Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa Sauer 202 Hatari vs Blaser R8 Kilombero

I am interested in comparing these two rifles in heavy safari calibers and, if possible, I would like to hear about the experiences of those of you who have actually used these two specific rifles.

My own experience from owning non-safari versions of both rifles is very positive:

Sauer 202 is full-metal, no plastics, feeds very smoothly and has detachable single-row magazines. The safety is also simply a "safety", not a cocking device which makes it easy to operate. My objections to Sauer Hatari would be I am not sure how well the take-down feature will work under extreme heat and dust etc. My own rifle's take-down feature works fine but I have not subjected it to harsh conditions yet. Also, I am guessing the Hatari models will be a bit barrel-heavy.

Blaser R8 is shorter and balances better (has a kick-stop in the stock). However, it has magazine and trigger assembly made of synthetic material. The action is also unique and I have not used it long enough to know if it could malfunction in harsh conditions. The cocking push-button is working fine on my 300 Win Mag R8 rifle but is it 100% reliable? Has anyone experienced issues with pushing the coking button under stressful conditions on a Safari?

458 Lott or 416 Rem Mag: Regarding calibers, I am not planning on a dangerous game hunt but would like to have a big-bore rifle for large plains game which I can also use with reduced-loads in North America. My research shows that 458 Lott is easier to reduce due to the larger variety of 45 caliber bullets available. However, with full charge, the 458 should kick much more than the 416. How do these two calibers compare in terms of feeding reliability?

Thank you
-Omid

Both barrels are within 1/10" of being the same length and will likely have similar weights. The advantage to the R8 is that the rifle overall length will be shorter due to the magazine being above the trigger instead of in front. I prefer the R8 to the 202 but have never hunted Africa with either. I believe the R8 is superior in disassembly/reassembly speed, caliber selection, scope mounting options and balance. The 202's advantage is the silent safety. That said, follow up shots are much faster with the R8. Many PH's welcome the R8 and allow hunters to hunt with one in the chamber due to the decocker, so it's disadvantage is also an advantage.
Good luck in your decision making.

Thank you for your comments! Good point regarding the Blaser being safe with a round in the chamber. I have never hunted Africa either so I hoping those who have will comment too. Thank you again

I’ve had the Blaser R8 after the R93 which I took into the red dust of Namibia where it performed flawlessly over about two weeks taking most of the PG with a shot each. I wouldn’t worry about the non-steel components of these rifles as they are made to perform and both models did very well for me; I found nothing to complain about in regard to the modular concept either; in fact,the opposite..

My R93 was in 375 and I had a barrel in 30/06 also, both very accurate. In fact the 375 would often go < .5 MOA at a 100 yards and my smallest three-shot group was somewhere ~ .35.” I found the proprietary saddle mount which is a QD type to be excellent if heavy but the overall weight of the rifle set up was not too heavy. I would add the cocker/decocker took a bit of getting used to but was no problem — it did take some intentional force to work it IMO but I would not call it a drawback.

The R8, which I had in 243 and 300 Wby, is a bit heavier, and chunkier through the grip, with some bolt changes too IIRC as it was built for the bigger cartridges and its ergo’s were not as appealing to me as the R93 was in that regard. Still, no complaints.

I have no doubt about the Sauer’s quality but have nothing but good to say about my experience with the Blasers as their function was flawless.

Both rifles are made on the same campus in the little town of Isny, Germany. Barrels for both rifles, as well as Mauser, are made in the same room.

I own a Sauer 200 (basically a 202) and a Blaser R93.....

Never traveled with the Sauer but have taken the Blaser many places, including a couple hunts in South Africa and Namibia; no issues what so ever with any function, including the decocker in field use.

Had one PH that wasn't a big Blaser fan, but the last hunt I did in October had 5 PH's around with very extensive DG experience that all thought Blaser was just fine and they even had one as a loaner. I happened to have a bolt gun with me, but they all gave Blaser high marks.

Very nice and helpful posts! Thank you George, OSU and dinsdale for your contributions. So, it seems that Blaser is more popular and there is no inherent issue with its mechanism.

Thanks again,
-Omid

My Sauer 202:




My R8:

Rail scope on the R8 is icing on the cake and is the most secure method of attaching a scope to a rifle. As you've been told, you can take the scope off, put it in your carry on luggage on your flight to Africa. When you get to camp, attach it back on and be prepared for it go be on zero, notwithstanding a severe elevation change.

My pleasure.

I agree. It is absolutely solid and much easier to install correctly. EAW mounts are great too but they require at least 10 years of experience to install and adjust correctly. It is a shame that the rail system is not popular in the US. In Europe rifles are sold together with a mounted scope. I have seen this myself in gun shops in Germany and Switzerland. Here, we buy rifles and scopes separately. This is like the early years of automobile manufacturing: the car factory made the engine and the chasis and then a separate outfit called "coachbuilder" made the body and the seats!