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The story of Sauer & Sohn company began way back in the year 1751. The company was founded by Lorenz Sauer in the German city Suhl and until today it still lives up to its reputation as the oldest firearms manufacturing company in Germany. At its very beginnings, the company predominantly focused on producing firearms based on military contracts. The ‘Seven Years War’ in 1753 resulted in the company's first larger orders for the Prussian army.
Almost ninety years later, the eponymous grandson of Johann Paul Sauer started his business unit and around the same time, in 1839, the company changed its name to Spangenberg & Sauer. After the death of co-owner Ferdinand Spangenberg in 1873, Johann Paul Sauer, together with his sons Rudolf and Franz, took over the majority ownership of the company and re-named it to ‘J.P. Sauer & Sohn’. Soon after, the company reached its highest order to that point - approximately 150.000 rifles were produced for the German army. However, the number of military orders decreased severely in the following years, thus forcing the company to find new ways of expanding its market.
As the middle class grew, the demand for civilian arms production increased. The company knew how to exploit this economic situation and consequently presented its first SBS rifle in 1881, followed by the first catalogue which was released one year later. The innovativeness did not stop there – the company's success was at its very beginning, to say the least. As it grew, it began to gradually focus on hunting rifles. Thereupon, the first Sauer self-cocking drilling with a separate cocking lever for the ball lock was presented and launched in 1895. Twenty years later, the company presented the Sauer Meisterwerk XVIII shotgun that boasted sear, single trigger, ejector and engraving by Franz Schilling.
During the First World War, they mostly re-focused on military production and expanded its establishment along with the number of staff. However, the social and economic penury after the war, made the company struggle in the following years. To ensure its survival, the company started producing various products such as typewriters under the name Fortuna; for a short period, they also manufactured bikes. Due to the prohibition of military production, the construction of light hunting rifles was launched in 1930 with the triplet Mod. 30 and Mod. 30 L being introduced the same year and Mod. 32, Mod 32 L, Mod. 33 shortly after.
The shift in production happened again at the beginning of the Second World War when orders for military purposes firearms were increased. After the War, being deleted from the commercial register and under total soviet occupation, the company continued its production under different names - 'VEB FORTUNA Werk Suhl' and later 'VEB MEWA Ernst-Thälmann-Werke Suhl'. At that point, Rolf Sauer sold all company's rights to a group of industrialists in FRG. Nonetheless, the company still used its original name J.P. Sauer & Sohn for the production of hunting rifles years later. In 1951 J.P Sauer & Sohn GmbH was founded as the first hunting rifles manufacturer in FRG.
Soon after some of the most recognizable models were presented, such as Drilling Model 3000, which replaced the famous S53 Drilling, Model 80 bolt action rifle, Sauer 200 (the first modular action rifle in 14 calibres), the S 200 and Sauer 202.
After the year 2000, the ownership changed again when passionate hunters Michael Lüke and Thomas Ortmeier took over. At that turning point, the company shifted to focusing exclusively on the production of hunting rifles, presenting several popular models such as SAUER 303 self-loading rifle, SAUER 101, SAUER 202, SAUER 404, SAUER 404 Synchro XTC, SAUER 100, Sauer S 100, SAUER SL5 and SAUER101 Highland XTC. Nowadays, the brand's vivacious history and tradition of over 270 years result in quality and experience, thus offering an infallible choice for every hunting enthusiast.
Sauer 80, also known as Colt Sauer, is a bolt-action rifle that was first presented in 1972. The steel-made receiver houses a push feed non-rotating bolt with short and smooth travel. Three rotating lugs are of the rear-locking type and lock into the rear end of the action housing. The trigger is adjustable, and the single stack magazine is detachable.
The rifle comes with several safety-precaution features such as a loaded chamber or cocking bolt indicator. There is a button on the bolt which assists the user in safely unloading the weapon. The rifle’s barrels can be changed using simple tools such as a hex key.
Various Sauer models were sold under Carl Gustaf brand when the company purchased the right to import unrefined and finished rifles from Sauer. Consequently, Sauer 80 can also be recognized under Carl Gustaf 3000 name.
Barrel lengths of Sauer 80 vary from 590mm (23-inch) to 650 mm (25.5-inch).
Figure1: Sauer 80, chambered for .243 Win. (Source:https://www.lauritz.com/en/auction/hunting-rifle-sauer-80-cal-243-win/i3986288/)
Sauer 80 can be chambered for the following calibres:
Sauer 80 receivers come with four holes for mounting purposes, two on the front and two on the rear mounting surface.
Figure 2: The receiver of Sauer 80; source: https://www.sauer.de/en/270-years/museumswaffen/
A: 21.9 mm
B: 89.4 mm
C: 21.9 mm
BHU: 0 mm
Ø: 6-48
R1: R16.5
R2: R16.5
All the rifles listed in the category below have two-piece mounts interchangeable with Sauer 80. To meet interchangeability conditions, two-piece mounts must match in all dimensions except the B distance. B distance can vary because two-piece mounts can be installed and adjusted closer or further apart. Rifles that meet such criteria are:
Sauer 80 Magnum
Sauer 90
Sauer 90 Magnum
Sauer 92
SIG Sauer SSG 2000
Carl Gustaf 3000
Carl Gustaf 2000 LA
All the rifles listed in the category below have one-piece mounts interchangeable with Sauer 80. For one-piece mounts to fit on a rifle, mounting surfaces on these rifles must match in every dimension. Rifles that share the same dimensions and mounting surface with Sauer 80 are:
Being robust, recoil resistant and easy to install, the MAKfix rings with bases are a suitable fixed mounting solution for Sauer 80.
If you are in search of detachable mounts that are quick and easy to install, we recommend this one-piece ERAMATIC repeatable pivot mount made by the German company Recknagel.
When purchasing Picatinny rail one should always pay attention to the distance between the holes on the mounting surface of the rifle. We offer a suitable choice as this steel Picatinny rail made by the German company EAW will fit perfectly on your Sauer 80.
If you happen to own this or any other rifle, we would appreciate it if you could help us expand our database by sending us some photos of the rifle receiver (the bare mounting surface of the rifle without the mounts installed). For your help, our company offers a fair return in terms of practical rewards.
Please send us an email for more information. You can contact us here: [email protected]
