Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Browning BLR convince me

I have one in 450 Marlin with a 2-7 atop it. Handy, well balanced and downright fun.

I have a BLR circa 1971 in .243. It is a little heavy for a lever action and the trigger could be better but it is a good rifle for deer and javi.

Bocajnala,
I'm a lever guy too. I have hunted in Alaska with a blr in 358 since 2005 and with a Savage 99 in 358 since 2011.
Like you, I've owned marlin, Henry, Winchester and Savage lever guns.
I'd take a good BLR over any Marlin or Savage 99.
They're lighter, and tougher. I recently tested the BLR against the 99 with over-pressure rounds. Enough pressure to cause case head expansion and loose primer pockets. Far before loose primer pockets, the Savage 99 extractor bent outward and slipped over the case head.
The BLR extractor extracted like a dmn Mauser claw. On the last and final round where I encountered the only loose primer, I had to lean the stock against my thigh, and pull the lever for all I was worth.
Extracted like a champ. No problems with the strength of the gearing, the aluminum receiver, or the extractor.
No damage to the rifle. Iregardless of what you might read from others, the BLR is the first rifle that convinced me that some push feed guns will extract and eject as well as my Mauser.
During winter testing as cold as 38 below (ambient), the BLR firing pin was flawless, even with an action chock full of cheap gun oil.

I have never gone to the point that Mainer did, but full pressure loads were flawless in the BLR, extraction was quite easy. My hunting loads are full pressure . It is a gear operated bolt action rifle. Obviously it can be somewhat more difficult to extract than a turn bolt .
I now have 3 of them, I also went from the Marlin 1895 45/70 to a BLR .450 because I had not fully trusted the action of the Marlin. Great post Mainer

My brother has had one, a .308, since the 70’s sometime. It’s almost the only rifle he ever uses. When he first got it I developed loads for it and was shocked at how well it shot. He’s taken it all over for elk, moose, caribou...what have you. One of our best friends got the same thing about the same time and, he too, has used almost nothing else for 40 years or so.

It was mentioned above that they can be tricky to work on. I’ve had both those rifles apart a few times over the years and that’s true. Almost every time it was a matter of their having been jammed to a standstill by a surprisingly small piece of debris, a piece of twig, a leaf stem...something like that. That would be my primary concern with them.

Personally, I like lever guns, have some Marlins, Savages, Winchester’s, but I never cared much for the looks of the BLR. Then again, I don’t think Browning’s made a rifle I like the looks of in a long time.

The straight stock short action models fit me perfectly. I’ve had three and 2 were moa shooters the third a 1.25-1.5moa all with factory loads. They carry well and with a 2.5-8x36 Leupold they were just about perfect for the short range stalk hunting I do and held their own when I hunted out of a box blind overlooking greenfields. I’ll own another one someday. FWIW the long action models do not fit me well at all. I’m 6’3 🤷🏼‍♂️

Just shot my BLR in 358 Win today for the first time since last fall and it was still a lot of fun to shoot With the right loads it's capable of shooting under moa, nothing that good today but I was rusty after the long winter. Would gladly own another.................

Forgot to add, here are some ideas for bringing a BLR down to 6lbs 12oz with scope and rings:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...ralight-blr-358-win-project#Post13414915

I have a 308 with the straight grip stock. It’s a good gun, mine will shoot about an inch and a half at 100yards. Fairly lightweight and looks nice. The trigger is awful though, depending on how you hunt, you may never notice it in the field, but every time I go to the range it drives me crazy. Also, I put a 3-9x40 on it and wish I’d gone smaller.

I’ve always wanted one. Picked up an early 80’s model ‘81 7mm-08 just last week... I was getting light strikes and it was pissing me off. It had never been taken down before. I was pretty intimidated about doing it but I stripped it down, took the bolt apart, cleaned it real well and put it back together. I’m not suggesting every body do it, but anybody with some mechanical inclination and the right punches can do it.

I got to spend some trigger time with it this afternoon... it’s shooting great, the light strikes are gone, and it’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun just shooting a gun. Mine was holding 1.5ish MOA with the first batch of ammo I made. I know I can shrink that down a bit but doubt I’ll worry about it. That is plenty good for busting hide to 350 and under..

I’m looking forward to many years of enjoyment with this little unit..



Good luck,

Todd

162's at 2550fps from a 20" spout,prolly do not suck. It'll ring 1000yd steel,with boring regularity ala the windshield alone and is easily amongst my FAVORITE Sleepers and oh how I do love me some Sleepers.(grin)

Pass the Steel and rigid frame.

Hint................

If I wanted a lever action for accuracy this is probably where I would start and probably stop. The BLR is like an artillery rotary bolt action more than most other lever actions.

Too bad about the triggers and limited options on getting it tuned up but the steel frame short actions are a pretty nice combo. I have owned 243s and 308s but one in 358 or 284 has always had my interest just haven't run into one at a steal of a deal yet. Same for one in 22-250 or 257 Roberts. There will probably be more BLRs in my future, I hope so.

So for the OP get it if you haven't already.

Hardly "daunting" to stone the trigger. Hint. Congratulations?!?

I very much enjoy the exceedingly long list of things,that you can't do. Hint.

Bless your heart.

Hint.

Laughing!.....................

Yes, it is soooo pathetic that he can't dangle his feet from a nickel or break an anvil. Or ruin a Geissele.

Trybone,

"Luckily" you "get" to read about it and "live" vicariously,as you GREEDILY consume every word and Splendid Pixel...you "lucky" kchunt. Hint. Congratulations?!?

You couldn't "critique" a ZipLoc sack. Hint.

Bless your heart for crying though.

Hint.

Laughing!..................

Ooooopsie!..............

My BLR has a superb trigger right out of the box. Crisp and right at 4lbs on the trigger scale. Due to the wide trigger, 4lbs doesn't feel like much. Not all of them have bad triggers. 300-400 yds shots, the 4lb trigger hasn't effected accuracy.

I also don't want it any lighter, so probably will never fiddle with the hammer spring. I want that hammer to slam home at 40 below. On exposed hammer guns like levers and revolvers, I'm leery of anything lighter than 4 lb trigger pull in the cold weather.

I replaced the hammer spring and trigger return spring on my sp101 with a Wilson set. As the springs broke in, I began getting misfires in the cold weather. ISMI springs fixed the problem, and never break in or weaken over time, but are lighter than stock springs. They're not cheap music wire, can't remember what the composition is, most of their customers are high RPM race engine builders who need better valve springs.

After working out any trigger creep issues, if trigger pull is over 4lbs, maybe give ISMI a call. Any time I need lighter springs, I get replacements from them. Don't cut a coil off the hammer spring. I learned the hard way that making the spring shorter for a lighter pull, isn't the best idea in cold weather.
https://www.ismi-gunsprings.com

I shoot the above at 900yd steel,all the time and it's funny to watch folks respond to same.(grin)

Prolly don't take all that much time either,to simply gawk the reticle and connect dots,as per whim.

Hint....................

Oh, it's in pieces. What a surprise!

Trybone,

How else might one tune the trigger,replace broken guts and throw a new spout aboard? Hint. Congratulations?!?

You Drooling DUMB Fhuqks are a Whining Hoot! You'd need a Co-signer,for the paint alone!

Hint.





Here's to the perpetual HILARITY,of you doing your very BEST. Hint.

Bless your heart for crying.

Hint.

LAUGHING!...............