Threading the needle w/the Sako TRG-42 LM

longrangehunterII

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So I've had the Sako for a few weeks now, and have 50 plus rounds down the barrel. My thoughts about the gun are like most Sako's, they're very well made, and tend to shoot very well.
My first unlikely event was having the Factory epoxy their picatinny base to the action! Wow, what were they thinking, a flat/zero slope base glued down? But the answer is Yes they do, and highly likely that the owner will strip the screws not knowing this bit of information. Had they put some small note attached to the trigger guard or something would have saved me a real head ache.
About the gun itself, the barrel cleans up super fast after the first two cleanings and from there it's almost never needing to be cleaned any length of time. The chamber and magazine box are both designed to work together for accurate loads since the throat is cut for that cartridge to either touch the lands or move off them within the magazine box. No worries there. The trigger is a two-stage type and breaks clean. The 60 degree bolt, although long, moves smoothly and leaves plenty of room for the shooters hand next to the scope. My is wearing a 34mm three ring Sako Tactical with 30 moa of slope built into the removable ring base. It's very robust and mounts very low compared standard picatinny base and ring setups. I have a Premier Heritage Tactical 3-15x50 mounted on the rifle. The muzzle brake helps with keeping your shoulder glued to the gun and sight picture although with heavy 300 grain projectiles it does still kick! I keep to less then 15 rounds fired per day just to save myself from abuse. The gun weights 14.25 lbs w/the scope and 15.25 w/the Sako bipod attached, so it's a little heavy but that keeps it on track for prone shooting situations.
About how well this gun shoots...... right from the beginning every round I fired produced groups well under an inch whether up or down charges were fed into the case using 300 gr. Sierra MatchKings. I broke in the barrel using IMR 4350, and then did some load work w/H1000 and ended up trying out the new Reloader 33 which it seemed to really like.
Here's the quick work up for yesterday and today. When I mean quick I mean I fired five rounds with 1 grain increases (92.5-97.5), which you'll see on the left side of the target. On the right is a five shot group off the bench at 100 yards, it measures just over a 1/2 inch.
I've shot this gun at a steel target using a different load consisting of H1000 at 600 yards using the 300 SMK and the same seating depth as below and shot a 2 1/2" group, (last photo) so the gun is accurate using different loads.
I'll keep this thread going with more updates as I work with the gun more, all I can say is thank God for the Finnish and their fine work making these guns and the Swedish for the excellent powder for the 338 Lapua Magnum.
 

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Nice gun and nice shooting. I have two Sako Trg 22s, one in 308 and one in 260 Rem. Load development is a little different in these guns because they almost shoot anything under an inch! They are not picky, and I just love the trigger and bipod.

Have fun with your new rifle! I hope to have a 42 someday myself. FYI - They are coming out with a new butt pad for the TRGs in the next couple months. It is supposed to be thicker and better with the recoil of the big 42s.

TKAB

PS - Here is a little video I put together of the first day out with my first TRG. Love at first trigger pull!

[ame=http://vimeo.com/24227428]Sako TRG 22 Rifle in 260 Remington on Vimeo[/ame]
 
Very nice!!! How long is your barrel?
I've been working on my load too. Stopped at 95 gr of rl33 going to move up to 98 as a max and see how it works.
 
Let us all know what you end up for velocity with the RL33. Interested if it is going to produce faster velocities like they claim. At 2600 fps is that a really mild load or? I would want to see alot more speed than that.
 
Very nice!!! How long is your barrel?
I've been working on my load too. Stopped at 95 gr of rl33 going to move up to 98 as a max and see how it works.

Hey Mario,

My Sako has a slow barrel in the velocity department even though it's 27 1/4" long. Doesn't really matter what powder I use, the speeds are way off until the upper end near max is reached. I presume it's because the barrel is chrome lined and not really tight, but it does shoot very well so I don't really care. I'd rather have tack driver then the need for more speed.

I did get 2670/2682 fps 20' from the muzzle w/97.5 grains of RL 33, which is Max in their leading book for the 338 LM. So 2700 fps in my barrel vs. their 2750 fps is meaningless to me!

How did those TSX's I sent you work out?
 
Let us all know what you end up for velocity with the RL33. Interested if it is going to produce faster velocities like they claim. At 2600 fps is that a really mild load or? I would want to see alot more speed than that.

I got close to their target velocity using the max load of 97.5 grains. With my barrel being as slow as it is that's where I ended and looked for the most accurate node I saw, which was 92.5, 93.5 and 94.5 grains. So I went with that and as you can see from that target the results speak for themselves?

I don't get caught up in the max velocity department. I've seen one-too-many blown primers to walk that thin line and I prefer that my brass last a long time due to the high cost and with the lack of brass available now even more so. I load for precision accuracy when punching paper or in this case steel targets long range. If I can only make it accurate with a hot load, Ok, I'll work with that. But honestly I'm not interested in pushing the case to its limits at the expense of case life or my face for that matter. If the round gets heated on a very hot day and in a warm chamber, the unexpected can happen. Besides there is only .8 Mil difference from 2600 to 2700 fps at 1000 yards, what's the advantage other then 165 more ft. lbs. of energy? I don't need anymore recoil to effect shot placement in my opinion? But I only weigh 170 lbs. and someone else bigger might not mind that as much?

If I want something close to that in energy and speed I could switch to the 285 gr. Hornady Match BTHP, but for now I wont burn up powder trying every bullet/powder combination searching for another load when that one works just a well? Under half inch MOA at 600 yards wont win Matches, but isn't a bad start.
 
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Nice gun and nice shooting. I have two Sako Trg 22s, one in 308 and one in 260 Rem. Load development is a little different in these guns because they almost shoot anything under an inch! They are not picky, and I just love the trigger and bipod.

Have fun with your new rifle! I hope to have a 42 someday myself. FYI - They are coming out with a new butt pad for the TRGs in the next couple months. It is supposed to be thicker and better with the recoil of the big 42s.

TKAB

PS - Here is a little video I put together of the first day out with my first TRG. Love at first trigger pull!

TKAB, Yes Sako has made a few changes to the TRG, not only to the but pad but they have also change the trigger, the guard, and the bolt has two plungers to combat the heavy case so it leaves with more authority. I personally don't like seeing two plungers in the bolt face but that's just my two cents?
 
Hi Cole

You mentioned that you made some adjustments to the TRG Trigger. How did you do it? Does anyone know whether one can get a Jewel trigger for the TRG?

Cheers
D
 
Hi Cole

You mentioned that you made some adjustments to the TRG Trigger. How did you do it? Does anyone know whether one can get a Jewel trigger for the TRG?

Cheers
D

They come from the factory with a great two stage adjustable trigger D. Having owned and still do a few Jewel trigger I don't think it really makes much sense to even change what is already a great trigger on the Sako TRG-42. But you can read the factory manual on how to adjust the trigger to your liking if it seems off to you?

Good luck anyway D.
 
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