Sako TRG-21 308 RH Bolt Action 26" Barrel

The Sako TRG is a bolt-action sniper rifle line designed and manufactured by the Finnish firearms manufacturer, SAKO of Riihimaki. The TRG-21 and TRG-22 are designed to fire standard 308 Win. (762 Nato) sized cartridges. 

In October 2011, Sako introduced the Sako 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.

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 4.7 kg (10 lb 6 oz) TRG-21 was designed as a result of a thorough study of sniiper requirements.

In 1989 Sako Ltd. (Riihimäki, Finland) introduced the TRG-21 precision rifle as a sniper rifle model chambered in 308. 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 19 mm (0.75 in) diameter, displaying a locking surface of 75 mm² (0.116 in²). The TRG-21 action was designed for a maximum cartridge length of 75 mm (2.95 in).

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 (different bolt handle) 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 17 mm (0.67 in) integral dovetail rail as found with the TRG-41. The TRG-S M995 (Magnum) 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 95 mm (3.74 in). 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 520 mm (20.5 in) long barrel. However, M995 carbines imported to the United States featured a 495 mm (19.5 in) 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 75 mm (2.95 in), 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.

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 (that lets the rifle swivel or "hang" near its bore axis offering a more stable shooting position with large and heavy aiming optics mounted) were also improved. This resulted in the TRG-22/42 rifle system introduced in 1999.