Sauer S 202 Take Down: exclusive test in the new VISIER Special 69

Sauer S 202 Take Down 
Disassembly of barrel and receiver: remove hand-guard, hold the tube with thumb and index finger and the stock with the other three fingers, let the bolt fall out of the front position – done

The S 202 presented here has a crucial feature that makes for a real Take Down Rifle: fast, simple stripping of the barrel and receiver, no tools required. And here’s how to do it: a conical plug in the fore-end engages with a counterpart in the center stock. Six radially arranged locking pins lock into the cone here. When needed, a Purdey-style snap releases the bolts from the lock. Both connecting parts sit in solid steel plates. Their external form follows the stock cross-section. The plate on the center stock has a notch. A pin on the barrel is fed into this. This part is called "stone”. It centers the barrel when inserting and serves as a holder for the tube together with the front plate. But this connection is under load only when the bolt is open. When the breech is closed, the six-lug bolt, locking directly in the barrel, holds the bolt securely in the receiver.

The rapid disassembly "travel repeater" is otherwise the same as the standard models in the Sauer S 202 series.  The caliber spectrum ranges from the Swedish 6.5 x 55 to the big-game .458 Lott cartridge. Sauer currently offers the S 202 Take Down in the "Elegance" version shown above (from €5,126) as well as in the less expensive "Forest" version (€4,763), available only in standard calibers. The Classic and Hatari models are also commercially available.

All in all, with its S 202 Take Downs, J. P. SAUER & SOHN sets the standard for good, affordable and reliable series-rifles in this category, although they hit the wallet harder than most S 202 models in conventional configurations. 

Sauer S 202 Take Down 
A conical bolt with six lateral pins holds the fore-end and thus also the tube of the S 202 Take Down. A pin beneath the cone centres the plates one above the other
Sauer S 202 Take Down 
Stripped down: the S 202 Take Down travels in an inconspicuous transport case. Here the hunting Edition Premium Set with straight Hatari stock including the Zeiss Victory Varipoint telescopic sight and case for € 7,378

Sauer S 202 Take Down im Überblick 

Model:Sauer S 202 Take Down 
Price:€ 5.126
Caliber:.300 Winchester Magnum
Capacity: 2 + 1 cartridges
Barrel lenght: 650 mm
Total lenght: 1.185 mm
Trigger: 1.340 g (hair trigger: 275 g)
Weight:3.950 g

Features: Steel receiver, six-lug bolt, sun decor, walnut stock, rubber butt plate, combi-trigger, reflex sight, assembly bores


Shooting Test: Sauer S 202 Take Down 

No.Factory cartridgeGrouping
1165 grs GECO Express
42 mm
2165 grs RWS twin core
21 mm
3180 grs Lapua Naturalis
54 (43) mm
4180 grs Sellier & Bellot SPCE
76 (57)mm
5180 grs Remington CoreLokt SP
32 mm

Remarks: Grouping = five-shot groups, shot sitting from the bench rest support at 100 m distance, reported in millimeters,measured from the shot-hole centers. Bracketed values after subtraction of an outlier. 

Abbreviations / bullet codes: SPCE: Soft Point Cutting Edge, SP: Soft Point


VISIER Evaluation for the Sauer S 202 Take Down 

VISIER EvaluationPoints
Precision (max. 50 points)
50 points
Stock (max. 10 points)
8 points
Trigger (max. 10 points)
8 points
Magazine / Handling (max. 5 points)
3 points
Sight (max. 5 points)
3 points
Receiver / Function (max. 10 points)
10 points
Finishing (max. 10 points)
10 points
Total points (max. 100 points)
92 points
Test result
excellent
Commendations
****** (6 of 6 commendations)

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