Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General All about the BLR

I have owned two BLR’s in the past. They were both Belgium steel receiver.308’s. I love the idea of the BLR, but for some reason they seem to fall short when it comes to my affection for them.
My hunting falls into two categories, stand hunting farm county where shots may be close or out to 300 yards, or big woods hunting in the Adirondacks where shots usually come quick at close range. Theoretically, the BLR, should be great for either application. Realistically, I rarely used it for stand hunting, and even less for still hunting the Adirondacks. To make it a good still hunting rifle, I paired a fairly low powered scope with it, making it less than ideal for stand hunting low light. And for still hunting the protruding magazine made it difficult to carry comfortably, and being butt heavy it didn’t point very well.
Lately I have been lusting another one, crazy right? There was a Belgium.308 for sale here a couple weeks ago I almost jumped at. But I keep going back to the fact I’ve had 2 of them and didn’t warm up to them. One variation that has always intrigued me is the stainless version with the laminate stock. The alloy receiver would make it somewhat lighter than my old steel receiver guns were, and the flush mount magazine would make it much handier for one hand carry.
I already have a really nice Winchester 88 carbine, so the BLR would really be redundant, but I guess that’s what being a rifle loony is, right?

The BLR has an exposed hammer?

The 88 doesn’t.

Certainly one needs both……no?

The BLR usually requires trigger work……

I am sure the 88 could use some too.

They were both improved over the years, I understand the older BLR action is not built as strong.

The 88 as I understand it was also modified in the bolt/ action.

The 88 used model 70 barrels.

I find them ill balanced Rube Goldberg contraptions. I’ve handled, shot, worked on, and rebarreled quite a few. For me they’re an easy pass. YMMV

You’re right, there is something unbalanced about them. I think the length of pull is a little too long for me, that along with them being muzzle light, make for a poor pointing rifle.

I was wondering if the alloy receiver did anything to alleviate them being butt heavy?

i have some of the newer BLRs S.S. i think the newer BLR`s handle better than the older steel BLRs , i have a 300 Win. mag. and a 7mm Rem.mag. both are accurate my favorite is a take-down S.S. 30-06 shoots well ,handles great works well for blood trail`n deer for people too.

I guess I'm a dissenting voice, because I like mine. Did some stand hunting and used one in Maine with lower power scope still hunting. I had some win 94s I wanted to like but couldn't and switched to the BLRs. More common chamberings and more power in case of longer range shots. Browning triggers were always not the best even on their shotguns, but my BLRs are fine for minute of deer as far as I would need to shoot.

I got a first model .358 BLR in 1981 and hunted a bit with it liking it's compactness and ease of handling but, there was something about it that just wasn't right. Sold it in '13 then 7 years later I felt the need for another. Got a stainless steel laminate take down in .358 and found it was very picky and wouldn't shoot nearly as well as my first model. Then last year I ran across a 7mm08 with a pistol grip stock and thought this is the one! It was very picky also and the only load it shot worth a hoot was with 154 round nose bullets. I missed coyotes with both at close range because I had to look for them in the scope because they just didn't fit me very well. Both are long gone now but, if I ever feel the need for another BLR, it will be the steel receiver first model because I consider the aluminum receiver models inferior.

i took my favorite BLR take down SS 30-06 to a good gunsmith who made the trigger work much better it shoots an 1 inch - 1 1/4 groups at 100 yds. with a 1-6 Burris scope which is good enough for me. now i feel the opposite i like the S.S. frame much better its lighter and not heavy . the Aluminum receiver is very strong i have one in a 300 Win. mag and have never had any trouble with this BLR 300 Win.Mag. , this BLR is also accurate but it does have some recoil . i use real good bench rest equipment and a cement bench on my rifle range when i check my rifles for accuracy and sight in always , i also buy more expensive scopes that fit and work much better for me also.

I have a few of the pistol grip blrs a 30-06 308, 22-250 , 223, and my son has one in 7mm 08. the 06 I cut the buttstock down to fit me with a heavy coat on and then cut the barrel down to 19 inches and put an 11.5 degree inverted crown on it . It has become my go to rifle in the safe !

I’ve hunted extensively with a Belgian BLR in 308 and a newer Japan made model in 7mm-08. Aesthetically the Belgian appealed to me, and it was astonishingly accurate, in spite of a somewhat heavy trader. But… yes the balance could be better, it’s heavy to carry and muzzle light for off hand shots. The post 81 rifle didn’t shoot quite as well, had an additional safety that I didn’t like very much, and the trigger was even worse. However, it was lighter, and better balanced I guess due to the alloy receiver. I made my best snap shot ever on a deer that I jumped in heavy cover. The trigger, superfluous safety, glossy stock and gold plated trigger eventually got the better of me and I sold it. I miss both of them.

I've owned a few in 257 Roberts, 284, and 358. I tried to like them, but they all had straight grip stocks and I do better with a pistol grip style stock, so they went down the road. I sold the 358 to a guy in AK and he still sends me pictures of the game that he has killed with it.

I have to agree with Dogslife57 as I like my early steel frame BLR in .358. For me, it works extremely well for Deer, Bear and Elk here in western WA. Out of all the rifles I own and hunt with my BLR is my favorite.

I've had and used the belgian and pre81 miroku
both. Never any problems with either one.
One shot as well as the other
IMO they're great guns

I love the steel actioned, straight grips. They balance great for me and are very slick. They have been my game rifles since 1974. Started with a used BLR .308 in 1974 then added .223 and .257 '81's in the early '80's. I tried, but never liked the balance of the alloy lightweights. With good loads, mine all shoot. The .223 stays at about an inch, the others are a bit better but that's fine for me since I've never found a need to go past an honest 300 yards, even in West Texas.

Had an 81 in .358. Never warmed up to it, the "Made in Japan" stamp on the barrel grated on me. It strung all loads vertically, had issues with trigger freezing and action binding. so I sold it. Talked to the guy recently that bought it and he said it became known in his camp as the "jinxed rifle" after several unexplained misses so he traded it for a 9mm pistol.

I appreciate the honest opinions expressed in this discussion. I have been tempted by a BLR in 358 for a long time and sorta scratched that itch with a mid-50s straight grip Marlin in 35 Remington, which handles great and runs very slick. I gas the old cartridge up a bit to 2150 fps, which covers anything in the woods here and then some.

I've handled a few BLRs and (probably because I'm used to traditional lever actions) they never felt quite right to me. You fellas probably saved me some money.

I love my straight grip 81 in .358. Wouldn't take a farm in Georgia for it.

I’m looking at maybe the pistol grip version in either .308 or .358 with the alloy frame. The super high gloss finish would have to go though.

i have a few of the new ones i like the alloy frames but the gloss finish needs to be satin

Pistol grip for me also, I don't mind the alloy. If the wood is nice I'm good with either finish.

Depends on what you want and its use. I have owned several and none of them were "accurate"... 1 1/2"-1 3/4" is not accurate enough for me. HATED the triggers... I REALLY wanted to love them but they just did not do it for me. If I need a short range lever, I will use a 1941 model 94 with a red dot... better trigger than the BLR and just as accurate with the red dot on top.

i have seen my son shoot 1/2 - 3/4 inch 5 shot groups at 100 yards with his 308 alloy frame ,pistol grip BLR with a 3x9 Leupold and my ammo i handloaded , but he is 34 years old with good eyes , exceptional motor skills he is like a machine with guns , bows , golfing and knows how to shoot off a good cement bench . i seen him with my 300 Win. mag. BLR shoot 3/4 -1 inch groups with that shoulder beater with all that recoil . sure some BLR rifles need some trigger work but i have some BLR`S that shoot very good as do Savage 99`s but these are hunting rifles not meant for bench rest shooting but these fine lever rifles deserve a decent scope and steel scope mounts if you want the BLR to shoot well too.

I like my 358. I’d love to snag another in 7-08 should I find the right one. My 358 shoots well for what it’s meant for.

I started my hunting career with a BLR in 308 Win, used it for a couple of years and I started having trigger issues with it and I got rid of it, a few years later I came across another BLR in 308 Win and bought it and the same thing happened with the trigger, some times it wouldn't work so I got rid of it.....I really liked the looks of the BLR but I had issues with both of mine.

I'm curious to know what kind of trigger issues you had - so I will know what to keep my eye out for with mine.

I love my BLR’s especially the medium to larger bores. I’ve never had trigger work done on a gun in my life, I’m 62 if that means anything other than I’m getting old to dang quick. I have a 17, 22, 218 bee, 32-20, 357, 44, 30:06 and 450 and I shoot them all. The 32-20 is my all time favorite gun of all time, it isn’t good for much but varmints but I can shoot it and I love it today as the very 1st time. The gun simply fits me perfectly, I’m lucky I found a gun like that. The Remington 742 in 6mm is 2nd.
The Mirkou BLR’s in my humble opinion are the best lever guns on the market today. There’s a guy on here named Shrapnel I think that is mighty knowledgeable on Levers, much more than me. I just shoot them out of the box, I like Winchester’s to but only the Mirkou made as the one’s made in my life in the USA are horrible, maybe I should preface that with when I started buying and shooting them in earnest in the 90’s and later.
But you will love the Browning’s, they are work horses.

I would chamber a round and squeeze the trigger and the trigger wouldn't move...sometimes I would eject the round and try again and it would work, but that wasn't acceptable for a hunting rifle
both of my BLR's did that

That sounds like it didn't get closed fully. Maybe the chambers were tight or something.

I had trouble with one that I bought used. The gun was out of time. I think it is too temping for guys to try and take them apart... off by one tooth on the action gears and it would onl fire about 65% of the time.

I see that there are 2 variations of the pistol grip models, the lightweight, and the lightning. The lightweight has a squared off pistol grip, with a grip cap on the deluxe model. The lightning has a rounded grip, that looks slimmer than the lightweight. Can anyone comment on that? I would really prefer the lightning if it is in fact slimmer.

If I recall correctly, the Lightweight has an aluminum receiver and the Lightning has a steel receiver.
In other words, the Lightweight is the lighter of the two.

Maybe using reloads that weren't full length resized enough, or should have been loaded in small base dies??

My first gen, made in Japan, steel BLR .308 has a tight chamber that requires me to use small base dies. But I size them only just enough that they chamber easily and it shoots into .75 MOA. And it loves IMR 4064 and Varget.

Another possibility is that the bullets could have been seated a little long.

Mine will gobble the plain ol' yellow and green box Remington 150gr PSPCL and shoot them sub-MOA like they were custom loaded for it. I've recommended them for other folk's BLR .308s and if it won't shoot those well, then something serious is wrong.

One thing you've GOT to realize and remember with BLRs is that none of their actions have the camming power closing the bolt OR opening the bolt that a bolt action does. There is just not as much mechanical advantage with a rotary bolt-head lever action as there is with a bolt action. So, the ammo HAS to be more carefully checked to make sure it will chamber loaded cartridges and extract and eject fired cartridges.

I never shot anything but factory Remington 150gr ammo

my BLR rifles have always shot much better with my handloads ,besides i enjoy handloading all my ammo for target shooting and hunting .

I have a BLR lightweight Mirkou .308. It's a great gun. Beautiful and lightweight.

Right. My BLR lightweight has aluminum receiver.

I've had a BLR-81for a bit over 20 years and have hunted it a lot and hunted hard. It's a 358 I bought at a gunshow for a reasonable price especially since it was the only caliber I was looking for. It was literally the only gun I was looking for at the time and a guy had 2 of the steel framed guns and I just picked the better of the two and took it home.
I have never had any trouble with it at all. I did take some 000 steel wool to the stocks and toned them down so they are no longer shiny.
It took just a few loads to find that it likes 200gr Hornady round nose very well and will shoot them into an inch if I do my part. For the fun of it I've been hunting deer with the 225gr Nosler Partition that while not necessary for deer it is an emphatic killer.
I have found it to be a bit light at the muzzle but most carbines are so I have learned to live with it. The trigger is certainly not like that of a good bolt action but I've learned to live with it as well. All in all I truly like the BLR-81and the 358 combination. It suits the way that I hunt quite well and as long as I'm able to hunt I l hope that at least part of the time it's in my hands!

Goat

i had the trigger in my BLR 30-06 worked on its very nice now.

I want to like them but they just never feel right to me.

Did all of the steel receivers have the protruding magazine? I’m looking at a BLR for sale online right now, manufactured 1981, flush mount magazine that the seller claims has a steel receiver. Judging by the pics I believe him. It appears to be blued steel, not the painted aluminum finish on later BLR ‘s.

The last thing you want in a woods gun when most of your shots will be taken off hand while hunting on your feet is a muzzle light rifle with a bad trigger.

I had a steel receiver BLR that I bought in 1981(I believe) and wish I had never sold the darn thing. I cannot warm up to the aluminum receiver models at all. I had a 358 aluminum and a takedown and they are both down the road.

Starting in '81, they had steel receivers and flush magazines. The lightweight receivers came along mid-'90s or so.

After acquiring a Lightweight in 358Win, I now have the urge for a Lightweight stainless. No need, but they look cool

And yet my BIL kills the hell out of deer with his 243 BLR. My late FIL used a 243 BLR and a guy from our camp uses a 308 BLR. A guy from a nearby camp has done quite well with his 308 BLR so maybe it's just me? I could only be tempted by a BLR in 358

Are they stand hunters or still hunters and trackers ? Lots of people succeed in spite of less than optimum equipment. If they hunt on their feet, who knows how much better they might shoot if they chose a rifle better suited.. Nowhere is a good trigger and weight forward balance more advantageous or a lousy trigger and butt heavy balance more of a hindrance than when shooting off hand without a rest.

Black heart you may need to learn how to shoot something other than your mouth.

Primarily they were drive hunters. We mostly drove deer and bear but also stand hunting. But yeah, even on drives the success mostly comes from the stand hunters

People who can shoot know these things to be true. People who can't, such as yourself, will never learn.

.... I have 2 BLR '81 straight stock takedowns in 308 Win ... one is synthetic & stainless & the other walnut & "blue" ... love them both ... lower power variable Leupolds on QD mounts ... they're both very accurate ... the POI in either gun doesn't change 1/4 MOA from takedown (including scope) to reassembly ... very easy to pack in luggage to transport ... when checking in to accommodations you don't have some hare-brain asking "you gotta gun in there?"

... in the new BLR the locking lugs lock into the barrel leaving the receiver unstressed ... a superior design ... the receiver could be made of toy plastic and the gun would still work as NO force is transmitted through the receiver ... whatever material the receiver is made of is irrelevant to the strength of this design so why make the gun unnecessarily heavy by making the receiver of steel?

Mine has served me well and is very accurate

... the BLRs biggest fault is that its complex gear driven action does not lend itself in any way shape or form to field maintenance ... I've seen good gunsmiths who have been in the business for years shrink from a BLR presented to them for repair like vampires from a crucifix ... I love my BLRs but would not pick one for a SHTF gun because it's almost impossible for a layperson without special training and tools to field strip and repair one ... my SHTF choice would be a Marlin 336/1895 because a hung over moron could take it apart and have a good chance on getting it back together again with tools that most people have on hand ... simple is good in regards to survival tools ... simple can save your life

Ive owned two. Both 81’s. 257 Roberts an a 7 mag. Sold the 7 mag, never could warm up to it. It shot well but it seemed like the lever had to move a mile and was clunky not smooth. Maybe I was just used to the short action. It took a lot of powder and bullets to find something the 257 liked. The sierra 120 grain hollow point game king is the ticket. I still have an 1&1/4” 200 yard 3 shot group target. It doesn’t have a good trigger but I was to frugal to send it to a pro so I just learned to live with it. You can learn a lot of trigger control with a [bleep] one.
The thing that bugs me is Browning put the lowest comb of any of their guns on the blr’s. Even lower than any of their shotguns. I finally found a glue on cheek riser at Brownells that made a huge difference. I bought it used for $400 with a Leupold 4x in the late 80’s. Sure do like it calling coyotes. Almost as quick as an ar and hits a lot harder and is way more intuitive for me.

I don't understand. What you described isn't the BLR at all. The balance point on the '81 LW and the curved-grip LW is exactly where its supposed to be. On these rifles, it's precisely in the middle of the magazine with my scopes. It's a 50/50 balance. Perfect for shooting off hand without a rest. It makes for an extremely well handling rifle. It makes carrying these rifles very easy. Without the scopes, or with scopes with larger objectives, the weight distribution would be slightly more forward than it is with the scopes mine are wearing.

As far as the trigger goes, it's not as light as many quality bolt actions, but it's far from bad. In fact, it's actually pretty good. I stand and still hunt with shotguns, some that have outstanding triggers for shotguns. And the BLR trigger is better. It also better than many traditional lever actions I've owned.

'81 LW .308


LW .358

Mid point/neutral balance is not perfect for off hand shooting. Never has been, never will be. Butt heavy is the worst. Weight forward best.

Weight forward is definitely best

I have a 1985 steel receiver 257 Roberts that isn't terrible with anything I shot in it. 100 gr Speers with IMR 4350 will generally go under an inch. 115 Partitions hang real close with the same powder. Trigger sucks. Been meaning to polish it up as you can get to them without getting into the action mechanism, but didn't get to it yet. Doing that will make it a different gun for me.

Have a newer light weight 358 Win that's still in the box, never shot it yet. Little bit I tested the trigger it is much better than the older Roberts. I dislike the glossy stocks. I wont touch the 257 because of what it is, but if I ever get to using the 358 as a carry gun, that gloss will have to go.

It's pointless to argue the matter. Weight forward, weight rearward. Next some "expert" has to say how much weight forward or rearward is appropriate. No two people will agree. But most people agree that a rifle that balances between the hands makes for a very comfortably carrying and handling rifle. My BLRs balance where my Marlin rifles balanced. Where my slug guns balance. If I am holding a gun up without a rest, especially for any length of time, a balance point mid way between my hands is much appreciated. A muzzle heavy gun can dampen muzzle wobble if you are disposed to wobbling your muzzle - until you start to tire, then it can exacerbate it. Snap shots are one thing. But still hunting often requires holding up a gun without a rest until a good shot is available.

But be all that as it may, my point was to address your implication that the BLRs are rear-heavy and have bad triggers. They are not rear heavy. In fact, they are slightly front heavy. My scopes moved the balance point back a bit on my rifles. Otherwise, or with a scope with a bigger objective, the balance point would be right at the front edge of the magazine. And what's "bad" with respect to a trigger is as subjective as where one wants weight. The BLR trigger is poor compared to some rifles and better than others. I've had lever rifles that people tend to get all gooey over than had worse triggers. It certainly isn't so poor that I felt I needed to send it off somewhere to get it worked on. I've learned to use it and have no complaints about it.

I’ve got a glossy 358 as well I’ve threatened to refinish with oil as well.

Yeah, it would be pointless for you to argue since I tend to pay little heed to people with a small fraction of my own experience on a subject. Get back to me after you've won a few league, State and regional competitions and killed a couple hundred more deer shooting off hand with various rifles.. Every BLR I've ever picked up had what I consider a lousy trigger and being a life long lever action fan I've handled more than a couple. Since I can't stand Brownings lousy high gloss finish or the lousy trigger, I've always decided it would take more work than it was worth for me to turn it into something I'd be willing to hunt and put them back on the shelf.

LOL, whatever, Blackheart, whatever. From that guy that thinks the Mossberg 500 is the end-all, be-all shotgun.

I'd bet my 500's have killed more deer, turkeys, rabbits, upland birds, waterfowl and predators than all of your shotguns combined and they've never malfunctioned in many years of heavy use. They also center their patterns nicely, which is something that can't be said for many of yours.

I know, I know. You're the greatest hunter on this board. Most knowledgable. That's why you're held in such high esteem.


An no pictures.

Maybe you kill a lot of critters. Maybe you have good reason not to back up any of your claims. I recall you saying on the Turkey Forum you just don't like posting pictures, and that's why you never do.

Or maybe you're just a lying sack of shyt.

What reason would anybody have to lie to a bunch of strangers on the internet ? I don't know you and don't care to. My evaluation of your hunting experience/expertise or rather lack thereof, is based on what you've posted.

What reason? Because you have a huge chip on your shoulder. Lots of nobodies and liars craving attention and admiration do.



How many people have you said this to? In a quick perusal of your bullshyt posts, you've written it out more than once when someone calls our your idiotic posts.



From what I can tell, what you know is available to anyone who can use Google. Your actual experience, though, would fit in a bee's dick.

Have a good day, poser.

Wow, that's not very nice. I'm heartbroken. LOL

PS...

After the creepy shyt you pulled on Goalie, I don't know why you'd think anybody would want to know you.

I'm sure you are, poser. The moment you decided to comment on the BLR, as if you know anything about it, I knew you didn't know what you were talking about. But you decided to spout off anyway. It's not the first time you've given every indication that you don't know what you are talking about. But it never stops you. And when you get called out, you get cantankerous, as if that will mask your ignorance. The difference between me and you is I have no one to impress here, and care not one iota if I do. You, on the other hand, you desperately seek affirmation. You've been full of shyt since you started on this site. Your posts speak for themselves. Given the regard folks seem to have for you, I suspect I'm not the only one that sees through your bullshyt.

Why don't you post some more video of you missing sitting birds with one of your great shotguns. Hmm, wonder why I find it hard to believe you have the first fuuckin clue what it takes to shoot well offhand with a rifle ? Or maybe you could post some more pics of trophy jakes you mounted that look like they were done by a first grader in art class. Those were fuuckin hilarious ! I'd show you the pics of the gobbler I shot this past spring and the 8 point buck I killed in November but I'm afraid it'd just make your completely justified inferiority complex even worse and push you into more creepy behavior. Now post up some more pics of guns that have never been hunted and keep wondering why you suck at it. I'm sure you must be good at something but hunting and shooting sure as hell ain't it. Loser.

i purchased a Browning BLR takedown s.s. 30-06 Laminated wood satin finished , i had the trigger redone its very nice now, shoots very decent groups at 100 yds. 200 yds probably farer if i had to, what i like about this lever rifle is it has a decent clip/magazine so the bullet ends don`t get mushed up . and no i have not shot as many animals with it probably never will since i only will shoot nicer bucks anymore with a firearm and this year 2023 no buck with a firearm but seen plenty deer , at 70 years of age i like to let my 11 yr.old grandkids and the rest of the family shoot deer. i get more excited being with and watching little grandson shoot a deer with his 257 Roberts Ruger #1 its kinda a lever too with one shot 90 yards out. Pete53

Just asking you to put your money where your mouth is.

Now whoever is running your group home needs to reset the NetNanny password.

You are one creepy, pathetic sack of shyt and don't know your ass from a hole in the ground about hunting or shooting.. GFY

So you're saying no verifiable proof of the "hundreds" of deer you claim to have killed in NY?

LOL.

Next poser up?

You don't rate proof of anything. My grandkids and nephews are far better hunters and marksmen than you'll ever be. You proved what an incompetent boob you are with your own pics, posts and video. My walls are virtually covered with antlers and mounts and my freezer full to the top with venison.. You have a bunch of shotguns that don't hit where you point them and rifles with lousy triggers that you're too stupid to realize are junk as they are and correct their obvious shortcomings. Like I said. Loser.

Ahh, children.

I have an early BLR in .358 I inherited recently when my Dad passed. Luckily he had a couple of boxes of ammunition as it seems it is not readily available. I will hunt with it this fall. Most of the thread was informative and even the name calling added drama.

You'll really like the 358 Win. I have a later BLR that was a nightmare on deer for me. Just a great rifle.

Keep your eye out for ammo, and don't pass up the WW 200 grain Silvertips or Power Points if you can find them. They are pretty accurate in my BLR and really open nicely on bucks.

Just checked Ammoseek and they had quite a pile of options for the Winchester 200 grain Power Point and Buffalo Bore 225 TSX.

Pete, I owned two BLR's. One was a TD in .308 the other was a .358. Nice rifles but sold them both to try different stuff.
I often read the longer actions like the 06 or 300 win Mag were more difficult to work, especially from the shoulder. What is your opinion of the longer actions?
I am considering buying a TD in stainless 30-06 and having it rechambered/rebored to 9.3x62

Thanks much Beretz. I will look into it for sure.