Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General BLR in 7mm Rem mag

I have recently been bitten by the bug. Wasn't much on firearms, but recently bought a few, and now I want more. I've been blessed with a model 70 featherweight xtr in 30.06 that I've been killing deer with for 20 years. I didn't know how fine a weapon that it is until I started looking at other rifles. Anyway, someone offered to sale me a Browning BLR in 7mm remington mag. I don't know anything really about the cartridge, but I like the idea of adding a lever action to my lineup. Recently I read somewhere that the 7rm loses it's benefit over similar cartridges when shot from barrels less than 26. I believe the blr is a 24". So give me some opinions on the Browning BLR in 7rm...I can't imagine that it will be as accurate as my model 70...but what advantages will it have over the old bolt action 30.06? I'm not sure if it's a belgium or not. What is the best lever action (reasonably priced), and in what caliber? I know that is a loaded question and it is very dependent on use...I currently own a 22mag 30-30, 30.06 and a 243(single shot).

I dk but what its worth, check if its a steel frame or the light weight version. The steel ones are a little heavier. I don't think you'll gain much by having a 7mm mag around, buy a BLR in 22-250 for your collection, or a marlin 44 mag, or 444, 45-70.

BLRs are excellent rifles; they have a few minor quirks, as do most firearms. Many will disagree with me, but the 7mm Remington Magnum is very similar to the .30/06 in performance. In short, 99% of the time, it is neither better nor worse than the .30/06.

The primary weak point of the BLR is the trigger; they vary from mediocre to bad. Another issue that is more personal is that they have low combs, which is more of a body type / fit issue; it does effect your choice of scope mounts, though. Also, be aware that the short-action BLR balances differently than the long-action BLR. You will have to decide which you like better, but they ARE a bit different in feel.

I am very much a BLR fan. I'm only trying to be critical in the fairest way possible. As far as I'm concerned, you can't own too many rifles and you should buy the ones that YOU like best. After all, it's your money.

Those blr barrels are hunting weight barrels so they heat up quick, but if you keep to 3 shot groups with its favorite ammo, don't be surprised in that thing doesn't make your m70 groups look like shotgun patterns.

I'm a huge fan of the shortaction blr's not so much the long actions as they seem just a tad unwieldy for a levergun.

I am not much on the BLR big actions, the big bores are just too long in the action and don't balance well for me, but that's a personal dislike..

I love the shorter actions in the 308, the ones I have had handled like a boss shotgun were light and handy, all of them very accurate..

thanks for the info. interesting stuff. I think I will think about it some more then shoot it...

i'm not well versed in ballistics, but from what i've been seeing the 7mmrm isn't beating the 30.06 by a huge margin, but it is beating it nonetheless. My concern was the 24" barrel on the blr. i've been reading that the 7rm needs at least a 26" barrel to outperform the cartridges that are similar. It seems to me that most hunting rifles on the market are shorter than 26".

A lot depends on the barrel. I have owned a couple of 7mm RMs with custom barrels that would, with equivalent charges, equal or exceed the velocities listed in the Nosler manuals. I briefly owned a No. 1 stainless/synthetic that would exceed the book velocities with virtually any bullet and powder charge in any manual. I had a tang-safety Ruger 77 that would not get within 200 fps of book velocities with any of the bullet/powder combinations that I tried. My nephew has a box stock post-64 Model 70 Classic with a 24-inch barrel that matches up with the book velocities achieved with 26-inch custom barrels.

Unfortunately, there are enough variables involved that it basically works out to be the proverbial "crap shoot". What's important is how well a rifle groups with a given bullet/ powder combination--you can use a chronograph and a ballistic calculator to figure out how to use it.