Sauer Model 404: the evolution of the species

The spotlight of the IWA in Nuremberg was the right situation for JP Sauer & Sohn to present its top rifle to the public where the best gunsmith technologies are enclosed in a classy and functional guise.

di Emmanuel Tabasso

The Hausmesse or Bignami Day which at the end of March, after the IWA in Nuremberg, gathers the sector employees at the welcoming exhibition space for a favorable review of the wide commercial proposal of the Atesian company was a very welcome opportunity for a test focus on the brand new Sauer Mod. 404 which, in the pavilions of the German fair, we had just looked at the crowd around this product with complicity. We already knew of the much more favorable occasion and therefore we have postponed a detailed examination of the rifle that is the leader of Sauer production to this situation.
Today the top companies carefully take care of the different market positions of their products and the segmentations take specific names for which the top sector is called premium: it is undeniable that the best solutions are found there, both for elegance, class and finishes, which for the sum of innovations or in any case of adjustments to what the customer needs is set as an objective. Examining the Mod. 404 we discover how it is conceived and built.

Castle, barrel disassembly, bolt
The castle takes up favorably the solution of Mod. 202 and is obtained with milling operations from an extruded Ergal with a vertical prism shape: the upper part with a rounded cap with integral bases for the attachment of the optics, the ring rounded and the closed bridge with faceted sides where you can see the passage slit for the handlebar. The specificity of this project lies in the high flanks, characterized by a sharp drop in the surfaces that leave two diagonal bars located in the rear third in relief: they act as a stop for the two parts of the stock and the forces of the shot are discharged on the rear one. From here the disassembly of the speargun begins: by pressing the retainer with spring balls of the front shirt, its internal extension in which the all-round driver is hinged is removed; in the meantime the shaft has been removed by accessing the barrel locking complex. Under the ring protrude two flanges crossed by three hexagonal head screws: after having loosened them, the lever with an eccentric base is activated, freeing the barrel and pulling it out without further operations. Note how a notch in the breech facilitates correct positioning during reassembly. From here we observe the shutter made from a cylindrical bar of considerable section with a ring, keyed in the back, in which the handlebar with the comfortable round knuckle is inserted. The head is brought back in such a way as to allow, together with the replacement of the barrel, also the change of caliber, obviously for similar groups: a sliding button recessed in the central body releases the apex which is removed thanks to the T-joint. the head with six fins, differentiated in thickness, which close directly into the breech of the barrel, the lowered face with firing pin hole, the double elastic pawl for a softer and safer ejection, and orthogonal movement extraction claw, embedded in a of the front flaps and adjusted by a wire spring.
Percussion and shooting
The manual arming released from the movement of the shutter seems to be the best form of safety: a slide button inserted in the bolt shank performs the function and the disarming takes place by pressing the central round button. In this position, the firing pin spring is extended, blocking it, the release and opening of the bolt are inhibited: it is right to intervene, with the safety on, with a slight pressure on the slide to pick up the cartridge if necessary in the chamber. The trigger sees a very curved and striped trigger with adjustable length position, with eight mm of travel, and on five different angles (right and left) to optimize finger contact; after removing the rod, on the left side of the castle you can access the determination of the release weight on four different weights between about 350 and 1200 g. Obviously, all the above operations are carried out with the supplied Allen key. Frankly, it seems to us an exhibition of splendid intricacy, so dear to the Germans, and coming from the new location in Isny: a system with the classic stecher still seems to us preferable for technique and class.
Barrel, optics and stock
The interchangeable barrel obtained by roto-hammering with conical cylinder section and length equal to 620 mm has a 6-start rifling with a pitch of 1:11 "which stabilizes the classic bullets of the caliber .300 Win well. Mag. Chambered in the sample under test. The interior is mirrored, the chamber and barrel coaxiality is optimal with the resulting cases without the slightest flattening, the muzzle with an 11 ° recess does not interfere with the bullet at the moment of detachment. Open sights mounted on raised hooves with angled notch and U-shaped sight are provided combined with a prismatic front sight adjustable in elevation and windage. The scope is connected to the integral bases obtained in the shell of the castle and is a piece of the highest current level as required by the rifle to which it is applied: the description of the qualities of the Zeiss V8 2,8-20 × 56 with illuminable reticle would take up a lot of space and in any case the words would not give the measure of the yield of this proposal from the top of the House of Wetzlar. A must try especially in the worst conditions you can imagine, where technology really expresses the difference. For the stock we give more and more credit to Synchro, this is how Sauer defines this solution made of two pieces of synthetic material with soft rubber inserts in the grip and contact points with the face, with the wide entablature for the passage of the hand and a firm and comfortable posture on the pistol so as to make the trigger finger act in the best condition, both in the still shooting and in the movement one. The discharge of force very in line with the barrel minimizes the fletching and, also thanks to the well-designed butt plate, the recoil sensation is very low. We fired a suitable series of shots in the Bignami tunnel without any sense of annoyance: the results are gratifying, especially when we have not run into our own oversight, as sometimes happens.
Conclusions
Very little to add after Sauer decided to express the excellence of its gun technology with the firm conviction of reaching the top of the sector: the over 260 years of history, rich in expressions that have marked the evolution of weapons, have given timely confirmation. Speaking of the cost frankly seems useless: those who love precious objects and at the top of the category also understand this detail, without having absolutely a problem with it.

Data Sheet
Builder: JP Sauer & Sohn GmbH - Ziegelstadel 20, D-88316 Isny im Allgäu
Tel. +49 (0) 7562.97554-0, Fax +49 (0) 7562.97554-801 - [email protected] - www.sauer.de
Importer: Bignami spa, via Lahn 1, 39040 Ora (BZ) - tel. 0471/803000 - fax. 0471/810899 - www.bignami.it - [email protected]
Model: 404 Synchro (alternatively: Classic walnut - Classic XT polymer and soft touch - Elegance walnut grade 5 agreed directly with Bignami)
Type: Rifle Shotgun
Operation: sliding rotating shutter with ordinary repetition
Closure: detachable head with six front flaps on two rows from three lowered - mortise in the breech of the barrel
Percussion: firing pin with coaxial spring in the shutter activated by the external slide
Extractor: claw with orthogonal movement and flush register spring
Ejector: two spring buttons at the head of the bolt
Barrel: steel with 6 right-handed grooves, pitch 1:11 ", obtained by hammering length 510 mm medium standard calibers - 560 mm for standard calibers and 620 mm for magnums
Trigger: direct with single trigger with 4 pre-calibrations that can be set at your choice
Armament and safety: sliding button in the bolt shank, with stop button, with two positions: locks the firing pin, deactivates the spring and locks the handlebar. Opening of the bolt with safety inserted by pressing the slide by a couple of mm
Magazine: extractable monofilament polymer package with 3 or 2 cartridges (standard or magnum calibers) coming in 4 and 5 for standard and 3 and 4 magnum
Sights: on socket with U notch and prism viewfinder adjustable in both directions - integral bases for specific attachment of the optics
Stock: two-piece, high grade walnut wood or molded polymer with soft rubber grip points - for both shock absorbing recoil pad
Caliber: .300 Win. Mag. (Alternatively: .243 Win. - .270 Win. - .30-06 Sprg. - .308 Win. - 6,5 × 55 - 7 × 64 - 9,3 × 62 - .338 Lapua - .375 H. & H. - 7 Rem. Mag. - 8x68S)
Materials: extruded ergal milled for the yoke and forged steel for the bolt - carbon steel barrel
Length: 101,5 mm 51 cm barrel - 106,5 mm 56 cm barrel - 112,5 62 cm barrel - For transport with disassembled stock: 69 - 74 - 80 cm maximum overall dimensions
Weight: approx.3.200 without mounts and optics (standard calibers and 56 barrel)
Finishes: central body with rosette polished shutter and matt burnishing of the remaining parts
Price: informative of 4.090.00 € Synchro XT model - (5.010,00 / 5.340,00 Elegance XT standard or magnum) - 3.530,00 Classic XT -