Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles How many Blaser men here?

I have had 2 customs(64's) built-up now, both around the 5-6k mark(bare rifle) plus 1 semi-custom. The customs went down the road, still have the NULA & always will(They will have to pry that out of my cold clammy hands ). But at this point in my life the R8 is number uno for me.
Like I said. Enjoy what you lust

You sound like you are from some fourth world European nation and enjoy insulting the USA. First off, European investment funds have been flooding into US bonds lately for safety. Were you aware of that? Europe as a whole is failing and going broke far faster than the US.

I would take a Kimber Montana or a Winchester Model 70 all day every day over the serious piece of schit that is the Sako A7. The Sako 75 was a heavy, blocky, piece of crap with a poorly designed bolt system. The Sako 85 isn't much better. If you cannot appreciate the design and simplicity of a Model 70 or a Montana, then you demonstrate your lack of understanding of basic engineering principles. I would take a lowly Savage over a great percentage of the crap comimg out of Europe.

I have had two Blaser rifles. I did not care for them at all. I don't know of, nor have I ever heard of any serious, world class big game hunters who prefer them, or favor them. I am talking about guys who hunt mostly full time all over the world. Money is not their concern, yet they aren't shooting Blasers. Odd isn't it? Plenty of crappy USA made Winchester, Weatherby, and Remington rifles are being used though. Weatherby Award candidates come from all parts of the world each year, they can use whatever rifles they wish. As a whole they are the most experienced trophy hunters on the planet. A few use Sakos, but no Blasers that I am aware of.

Give the Blaser R8 time & it will be more widely excepted 'worldwide'. Did you know the R93 is the biggest selling rifle in Europe?

[/quote] I have had two Blaser rifles. I did not care for them at all. [/quote]


ULA24

Out of curiosity what Blasers were they and why did you not like them?

Granted, Blasers are not for everyone.....but as a takedown system they are unsurpassed. They are impressively accurate and always return to the same Point of Impact when assembling the barrel.

And one can travel the world with a rifle with two barrels fitted with their scopes in a Blaser Case that is not much bigger than a briefcase.....

They quite simply - work......

nice wood corjack! They do come with some nice wood, though. I cant get past the action. Its way over done in the engneering department, imho!

Hi,

I recently purchased a Blaser R8 Professional Package in .308 Winchester and so far it has exceeded my expectations. As a result, I will begin selling some of my other rifles to financially support (keep my better half happy) future purchases of Blaser products.

Merry Christmas to all!

J_Scott

It is best all the naysayers never try a Blaser, or they'll be buying up all the barrels on me.

So, after you got a custom, you may very well have less money in it then a Blaser, but then how does your 2d, 3d, and 4th Custom job compare to the price of a Barrel?

For those that travel, there is no better system, especially in today's baggage limits and fees. Until one has tried one, there's always stuff to gripe about over them. They are an excellent system, but not for everybody, which is true of most things in life, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

Do you by chance remember the shows' names and what the episode was about? I'd be interested in watching them.

There has been more than one case of blow ups with R93s, and they are not exclusively related to handloads. One 7RM seriously wounded its shooter in Madrid's Canto Blanco shooting range, using Remington ammunition, and I just got back from Tajikistan where one of the guides that work for the outfitter that I hunted with was seriously wounded as well with a .300 and commercial ammo. Just to name two cases I know of firsthand.

On the other hand, I would rather have a rifle that has no serviceable parts left after a blow up but that saves the shooter, than one that kills him though is still fully serviceable after it.

BBerg

I just saw one today where they were hunting leopard. Blaser jammed on a followup shot.

Aircraft are still THE measure of a nation's technological/manufacturing prowess... and the USA is still FAR ahead of Europe making quality flying machines.

Airbus is a perfect example of European engineering... a far too complex means to and end.

That was the R93, which is a much different beast to the new R8 in terms of strength! But saying that. Anything will let-go with the right stupidity......

I would agree. And the US is clearly still miles ahead of the curve in most military fields. Computing and information technology, likewise. But it is interesting to look at why those areas have continued to succeed. I would argue it is because in those fields there has been a conscious decision made to remaining the best. Because, in the end when you are a developed nation you have to strive to be the best to survive. And i apologise, i was unnecessarily critical before - i would happily own one of the new FN Winchesters from the gossip here, but the old Winchester really trashed its reputation here. And that of course is the problem - they spent a hundred years building a reputation and managed to destroy it in a decade, and then it is very hard to come back.

I work at times in the US and some of my extended family lives there. I have much closer ties to the US than elsewhere - certainly Europe. The US at its best remains capable of beating anybody else. But the problem i have observed is that, in the short term, being the best doesn't produce the greatest profits - at least not this year. Maybe in ten years time, but there is very little thinking given in US corporate culture to the longer term. Folks want their money and they want it now. So much of american corporate thinking has become preoccupied with short term profits at the expense of longevity and building a brand and reputation. You are also struggling with established forces that are seeking to crush newer, more innovative players with anti-competitive players (and i suspect much of the Blaser bashing in the US is just this, sadly - established players trying to undermine the new guy rather than trying to build a better mouse-trap. It cheaper, you see to just pay someone to have an opinion). There are a lot of rent seeking behaviours within US industry.

With respect to Blaser blow ups, there are only two reliably documented cases i am aware of, and the Spanish example being the one we know the most about. The guy wasn't using Remington factory ammunition. He was reloading with HANDGUN POWDER! The other incident also apparently involved some fairly crazy handloading techniques. Now one or two incidents in Blasers might sound like a lot in the US, because Blasers remain uncommon. But in Europe they are very common, probably the most common rifle. They have been the top seller for more than a decade. They are the Remington 700 of Europe, and very common elsewhere in the world. And Europe has 90% as many active shooters and hunters as the US - thats ten million people. Two blow ups in that context is nothing, particularly when they appear to have occured in such stupid situations. They were very heavily publisised within the shooting community in Europe. But when folks really looked into the situations in which the documented failures occurred, the concerns all vanished. Blaser is selling more rifles than ever.

Ulimately, no rifle can prevent a stupid person from blowing themselves up.

With respect to feed issues, i would put the R8 up against any rifle in the world currently for inherent reliability. There is actually nothing special about the system, it is just a midline push feed - no different to the X-bolt or Sako A7. (I notice there is a lot of mythology about the Blaser in the US. Everyone has an opinion, few experience. When you actually have a look at it is a whole lot more boring and simple than you might expect - most peoples first comment is "is that it"). Midline push feed is inherently just the most reliable and accurate feed mechanism in a mass produced rifle, and the Blaser has this design and is just made a little better than others - no cheap flimsy plastic. In a DGR, where a staggered feed is desirable to maximise ammunition capacity of large diameter rounds, a well made CRF action may hold a slight statistical edge - providing it precisely tuned to the cartridge (most aren't!). However, from what i have seen, the Sako 85 may the most reliable of any of the current mass produced actions and it doesn't have a full-length claw. Because it is inherently a smoother action, the operator is less likely to inaccurately work the action. The best way to make a reliable action is to make a smooth action - that is the action you are most likely correctly under any condition. There is no substitute for reliable, smooth repeatable cycling of the action.

Tracks Across Africa, Buffalo hunt in Tanzania and the other was Under Wild Skies.

After the authorities in Madrid investigated this blow up, the whole thing got dropped, and no one is willing to talk more about it further. Blaser has inquired wanting to know the results of the investigation, but the Spanish authorities tell them nothing.

The 300WM that blew up that started life as a 308 Winchester that had been rechambered by an unknown gunsmith, and it was NOT, factory loads, they were reloads left by a previous client, that had been loaded for a custom rifle, and were way over CIP specs.

Most guys that blow up rifles seem to always omit the real facts, as they realize they did something stupid and do not wish anyone else to know they screwed up.

For instance a fellow I know personally blew up a 700 Remington with factory ammo nearly loosing the sight in one eye. It took a year to get the whole story, he was shooting a box of ammo that had laid on the dash of his pickup in extreme high temps for six years, and he had to beat the bolt open the first three shots before things got really serious.

Maybe Remingtons are not any safer than Blasers? As it is really not fair to blame shooters who make stupid mistakes.

Smart move

[/quote]

Airbus is a perfect example of European engineering... a far too complex means to and end.

[/quote]

If you think the B787 is any less complex than an Airbus think again mate....and BOY have they had problems with that Aeroplane! How late is it? Only just going inot service with All Nippon now......

And a monoque constructed carbon fibre fuselage that is difficult to detect damage AND repair!

How about the fire they had in the eletrical system during the test program? Forced a complete redsign of the electrics as all the systems started dropping offline and frightened the crap out of them.

All the new aeroplanes are complex these days....

Airbus is a perfect example of European engineering... a far too complex means to and end.

[/quote]

If you think the B787 is any less complex than an Airbus think again mate....and BOY have they had problems with that Aeroplane! How late is it? Only just going inot service with All Nippon now......

And a monoque constructed carbon fibre fuselage that is difficult to detect damage AND repair!

How about the fire they had in the eletrical system during the test program? Forced a complete redsign of the electrics as all the systems started dropping offline and frightened the crap out of them.

All the new aeroplanes are complex these days.... [/quote]

+1 you won't catch me flying on one of these or an Airbust

I saw the same shows.