Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Blaser R93

I like most of what I see in the R93 Blaser and have been thinking about getting one. I have, however, recently heard that one blew up and badly(?) injured the shooter in Europe.
(From what I've read in the Deutsche Waffen Journal -- and my German isn't that good -- it has been determined to have been an ammunition problem. Even at that, I'm surprised that the design didn't handle the failure better.)
Does anyone know of any failures over here in the US?

I have this rifle with 2 Magnum barrels, and have had no problems. I only use factory ammo. There was a thread here that referred to on on a handloader forum about a Ka-boom. Frankly, I think all this is is rumor.

Any firearm when abused can blow up. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

It isn't all rumor. One did blow up. I have a letter from Blaser confirming that. But it seems pretty obvious it was a situation of using too hot a load for the rifle.

Nomad--



I have just come into possession of the R93 in three barrels, the 6.5x55, the .30-06 and .375 H&H. I have only worked with the 6.5 so far but it shows great accuracy and overall I'm very satisfied with the quality throughout and the unique design. I clobbered a fair Nebraska whitetail this fall with the little 6.5. It was fun.

I too have heard "these rumors" and intend to call Sigarms who are the importers about it next week. It is my understanding that the bolt/breech design of this rifle originated with the huge rail guns the Germans used during WW ll so implicit in that is some 40 to 50 years of design testing and having been proven; this model, the R93, came out in '93, so there is another 10 years of use of the rifle mostly in Europe where in at least one year it was voted "best rifle" in some gun mag. Of course all of this I have read from one source or another.

I would appreciate if you learn anything pertinent about this that you would pass it on. Thanks.



GDV

I had a Blaser R93 Synthetic that I liked very much. However with this last incident (a 300 Weatherby in Germany) I decided that a conventional bolt guns are the way for me to go. That is five confirmed cases of Blasers having locking/bolt problems. I also realize that a 100,000 R93's have been produced, so the numbers are in your favor-- I just do not want to be #6.

As MRMARKLIN stated he only uses factory ammo. My question is why does he only use factory ammo? Does he fear the design of the R93? Not picking on MRMARKLIN.

I too only used factory ammo in the R93, but continued to handload in my other bolt guns. I feel that there is no way that the R93 can withstand the same extreme pressures of an overload as well as a conventional bolt action. Isn't it funny that you never hear anyone say that I just bought this remington, winchester, browning, savage etc & have to state that they one use factory ammo due to the design of the gun. I am only speaking for myself, & only you can decide if the R93 is the gun for you.
Scott

Here are some excerpts from a letter Blaser sent me in response to my questions about the most recent incident:

"In a series of tests by DEVA measurements of the gas pressure were increased to almost 116,000 psi, whereby under this pressure there were no measured deformations to the outer contour of the chamber area in the barrel."
"Without wanting to anticipate the results of the public prosecutors office and after examination we have concluded clearly the damage was caused through extreme overloaded gas pressure. With consideration to the above mentioned DEVA examination, it is our opinion that the cause of this accident is without doubt due to the ammunition and cannot be related to the rifle."
"Every single R93 is controlled and tested by the state/county proof-house according to the C.I.P. regulations using proof cartridges exceeding the maximal allowed gas pressures by a Minimum of 30%."

Frankly, I really don't know what the last quote means!
Everything I have read seems to indicate each time a problem has occured it has been with a Magnum. Also, for those with R93 rifles...have you ever tried to dry fire with the bolt not fully closed? I wonder if some of these cases were operator error, where the shooter didn't have the bolt full forward, and locked. I can only imagine what might happen with a live round in the chamber.

You may wish to visit accuratereloading.com and do a search on Blaser there. The site is frequented by a lot of Europeans that are open with their thoughts and opinions on the Blaser.

My suggestion about searching on accuratereloading.com may not have been a good idea. I went over there to refresh my memory, and the site has undergone some changes, with; apparently, most of the archived info eliminated. If someone were to start a thread there I suspect it would receive several hits, however.

No offense taken. I only shoot factory ammo because I don't have any reloading equipment, and therefore don't reload. For the amount of rounds I shoot it just wouldn't be cost effective.

For the record, the two barrels I have are .257 Weatherby Magnum, and .300 Remington Ultra Mag. The .257 is an especially nice shooter averaging consistent sub MOA groups with Weatherby's 115gr Nosler Ballistic Tip ammo. The .300 RUM is a MOA barrel, but not as consistent, probably due to recoil! Blaser offers a recoil reducer, which I'm going to have installed.

JimR--

What's your take on this R93 situation now that you have two barrels and a third on the way? Is it much ado about nothing or are you starting to get the impression that there is a design flaw?

GDV

I guess I am somewhere in the middle.
One question I have is, why are all the reports from outside the US? It seems odd that no instances have occured here in the US. And, with over 100,000 sold I am aware of only 9 self destructing. Small odds of one popping, but still 9 more than should have.
Blaser does acknowledge some rifles have "blown". But, they appear to have been a result of loading the rounds too hot.
I received a note from another campfire member mentioning some design flaws an engineer friend of his pointed out.
I am a cautious handloader so that doesn't concern me. But I have had primers blow on factor ammo, and am not as confident as I should be that the Blaser could handle it well.
At this point, I don't plan to buy any additional Blasers- except perhaps a K95. And, I am not rushing out to get rid of what I have either.
It is a very accurate rifle that handles well, and looks good to me. I think the vast majority of problems are from the shooter, not the rifle.

JimR-

Thanks for responding even as I was talking to Sigarms. Frankly, I find this a little disconcerting. The Sig rep avowed in a very solemn voice he knew of no problems but somehow seemed intentionally reticent. Maybe my imagination. I will not go any further with the R93 either at this point. I, like you, like this rifle, although I will admit to wondering about the possibility of the "lugs" failing to expand into the lug recess on closing the bolt since they are not rotated into battery as in a traditional bolt. Even with a mild load, if this were possibe, it would be disasterous.

Reloading hot is not an issue with me either.

I keep going back to an article by Jon Sundra a year or two ago pointing out that this bolt/breech mechanism had its ancestory in the German rail guns of WW ll. Knowing the German penchant for engineering the passage of time since then you would hardly think any serious design flaws could have remained more or less hidden until recently.

Until later.

GDV

He may have been vague because I spoke with him this morning about the issues, and he swore it was the first he heard then too. Been to accuratereloading to get their feedback yet? Do you know anything about the K95?

JimR--

Have been to AR, went to a couple of links that obviously were about these "blowups" but were not in English so gathered no useful information. One with some pictures of the /(a) victim and the remains of the actions were impressive. Did e-m a fellow from France who was involved in the R93 thread but imagine I will not hear from him or Blaser in Germany who I also contacted until tomorrow for sure. I'm hoping Blaser will have some CONCRETE info about the matter.

Hope to learn more. Thanks.

GDV

Blaser has been good about responding to me in a timely manner. Let me know if you hear anything. Might want to PM me so we don't bore the others on here that may not be interested in the Blaser issues.

Please keep the tread open as I have a Blaser, and am interested.

Anyone with more recent news, or thoughts, about the Blaser? One poster sent a note to me indicating an engineer friend sees Blaser design as flawed in two areas:
lack of adequate gas venting so that a case/ primer failure channels gas directly into the lock up area.
Second issue being, in the case of a problem the action fails to the rear whereas a Mauser type action fails forward.
Any Blaser owners reconsidering whether to keep their rifles, or do you feel comfortable continuing to use them.

Remember this action is used in a very popular Police Sniper type rifle. I can't believe if it were flawed that it could be sold to that market.

Any handloader can overload either by accident or design. If overloads are the source of the problem, as they seem to be, I guess I'll just hang on to my rifle.

It seems to me that everyone here is ignoring the elephant in the room: sometimes, s#!+ does, in fact, happen.

Whether it is because of a reloading error, or a factory loading problem, or something as simple as a wasp nest or a clump of snow or water in the barrel, sometimes things go wrong. I've chambered the wrong cartridge and touched it off...... Thank goodness for good gas handling designs!

The r93 ignores this fact of life, and the penalty in case of error or an extraordinarily rare "mishap" is probable severe injury.

One of the Mauser brothers lost an eye to an incident with a machine gun, which is often cited as the reason why their bolt action was designed with "s#!+" happening in mind.

I would imagine that problems with the r93 happen about as frequently as with other actions (although most actions are designed to hold three times maximum pressure), it is just that when something happens, the design of the r93 turns an oops into a serious event. JMO, Dutch.

Dutch

I agree. That is why I sold mine.

Jim R,and anyone on this thread you can call 1 800 KDF GUNS and ask for
Phil he is the #1 Blaser dealer in the U.S.tell him I said to call.He may have answers.Hope this may help.