Sako’s TRG 22 A1 is a sniper rifle designed for military and law enforcement use that is a ton of fun for just about anyone interested in robust precision rifles. Sometimes folks get bent out of shape about calling a rifle a “sniper rifle,” unless it is issued to a “sniper.” However, there are specific design features that distinguish sniper rifles from other precision rifles, and everyone should know what those features are. Those features might be meaningful to any number of civilians, so there’s no reason to be elitist about it.
The two characteristics that separate sniper rifles from precision rifles are durability and ease of maintenance at the rifleman level. Both are capable of exceptional accuracy. Having a high-performance and accurate rifle is great, but being able to throw it off the roof of the house without worrying about hurting it, and being able to take care of it without the services of a gunsmith, are valuable features to people other than snipers.
Sniper Rifles Stay Together
Making connections tight on a sniper rifle means they won’t work loose over time. However, you can’t just over-tighten regular fasteners on regular sporting rifles and expect better performance because of it! What you’ll likely end up with is stripped screws and sadness. Sniper rifle manufacturers have to design these rifles around tight fasteners with lots of engagement. That’s what SAKO did with the TRG-series of rifles from the beginning.
Guns & Ammo’s TRG 22 A1 test sample was chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor. It follows SAKO’s tradition of press-fitting the barrel into the receiver. This causes some frustration among the American precision-rifle crowd, but the former-sniper in me appreciates SAKO’s process and hopes it never changes.
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The junction between barrel and receiver must be kept tight and concentric to get the most performance out of these rifles. While threading a barrel onto a receiver has been done for decades here in the U.S., there is a lot of debate concerning how tight that connection needs to be. SAKO removed all doubt by using a hydraulic press to push the barrel into the receiver, the equivalent of a couple hundred foot-pounds (ft.-lbs.) of torque. No matter how much you shake a TRG, or drop it from high places, this guarantees the barrel will never come loose. There is also anecdotal evidence that suggests the plus-100-ft.-lbs. of torque helps to eliminate cold-bore shots that stray from the rest of the group. SAKO also uses hammer-forged barrels on all of its TRG rifles, a process that work-hardens the bore and gives longer service life.
Perhaps the most meaningful design feature of the TRG 22 A1, putting it in the “sniper rifle” category is the use of three action screws, all with about 30-percent more thread engagement than the action screws used on a Remington Model 700. More thread engagement is the best way to prevent action screws from working loose. Generations of American snipers have learned to check the action screws on M700-based sniper rifles because the small amount of engagement means those rifles need constant maintenance to perform well. The TRG 22 A1 not only improved thread engagement by adding a third screw, SAKO also designed its screws to be torqued to 133 inch-pounds (in.-lbs.). Tightening screws that weren’t designed for it that much often damages the screw or receiver, but the extra force used on the TRG 22 A1 means they are less likely to work loose or allow the barreled action to move around in the chassis when fired.
Maintenance Matters
Sniper rifles must be simple and easy enough to maintain that the average rifleman can handle the most common repairs in the field. The single component most likely to fail on any bolt-action rifle is the trigger. Usually, this means the barreled action has to be removed from the stock or chassis. There are a couple of pins that need to be driven out, and then it’s time to start working on the trigger. Most bolt-action rifle triggers are enclosed cassettes, and there’s no way to do much other than hose them down with lighter fluid or brake cleaner, hoping for the best.
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Contrast that experience with the TRG 22 A1 trigger. Removing it from the rifle only requires use of the supplied T25 Torx wrench to a single screw. It is not necessary to remove the barreled action from the chassis to remove the trigger assembly. Flip the rifle upside down, loosen the single screw, and the trigger assembly and triggerguard slide up and out of the rifle. The trigger sits in a polymer housing, and there are windows cut into the housing to reveal the engagement surfaces between the sear and trigger, and the disconnector and trigger. These windows slotted into the housing make it easy to keep the engagement surfaces clean. While it is convenient to remove the trigger for maintenance, I also like how easy it is to swap it with a spare. The fastest way to repair a trigger is to replace it, and no one has a faster replacement option than SAKO.
The easy maintenance theme continues to the bolt assembly. Many bolt-action receivers have tool-less bolts, but the TRG 22 A1 takes it a step further. Once the bolt is out of the receiver, twisting the bolt shroud allows the shroud, firing pin, firing pin spring, and an internal plug to slide out the back of the bolt body. Every nook and cranny of the bolt’s interior is accessible for maintenance.
SAKO carries the “easy maintenance” throughout the rifle by making it possible to do a detailed disassembly with just a T-25 Torx wrench. They even supply one with the rifle. Upon returning from the range, I decided to take it completely apart to see how difficult it was. Loosening two captured screws was all that was needed to remove the forend. Loosening two more screws was all that was necessary to remove the folding buttstock. One more screw and the trigger assembly was out. The last two screws to remove were action screws. (The third came out with the buttstock.) It took a quick perusal of the owner’s manual to figure this out, but after doing it one time the process would likely only take 3 to 4 minutes. Once the rifle is in component pieces, everything can be inspected and cleaned. Torqued back together, it’s a fully-featured sniper rifle that’s more robust than most precision rifles on the market.
The Chassis
The TRG 22 A1 consists of a chassis built around the barreled action with many of its design cues borrowed from the modular TRG M10. The M10 is a multi-caliber sniper rifle capable of utilizing caliber conversion kits, whereas the TRG 22 A1 is a short-action fixed-caliber rifle. G&A’s test rifle was chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor.
The TRG 22 receiver sits atop a machined aluminum center section to which the handguard and folding stock assembly attach. Two T25 Torx bolts secure the forend to an aluminum collar that protrudes from the chassis center section. There is a two-piece Picatinny rail that runs the span from the back of the receiver to the forend’s tip. The section atop the forend is integral, while the rail atop the receiver attaches by six large screws and two steel pins. The optic rail has a 30 minute of angle (MOA) bias, and it’s continuous from one end to the other so night vision and thermal devices work seamlessly. The octagonal forend is 15 inches long and has M-Lok slots cut into seven of the eight flat sides, with the Picatinny rail up top. There are wire-management grooves between each of the M-Lok slabs that provide some organization of cables, preventing them from laying atop the higher flats of the rail.
The folding stock has an adjustable length of pull, adjustable comb, and adjustable recoil pad. To make an adjustment of any of those only requires depressing a lever. Both the length of pull and comb are under spring tension, so it’s not necessary to pull either component into place; let the spring push it to full extension and then use your head or body for a perfect fit. This is a quick and effortless way to size the rifle to the shooter. These easy adjustments make this rifle comfortable in both offhand and prone positions.
As far as performance, the TRG 22 A1 is a precision instrument by every metric. Accuracy was phenomenal with SAKO’s TRG load featuring a Lapua 136-grain Scenar. The best group measured .35 inch for five shots at 100 yards, even off of the SAKO bipod and using a rear bag. Federal’s 130-grain load also did well, while Hornady’s 140-grain ELD-M did OK. Feeding was so smooth for all, but I had to check a couple times to be sure that the bolt picked up a round. In time, I learned not to doubt the rifle; it fed flawlessly throughout testing.
Precision rifles are experiencing an all-time high in popularity because ringing steel at long distances is fun. The TRG 22 A1 is a great option for anyone interested in such precision riflery, but it includes the added advantages of being simple to maintain and incredibly durable.
Sako TRG 22 A1
- Type: Bolt action
- Cartridge: 6.5 Creedmoor
- Capacity: 10 rds.
- Barrel: 26 in. , 1:8-in. twist
- Overall Length: 45 in.
- Weight: 12 lbs., 8 oz. (tested)
- Stock: TRG A1 chassis, aluminum
- Grips: Textured polymer, multiple-sized grip inserts
- Length of Pull: 13.5 in to 15.25 in., adjustable
- Finish: Cerakote
- Trigger: 3 pounds (tested), adjustable
- Sights: None
- MSRP: $5,500
- Importer: Beretta USA Corp., beretta.com
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