Taking Down the Sauer Model 202 Rifle

The Sauer Model 202, made offshore and imported by SIGarms, is an ultra-precision sporting rifle incorporating a slew of the latest features. At this point, it’s too new to have developed a reported track record of malfunctions. Its modular design makes it possible to easily replace individual major components and to change calibers. Before I forget, any measurements given here or listed in the owner’s manual will be in the metric system, so take a few notes if you’re unfamiliar with the system.

A millimeter equals .03937 inches. The overall length of the 202 rifle in Magnum caliber is about 1170 mm. Multiply that 03937 and you get inches’in this case, 46.06 inches depending on barrel length. A kilogram equals 2.2046 pounds. That same Magnum 202 rifle with a steel receiver weighs 3.8 kg, or about 8.4 pounds, again depending on length of barrel. So much for my doing conversions. All others are up to you. When a Sauer 202 leaves the factory, its metal parts wear a protective coating of oil.

Any excess oil should be wiped off and a clean patch run through the barrel from breech to muzzle before the gun is fired. Chances are very good to excellent the gunowner will not have bothered with such details.

This will lead to a buildup of powder residue and other gunk in the action, which will lead to the rifle being brought in to you with a complaint about misfires, poor extraction, and’in extreme cases of fouling’failures to feed. (This will probably be due to the magazine-follower spring being frozen in place or having its movement restricted with crud.) Chances are also good that the same owner will have lost, discarded, or simply forgotten to bring along the disassembly tools that come with the rifle.

If so, you’ll be able to substitute for their absence with a set of longshank Allen wrenches (in metric sizes, of course). Field Stripping There’s a bolt release in the trigger assembly (#711). It shows itself by extending downward from the triggerguard, similar to the release on a shotgun. Press it upward and withdraw the bolt from the receiver. Insert a 5mm Allen wrench into the buttstock (#401), back off the buttstock screw (#403) and dump parts #402, 403, and 404 out onto your bench.

Once they’re all set aside together, remove the buttstock to the rear. After pressing in on the center of the forend sling swivel and pulling it out, use the same Allen wrench to undo the forend screw (#501) and remove the wood toward the muzzle. This will give you a pretty good look at where you can go from here. Taking the stocks off a Sauer 202 is a little like taking the grip panels off some imported pistols. Almost all the innards are showing.

Removing/Changing the Barrel Do you see the three 4mm clamping screws (#203) at the front end of the receiver just under where the barrel breech joins it? Loosen (but only just loosen) the back one. Do the same with the middle one, then back out the front screw completely. The key/ insert (#208) that locates the barrel rotationally can now be detached and removed downward. In most cases, the barrel can be If cleaning is necessary, the assembly can be removed as described in the text.

If the tools are missing, you can substitute a set of long-shank metric Allen wrenches. pulled from the receiver. In others, it might be in too tightly for simple extraction. Don’t attempt to drive it off; you’d be risking damage to a very expensive barrel. Instead, take the clamping screw you completely removed and start it in from the opposite side of the receiver. Place a nickel or a penny about halfway into the slot vacated by the key/insert.

The coin will serve as a bearing surface against which you can turn in the clamping screw to widen the receiver’s grip on the barrel and pull it out. In this process, you may have to further back out the rear and middle clamping screws as you go or they may prevent the receiver from widening enough. A few words regarding changing from one caliber to another are called for here: With normal (a.k.a. standard) calibers like .30-06, .308, .270, and .25-06, all that’s required is anew barrel.

Due to a different bolt configuration, however, going from any of those to .22-250 or .243 requires both a barrel and a bolt. And there’s no way The screw head requires a 4mm Allen wrench. The bolt cannot otherwise be fully reinserted in the rifle. a standard/normal caliber can merely be re-barreled up to a Magnum. With the big boomers, the stocks, bolts, and receivers are different. Magazine-Catch Disassembly The catch is a plate (#104) on the right side of the receiver.

Press the lock catch (#207) upward to disengage it with the catch and the catch can be lifted off. The lock-guide pin (#205), compression spring (#206), and lock can be withdrawn downward unless the spring beats you to it. Except for the catch itself, these are very small parts and easily lost. Bolt Disassembly The cocking sleeve (#113) is not threaded into the bolt body (#112). Pull back on the sleeve and turn it counterclockwise to disengage its integral cam with the recess in the body.

Pull out the entire firing-pin assembly. All the parts in this assembly, #103 through #106, are retained by a cylindrical pin (#102). If for any reason you need to remove this pin, keep in mind that the firing-pin spring is extremely powerful; it delivers a 2millisecond lock time. Strong as it is, that spring won’t separate the collar bushing (#104) from the firing pin (#106) when the cylindrical pin is removed.

To do that, lock the end of the firing pin between padded vise jaws, unscrew part #103 from #106, and pull the components apart. The vise will be used again to reassemble the bolt. Then you’ll have to compress the spring, maintain pressure while you install the collar bushing, force the firing pin into the bushing, align the holes in the firing pin nut (#103) and firing pin, and install the cylindrical pin. Be ready for a fight with the spring. Ejector/Extractor Assembly Parts #108 are two identical springs.

One serves the ejector, the other the extractor. The ejector itself (#107) is

Sauer Model 202 Semi-Automatic Rifle (Specifications subject to change without notice) 100 Bolt Assembly 102 Cylindrical Pin 103 Firing Pin Nut 104 Collar Bushing 105 Firing Pin Spring 106 Firing Pin 107 Ejector Pin 108 Ejector Spring 109 Ejector Spring Pin 110 Extractor 111 Extractor Plunger 112 Bolt Body 113 Cocking Sleeve 200 Receiver Assembly 201 Magazine Ejector Spring 202 Receiver (Alum.

Alloy or Steel) 203 Clamping Screws 204 Magazine Catch 205 Magazine Lock Guide Pin 206 Magazine Lock Spring 207 Locking Catch 208 Insert retained by a roll pin (#109).

After placing apiece of tape or a plastic bag over the bolt face, drive pin #109 either up or down enough to allow the 209 Slotted Pins (2) 210 Tang Safety Button 211 Tang Safety Threaded Pin 300 Barrel Assembly 301 Barrel 302 Slotted Spring Pin 303 Screw 304 Rear Sight Blade 305 Screw 306 Rear Sight Base 307 Screw 308 Front Sight Base 400 Stock Assembly 401 Buttstock 402 Retaining Bushing 403 Buttstock Screw 404 Serrated Washer 405 Washer 406 Countersunk Woodscrew 407 Sling Swivel Bushing 408 Butt Cap 409 Butt Cap Screws (2) spring to push the ejector outward.

Whenever possible, and in this case it is, I advise you not to drive the pin completely out.

When you get around 500 Forend Assembly 501 Forend Screw 502 Forend 503 Sling Swivel Socket 510 Cap 600 Magazine Assembly 601 Magazine Base 602 Magazine Spring 603 Feeder (Follower) 604 Magazine Box 700 Trigger Assembly 701 Striking Lever 702 Cylindrical Pin 703 Compression Spring 704 Sear 705 Cylindrical Pin 706 Trigger 707 Cylindrical Pin 708 Compression Spring 709 Shims (2) 710 Rocker Arm 711 Bolt Catch 712 Action Catch Pin 713 Bolt Catch Spring 714 Safety Release Catch 715 Two Cylindrical Pins 716 Compression Spring 717 Spring Pin 718 Trigger Bar 719 Safety Catch 720 Spring Pin 721 Compression Spring 722 Trigger Spring Adjusting Screw 723 Rocker Arm 724 Spring Pin 725 Spring 726 Safety Lever 727 Spring Support 728 Trigger Housing 729 Adjusting Screw 730 Roller Note: All trigger-assembly components are restricted to factory service only.

Complete replacement assemblies are available. to reconstructing the bolt, this eliminates the need for roll-pin starter punches (Brownells) or the need for foul language when trying to com-

The lockcatch spring can be seen here (C) as well as the two roll pins retaining the trigger assembly (D). press and start a small roll pin into its hole without them. The extractor has no retaining pin. It’s removed by inserting a small tool between the back end of the extractor (#110) and its plunger (#111). Depress the plunger, press the rear of the extractor down, and rotate it away from the bolt face. You won’t forget to restrain the plunger will you? Good.

That way, the spring and plunger won’t disappear forever. The Trigger Mechanism This whole assembly is attached to the receiver as a modular unit by two pins (#209). Usually, the Model 202 is equipped with a direct trigger, but a double-set trigger is available. A safety (#726) is integrated with both types. It consists of two pressure pins separated one from the other. The safety release (#719) is located in front of the trigger and is well protected against accidental release.

When the release is pressed upward, the tang safety (#211) pops up to reveal ared ring to inform the shooter the safety is "off." Pushing down the tang safety resets the release, covers the red ring, and the safety is then "on." Parts #720, 721, and 722 adjust the Asear pressure. Part #729 adjusts sear engagement. Both subassemblies are sealed with lacquer at the factory after the trigger has been set to crisply disengage the sear (#704) at 3-1/4 pounds. We’re seeing more and more of these lacquered seals.

When absent, damaged, or substituted for, they’re a sure tip-off to factory-service workers that someone has been tampering with the trigger assembly. Lawyers representing firearm manufacturers love these seals. Lawyers representing those bringing an action against a manufacturer for "malfunctions" hate them.

I’ll repeat some advice given several issues back on the subject of doing trigger work while avoiding its possible consequences: If someone brings you a gun, particularly a rifle, with the request for a lighter trigger pull, stay away from the seals just mentioned. It’s impossible to know the composition of the material used by the gunmaker, and many of these compounds are proprietary.

If there’s a high-quality aftermarket trigger made to fit the rifle, remove the factory trigger assembly entirely, replace it and store it suitably identified in your safe. If the rifle ever has to be returned to the manufacturer for repairs restricted to "factory service only," take off the replacement trigger and reinstall the original. I promise you, if a rifle ever reaches a service department wearing someone else’s trigger it will be returned wearing a factory original for which you will be charged.

And you may not ever see the aftermarket trigger again. The owner of the gun will probably want you to reimburse him for the cost of the aftermarket trigger, and he’s not going to be happy about paying for another factory trigger. You lose both ways. It’s easy to separate the 202 trigger assembly from the receiver. It’s also easy to take it apart. Just knock out a few pins.

The bad news is you will never get it back together without the numerous slave pins, fixtures, and precision tools to measure stuff like sear pressure that are used by factory assemblers. Beyond that, all’re peat’all of the parts are restricted. No exceptions. (You can purchase a complete new assembly, though, if you take the trigger assembly apart and can’t manage to put it back together.) Sure, you can fabricate all the slave pins required.

And, given enough time, you might be able to reassemble this particular trigger if you buy a second, complete trigger assembly to keep standing by as a reference. Even then, however, you’d still be missing some very unique measurement and reassembly tooling. You’ve been warned. B About Bolt Reassembly The bolt has to be cocked before it will slide fully into the receiver. Insert one end of a proper size Allen wrench into the lateral bore hole of the cocking sleeve (see photo).

Twist the cocking sleeve clockwise until its cam engages the cam recess in the bolt body. Make a note and remind your customer that the rifle is ready to fire when the cocked bolt is pushed forward and into battery by pressing the action catch upward. If the trigger is pulled, the sear will release the firing pin. And Finally, About the Magazine The floor plate (#601) slides off to the front. The magazine spring (#602) and follower (#603) drop out the bottom.

Part #201 is the magazine-ejector spring that lives in a grooved recess in the receiver. As long as it isn’t broken, it will stay put since it’s trapped against the receiver by the magazine. I