In select groups here in the US, it is popular to shoot European rifles, and I am a fan of Blasers and Sauers myself. I am curious what brand rifle Europeans are shooting. Thanks for sharing.

if they are as smart as the guys building them i'd say the upper middle class are shooting Blasers and the middle class steyrs and sako's. some traditionalist probably mausers or older steyrs.
I think its improtant to note that the consumerism idea that we americans have, to own every concievable niche gun or to own that newest rifle on the back of a gunrags full color ad, that doesnt exist there like it does here.
in some countries, i think, they are even limited to how many rifles they can own and/ or what calibers.
When a man hunts there whos grandfather hunted and father hunted i'd say he's as well served by that 1908 mannlicher or that preway Mauser as any new rifle on the market.
Not to mention we as americans dictate to our market planned obsolsence.
why would a american company build somehting that will last 100 years when its going to be passe' in 15 years?
If i lived in a European country and had the game and conditions they do, i think i'd own a Sako Finwolf or a 1961 MCA Steyr fullstock.

I guess the main brands are all the same, I have a Sauer and Remington myself. I've noticed an increase in US rifles recently (probably due to a little lower price). But we also have Voere, Rössler, Lakelander/Varberger, Krico, a little more known internationally are Heym and Merkel. Plus ofcourse all those small high-end makers.

Personaly I use a Mannlicher (steyr) as my deer rifle.

Also popular here are Tikka & Sako. Very rare to see Blaser.

For varmint & other shooting I have 2 x Anschutz, 2x RPA, a Ripley, a ruger and a Marlin.

As above - add Bohemians (CZ) and Crvena Zastava for our places. Tikka and Sako also gaining in popularity.

In Sweden,

Husqvarna M98/M96 based rifles at the top, however in falling numbers.

Carl Gustav

Tikka

Sako

Sauer

CZ

Remington/Winchester/Ruger/Howa and others.

Blaser

All in all a very wide selection of different brands and with 308 Win and 30-06 in top as far as popular calibers, 308 Win due to the 7,62 Nato round.

There are different kinds of hunters in Sweden,

The moosehunter, shots perhaps 10 shot each year and only to zero and shot the two or more moose that he is allowed, a typical freezer hunter.

He owns a Husqvarna or Carl Gustav

The city hunter, a guy with a strong interest for nature and hunting, shoots a lot and hunts less, perhaps 10-15 outings a year.

he owns a Sako or Blaser and has high end optics just cause he can afford it.

The country hunter ie farm boy, a guy that lives and is born in the countryside.

He owns the most accurate rifle he can afford, that can take the abuse of riding in tractors and on flatbeds, usually a composite stock and decent optics.

Rem or Tikka or Ruger and it´s likes is his calling card.

The money hunter, a rich person that spends a lot of his time hunting,

He owns only costums or high end rifles like Heym, Krieghoff, Sauer and others perhaps even a Ferlach, this guy can shoot for sure, the one q is his judgement that might be a bit iffy.

There are others as well.

The competition hunter, he usually just competets with rifles and guns, he rarely hunts,

He uses a rifle similar to his comp rifle, ie a heavy thing, his short coming is also in judgement and stalking skills not shooting.

Those are some of the most popular rifles and there typical owners in Sweden.

I take no responsebility for my caracters and I will take critisism for them if so be..

Best regards Chris

In Switzerland, the Blasers totally dominate the market for new rifles. In fact, most other Central European rifle manufacturers have gone through either reorganization if not insolvency/bankruptcy since the R93 hit the market.

If you want something more refined than a Blaser, and are not afraid to pay a bit more, the Sauers are still considered top of the line.

Before the advent of the R93, Steyr dominated the Central European market, so there are still an awful lot of those about - kind of rare to see a new one these days, though.

Also from days of old, we see a lot of Kricos, Mauser derivatives, converted straight pull Swiss army rifles etc. Heyms are a rarity.

Tikka and Sako are reasonably popular in the lower price class, as are CZ, Remington, Winchester and Ruger.

- mike

quote:

The moosehunter, shots perhaps 10 shot each year and only to zero and shot the two or more moose that he is allowed, a typical freezer hunter.

and 4 of those are for the course right?

In Britain and Ireland as far as I can see, the budget end of the market is dominated by Tikka and CZ. The middle market is for Sako and Steyr Mannlicher, prices are similar for these. Top of the market is Blaser and Sauer. Sauers seem to out sell Blasers in N Ireland according to the dealers I speak to.

We are starting to see an increase in interest for semi-custom type rigs here - Remington action, custom barrel, McMillan stock plus a moderator, that type of thing. This is driven no doubt by info on the web that was not previously available.

We don't see much in the way of American centre fires where I am, they are poorly perceived.

Scopes are mainly European, Hungarian fixed power S&B's and Meopta's for those can't/won't buy top line German/Austrian glass.

I would guess calibres 243win, 6.5x55, 270win and 308win account for 95%+ of new rifle sales. 270win would probably be a poor fourth on that list.

quote:

Originally posted by KSTEPHENS:

quote:

The moosehunter, shots perhaps 10 shot each year and only to zero and shot the two or more moose that he is allowed, a typical freezer hunter.

and 4 of those are for the course right?

well but of cours, how did you know!?

In all fairness, I have known some shooter/hunters like all my life, they shoot over steel sights and at ranges below 40 meters, those guys don´t miss, however that is not the case for all of these guys..

Best regards Chris

I have a couple of Ruger repeating rifles and 2 Blaser B95 combination and K95 single shot with extra barrels.

Norway is much like Sweden I guess, regarding types of hunting and rifle brands.
I think Chris did sum it up pretty well.
Perhaps some more American rifles in Norway.

Sauer are increasingly popular among the middel class guys who are willing to spend some money on equipment. One stock and several barrels are the song to be sung it seems...

Guess I´m an odd kind of guy, my cabinet contains only Ruger rifles
M77MKII´s and a No1.
Been a Ruger fan since a bought my first Super Blackhawk back in 72
Scopes are Leupold, S&B and Zeiss

It's hard to say what brands are favourite but much much easier to say what styles are in the ascendancy.

Stainless, synthetic and variable scopes are definately on the increase (the curmudgenly in me cannot resist remarking that quality is on the decrease). The number of quality wood/blue older sakos and fixed power swaro novas that I have picked up as a result of people updating (they would say upgrading )seems to be increasing.

In Iceland I think for the middle class rifle section Sako is the most popular, and for economical rifles Tikka and then far behind Remington.

For the upper class rifles which are increasingly more popular here, the Sauer 202 and Mauser 03 are definitely the most popular, you rarely see Blazer and occasionally you see Beretta and Heym doubles.

As for the scopes, here in Iceland we only use the BEST, as we hunt much in poor daylight even at night so we use Zeiss Victory, S&B and Swarovski and not junk scopes like Leupold where you cant see shit when it gets dark ! Many people around here say that the scope should cost at least the same as the rifle if not more……you can save money in the rifle but not for the scope !

In my hunting group in Poland (a group of 10 guys) we had:
4 Mauser
2 Sauer
2 Sako
1 Husqvarna
1 Savage

The only guy who had a synthetic stock was using the American Savage, the rest of the group made much fun of him for having that “Tupperware rifle"

quote:

Originally posted by 1894mk2:
The number of quality wood/blue older sakos and fixed power swaro novas that I have picked up as a result of people updating (they would say upgrading )seems to be increasing.

1894, funny that. I happened to notice a Sako AII the other day in 243win. It had a reasonable, if a bit plain, dark stock with the red recoil pad. It was in pristine condition.

The guy was taking £350 for it.

How much is a stainless plastic T3 - £600?

I hunt with a Steyr Pro Hunter, a Blaser S2 and a Miroku double rifle.

I hunt mainly with a Browning BAR Evolve cal 300WM (here, 90% of the hunts here are driven); otherwise I own a Tikka 695 300WM and a Tikka T3 Lite cal 270 WSM for stalking.

When I lived in Spain (now two years ago) the most common ones in the shops were Blaser R93s, CZ, with quite a few Zoli, Browning BAR, and Sabatti.

In our little hunting circle everyone had a used CZ, Voere, or maybe a Remington, but they were all game keepers not middle class.

All the Blasers in the shops were the basic model, and any Sauer or Heym or Chapuis in the hops would be the most expensive model.

I have yet to visit a gunshop in Sicily. Not for a lack of looking for one!

The guy I talked to in Frankfurt at Kettner told me he sold a lot of 03 Mausers in the beginning but hasn't sold many yet. R93 was the big seller, unless the guy wanted a Drilling, kiplauf, or doppenbuchs.

If you find then Sakos a burden? Let me help you with that then, I am currently looking for a 7x33 or a .22 Hornet or perhaps a 7.62x39 original should you vander across either or, and don´t care for it could you notify me??

Best regards Chris

quote:

Originally posted by 1894mk2:
It's hard to say what brands are favourite but much much easier to say what styles are in the ascendancy.

Stainless, synthetic and variable scopes are definately on the increase (the curmudgenly in me cannot resist remarking that quality is on the decrease). The number of quality wood/blue older sakos and fixed power swaro novas that I have picked up as a result of people updating (they would say upgrading )seems to be increasing.

Here in Portugal the two main uses for a rifle are Driven Hunts for Wild Boar and or Red Stag, and night hunting for wild Boar.

For the driven hunts the semi autos are the most present, in .30-06 and .300Wm, and in the last couple of years in 9.3x62mm.
Benelli´s Argo and the Browning Bar´s are the norm, you do see the occasional Remington or HK.

For the hunters who don´t trust or like semi´s, myself included, and prefer bolt actions the most popular are Blasers - Sauers - and CZ´s.

The Steyers, popular some 15 years ago, have almost disappeared.

Lever actions - Marlins in .444 or .45-70 and Double Rifles (mainly in 9.3x74R) are not seen often.

Cheer´s

P.S : I hunt with a Sauer 202 Stutzen in 9.3x62mm and an old Steyer S ( With the rear locking bolt) in .300 WM.

According to game size, ranging from 25-250 kg (55 - 550 lbs) and hunting mode, I use :

drive hunting : FN-Browning o/u 9,3x74R (fair weather) or Blaser R93 9,3x62 (foul weather)

stalking / highseat : Sauer 202 .30-06 or 7x64, Blaser R93 .300 Win Mag.

In Finland Tikka and Sako absolutely dominate as they are made here and have strong historical backing. It is also quite popular to have your rifle custom made with your own specifications. This is actually not much more expensive than a good Sako.

Baikal, CZ and Remington are somewhat popular in the low end. Marlin 1895 became a hit for moose hunters couple of years ago and still is popular for those who dare to be different.

Then rarely you see Blaser, Mauser, Sauer, Steyr or some other european makes. This year I've seen many new Benelli Argos.

I usually use Steyr Scout .223 and Marlin 1895 Guide Gun 45/70 and I plan to add a medium caliber S/S double rifle. I also rarely carry my custom .338LM bolt action.

Gentlemen
Thanks for the replies. This is very educational.

i prefer Weatherby rifles.
in my neck of the woods, Rem 700 is the most popular.

I personally have:
1 Sauer
3 Sako
1 CZ
……I wouldn’t mind to have a lovely Mauser03
The Scopes I have are: Zeiss Victory Diavary and Schmidt & Bender zenith.

Educational indeed!
Down here we are far more Americanised, most popular on top:
Rugers/Remingtons(once upon a time Winchester was there too)
Watherbys
Howa
Tikka
Browning
Sako
Brno
Steyr
Sauer
There is a small following for up market Euros
Blaser, H&H... etc

There are many custom semi customs build on M98
and of course there will always be the .303 SMLE

The 30/30 is incredibly popular and since the Winchester went off the scene Marlin has taken over. You can get 30/30 ammo in just about any town you go.

My current deer/boar rifle is a Browning BLR M81 cal. 308.

I have a .243 Howa and a 30-06 Tikka, these 2 seem to equip me for all my hunting needs here in the UK. Also I have a .22 Anschutz for the small stuff!!

My main rifle for Alg and deer stalking is a Husqvarna 1900 .308 win with a Zeiss 3-12x56. A Sako Hunter .222 rem with a Swarovski 3-9x36 for small game and varmint. A Mannlicher-Schoenauer 1905 9x56MS with iron sights for fun (hopefully wild boar) and a Krieghoff Trumpf drilling 12/7x57R with a Leupold 2-7x33 when both rifles and shotguns may be used. I also have a Remington model 34 .22lr with a Pecar 2 3/4 x 64 mainly used for plinking and crows. I am not the typical Swedish hunter, I'm more interested in guns and rifles than the usual guy...

quote:

We are starting to see an increase in interest for semi-custom type rigs here - Remington action, custom barrel, McMillan stock plus a moderator, that type of thing. This is driven no doubt by info on the web that was not previously available.

Suppressors/moderators are also (too)slowly gaining ground here, but due to idiotic recommendations from the police board it can not be had for all calibers, although the suppressors greatly reduce the risk of permanent hearing damage for the hunter, dog, game and bystanders without beeing silent. customization of guns are also more common among younger hunters that are interested and educated, while some of the old people often still think that using hearing protection on the range is not needed, and that kind of reluctance to "new" things is also found in their equipment and the end result in the woods. If they hit a dinner plate at 80 m 2 out of 4 times, then it is good enough to go hunting in their mind. Fortunately not all hunters are like this, but Chris is right that it is some so called hunters that should practice a lot more on the shooting range before going after wild game, but I guess that is not just a Swedish thing.
I shoot way too little every year, and still I am at the range much more often than any other hunter I know.
Personally I have a Husqvarna m96 in 6,5x55 (probably the most common gun & caliber in Sweden), a FN SbS and a .22lr semi automatic takedown, 2 CZs where my zkk602 with a Kahles Helia scope, Warne QD mounts, McMillan safari stock and a Scout T8 suppressor is used for anything from roe and up, as well as I always use the Peltor ComTac while hunting.

Sincerely
Daniel

It depends on what type of hunt you're on, drive hunts see a lot of R93s, Semi's often BAR, and you also have the drillings and Sauer and Mauser bolts.

Myself, for ansitz, or sitting, bockdrilling Blaser BD880, and for drive hunts a Remy 7400, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

In Finland not surprisingly the domestic makes dominate: Tikka and Sako.
Remington is not uncommon due to low price, and I personally know many who shoot CZ.
Other makes I've only seen in gunshops to be quite honest.
Then there's a vast number of old (often military) weapons in use, either in original 7,62x53R or a modified caliber.
The Tikka and the old guns are very much working man's rifles whereas the more expensive ones (inc. Sako) are more just to show off. Well, maybe not so much the Sako as it is many people's dream who cannot afford it so once you are able to accrue the funds you then fulfil a dream by finally buying a Sako.

The European Hunter like more Rifle, for my the best is M98 Mauser and Steyer Mannlicher.

It's mainly Blaser R93, Sauer 200 and 202 and a few Mauser 66 here where I am located.

Hi buys,
I and many friends shot with Remington 700 BDL, but you can find a lot of german guns like Sauer, Mannlicher, Blaser. This have hi price and good reputation...
Unusual to find other brand like Kongberg (very rare), Ruger, CZ, Winchester...
I prefer the my good Remington 700...
Faina