The Sako TRG 42 is a firearm for serious long-range competitions that can be equipped with a vast array of accessories to meet the most demanding requirements. Show Superior long-range precisionThe TRG 42 in 300 Win Mag or.338 Lapua Mag is a true long-range precision competition rifle. Configurations include a black and green stock with blued barrel and action or an all-black stealth configuration featuring a black stock and bolt with blackened barrel and action. The stock is fully adjustable and reinforced with high-tech aluminum. The solid vault-like action is machined from special steel alloy. Integral 17 mm axial scope mounting rails have integral recoil stop-slots on the top of the receiver. The sturdy bolt with three locking lugs feeds rounds flawlessly from the centerline of a detachable staggered 2-row magazine. It has a reliable feed for various ammunition types. The bolt lift is at a 60° angle for fast bolt throw. SAKO TRG M10 is a modular and multi-caliber sniper rifle. This weapon was unveiled in 2011. It was specially developed for military and law enforcement use. It does not share receiver with the SAKO TRG series weapons. However by changing bolts, barrels, magazines and fore ends the caliber can be switched between .308 Winchester, .300 Winchester Magnum and .338 Lapua Magnum chamberings. This weapon can be easily reconfigured by the shooter in the field. The TRG M10 is in service with Australian special forces. This sniper rifle was also ordered by Poland. Many years ago, when we decided to do a story about SAKO’s TRG series of rifles, we remembered our friend Terje Fjørtoft in Norway. Terje has owned, and hunted with, both the TRG-22 (in .308 Win), and its big brother, the TRG-42 (chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum). Unlike many TRG owners in the USA, Terje has carried his “tactical hunters” into the field, and tested their effectiveness on large game in both coastal and mountain environments, in warm weather and cold. Terje tells us the TRGs have proven to be rugged and reliable. And they are accurate. The .308 Win TRG-22 delivers about 0.45 MOA groups at 420 yards shot from bipod. The .338 LM TRG-42 shoots about 0.55 – 0.7 MOA at that distance. A Tale of Two TRGs by Terje Fjørtoft I live in Brattvåg, along the coast of Norway, but I hunt and shoot at the nearby island “Fjørtoft” (same as my last name) and a small island outside Fjørtoft. I grew up on Fjørtoft as a child, and we hunt seals there in the spring and fall. The large, top photo shows me with my black TRG-42 338 Lapua Mag (“LM”) during a seal hunt a couple years ago. Click on the thumbnail at right to watch a video that shows me shooting the .338 LM. Most of the photos in this story are from that hunt. Because the .338 LM was really “overkill” on the seals (and expensive to reload), I replaced that rifle with a TRG-22 in .308 Winchester. I have also used my TRGs for hunting big game, deer and what Americans call “Elk”. You can see, further down on this page, a picture from a hunting stand taken late in the evening, in the fading light. Yes I successfully bagged a nice buck during that trip with my TRG-42. When hunting, I use a Leica 900 rangefinder, Swarovski 7×42 Habicht binoculars, and a Silva windwatch. For Optics on the TRG-22, I have a Zeiss 6-24×56 scope, in Tikka Optilock rings. To get more scope adjustment I milled 0.9 mm off the front scope base mount. The Zeiss is great for viewing small targets past 400 meters. It was very difficult to find a longer shooting place than 575 meters on this Island (Uksnøy) but I found a place where I can shoot out to 930 meters, and I’ve made an 80-cm steel gong for a target. At this range, the bullet must fly nearly all the distance over the water. Though it is fun to experience the big boom and flash of the .338 LM, I’ll admit that it is just too much rifle for most applications. The .338 LM is REAL overkill for seal hunting. Here in Norway we have a rule that the smallest caliber we can use is 6.5×55 with a 140gr (or heavier) bullet, but everyone who hunts seals knows that the seals stay mostly in the water, and therefore you must take a headshot at distance up to about 200 meters. Making the headshot with a smaller caliber is advised for two reasons. First, when a big .338 bullet hits the water, there is a danger it will skip and ricochet quite some distance. Second, if you use too powerful a load/gun/caliber and take a headshot on a swimming seal, the seal sinks like a rock. Three loads (all with Fed 210m primers) that have worked well are: 155gr Scenar with VV N150, 885m/sec; 155gr Scenar with Norma N-11, 890m/sec, and 185gr Scenar, VV N150, 770m/sec. Norma N-11 is a low-cost powder for target shooting. N-11 is similar to Norma 203B or Norma 202 but it varies quite a bit from lot to lot. I use a RCBS Rock Chucker press, and currently use a standard RCBS full-length die kit to reload my .308 rounds. However, I recently ordered a Redding Competition 3-die set with a .335 bushing. I look forward to trying the Reddings. I have just started to test different seating depths. The 155s just “kiss” the lands at 74.10 mm. I’ve tried 74.00 mm, 74.10 mm and 73.55 mm, but so far saw no significant differences. My seal hunting bullet was the 200gr Nosler BT. This bullet grouped very well with 90-94 grains Norma N-15. Velocity was about 970m/sec if I remember correctly. I also tried the 300gr Sierra MK, and got 1/2″ 3-shot groups at 100 meters with 93.5 grains of VV N-170, but this combination produced terrible groups at longer range. Loading for the .338 LM was not difficult — about the same as loading for .308 Win, except that you use nearly twice the amount of powder. I didn’t crimp the bullets in the neck, didn’t use any special tricks or neck lube. I used RCBS .338 LM full-length die. That functioned, but it would not be my first choice today. Overall, my better loads in the .338 shot in the 0.5-0.7 MOA range. My best group was four shots in 25mm (1″) at 380 meters (416 yards). Hunters Tested Annually In Norway, you must pass an actual shooting test before you can hunt big game. This test requires five shots at a deer silhouette target at 100 meters. No rests are allowed–you must shoot off-hand or with a sling only. You have to place five shots inside a 30 cm circle over the front leg. Every big game hunter that passes this test is authorized to hunt at “dusk and dawn” and in moonlight. So, we do a lot of our hunting in the twilight hours. However, no night-vision or artificial illumination (spotlights) are allowed. We usually hunt deer at dusk and dawn. In the evening, we go on post two to three hours before it is dark, and sit there waiting for the deer to show up–hopefully before it is too dark. In the morning we go to the post one hour before you see any light of the sun, and wait for the deer to show up until the daylight. But when it is full moon we sometime have enough light to hunt in the middle of the night. In the photo, you can see a deer through the scope of my TRG-42. This was very late in the evening. CLICK HERE for BIG Photo. Sound Suppressors for Hunting Rifles Suppressors are legal to use for hunting in Norway. I have suppressors on all my rifles, even my little CZ 452 in 17 HMR. To me, shooting a rifle without a suppressor is like driving a car without an exhaust system. The suppressor reduces both noise AND recoil significantly. With a good suppressor, there is no loss of accuracy. The only “negative” in using a suppressor is extra weight on the end of the barrel. I crafted my own home-made suppressor. It’s similar to my commercially-made TRG-22 suppressor, but the core is made from titanium to be lighter in weight and more corrosion-resistant. I used a lathe at work to craft the inside of the new suppressor. The core of the unit is built from a 27.5 cm X 40mm round bar of titanium while the outer cylinder is made from a 42mm stainless steel tube. I wanted to use titanium for the exterior cylinder as well, but I couldn’t source the right size titanium tube. Comparing .308 Win vs. 6mmBR I also like the TRG-22 gun very much and enjoy it more and more with each new field trip. That .308 is my big game rifle and my long-range target rifle. I recently tested my TRG-22 rifle at 387 meters. This was just “fun shooting” at steel plates, and I didn’t measure groups. But I was happy with the results. Once I corrected for the 5 m/sec crosswind, I was able to put five successive shots on a 10 cm (4″) diameter steel target at 387 meters (423 yards). My SAKO Varminter in 6mm BR and my TRG-22 are two very different rifles. The TRG-22 is much heavier. I guess the TRG-22 is about 6.5-7 kg while my SAKO 6BR is about 4.5-5 kg, both with suppressor, scope, and bipod. The 6BR with suppressor is much quieter than the TRG-22 with suppressor. The recoil of the 6BR is a lot softer than the TRG-22. So far my 6BR is more accurate. A typical three-shot group with the 6BR is 25-40 mm at 387 meter (423 yards), and that is with just 10X magnification from a Zeiss scope. With my TRG-22, my 3-shot groups run about 50-60 mm, shooting with bipod and beanbag. But I think with a better .308 Win reloading die and more practice, I can improve my groupings with the TRG-22. SPEC SHEET The SAKO TRG-22 and TRG-42 are built in Finland by SAKO, a subsidiary of Beretta. In America, the guns are distributed by Beretta USA. Both TRGs (22/42) are available in forest green or a matte black textured finish. A two-stage match trigger is standard. The stock is somewhat unconventional. It is an external shell, bolted to an internal metal chassis. The action bolts directly to the chassis, without bedding. The injection-molded stock is adjustable for comb height, length of pull (with spacers), vertical butt-pad height and cast-off. Weight TRG-22 4.7 kg (black) 4.9 kg (green) Barrel TRG-22 660 mm (26″), hammer-forged, optional stainless or phosphate finish Capacity 10-round Mag (TRG-22) 7-round Mag (TRG-42) Calibers .308 Win (TRG-22) 300WM, .338 LM (TRG-42) Similar Posts:Tags: .308 Win, .338 LM, 6BR, 6mmbr, 7.62x51, Beretta, Berger, Hodgdon Powder, Hunter, hunting, IBS, Krieger, Lapua Brass, Lapua Magnum, Lapua Scenar, N-11, Norma, Norway, Reloading, Sako, Terje, TRG, TRG 22, TRG 42, TRG-21, TRG21, Vihtavuori How good is the Sako TRG 42?It is one of the best sniper rifles in the world. It is an improved production version of the previous SAKO TRG 41. Improvements of the TRG 42 over the previous TRG 41 include a new stock design. Also this weapon was designed to handle more powerful cartridges with a maximum length of 95 mm. Is a 338 Lapua worth it?It will penetrate multiple walls of sheet rock and even brick or concrete walls. Unless your closest neighbor is 5 miles away, using a 338 Lapua Mag for home defense is not a good idea. The rifle and ammo are also very expensive because only a few companies make ammo for the 338 Lapua. What is the twist rate of the Sako TRG 42 338 Lapua?Key features. What is the difference between Sako TRG 22 and 42?The TRG-21 and TRG-22 are designed to fire standard . 308 Winchester (7.62×51mm NATO) sized cartridges, while the TRG-41 and TRG-42 are designed to fire more powerful and dimensionally larger . 300 Winchester Magnum (7.62×67mm) and . 338 Lapua Magnum (8.6×70mm) cartridges. |