Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Sauer 303XT semi auto hunting rifle

I've just got the new Sauer 303XT for testing. I don't think it's well known in the US of A or Canada so i will share the first pictures i made at the shooting range this afternoon.
The Sauer 303 is a semi automatic rifle for driven and still hunting. Designed for greater handling safety, it possess an hand cocking device like the Blaser R93/R8 or the Merkel Helix. The 303XT can be carried loaded without any risk of accidental discharge, if it's not manualy cocked before the shot. The 303 possess also a firing pin safety, drop safety and cannot fire if bolt is not 100% locked.

The first series of 303 had some reliability issue but Sauer made it's job good and that one is absolutly flawless for the moment.
Today we had rain storm, shooting range was flooded. After a rapid zeroing at 100m, point of impact 4cm above point of aim i quit shooting paper target washed by water and went to steel at 200m. Not testing the maximum accuracy i wanted to make the barrel burn and the action suffer a bit. We burned 40 7x64 Brenneke cartridges in fast fire by group of three. 20 were PPUPartizan and 20 were RWS Hmantel. All the 40 rounds impacted the 12inch gong, mostly in the center of it. We were three different shooters, from elbow rest with the left arm blocked by my millet rest. Not bench rested.
The stock is synthetic, the rear part is easily detached for more compact carry when travelling.
For french laws compliance, magazine is two rounds plus one chamber. It's swivelling but fixed to the receiver (fear of revolution in our politicians may be). For other countries the 303 has three or five shot single column magazine, detachable.
The scope is Zeiss Duralit, components made in Wetzlar but assembled in Hungary. The one used is 1,2-5x36 for driven hunt, mostly.
If the thread is well received and some of you guys are interested, targets will follow next week as the test resume. We also burned some powder with an old Mosin Nagant rebarelled in 30-284 wildcat to abide our stupid laws. Not a bad shooter despite an awful trigger...
Pictures are not so good because of the light, sky almost black at 4PM...
Thank you for watching
Dom

JB has an artical on the M303 in the July issue of Rifle. he gave it high marks.

I will be interested in any further info. I was only aware of the "S" model, the timber stocked model.

Dom, the quality as usual looks outstanding . I would be interested in seeing how it does at the range.

That is a fine looking rifle.

Hello friends,

Stay tuned, will do other testing at the range next week, shooting paper (if rain storm stop)with different factory ammos (here not a lot of hunters handload and with semi auto even less.
But it seem that the previous feeding issues of the first batches, two years ago, are over. The rifle was not a selected one.
The stock is a bit too much "plastic" but look tough, handling is very good, the black inserts are very comfortable to hold. In 7x64 (very close to a 30-06 power wise with 162, 173 or 177grs bullets) the recoil is very light to the shoulder. Shooting fast three shot i was able to stay inside the balancing 12in steel gong at 200m. Very effective for a rifle which will be mostly used for driven hunt, where fast accurate second shot can be mandatory.
Photos will follow.
Have good sunday
Dom

Dom, the Sauers I have seen at the gun stores have Mcmillans as the stock vendor. Does this one have a real fiberglass stock or an injection moulded stock.

Is the cocking doohickey a requirement in Europe or do they just not like normal safeties? How much force is required to cock it?

This one has a goog injection molded stock but without the "tupperware" feeling and noise when you fire it. It's rather good despite his plastic look. With the new surface treatment of steel and alloy parts this model will be good for bad weather and wood hunting
dom

Hi pacecars,

No this cocking device is not a requirement in Europe but the idea made a part of the success of the Blaser rifles and Sauer belong to the same group, so they wanted to have a "safer semi auto" that could be use by people hunting in the wood or driving dogs without the th�orical risk of accidental discharge.
More the less this system allowed the lightest safe tigger weight on a hunting semi auto around 1300g around 2,85lbs, without backlash or creeping. This system contribute really to the great accuracy of the 303, it's totally silent.
Note that i can live without the hand cocking device and that i own only one semi auto hunting rifle at the moment: an old Ruger 44 with tubular mag. Formed the old military way by my father and my instructors i always keep the muzzle out of thing i don't want to hit and can go with the standard safety procedure.
I think that to much technical safeties kill the real safety. To believe in technic as in a new god is going to trouble sooner or latter...

Sauer being the last to comme on the semi auto hunting rifle in Europe wanted also something different of the other. This cocking system was part of the idea. I ain't mesured the force to cock the rifle but my 16 years old daughter do it easily and she's not a weightlifter.
Dom

I like it as it still looks like a rifle and not a space age POS like something someone else posted the other day. The sights, however, would take some getting used to (maybe ). The 7x64 Brenneke is one fine cartridge and I'm glad to see it's still around. I'm also thinking the action reminds me of my old (1961) winchester model 100:



This is how it shoots with its factory irons at 50 yards (4 shots/ 1 magazine of 308 winchester).

I'd also be very interested in your range tests with both sighting systems if you could. Thanks.

Had one model 100 in 284, made the mistake to sell to a good freind, was a very good semi but except that the 303 and the 100 are gaz operated and possess (as most semi) a rotary bolt head they are very diffrent inside. The 303 exist also with stock wood in different versions some very expensive with high grade walnut french or turkish.

Yes the 7x64 is always in use and keep on doing well, even in semi auto, because of soft recoil and good performance on game.
Note that the 303 is available as most semi auto in Europe in 9,3x62, 30-06, 8x57, 300Winch mag calibers.
A 9,3x62 semi is like Thor hammer for big driven hunts where wild boars are big and plentiful and that stags are also on the menu...

How loud is it when you cock it? Can it be done slowly to qiuet the sound like an exposed hammer lever gun?

Operation can totaly silent if you push the cocking piece slowly. It was designed so for hunters hunting from blind or high seat.

You have seen the price ? More than a NIB w/papers & tags 100 284 !

The price in Europe is very expensive: more than 2100 euros , too much for my wallet in USa i don't know. I've chance to play with because of my job and share it on the fire. It's the most expensive semi auto on Euro market. One synthetic Short or Long trac goes 1050euros. One 750 in 35Whelen synthetic goes 950�
But we are used to Sauer high prices....

I had a Colt/Sauer in 30-06 a few years ago. I wish now that I had kept it. Without a doubt, it was the smoothest bolt action that I have ever handled or fired. It was a great shooter as well, and very nice to look at.

Marseille thanks for an interesting post. GRF

Some of you were asking for more infos. Today rain stop falling, the sky is cloudy with some sun going through. A light breeze from 3 to 5mph is blowing on the range from right to left. I shot different cartridges with different bullets of various weight and form. Here are four targets made at 100m and 200m. The scope was never adjusted and it's for goups only. All shots were from the magazine to test the reliability with different shape of bullets.

Two targets (Birchwood casey) show five impacts. Each are from one 3 shots group followed by a scope "put off/put on" and 2 cartridges fired from the magazine. Each time the point of impact varied a bit but not enough to worry about even on small roe deer at 300 meters, and of not importance on driven hunt where most shots are from 50m average.

The Norma Accubond were the lightest (140grs) and fastest, they shot lots higher at 100m than the RWS (173grs) or french (150grs) made GPA Sologne. The GPA and the Hmantel shot same point at a hundred even if their shape and weight are different.

The shots were taken from the elbow, left arm blocked on Millet Bench to stay close to hunting use. No cleaning was made during the shooting. The barrel get a bit warm too but it's not a bench rest rifle and hunters in my country are not famous for their taking care of rifle...Here the pictures.

100 meters one 3 shot group followed by off/on scope then 2 shots. The 2 higher shots are came after the scope moving. Not too bad...


The same but with french GPA. These are monometallic bullets lathe turned, optimised for driven hunt. GPA means Grande Puissance d'Arret, High Stopping Power in english. After impacting and penetrating the ribs, the bullet fragments in four petals and the main core. The petals cause secondary wounds while the core goes through and out. The bullet has pressure relieving cannelures and a cutting edge that cut hair at the entrence hole for good blooding trailing in case of need. They exist as solid for African heavys and mightys. Calibers goes from 243 to 600.

Then target with Norma 140grs Accubond. The upper group is 100m the lower 200m. No clicks no windage correction. The up group is a bit more than MOA the lower is less than MOA.


The whole target. Reminds all cartridges are factory and all shots from the magazine without any "accuracy" shooting technics to stay close to the average hunter....

Very nice Dom. Looks like you have an excellent shooting rifle there. Did you have any malfunctions at all? I figured I'd ask since we are talking autos. Thanks for showing us americans other flavors of ammo out there too. Not bad at all with factory ammo. Thanks for posting.