Sako TRG
The Sako TRG is a bolt-action sniper rifle line designed and manufactured by Finnish firearms manufacturer SAKO of Riihimäki. It is the successor to the SAKO TR-6 target rifle, and thus the letter G within the rifle's name is meant to represent number 7.
The TRG-21 and TRG-22 are designed to fire standard.308 Winchester sized cartridges, while the TRG-41 and TRG-42 are designed to fire more powerful and dimensionally larger.300 Winchester Magnum and.338 Lapua Magnum cartridges. They are available with olive drab green, desert tan/coyote brown, dark earth or black stocks, and are also available with a folding stock.
The TRG-62 A1 was added to the product range as the third and largest iteration, designed to fire the even more powerful and dimensionally larger .375 CheyTac cartridge.
The sniper rifles are normally fitted with muzzle brakes to reduce recoil, jump and flash. The Sako factory TRG muzzle brakes vent sideways and are detachable. Generally TRGs are outfitted with a Zeiss or Schmidt & Bender PM II telescopic sight with fixed power of magnification or with variable magnification. Variable telescopic sights can be used if the operator wants more flexibility to shoot at varying ranges, or when a wide field of view is required.
In October 2011, Sako introduced the TRG M10 Sniper Weapon System. It was designed as a user configurable multi calibre modular system responding to evolving market demands and does not share its receiver and other technical features with the rest of the TRG line.
History
Even though the TRG-21 obtained its origins from the successful Sako TR-6 target rifle and 1984–1986 development work for the hardly produced Valmet Sniper M86 rifle by the former Finnish state firearms company Valmet which merged with Sako, the TRG-21 was designed as a result of a thorough study of sniper requirements.TRG-21 and TRG-41
In 1989 Sako Ltd. introduced the TRG-21 precision rifle as a sniper rifle model chambered in.308 Winchester. With the introduction of the TRG bolt-action, Sako moved away from the modified two-lug Mauser bolt-actions, favoured during the past, to an action with a symmetrical three-lug bolt of diameter, displaying a locking surface of. The TRG-21 action was designed for a maximum cartridge length of. The evolution of this design continues to the present and can be found in Sako's hunting rifle offerings, the Sako 75 and the Sako 85. Subsequently, a second precision/sniper rifle with a longer scaled up magnum action emerged as the TRG-41 in order to take advantage of the.338 Lapua Magnum cartridge.TRG-S M995 (Magnum)
A more hunting oriented variation of the TRG was introduced in 1992 as the TRG-S M995 and TRG-S M995 Magnum, which both use the same scaled up magnum action and bolt as the TRG-41 with the exception that the receiver is open at the top with an integral Sako-type wedged dovetail rail rather than possessing a cartridge ejection port on the right side and a parallel integral dovetail rail as found with the TRG-41. The TRG-S M995 was produced until 2003 and chambered in eight standard chamberings and fourteen magnum chamberings, including.338 Lapua Magnum. All TRG-S M995 rifles utilized the same stock and receiver designed for a maximum cartridge length of. Four different sized detachable box magazines and three different bolt bodies were used to accommodate the dimensionally different rifle cartridges offered. A carbine variant of the TRG-S was also produced that according to Sako literature featured a long barrel. However, M995 carbines imported to the United States featured a barrel and were chambered in.375 H&H Magnum only. Sako planned to produce a short action TRG-S M975 designed for a maximum cartridge length of, that would have been based on the TRG-21. In the end Sako abandoned this plan and only a handful of M975 prototypes were produced.TRG-22 and TRG-42
To make the TRG system more suitable for military use, Sako upgraded and improved the TRG-21/41 design in the late 1990s. Some TRG accessories like the muzzle brake and bipod were also improved. This resulted in the TRG-22/42 rifle system introduced in 1999.In June 2007 a voluntary factory recall concerning TRG-22, TRG-42 and M995 rifles manufactured between October 1999 and October 2002 was put out to correct the possibility that a portion of the firing pin could exit rearwards when firing a defective cartridge.
Around 2011 an American Sako vendor commissioned a special limited production run of TRG-22 sniper rifles chambered in.260 Remington cartridge and started offering them as of May 2011.
In 2013 the TRG system was further upgraded and improved based on customer requirements. The upgrades consist of mounting improved recoil pads to reduce felt recoil, a newly constructed bolt release and a new fully adjustable two-stage trigger mechanism that features a new more ergonomic ambidextrous safety lever, and a trigger guard milled from aluminium for more positive magazine attachment. Further the bolt handle and its attachment to the bolt body were ruggedised. These general 2013 upgrades are backwards compatible with older TRG sniper rifles. Exclusive for the.338 Lapua Magnum chambered TRG-42 model a new bolt featuring double plunger ejectors was introduced in 2013 to improve the ejection reliability of dimensionally large and heavy.338 Lapua Magnum rifle cases.
TRG-22 A1 and TRG-42 A1
In 2018 Sako introduced the TRG-22 A1 and TRG-42 A1 models. The TRG A1 models have a Sako TRG M10 Sniper Weapon System alike stock, featuring an aluminium middle chassis frame, side-folding quick adjustable buttstock, and a fore-end with the M-LOK rail interface system that allows for direct accessory attachment onto "negative space" mounting points. The chassis frame is offered in Tungsten Gray, Olive Drab Green, Graphite Black and Coyote Brown Cerakote finishes. The top of the receiver was designed with a built-in 30-MOA Picatinny rail. The fore-end contains a small toolbox that can be accessed with the bolt knob. It contains Torx 25, 15 and 10 head tools to facilitate field adjustments and maintenance. The TRG A1 models do not offer the user configurable multi calibre modular system of the Sako TRG M10 Sniper Weapon System. The bolts of the TRG A1 models all feature double plunger ejectors introduced earlier for the.338 Lapua Magnum TRG-42 and the TRG-22 A1 model expands the chambering palette with 6.5mm Creedmoor.TRG-62 A1
In 2024 the TRG-62 A1 was added to the A1 range as the third and largest iteration, as its action was designed for a maximum cartridge length of well over. The up to long.375 CheyTac cartridge was selected and introduced to the TRG range to extend the achievable effective range up to, without having to deal with substantial bolt thrust or breech pressure increase related drawbacks. The TRG-62 A1 uses the trigger unit used in the A1 range and TRG-10 and 9.5×77mm associated ammunition. The muzzle brake was revised to a four-chamber set up for the new dimensionally larger and more powerful 9.5×77mm chambering. The top of the receiver was revised to a built-in 30-MOA or 45-MOA NATO Accessory Rail and the fore-end contains a small toolbox containing Torx 25, 15 and 10 head tools to facilitate field adjustments and maintenance. It is marketed for "military and law enforcement only".A future TRG-62 A1 variant chambered for the up to long.408 CheyTac cartridge is under development.
Sako never totally forgot the target rifle origins of the TRG system. The necessary accessories to attach sighting components such as match grade peep sights or target aperture sights and a mirage strap are all available. Equipped with these accessories the TRG can be used for non military or law enforcement tasks such as 300 m UIT standard rifle competition, CISM competition or other kinds of full bore target shooting. The rifle is commonly seen in long-range competition where it has done very well. Besides civilian target shooting the TRG system can and is sometimes used for hunting.
The TRG system's purposive design features, reliability in adverse conditions and consistent accuracy performance have made it a popular, though expensive, sniper rifle system.
Design details
The TRG system is almost unique in being a purpose-designed sniper rifle, rather than an accurised version of an existing, general-purpose rifle. The sniper rifles can have a matte or manganese phosphatised finish.Features
The heart of the TRG system is a cold-hammer forged receiver and barrel. Both provide maximum strength for minimum weight as well as excellent resistance to wear. The action has a hex style profile on top with a smaller closed ejection port. Actions with an ejection port make it more difficult to reach in with a finger to discreetly eject brass when desired, but it does allow for additional strength in the action. The "resistance free" bolt has three massive lugs and requires a 60-degree bolt rotation and a bolt throw for the short and bolt throw for the long bolt-action; these features should be appreciated by the shooter during multiple firings that require rapid projectile placement on the target. The bolt handle is the appropriate length and sports a large synthetic bulbous knob that provides a firm, positive grip. On top of the receiver a integral dovetail rail with shape connection drillings for one or more recoil lugs provides for fixing mounting components to accommodate different types of optical or electro-optical sights. Folding iron sights can be obtained for secondary or emergency use.The receiver's large bedding surface is mated to an aluminium alloy-bedding block by three screws for maximum stability. This combination ensures an unusually high degree of stability.