull
back and then you can take your bolt head off and depending again what
caliber group you're using you can adjust it. So, that's a standard bolt if
you want to change it to a 300 Win Mag for your boar shooting trip just take
the standard bolt head out and take your Magnum click it in and you're ready to go.
Furthermore, you have an adjustable cheek
piece. Again, use your tool go into the upper hole of the main stalk, loosen the
screw and then you can adjust it to whatever height you want it to be and
then you just tighten it again. So that's a short run down through the 404,
what I'm going to show you now this is our compact case. We do a travel
case especially made for the 404, as you see very small, very slim the point
behind it is when you're traveling somewhere on the public place you don't
want everybody to see that you're carrying a gun that's why we've made it
so let's say neutral everybody could think there's a trumpet in there or just
a music instrument and that's really the point. So, first thing you do
click detachable mounts on your scope Sauer universal mount, take your scope off
and there's room for your scope in the case. Then stripping down the rifle. You
don't actually need to take the barrel out to put it into your case, all you do
is take the main stock off, there's a Sauer mini tool in the main stock,
just loosen the screw in the back there, pull off your main stock, room in there
for it and then your barreled action goes in there without the chamber.
Take that out, special room for that also.
Put your rifle in there.
They're all airline proof, so you can actually check it in it's checked in luggage and
that's all there is for you to take. We still make a bigger one also, if you have
an exchange barrel and a second scope with you there's a slightly bigger one
to take your second better than your second scope.
So, we've got four main models in our Sauer rifle range. Sauer 303 semi-auto rifle here at top.
Sauer 101 bolt-action, Sauer 404 bolt-action and these are 100 bolt action.
The Sauer 100 is our welcome to premium model we always say so it's your
basic models. No compromise on quality and precision, you've got the cold
hammer-forged barrel, bolt locks into the system and the barrel is actually fixed
with the system so very stable precision wise as all of our bolt actions sub more
guarantee. Three position safety on here, once it's on the last white dot safe and
you can't open the bolt then for safe loading and unloading the second white
dot now safe but you can open and close the bolt and then of course we always
say red is dead on the red the rifle is life. It comes both in a synthetic and a
wooden stock and retails at about thousand pounds depending on which configuration you go for.
Sauer 101 you've got your safety at the back of the bolt
and the special thing about the Sauer 101 safety actually is you need to push
a button down and then push it forward and that makes it a very safe rifle when
you're out stalking. The same as with the Sauer 100, we offer ours our Sauer lock mount
to mount your scope again quick-detachable scope just pull the
levers back, take your scope off hundred percent same point of impact when you
put it back on cold. Hammer-forged barrels, sub mower precision guaranteed.
Again, we've got a lot of options here on stock for the Sauer 101. We have our
classic synthetic and wooden stocks with adjustable cheek pieces. Again, ergonomics
is everything when shooting you want to be relaxed, you want to adjust the rifle
to what you want to do and it's what we offer on the Sauer 101.
Here we've got our is Sauer 303, it's a semi-auto gas reloading system and again
we always say you need for speed and that's what we have here, you can't be
faster on a driven hunt then with a semi-auto rifle. Again like with the Sauer
404 manual cocking meaning you only really engage the firing pin spring just
before you want to shoot and that makes it a very safe system again to use and
we offer it both with three and five shot magazines depending on which
country you're from, but then again together with a small
driven hunt scope or an aim point, very very fast and very effective tool for any driven hunt.
Beside our let's say standard line of Sauer 100's, 101, 303
404's we also do really highly specialized engraved rifles.
Pieces of art really, we work together with the top engravers in Germany. Here
at the bottom we've got a very special rifle, it's the Sauer 404 Spartan.
It's actually a Greek themed rifle and here in the front you have an original
medieval Greek spear tip, you've got a Coliseum stone as your bolt handle and
then the engravings really show this power and this rigidness of these times
and the fights in these Coliseum's so again very special rifle. Over here
beautifully hand engraved is Sauer 404, one is themed with wild boar.
That's one of the most popular at the moment, everybody loves their driven wild
boar I think all over Europe and even worldwide it's it's gaining a lot of
faith. Very classic red deer engraving here is our 303
that's our semi-automatic rifle the name is full moon and that is themed again at
wild boar at night hunting. Very traditional way to hunt boar over here
in Germany is under the moonlight. Those are very classic rifles we also do a bit
crazy themed rifles from time to time. You've got a 303 up here engraved with
dinosaurs and that is just something to show we're innovative and we want to
show stuff that people really like and see what modern art can also be about.
Internationally we are most known to be a rifle producer here at JP Sauer and Sohn.
However, traditionally in Germany we were always very famous shotgun producer
as well. Today, we make our classic over and unders in semi-auto the new SO5. Very
unique and again customisable Sauer side lock shotguns we've got the Sauer
Magma here. Magma because of the case color hardening it's like magma flowing
volcano and then of course our top grade my step back shotguns and their again
all made from hand same thing as with the custom-made rifles you come over
here we speak through your engraving your wishes custom stocks of course whatever you like you get
So, as all of these engraved guns really are custom
pieces and are highly individualized we invite customers who come here,
we'll invite them over to the factory here choose the wood together at
our wood depot and then really speak with the engravers and go through
everything they would like you want it you get it you tell us what you would
like and you really get your rifle that is a unique piece and only you have.
So, that's the Sauer side of things covered, some exciting new models, some
great enhancements and upgrades and a good look at custom shop capabilities.
Now, we get to look at Wildey's toys. Yeah, we get to go to the Blaser factory
and into their showroom as well to see the new things they've got I've heard
that they've got a very nice silence rifle with a new silencer that comes all
the way down the barrel so I'm really looking forward to seeing that but good
fun. Let's get inside.
Hi, I'm Steve Wilde and this afternoon we're luckily enough to be in the Blaser
factory in Germany. Today, I have Toby with me and you as you all
know I shoot a Blaser R8 Professional Success in 308 and in 300 Win Mag. I've
I've got the different barrels, but these today Toby's going to show is a couple
of the variants on the R8. So Toby, off you go.
Yeah, let me just show you our let's say new models of the R8 family. On the top
over here we have the R8 Success individual and on the bottom our latest
model the R8 silencer. Let's start with R8 Success. Individuals as you probably
know from all the R8 and the first view shows it's a very, very short rifle we
call it at Blaser compact action. Where does that come from? Basically our magazine is
just on top of our trigger, which saves us another nine centimetres, which
compared to other rifles is shorter. As you know the R8 manual cocking
system so in that position the gun is completely safe all the springs inside
the system are just cooked. If you want to shoot, you have to cock the gun
manually. This is done by just pushing the cocking lever forward, now you're
able to shoot, repeat as it is a straight action ready to clip again until the
magazine is empty. For this cocking just push it a little bit to the front and to
the bottom and slides back now it's safe again. As all our rifles, this one is also
a modular system so basically you just open those two screws and can change the
caliber from 220 to up to 500 Jeffery, all possible with one system. But, what is
new with the R8 Success Individual? Individual stands for a combination of
wood with the benefit of the thumbhole stock and the leather index. So the
customers do not have to decide anymore do I want to buy a wooden sample stock
or synthetic one with leather, now we can offer them you've got both. Basically it's
available in the wood rates 4 or 7. In the combination with our brown leather.
You'll notice straight away through the difference from mine obviously
because I've got that the laminate stock, they're very, very nice then. Let's go to
the R8 Silence. Which I'd notice straight away he's completely different to ours
with the silencer besides running right the way down the barrel, I've no seen one
before or anything quite like that before in a rifle so you're going talk
me through that. Benefit of that rifle compared to the standard silencer
is that it doesn't look like you have a silence around
balance and everything is in the middle of your hands we have no weight on the
front it's completely over the whole barrel so the balance of the gun is in
the center as you know it from other R8's. The silence is available in three
different calibers. We offered a 308 the 9.3 and 28.57. The
barrel length of each caliber is 42 centimetres. The R8 silence
basically is handled like the normal silence it's nothing else then over
barrel silencer but the barrel goes into the silencer not only like this compared
to standard one but the whole length like this which makes them really really
comfortable and handled. We also have a benefit out of our compactness 62
centimetres that comes through the short system of the R8, which still makes it
handling like a normal or moderated barrel shooting with the rifle without
silence. Balance is exactly the same, for example if you go on a driven hunt
and do you have to swing the rifle it doesn't feel different compared to
another one without a silent someone is pulling you down yeah yeah exactly the
sound reduction with the 308 it's about 30 decibels, which is quite remarkable.
That is amazing, amazing.
I've got the basic model of the Blaser R8 Success,
which is a synthetic thumbhole stock. What other variants could we put
together for the Blaser R8? At the moment there's almost no limit. Of course people
have different tastes, different types of shooting so our aim is to offer the
hunter what he wants and what he needs for going out hunting professional. So as
I said there are eight is a complete modular system so the barrel we have
here would fit into every other R8 system so yes so the customer can come
and tailor the gun to his exact needs what he wants what situation is going to
into. Exactly. whether he's wild boar over there in Germany or is off to
Africa on plains game or dangerous game you can basically, one system and one
trigger wait you're used to and you can use that system in each country on every
game because it's modular system you just have to change the caliber without
losing the stock you're used to enter system and the trigger weight and so
absolutely yes so you basically shooting the same rifle in different calibre's.
Exactly yeah. Or for example if you have somebody in
the family who is left-handed you just have to change this assembly to a
left-handed one and people could shoot it it's just put a left-handed slide and
it just still works exactly the same. Once you've bought a system
can adjust the rifle to each demands you have just changing the caliber.
So, Toby thank you very much your time sir, I've really enjoyed looking
around the factory. I've enjoyed looking at the rifles I'm
just going to have quick browse around your shop if you don't mind and see if
we can spend a bit of money you're welcome we enjoyed having you
thank you very much once again.