An expensive gun, but looks like it would be more popular here if it was really worth the money. From my point of view it looks like a marketing gimmick aimed at folks with more money than common sense. Maybe in Europe the concept works?

Could be the ultimate $3500 "bling" rifle! Something you put an expensive scope on and casually switch barrels at hunting camp in front of your friends, in this way it has some merit!


To me it looks like the blue steel switch barrel blaser Wunder rifle would be ruined by the elements long before someones cheap SS Ruger.

IMHO too much $$. As I get older I am favoring relative inexpensive rifles as hunting is a rough and tumble sport and looking back there have been no instances I couldn't have easily handles with my Stevens 200 or vanguard. I really can't see myself climbing up in my tree stand and pulling a $3K-$4K rig up swinging around on the end of a rope getting the inevitable dings and bumps. After all your rifle is just a tool, and that's coming from a guy that loves beautiful blued steel and walnut.

i believe they lack popularity in america for 3 reasons.

first, their price is far above what most will pay (or are able to pay).

second, their appearance is unusual when compared to the typical bolt, pump, or semi-auto almost every hunting american uses (and has seen used by family/friends). most people want to "fit in" or "be accepted", and toting a blaser doesn't fit that catagory.

third, few people (even those with 3-4k to burn on a rifle) want something others might consider "gaudy". i realize blasers function as designed, and are as accurate as the next design, but i have heard them described as the only rifle trying to make a "fashion statement". certainly that is untrue, but the perception is out there.

i watched one fellow shoot one at a range a few years back. his rifles was quite accurate, and pretty too. however, i just can't warm up to the design. ymmv.

I think they're kinda cool, but owning one is just a pipe dream for me.

I haven't handled or shot the new model, but previous models had excellent triggers. They are also mechanically complex creatures. One model had a kaboom problem that was a Big Deal for a while in the German gun press, but seems to have quieted down now.

They are not designed for North American hunting nor American hunters.

jim

Money aside, the Blaser has the following going for it:
1-Modular, parts can be swabbed in and out.
2-Safety (probably the most important)Not really a safety but a decocker. Gun can not fire until rifle is recocked (See Am Rifleman 11/2010.

Since the unit is modular, parts can be mfg. anywhere. Should be able to get them cheaper so that the cost of a unit should become affordable to us "little people."

Jim I remember this, it destroyed a fellows face I believe.

this is pretty good!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4AqMl1A4aQ

then:

http://www.deportiro.com.ar/english_articles/al10_english_version.shtml

I�ve taken notice that the following investigations are taking place:

1 Accident near M�nster with a Blaser rifle model R93 caliber 6,5x68
1 Accident near Koblenz recently with a Blaser rifle R93 caliber .300 Weatherby
1 Accident in Africa with a Blaser rifle model R93 caliber .416 Rem Mag, that then was stolen
2 Accidents near Nantes, one with a Blaser R93 caliber .375 H&H and another with a .300 Winchester Magnum
1 Accident near Paris with a Blaser R93 caliber .375 H&H
1 Accident in Austria

After the last accident, the CEO of Blaser company, Mr. Kn�bel, said to the press that in all the models of his brands sometimes wrong ammunition, in bad state or bad reloaded could cause the gun rupture and the shooter could be injured.

This is certainly valid: that a blown of a gun could be produced ocasionally for various reasons, but what is not normal or common is that the shooter results injured in his head or face. For this matter I�m distributing this information to every important media of the world so, by them, to communicate with me every users that have suffered problems or hurts with Blaser rifles Model R93 of any caliber.

A gun engineer of Germany, Mr. Arndt G. Kriegeskorte, after making a technical analysis of the R93 action and saying that they are risky and insecure for the shooters, was menaced formally by Blaser that if he continue telling about his findings will be demanded by Euros 200.000 (about us$ 250.000.-)

Just my perception but Europeans seem willing to pay more per gun but have very few guns. Here, it seems we want lots of guns so we can't afford as much per gun.

A couple of years ago I decided that in retirement I would be able to afford traveling interstate and even some international to hunt. I decided I needed an easy to pack takedown rifle in multiple calibers. I looked at them all and the Blaser came out on top. My retirement battery is a matched pair of R93 Professionals with multiple barrels. Both stocks and 3 scoped barrels fit in a single travel freindly case.

If my future didn't include more than one or two traveling hunts though, I'd settle for a CZ550 in an appropriate caliber. For Texas only, it would be a .270.

It's hard to argue that few seem to favor Blaser rifles. Few seem to favor David Miller Classics either. If by favor you are talking about sales figures.

How does a person arrive at whether something is really worth the money? My AR-10 type .243 is definitely NOT worth the money unless you price by the pound. The AR types are definitely popular right now.

In Europe the concept is different. If we all had to go through a Class III type process every time we bought a rifle the notion of one receiver and six barrels may well appeal a whole lot more. If that were the case, my receiver of choice would be much more attractive than a T/C Encore. I don't know that it IS the case, only that firearms ownership is not nearly as easy in Europe as it is here.

How long can we argue that one lightly modified Mauser bolt action is really better than another lightly modified Mauser bolt action? A little innovation at least brings some interest to the discussion.

I'd generally agree with that; same with the optics also.

I seem to recall that the R93 was the best selling rifle in Europe for several years..

I like the gun and concept but at the cost, I could build one heck of a custom rifle or go on a nice hunt.

I own ten or so Blasers with an extra fifteen or so barrels. The only thing I don't like about them is they shoot so well you don't get to tinker with them. What's fun about a gun you don't have to glass bed, have a trigger job done yada, yada, yada.

I would venture to guess that Americans annually purchase more rifles costing three grand and up than the rest of the world combined. While the price tag obviously eliminates some people from the prospective market, it is the fact that they are just plain weird looking to most shooters that has limited their sales in this country. That plus most people don't find much utility in all this modular parts stuff....

I've got more than a few firearms that cost more than a Blazer....but never had the slightest interest in owning one.

If they cost $300 I wouldn't want one.

Too Buck Rogers for me

JMO.

I like the looks of the K95.

as someone above mentioned,the saftey/decocker,really turned me off on the 2 rifles i shot, they shoot real well but i hated the saftey,so i passed on 2 guuns that were used but pretty cheap.rio7

Only about 1/2 of 1% of Germans hunt, and they are generally among the wealthiest people in a wealthy nation. The same applies to many other European countries. While many Americans are willing to buy $3000 hunting rifles, a far higher percentage of Germans are willing to do so. It's just the way things are in their culture.

I suspect, however, that many Germans would consider the many "custom" rifles sold in America that are essentially Remington 700's with an aftermarket barrel and synthetic stock to be very puzzling--especially when many cost well over $3000.

In general German rifles are a steal for the price. I have a Heym SR21 .300 Winchester that is as accurate as just the average $5000 Rem. 700 "custom," and far more sophisticated mechanically. It also has a very nice walnut stock, as well-made as many custom-made American stocks. The rifle retails for a little over $2000, but since it would draw blank stares in American hunting camps, SR21's aren't all that popular over here.

I'd like to have a couple. I'd sell em, buy a Kimber and have one of the Smiths here tune it up. Then I'd take the leftover cash and book a Safari.

Wayne

A fellow in the gunsite 270 class used one. He had no malfunctions in spite of a week of rather trying weather and dust (turning to mud). He had done Africa several times and liked the takedown portability. I saw no real problem with the blaser other than, to me, it was really ugly.

The Blaser is an aquired taste. Most guys that understand the concept, really like them. Sure they cost 3500.00, but they are one of the best 3500.00 rifles you could buy. Some are not willing to spend that much, and there is nothing wrong with that. I still shoot my Marlin lever actions fairly regular. But most of my hunting I prefer the Blaser.

The SR21 is a nice normal looking rifle...well, the cutouts on the side for grasping the detachable mag are a little jarring on a rifle that is otherwise classic looking.

Thats the beauty of the Blaser system. You can carry a fully loaded rifle that is uncocked and has no way of discharging. What's so hard about pushing a button to cock?

And as far as cost. I bought most of mine used for an average of around $1500 each.

at $1500 I would try one, $3500 value I do not see.

Don't know much about their rifles but they make some fine shotguns.

Perhaps my memory is not what it once was but I seem to recall that some European nations allow only a small number of firearms to be owned by their citizens. Having one rifle on which you can fit many different barrels allows citizens of those countries to have multiple chamberings they could not own with fixed barrel rifles. I think there are some other European brands that have the capacity to swap barrels. We do not need that capacity here in the USA so far. I hope we never do.

I've owned a Blaser 93 with 30-06 and 6.55 barrels and a K95 243 Win. Both rifles were well made and accurate with very good triggers. The scope mounting system was great, but expensive at something like $250 a set. The thumb-cocking system required what, to me, seemed a lot of pressure. Enough pressure that, as I practiced taking it on and off to familiarize myself my thumb began to hurt! Certainly not as easy as pushing off a standard model 700 safety or something. The K95 didn't have an ejector which bothered me for hunting applications.

I didn't warm to either of them and, as a churner, they ended up being traded.

Spot on as usual. The rest of the world isn't even close to what we spend. Notropis mentioned the factual reason for the Blaser's success in Europe: Restrictive gun laws. With a Blaser, you can buy one gun yet own many barrels without having to get permits, licenses, etc. You know like the democraps want us to be like. Also it's an "un-natural act" to work that bolt. Laslty, it's hideous!

For that kind of money you can get a really nice rifle.

It's very easy to learn the push pull bolt. Even a caveman could do it. I'll have to agree on the hideous part but like some women. Nothing a paper bag wouldn't take care of.

Well some cavemen obviously can't figure out the 'in and out' system. Wonder what their sex life must be like? Getting back to the Blaser, etc., I bought my first Sauer in 1974. It was a Colt Sauer. Later I bought several Sauer 202s. Had 7 at one time. They all shot very well and are lightweight with some great features. I bought my first Blaser R93 in Oct. End of October I killed a very nice mule deer on the run with it. One shot and it was over. The gun is easy to shoot, easy to bring up to shooting position, and for a 270 Wby it shot a bud's handloads into 1/2" and has done the same with factory Weatherby ammo. I'll be ordering a 300 Wby mag in the new R8 probably within the next few weeks. And yes I'm selling some American made guns to do so. Unfortunately I don't have enough of them to be able to buy the R8 without selling some German guns too...

The concept of a souped up Remington 700 has always amused me. Mainly because I also spent quite a bit of money trying to turn a Chevy (Rem 700) into a BMW. In the end I still have a Chevy and the resale value is reflected as a Chevy when you get ready to sell it. All the custom work on that rifle is worth damn near zilch, maybe 10-20 cents on the dollar on a good day. Other than buying a McWhorter or a limited number of 'brand name' converted 700s you can spend quite a bit of money on one and you better enjoy it because come time to sell it most of what you spent is history. No doubt you can make a 700 shoot. Spend enough money on plastic surgery an ugly heifer can look pretty good. Why not start with a work of art that's also an investment? My 36 year old Colt Sauer will still outshoot the vast majority of guns ever made. I've seen the term 'boringly accurate' and it describes that rifle. These guns aren't for everybody and as someone else pointed out everybody has their priorities and their particular interest/hobbies. There are those who might drink a 12 pack a night, smoke a couple packs a day, play golf, go fishing, gambling, chase women, eat out at fancy restaurants, wear high dollar clothes, drive 4x4s with all the bells and whistles, spend $10,000 on a Texas deer lease to shoot one buck and some does, the list could go on and on. In most of our cases we're not rich elitest in any sense of the word. We simply enjoy a fine high quality rifle that we can hunt with or simply shoot and enjoy. I would say that from the Blaser, Sauer and Mauser owners I've met none are wealthy or snobs. Most could sit at any table with anybody here and other than if you saw their gun you'd never think they bought rifles for that kind of money.

There was a comment made in an earlier post about that blue barrel rusting in the weather. They are nitrited and almost (I said almost) impossible to rust. My 700 (the Chevy - BMW) was nitrited a few years ago at a cost of $285.00. It now is as tough as a Blaser, at least when it comes to fighting the weather. It had a continous corrosion issue and given the options I chose 'QPQ' which is nitriting the barrel, action, bolt and misc parts. I do recommend the process to anybody who really wants to keep their gun in great condition.

The url below is a bit bulky to copy and paste but worth seeing and reading what happened when Sweden conducted test on 8 different rifles and found out which ones did blow up when an obstruction was placed in the barrel. Only hint I'll add is it was American brands that failed...and failed rather dramatically!


Here is the write up concerning the test and everything that went into it. Being that they're translated they may or may not come through well on your computer. Copy and paste the entire two lines into your address bar:

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=sv&tl=en&u=http://www.testfakta.se/sport_fritid/article14852.ece&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&usg=ALkJrhgQd41pK8t8nLAsqmU53PHiTvxwGA

Here is the video link: (turn your volume down for this one..)

http://www.vmgo.com/yt/video/e4AqMl...-Mannlicher-Antonio-Zoli-Howa-Tikka.html

Blaser buds.com!

Post an engineering link or two to where you find that Nitrided steel is "more" corrosion and rust resistant!

I will not dispute the increase in surface hardness for nitrided steel as used in cutting operations but your faith is misplaced in this process as a corrosion inhibitor.

On the internet folks claim a lot of stuff, if only half of it was true...I would be as happy as smiling Bob and rich as Bill Gates.....

In my examination of the engineering facts nitrided steel is simply not anymore corrosion resistant than blued steel. Several papers I have read indicate that nitriding of stainless steel even raises its susceptibility to corrosion!

If I am missing something please bring some facts and figures and links to an engineering site or two to help me understand.

I am not sure I would make it on the blaser forums, it sounds too tame.... we have a number of resident bullies, blowhards, troublemakers, trolls, and other Neanderthal hunting type azzholes here on this form driving their blue collar Remington rifles with McMillan lipstick (their is one particularly large obnoxious fellow here that likes brownings but we tolerate him as well), this place would be as boring as a retirement home for nuns without them. I like German optics, yet the straight pull German rifles whose only innovation is a switch barrel and a T-bolt type pull handle I just don�t know.

Its amazing what shows up when someone's favorite ox is gored!

interesting more nitrided parts...

The destroyed R93 had a lock guide or rail system ("Verschlussf�hrung") made of plastic.
DEVA attempted to simulate the accident with a similar rifle. The ammo used for this test was well inside max. pressure, but was prepared for case ruptures:
- primer perforation: no effect
- annealing: no effect
- a ring cut above the case bottom: still no effect, as the remaining case wall above the bottom still sealed the gas
- drilling a small hole in the case bottom, to direct gases backward: lock was instantly destroyed, lock parts were propelled backwards.

Conclusion: in case of gas escape the R93 with plastic lock rails is unsafe. Owners of such rifles should have replaced these parts by aluminum parts.

I sure do like my R-93 and K-95. They go everywhere with me.

1 rifle I have .22 LR, 7mm-08 and .300 WSM barrels for it. Everything that I really need for all my hunting needs.

So many benefits to the R-93, so I will try and explain the value you get.

1) 1/2 MOA Accuracy
2) crisp triggers
3) Great stock, which allows you to use a removable recoil reducer
4) Light weight 6.75 pounds.
5) Short overall length.
6) transportable in a breakdown shotgun case. Great for flying
7) easiest rifle to clean, because you can break it down so easy
8) Safest rifle in the world with easy to use safety
9) detacable scope mounts with no tools required
10)Nitride finish that never scratches
11)Fantastic wood stocks if that's your thing
12)Easy, fast cycling bolt.
13)Easy to find used componets
14)Resale value has been great

A lot of comments made on this thread are just flat out wrong, You can tell who has experience with these rifles and who has never used one.

I wish you people would quit bringing up the K95. This thread is obviously about the R93. My 2 R93's with multiple barrels form the backbone of my hunting battery. I really don't need anything else. But that doesn't mean I don't lust after one of those slick little K95's, and your incessant talk of them just makes it worse. So cut it out.

Blasers are excellent rifles, but somebody said life is to short to hunt with an ugly rifle.
Who ever said Melonite QPQ was mot corrosion resistant needs to check this link. http://www.burlingtoneng.com/corrosion_resistance.html
If this and other things on this website are not scientific enough for you I nwill do the searching for you.
Butch

I agree with the above. Americans are conservative in their taste for rifles and don't like unconventional rifles. I just bought my first Remington Model 700 a month ago and bought 2 Remington Model Sevens three years ago; I guess I finally warmed up to the lack of the Mauser extractor. Of course, it took me 40 years to accept the Porsche 911 styling (I like the 356 though).

Pssst!
K95/6.5X55 = 5 shot groups under 1/2" with Federal Fusion on a regular basis...
I love it!..

Thanks for looking that one up. I'm sure the Rem specialist will find something wrong with it. The best proof I have that it works is something that I saw with my own eyes and isn't documented on the net where the armchair QBs can look at it. My gunsmith had a barrel done when he first started offering the service. It was a piece of a barrel, not a complete one. His son took the barrel and put it in the wood stove that they heat the work shop with. After leaving it in the stove for a while he took it out and put it outside in the rain. They left it on the table for several months and it looks as good as it did when it was done. If someone doesn't understand nitriting there isn't much one can do to change their mind. Bottom line it works. I know my Rem 700 that was a rust bucket from Remington no longer has a problem. I have friends who hunt with their Blasers in the wet and cold of Alaska and they have reported no problems. That even carries over to the treatment/finish that they put on the wood stocks. No one has reported an issue using the Blasers in the worst conditions for days at a time.

Easy enough though. If you don't like them don't buy them. Kind of like me buying a Ruger again. Every one I've owned was pure junk. Yet I know some folks who love their Rugers. If they work for them that's great. Maybe I was just blessed with the lemon editions. Same thing goes for me ever buying another Remington product. Won't happen ever again. Lots of folks happy with theirs and Remington's parent company thanks them for contributing to the bottom line and the rest of us are happy some folks have jobs here still. Something that's vanishing as we write. I have to say when I first laid my eyes on a Blaser I wasn't sold on it and prefered my Sauer rifles. As time has gone by I've come to realize that they just do some things extremely well and believe them to be better than or at least equal to anything else out there. When was the last time you saw somebody open a case take out a Remington, screw the barrel in, mount the scope and put the first round in the bullseye? For that matter the Mauser M03 does the same thing and the Sauer 202s are right there in the same groove too. Or for that matter see the Remington owner be able to swap out different barrels for different game? Or swap out different scopes for different hunting conditions and both be sighted in? Hunting in brush today, a 1.5-6, hunting open fields tomorrow you swap to a 6-24. All in a matter of seconds without having to check zero.

Just go get ya one! They had a K95 at the shoot here in San Antonio, believe it was a 7 mag. Pretty rifle. Since it was a display model they probably still have it at the warehouse... just trying to help...

Curious if you've ever handled a R93 or R8 and second if you've ever learned how they work or shot one?

Suggest that you give them a try and then see if you still believe the negative crap that's out there or the thousands of satisfied owners. We've all seen the stuff from the early 2000 time frame. The stuff you posted was 2004.

Any time you're ever in Texas feel free to drop by and I'll let you shoot mine and maybe we could get a few minutes to visit Blaser USA so you could see the rest of the Blaser world... Can't guarantee you the visit because they are very busy there but we could try.

Also last time I looked Remington's safety was being accused of killing more people than all the Blasers in the world ever will - that is unless you count the tactical ones that are designed to kill 2 legged varmints. Of course the Swedes figured out that the Remington barrels don't work too well if they're obstructed, yet you don't see us saying that they're not a useable rifle. (BTW mine has a Timney trigger so I don't have to worry about the Remington safety!) I don't recall seeing a major news outlet do a story on the unsafe Blaser...

For those who don't know the Blaser or how it works here is a video that Corjack put together for the blaserbuds website:


http://globaloutdoorsman.com/media/40/How_a_Blaser_works/

Very well done and so simple a caveman could follow it... (apology to M16 for borrowing his line, just too good not to use again!)

Very well said. If I could only have 1 rifle it would be my R93.

All women work but it sure is nice to wake up next to one that is beautiful.

Actually, I saw a Blazer fail a few months ago at the range...The rifle fired as normal, but then the guy couldn't cycle the bolt to eject the case; the bolt would move back a fraction, but no more...

In the end, somebody else fed a cleaning rod into the barrel from the muzzle end, and gave it tap as the guy pulled back gently on the bolt handle.

That was enough to cause the bolt to slide back and eject the empty case as normal.

Apart from the case looking very sooty, it seem normal enough..I'm not sure what the root cause was (although a lot of theories were bandied about) but I was very unimpressed with the lack of extraction power as compared to a normal bolt action..

Hmm I had the same thing happen with my AR 15 - must be a rifle not worth owning.

To my eye the lockup mechanism on an R93 does not look very strong or reliable. It's basically a collet that expands into a barrel extension as the bolt is shoved forward. It just doesn't do anything for me, I guess. Then there's the price thing. No thanks.

Kind of like a Lamborgini with those funny opening doors. Who would want to own one of those???

I sure wouldn't look at it that way.
Butch

Wow people actually have different points of view! I'm shocked what a freaking concept...

WOW only 3 posts and you are trying to sound like Big Stick.....might want to re-think your approach !!!

Holy crap now you have four....you might be run from here in record time

I am willing to be convinced, and yet it does depend on the exact nitriding process and it actually decrease corrosion resistance in stainless steel. I think SIG nitrides their barrels in some of their assault rifles. I am old fashioned and always believe in hard chrome. At any rate the type of nitriding process does matter.

http://resources.metapress.com/pdf-preview.axd?code=m367678534136550&size=largest
http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=113811


There have been fits and starts with nitriding however. Some folks seeing the potential have had very bad testing experiences. Specifically, nitride actually shearing out of bores during full auto test firing. But we have to look at the specifics of these tests. First is what was the substrate, or rather the material being nitrided. In most of the cases I've read or heard anecdotal stories about, the substrate was some form of stainless. Nitriding is not a good process for stainless especially in high wear high temp applications. Another issue with stainless and nitriding is that the process actually lowers it's corrosion resistance. Yes I said lowers! Counter intuitive I know. Ever seen a M&P slide get surface rust very easily (the M&P rust cause is my humble opinion by the way. I don't have any data to support that). The other thing I noticed in those failed tests was how deep the nitriding was being applied. Very thick applications make the metal very brittle.

I guess I cannot understand why a 7 pound nitrided blaser with questionable extraction power is better than a 5 pound Kimber stainless steel rifle with a mauser claw extractor at 1/3 the price? Am I too blue collar to understand? What am I missing?

Anyone have any of those $1500 used Blaser R93's just taking up space in the safe....I'm buying.

or it could be a very expensive AMC Pacer? Put more dollar signs on things and some folks think they are better...

the best part of this thread is that we have found that there are actually a few hunters out there there that actually like blaser rifles. I think the title "very few seem to favor the Blaser rifles" was more of a question and now we know that a "few" hunters do favor them.

And, at least one of them a dickhead.

if the new one was $1500 in 9.3 x 62 I would be interested, but not a $3500.00

And that coming from the biggest dickhead on this site...

Who the [bleep] are you, and who schit in your cornflakes this morning?

Speaking of Remingtons and Blasers, if they were both so good how come there are not used to a greater extent (if at all) by African Professional Hunters? (rhetorical question). jorge

I had read this earlier on this thread and thought I would just interject some humor here - according to this I should fit into one of these catagorys. Sarcasm is free, I'm ususally pretty tame;)

we have a number of resident bullies, blowhards, troublemakers, trolls, and other Neanderthal hunting type azzholes here on this form driving their blue collar Remington rifles with McMillan lipstick (their is one particularly large obnoxious fellow here that likes brownings but we tolerate him as well), this place would be as boring as a retirement home for nuns without them. I like German optics, yet the straight pull German rifles whose only innovation is a switch barrel and a T-bolt type pull handle I just don�t know.

Me too; but I'll settle for a used one.

You can put me in the blue-collar own a Blaser and like it list; so I guess I'm in the "few" bunch. Can a "few" still be a bunch?crowd?group?

Still trying to find all these problems everyone talks about; if I find one I'll let ya' know. I know my gun comes apart to travel into a very small case; and then goes back together with out adjusting anything; so that's a big part of why I own one. Frankly I never even bother to check it by test firing or checking zero; just go hunting.

Some good entertainment here on this thread. Did some reading on nitriding and its an interesting topic.

It may be rhetorical but anyway;most use a big bore for back up and until the recent R8; they don't have that capacity....

And as you often point out concerning things such as TSX's....PH's are not the end all be all of the gun world. Most shoot what is affordable, given to them, or inherited....some are even......push feed!

Push feed? Didn't they get the memo on using push feeds on dangerous game? They could all be killed... eaten alive (reminds me of an old girlfriend) but anyway where were we? You do have a good point about the R93 not handling the biggest calibers. And I happen to know several folks who've hunted Africa with Blasers. Then again there were thousands that hunted it with spears....

Also a note for Jimmy... From what I've heard initially Blaser nitrited the barrel inside and out. Now they only nitrite the outside which may verify what you're saying about the inside of the barrel having issues if it's nitrited. Now my Remington was dipped inside and out and I haven't had a problem. Then again it's only had maybe a box or two run through it since then. So far so good though. From what I've seen I wouldn't hesitate to use it on anything I own. You mentioned S&W's M&P. I believe Glock uses that process on their slides as well as some of the other pistol makers. I remember when Springfield came out with one of their pistols roughly 8-10 years ago it was supposed to have a rust resistant finish and the local police shop took one out to demo it in light rain and didn't wipe it down when they got back. Couple days later it was covered in rust. Never heard what Springfield told them but it obviously had a problem. Lots of processes have been refined and improved though in 10 years.

In Germany one is allowed only to have one rifle, as a general rule. Hence the popularity of switch barrel rifles such as the Blaser.

I have had a R93 for about 10 years with two barrels. It is my main hunting rifle. Nothing is easier to use than the straight bolt pull in the field.
As to the safety, I haven't hunted with a safety for over 25 years. Safeties are inherently unsafe, and IMHO useless. I hunt action open with all rifles in all conditions.
Let's see for the money you get not having to re-bed your barrel, a crisp trigger right out of the box, and superb accuracy. I have never seen a Blaser that wouldn't do MOA right out of the box.

I don't have a problem with the looks either.

the nitriting process is interesting in that there are many different ways of applying it. Personally when I heard that SIG had nitrited their chamber in their new assult type rifle instead of hard chrome I thought it was a poor marketing gimmick. Due to this thread and more information on the process it looks as if done correctly that it is a very durable and corrosion resistant process. If done properly I would want inside the barrel nitrided as well based on what I have read so far.

Because what a Professional Hunter uses and what sport hunters use is rarely the same type of rifle. Remingtons are commonly used by those who need to shoot further than 20 yards. Once the pissed off animal closes the distance to a few feet then accuracy isn't as important.

at 20 feet I would prefer a cheap Ruger shooting a big bullet

Who said anything about push feeds? I use Weatherbys...

Jimmy, your best bet is to piece one together. I have done this to get my second R-93. It might take you a while to get the complete rifle, but it might be your best way to get one. Blaserbuds and Blaser Pro have classifieds that you can get everything you need. I would get your stock first, followed by barrel and then bolt assy, and scope mount (which you can save a ton by buying the Talley). I will help you collect everything if you want.

I watched 9.0 minutes of the second video.

The design gives makes me uncomfortable. I am not going to watch more.

The 'blaser' is ugly. No need for that.

cooperfan,
You can mount Talley's on a Blaser?
---------------------------------------------
and scope mount (which you can save a ton by buying the Talley)

I have to smile when I see guys mention that the Blasers are ugly. I grew up to the Mark V and Colt Sauer look as being the best looking rifles ever made. We'll even throw in the old Winslows that were totally over the top when it came to 'pimp my gun' looks. My first Sauer 202s were the Lux models with the same high polish blue and beautiful wooden stocks. I had no problem going to the lightweight Sauers that came with the black poly stocks and llaflon coating which keeps it from rusting in foul weather. As time went on I found that I had zero desire to take a beautiful high grade wooden stocked gun out to hunt, especially since I now had other options that didn't need that TLC. Getting to the gist of it, I saw my first Blaser in a Prestige or Luxus grade at KDF in Seguin and was of the same mind set as many of you are. To me it was fugly and just looked gimicky. It was something akin to being from another world so I pretty much blew them off. It wasn't until I met a fellow who has a pretty extensive collection of Blasers and learned what they did and how they worked that I started coming around. The final selling points were the newer 'professional' stock which is still very nice looking, the nitriting finish (something I'd never heard of till my gunsmith turned me on to it), the interchangable barrels that can be swapped out in a few minutes, the scopes that stay on target because they stay on the barrel, and the tremendous accuracy that most people achieve with their Blasers. And to take that further Blaser will stand behind their barrels. If one doesn't do what they say they'll give you a new barrel.

For an old country boy they are on the high side but to most of us our guns are also investments that we take care of and usually down the road we're able to sell them for more than what we paid for them provided we took care of them.

As for the action, yes it does take some getting used to but it doesn't take long. I wasn't sure about the 'cocking' feature either being that I'd had rifles with safeties all my life. I found that it isn't a big deal and comes pretty naturally when out in the field. The idea of not having a cocked rifle with a safety that may or may not work really does put your mind at ease. One of my first deer rifles was a 7.65 Argentine Mauser that had been sporterized. One evening after finishing my hunt I walked back to the house and started to unload the rifle to go in. As I pushed the safety down the gun went off. It split my fingernail and knocked the crap out of my thumb. And barely missed the house roof! I thought I might have hit the trigger somehow but found that it did it pretty much every time. Took the gun to a local gunsmith who said that that mauser action had that particular problem. Wonderful news to know NOW! I paid him to fix it and it went to the local gun show post haste. I've also seen my share of Remingtons that had the triggers adjusted to light and would go off if tapped on the floor. As someone stated in an earlier post, safeties are not reliable and definitely not dependable 100% of the time.

In the end, NO gun is 100% perfect and any gun can break and consequently has to be treated with respect any time you handle it. If guns didn't break no gun company would need service centers or shops that did warranty work.

thechamp

Do you work for Blaser?

edited to add, does the gun go "click" when you push the cocking piece?


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Blaser USA, Inc. � 403 East Ramsey, Suite 301 � San Antonio, TX 78216, USA

ROFLMAO! No I don't work for them but I have visited their location here. Blaser-USA is about 25 miles from me. I'm a retired cop who piddles around on the farm now and likes playing with a few rifles... I also happen to be 12 miles from KDF in Seguin who had been a Blaser dealer for quite some time. He was also a Sauer dealer and that was how I got to know them. My gunsmith is a master gunsmith "Tip Burns - CanyonSportingArms.com" who's shop is by Canyon Lake, Tx, about 40 miles from me. Hill Country Rifles is 10 miles from my place. Vais muzzle brakes are on the other side of San Antonio. All in all I happen to be about 'right in the middle' between all of them. I couldn't have gotten luckier if I'd have planned them all being here. If you remember the Kleinguenther rifles, that is 'KDF' which is owned by Phil Koenig now. Robert Kleinguenther came here from Germany when I was a kid and opened his shop in Seguin. He passed away 2-3 years ago. He was one of Roy Weatherby's engineers and then went on his own.

As for the 'click'. I'd have to say that there is a tiny faint click. It's more feel where you feel it lock into place than sound. I'd say it compares to the sound that a Model 70 safety makes if that much.

BTW here's the picture of the mule deer I took Oct 30th with my Blaser R93. First time I ever used the rifle other than sighting it in. 1 shot running up the other side the mountain. After he was hit he rolled all the way back down to the ravine... Luckily he didn't break his horns. The rifle is a 270 Wby mag with a Swarovski Z5 3-18x44 with the ballistic turret. Whole rig weighs 8.34#s. Nice weight for a walking magnum.

I have a R-93 and a K-95. Both are absolute hammers, sub moa with everything I put down them. I also have a bunch of other guns, and I love my Kimber .308 Montana, I think I got the best one Kimber ever made it shoots near .5 MOA.

The Blaser bolt rifles are very well made, safe and super compact for their barrel length. Their QD saddle mount systems is the best there is, hands down, as is their barrel changing system. The combination of the two allows a takedown rifle that truely returns to zero every time. I once fired 5 3 rd groups out of my R-93 .308, taking off the scope mount and the barrel off the action after each group. 15 rd group, 1.48 inches, try that with anything else. It would shoot .6 MOA on average for 3 rds.

The Blaser bolt is very fast to operate, the triggers are great and the safety system is the safest their is. They takedown into super compact cases making them very easy to travel with.

The blow ups one always hears about are usually heresay, the ones that I have seen documented have all involved questionable loads at best that would have taken down almost anygun.

The Blaser R-93 system in LRS trim is a poular military and LE sniper rifle used all over the world in .308, .300 Win and .338 Lapua.

Unless you have shot one I would not bash them, they are super guns, pricey yes, but so are Sisk, Granite Mountain and many other custom guns. The fit and finish on them is equal to what we call a full custom gun over hear. And for you single shot lovers, he K-95 is THE bomb.

I like them all, my toughest choice is which one to take out with me, R-93, Kimber, K-95. Good thing is none are a bad choice.

Good hunting boys. Spence

Looking these up on Gunbroker, you could buy a new Winchester or Remington for the price of just one replacement barrel!

Nice, but too pricey for most to even consider.

Well you guy's talked me into keeping the SR830.270 I had in the classifieds.Single set trigger, 2 3/4 lbs unset like an icicle,6 oz's set.Shoot's 150 Partition's in 3/4" 100yds.And it's a turnbolt,so I don't have to worry about getting a straight pull bolt thru my forehead!

That's true for a lot of folks. OTOH how many people buy custom rifles from HS Precision, McMillan, McWhorter, Hill Country Rifles, Dakota, Lazzeroni, Cooper, Accuracy International, certain Sakos and Weatherbys, as well as other high end rifles every year? There is a market for these guns and they are selling. I'll definitely agree that they're not for everybody.

As a comparison, HS Precision here in the USA offers a 'take down' rifle where you can have extra barrels. Base cost for the first rifle is $4500. I can't find the price on extra barrels but it used to be $1995 each. I'm also pretty sure that each barrel is custom made for each action so you can't borrow your bud's barrel to use on your action. Might be wrong on that but that's the way I remember them being made. With Blaser, Sauer and Mauser they are all built to take any barrel off the shelf and it'll work in your receiver. Of course each company has their own proprietary barrel so they won't interchange across the three brands.

http://www.hsprecision.com/shop/rifles/takedown

I'll be the first to admit that it's takes a bit to get used to paying $2700 for a rifle and $750+ for an extra barrel but when you think of it as an investment it's not a big deal. Most people pay a grand for a plain cloth couch that cost probably a couple hundred bucks to make. Nice leather living room set is $5,000 minimum. Flat screen tvs $600-$10,000... We're paying $30,000-$60,000 and up for nice pick up trucks that in a few years are worth ???? Do we really get that money back from using them? Buying a nice rifle and taking care of it allows you to use it first of all, second, keep it nice and you'll get your money back down the road, third you can leave it to your kids and grandkids to enjoy. That $50,000 GMC Duramax with the Allison tranny will be history in 20 years and probably on the verge of being recycled. You build a $200,000 to half a million dollar home and the taxes and up keep would make owning these guns look like a frigging bargain! Taxes on a $200,000 house here in SA are now between $5,000 and $6,000 a year - $15.00 a day you pay the government to live in your own house! There are a whole lot of folks living in homes they can't afford and have no business trying to own but it's a 'status symbol'.

BTW as for leaving the kids something.. I have my dad's 1873 Winchester 38-40, octagon barrel, etc., that he hunted with. I suspect he may have inherited it or bought it in his younger days. He passed away when I was 10 so I don't know anything further about it. Today it's worth probably a couple of thousand, depending on the market etc. I'd wager he didn't pay more than $100 for it when he bought it. But at that time it was hard earned money made from trying to scratch out a living on a small farm.

It's all a matter of what you want and what you'll sacrifice to have those things that you feel are important in life. In the end we take nothing with us. Might as well enjoy your time on earth.

Yes, It's a great system. The rail costs about $125 and you mount regular talley steel rings on it. I use mine with the quick release rings, so I can pop the scope on and off easy. It's a great system if you want to use 1 scope for multiple barrels.

You can regularly buy hardly used centerfire barrels for $650 range if you shop the classifieds on Blaser Buds or Blaser Pro. Really IMO you can get away with 3 barrels to cover most everyones needs. The rimfire barrel (which I have) is outragoues though. That one hurt.

I love my .308 K-95 Luxus too. This one will certainly get passed down to my kids one day. Best mountain rifle every made IMO.

Excerpt- I think the best word to describe the Blaser R8 is "fast." This should not be a revelation. Straight-pull bolt actions, whether modern guns like the Blaser R93 or Heym SR20, or old-timers like the Ross, don't have the same feel as the turnbolts most of us are familiar with, so they take some getting used to. With some practice, however, I'm convinced that a straight-pull is faster to operate than any turnbolt. There's less movement, of course, but straight-pulls seem easier to operate while the rifle is shouldered.

We all know that Mauser intended his turnbolt to be operated from the shoulder, but there are relatively few shooters who actually keep the rifle on the shoulder--sights on the target--while working the bolt. Most take the rifle halfway down to work the bolt, then raise it again to fire. For some, this is to gain leverage to work the bolt. For others, it is irritating to have the bolt come back to almost touch the nose. I can work a left-handed bolt from the shoulder; a right-handed bolt is impossible, since I have to take it halfway down to reach over the top.

I switched to (mostly) left-hand actions in the early 1980s and ever since have worked hard on operating them from the shoulder. Even so, I often catch myself taking a left-hand action partway down to work the bolt. The straight-pull pretty much cures this problem. There's less hand motion required to work the action, and it seems more ergonomically correct to leave the rifle on the shoulder while working the action.

The Blaser R93 is definitely the most popular of the admittedly small crop of modern straight-pulls. Guys who love it cite not only the R93's fast action, but also its modular system of interchangeable barrels and, as required, bolt heads and magazines so you can have just one action and stock with multiple barrels for any purpose. Blaser uses good hammer-forged barrels and sound bedding, so accuracy is generally very good--often exceptional.

The integral saddle scope mounting system goes on the barrel, not on the action. This is a failing of many switch-barrel systems in that an action-mounted scope must be rezeroed when you change barrels, or you must carry separate scopes in detachable mounts, remembering which is which and hoping they're repeatable. With the Blaser you can switch scopes from barrel to barrel if you like, or you can mate a scope with a barrel and leave it attached and zeroed.

Of course, for those that don't like the Blaser, there is the Mauser M03!

There's a British Columbian who tours the gunshows - just to show what happened to him when his exploded in his hands. He rents a table - just to educate others. He's had no satisfaction from the manufacturer.

There has to be some strange yet powerful forces at work for a person to make a post like this, DFDS, ADD ??? you need to get some nerve meds and post back when they have taken effect

Of course you mustmean - in your opinion because of your medical background!

This entry was posted on Friday, October 8, 2010 at 12:38 pm and is filed under product liability.
Remington Model 700 Rifle lawsuit claims defect caused misfire

Released: Friday, October 8, 2010
Another lawsuit was filed against the Remington Arms Company, on behalf of an individual who claims to have suffered damage due to a misfire Remington Model 700 rifle. The lawsuit claims that he met on the Remington model 700 rifle without triggering dangerous propensity as a trigger for decades.
According to the lawsuit filed by Jay Rambo, his father was carrying the .338 caliber Remington Model 700 rifle when he pulled the trigger without being touched. projectiles at high speed 200-grain Jay Rambo hit his forearm and his right buttock, according to the complaint. The gun was resting on the foam of the open case, because the gun was loaded from Jay's father, Dale Rambo.
This activation mechanism, known as the Walker Fire Control, "uses an internal component called" connector ". The lawsuit claims that Remington has experienced problems with the Walker fire control for decades. In a statement the company since 1979, Remington also admits his failure and recognize the danger to their customers.
Remington also redesigned the control of fire to trigger the Model 700 with a new design, the X-Mark Pro That project was completed in 2002. Even today, Remington installed new fire control in some but not all rifles Bolt Action. However, Remington has decided to continue with the Walker design for financial reasons, not warning the public.
Jay Rambo is one of thousands of people have applied for a Remington model 700 rifle misfires. In studies involving injuries Remington Model 700 rifle misfires, the manufacturer of the gun was ordered to pay substantial damages to plaintiffs. The company also paid about $ 20 million to settle these disputes out of court.

And neither has any issues of blowing up or safeties failing! Then again neither do the Sauers...

And both are shooters! Wonder how many folks here have ever looked at either of those rifles. I know some of the 24 hr guys are 202 fans but you don't seen the M03 mentioned here much at all. Maybe this thread will help change that too?

It should be noted that the H-S precision requires factory fitting of each barrel assembly. This fitting process involves some minimal material removal from the receiver ring and bolt. This leads to a practicle maximum of 3 barrel assemblies per rifle.

The Blaser R93/Mauser M03/Sauer 202 require no fitting so there is no limit on barrels per rifle and any barrel will fit any rifle.

I have 2 R93's with 9 barrels from .22LR to .416 Rem Mag.

Thanks Brazos_Jack for confirming that info on the HS Precision. That was what I remembered when I checked into it. Funny their website doesn't even give the price for a barrel nor that information any longer. It used to be there. And the standard barrels from Blaser and Sauer are half the price of the American made HS barrels. I'm thinking the standard M03 barrels are a bit higher but still cheaper than the HS ones.

I had a blaser once but it rode rough and made poor gas mileage. So now I have a Tacoma that rides a little less rough ,makes better gas mileage to carry my $3300+ Shiloh Sharps. Only one gun worth more than $3000 and they are Shiloh Sharps 74's. Magnum Man

That sounds interesting.
How did they make it fire on the rim? Bore it off-center? I can see how it might be pricey to pull that off AND make it removable!

You must be a comodian.
Butch

That must be it,seems I'm catching sh*t for telling the truth. Magnum_Man

The bolt head is removeable from the bolt on the Blaser. They make a number of interchangable bolt heads. Rimfire, .223 size, .30-06 size, belted magnum size, and a couple of oddball sizes for some odd Euro cartridges. So no need to bore the barrel off center. The bolt heads are all stamped with a 2 letter code. ST for standard .30-06, MA for belted magnum, etc. All the barrels are stamped with the 2 letter code of the bolt head it requires.

There are also magazine inserts for different cartridges. Because even cartridges of the same length and head size won't feed right out of the same magazine if the body taper and shoulder diameter are different.

This is why multi-barrel systems based on standard actions, like the H-S Precision or Dakota Traveler have to be chambered for cartridges with the same head size and length (.30-06 & .270 or 7mm Rem Mag and .300 Win Mag) and still may have feeding problems.

Thanks, Jack. So the firing pin & spring is part of the bolt head?

It is only for the 22 bolt head as its an extension of the system.

But the firing pin/spring for the mini; standard, and magnum are all the same as part of the bolt assembly, not the head that adapts for different brass diameter.

The only other heads are for a 28ga shotgun and a Ultra-mag bolt for 300RUM+ 7STW.....they also use the same firing pin/spring system.

(I should add there are heads for a 22 hornet and 10.3x60r but they are rare to find in the US, and there are very few copies of either around)

this is a relevant post, there seem to be several Blaser failures. What is the gas handling mechanism in the rifle that deals with case failure?

Lutz Moeller is a known Blaser basher, his info is always one sided, nearly always leaving out the part about rifle cases filled with pistol powder, and the shooters beating the rifle open,and shooting it until fingers of the locking lugs were broken off the bolt head, and firing it again. While no one deserves to be hurt, the nature of stupidity is that if you ask for a bolt in the face enough times, nature will eventually give you what you ask for.
This crap has been around for a long time, and it is no more relevent now then it was then.

Well when I down sized my gun collection, I sold a Dakota 76 in 270 that I bought for a very good price and sold it for a really good price. I used the proceeds from that to Buy a Blaser R-93, Mine is a 7mm RM. And I been hunting with it for going on 5 seasons now. Best rifle I ever owned. And I owned a bunch of them over the years. Most people who bad mouth them never even seen one let alone shoot one. When I got mine, the dealer didn't have a scope I wanted for it, very small shop so I when to my usual place and the first thing said are you worried about the bolt going in you eye, I said no. They are a little weird at first and they take a little getting use to, I took me all of 6 shots. That was it, and the bullets still go to the same place I zeroed it in for, 5 years ago, and I keep it broken down in my duffle bag when not in use. The main reason I when this route is for easy of storage, and transport. I can put the thing rolled up in a sleeping bag and the bag in my duffle and go! And you would not even know I had a rifle If I didn't tell you. Well made, more of a semi custom gun like a Dakota, if you want to talk about price, and I will say the blaser will shoot tighter groups than a Dakota will, I know I had three dakotas a one time and one was a Model 10. Its a kind of rifle you buy and keep, if you like to trade a lot then it may not be. Yea barrels are not cheap but you can find deals. I can add a tracker barrel and have a wonderful, Mountain Laurl thicket rifle.

what happens if you want to use a harris bipod it looks like all the swivels are on the front. knowing everything I know now and if I didn't own any of my guns, which include 2 customs. I might just buy a blaser instead.

At least with the synthetic stock models, like the R93 Professional, adding another swivel stud for a Harris bipod is no big deal. I've seen pictures posted from some who have done it showing the forend inside (with barrel removed) and out.

Might have to do some looking on the blaserbuds site but several folks have added the sling swivel stud for a bipod. Personally I'll probably add one to my R8 (when I get it..) just to use for a sling. Not really crazy about the swivel being in the end of the stock. The new R8s have a place even marked inside them for the stud to be placed. Plus the R8 is a little stouter in the front end than the 93 is.

If you're buying new I'd go with the R8 unless you're really looking at the weight issue. The 93 is lighter and does feel very nimble. The R8 will take the heavier calibers, 458 Win, 458 Lott and 500 Jeffrey, etc that the 93 doesn't but you can still go to the 416 Remington with the 93 which is a lot of gun. Blaser has assured us that they will continue to make the R93 as a complete rifle for a while and then they intend to offer everything as 'parts'. I would suspect if the demand for R93s continues though that they'd make it as a complete rifle as long as the market is showing the sales are there to support it.

The R8 package deal is about as good a deal as anyone can hope for on a new R8. Ableammo in Huntsville is getting $3195 for the gun, case, scope, sling, knife and light. List is $3,595. It's a promotional offer that will be pulled from the market early next year so now is the time to jump if you want one.

I've always been somewhat intrigued with them and thought it would be fun to play with one for awhile. Now I REALLY want one.

Having been a Sauer fan for most of my life I fought the urge to buy one. I still like my Sauers but the Blaser 'system' just makes sense. If I want to shoot a 300 Wby Sauer and a 270 Win in a Sauer I have to have the standard action rifle and the magnum action rifle. Plus changing barrels requires resighting the rifle. With either one I still need two scopes and two sets of mounts so that's a wash. With Blaser I need ONE frame and 2 different bolts and bolt heads. After that it's put on the barrel/scope assembly and go hunting. And the rifle feels the same so there's no adjustment to a different gun.

Have absolutely no regrets and as you can tell looking to add a 2nd one. And plenty of folks to help guide you in making the right choices in putting one together. Corjack that made the video has probably more knowledge of the Blaser system than anybody short of the folks who make them. And he'll be happy to share any tidbit of info you could think to ask. I wound up putting about $2300 into my R93, including scope rings and base.

I too was conservative, but made the move and have had the R93 for 2 years now. I have absolutely, no regrets on the purchase. The merits are proven.

Cycle action is FAST.

For a travel rifle, IMHO there is not a better system out there. Breaks down and goes together fast, take 2 barrels and not have to re-sight in, slap on what you want today and hunt with it, tomorrow a new day and new caliber.

There is not a better safety system with one in the chamber. If it not cocked, it is impossible to fire. With common sense and safe handling procedures, carrying loaded and one in the chamber, but not cocked, is a big advantage.

Everyone thinks their rifle is the best, and it is nice to be able to purchase what you want. This is an out of the box rifle that needs absolutely no 'tuning', no trigger work, no stock work, no fiddling with. For those that like to tinker it may not be for you. It also is in the running as the one of the top, if not the top, world's most accurate factory rifle out of the box. No arguments here, Waidmannsheil, Dom.

How does the Blaser handle reloaded cartridges? In my turn bolts I size the brass a bit snug for the chamber and then cam down on it when I close the bolt. I feel this helps to improve accuracy. Can you close the blaser bolt on snug brass?

Also I still am puzzled by how a blaser would handle the gas from a ruptured case or popped primer?

The R8 professional looks like a rugged "do everything" rifle, one in 30-06 would sure be a good start, but for a take down rifle in 30-06 for the life of me I just cannot see the $3500 price.

Hoping one of the reloaders answers your question but the best answer I can give you is the vast majority of Blaser shooters reload their own so obviously it must work well without a problem. I would assume that they resize each cartridge just as they would for any rifle. The buddy I bought my 270 from has a little loader with a powder dipper and he was loading shells at the range that day that were shooting one on top of each other in a 308. He'd loaded the 270 ones at home but what he was doing there definitely wasn't 'hi-tech'.



Again since I'm relatively new to the Blaser there are others who can answer this better. I do know that they have 2 vent holes in the rear of the barrel where the case and the bolt meet which is the same as my Sauer 202s have in their turn bolt design. Beyond that I don't have any further information. Hopefully one of the Blaser 'techie' guys will chime in with more info.






While taking these pics I noticed that a Tikka 270 I have has one vent hole on the left side and the Sako A7 has no visible vent holes. The TC Icon has one on the right side. So obviously each manufacturer has their own idea of how much to vent and where to vent. Blaser and Sauer appear to opt for maximum safety by having one on each side.



The new R8 can be bought for a little over $2700 without the carrying case, scope, scope mounts, etc. So far used ones have been few and far between but in time they'll start showing up as people need cash for other things. You can pick up a R93 new for around $2500. On the used side I've seen them go for $1800.

I was checking zero this morning, Nothing fancy just a target and some Federal Blue Box 7mm RM 150 gr bullets. Ran out of the Fusions. Gotten Almost 5 seasons out of that box. Any way. This load shot pretty much right were I needed it to go, a small correction was all that was needed. I have a spot were I can over look a swamp and the other side of it, the deer like to hang around a large Oak tree, lots of Acorns. Waiting for a good buck, I see deer just about every day. The Blaser is well, a blaser. No body mentioned that one of the barrels you can get and its a must have, is a 28 ga shotgun. Yep you can have a slick single shot shotgun in one of the better gauges to shoot. Never mind what a great squirrel and grouse getter it is. In case you didn't know.

My 28 ga. Squirrel getter;

I just love that!!

I just have 2 get one of those barrels - !!!