Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General BLR accuracy

ruraldoc,
Heck, that .358 bullet is so big you should be allowed to subtract at least and inch from the group just for that fact alone!

This has come up before,according to gunsmiths who do a good bit of work with BLRs,it is a myth.

Britt

Britt,
You are correct. I just got off the phone with Browning and they said that the gear was indeed metal, not plastic.
The BLR is back on my Christmas list for sure!

Now, which caliber shall I get? Hmmm.....

Owner of a .358 Win BLR - factory loaded silver tips from Winny are in the 1 1/2" to 2" range. Plenty accurate for my style of hunting in thick areas where shots are 10 yards to 80 yards max...

Overall, I really like the gun...

.358 Win. Unless you exclusively hunt bean fields on the coastal plain, the .358 will do it all. Awesome for those big boy Black Bear too. I hunt NC swampland, and love the .358

I don't exclusively hunt the bean fields, but about 80% of my time is spent hunting over them.

I owned a 1977 BLR in 358 that wanted to be a 5" rifle, but could be fought to make it a 2" rifle. Curiously, it had a BIG squarish pit about an inch and a half from the muzzle? Like a chunk had been ripped out of the inside of the barrel. As a side note, it came with a Leupold 2.5 that I count as the dimmest scope I have EVER owned.

Replaced it by ANOTHER 1977 BLR in 358, which spent much time in a scabbard. It is awaiting load development after being rehabbed. HTH, Dutch.

I have a BLR in 358 Win. Using Horn 200 Gr Sp over IMR4320 groups are one ragged hole at 100 yds. Using the Speer 250 over IMR3031 groups are 1.5". I am however disappointed with the velocity as 2250fps is elusive with the 250speer. I am sure that this is due to the short barrel on the BLR, but this bullet will penetrate anything even at this low velocity. I can regularly hit a 4" iron disk at 200yds with the 250 speer.

Mr. B, I have a boatload of bolt guns. Mostly pre 64 Winchesters. They are what I grew up with and were THE rifle of the day.

More than happy with my Model 64 30-30, 1895SS Marlin 45/70 and my rechambered (284) 7600.

My father is probably rolling in his grave as I type this but the fact is they are great hunting guns.

Forgot to mention mine was a 358 win.

The only odd thing about the BLR is that it's so light you can jerk her pretty easy.

Spot

Have had two .358 BLR's that both shot factory 200 and 250 grain bullets under 1.5" at 100 yards and 225 grain Nosler Partitions at just over 1" at 100 yds.Sold them after finding a .358 Savage 99. Triggers were bad on both. Currently have a .308 BLR made in Belgium that has only shot factory ammo and is about 1.25" at 100 yds with Fed ammo. This gun has a better trigger than the other two newer BLR's I have had.

I know this thread is about BLR accuracy, but I wonder how the finish will hold up on the newer aluminum receivers?

The Stainless BLR in 325 WSM that I just bought put 3 factory rounds in at 1 1/16"

The trigger isn't stellar but I really like the rifle and will live with it for now.

Eventually Neil Jones will get it!!!

Mine is a Jap steel 308. I haven't shot a group bigger than 1.5" with it. It will put 3 shots of any load that I have picked out of the books into 1.5". It will shoot the loads it likes into 1". I use 150 and 165gr bullets only. If I need a heavier bullet I use a 30-06 or 300 Wby.
Yes the trigger is terrible and my bore is a little riogh as is fouls easily.

I have a BLR in .358 Win topped with Burris 1.5-5x. I use a middle load of IMR-4895 for a velocity of 2390 fps w/ 200 Horn. spire point. I really just started shooting this gun, but so far has average about 1 MOA.

Lou

It's late to be responding to this thread but, I have an earlier .358 with the hangy down magazine and an old El Paso Weaver K3 scope. I have used Sierra 200 grain roundnose/46.5 grains of I-4064 @ 2300 fps for less than 100 yard shots at deer that groups 2".
Hornady 200 grain SP/47 grains of H-335 @ 2416 fps groups were: 1.25", 1.59" and .492".
Sierra 225 GK/48.9 grains of I-4320 @ 2463 fps groups were: .938", 1.74", and 1.373". I have taken several W/T deer with this load and none traveled more than 30 yards after the shot.
I got this gun in 1980 to shoot mostly cast bullets in and have been very pleased with this aspect. Both the RCBS 200 and a custom 225 grain will group in 2 MOA using 40.5 grains of H-4895 generating 2060 fps. I believe a better trigger would help these groups somewhat.

I have three BLR 81's, steel receiver, straight stocked guns.

I bought the .308 new about 15 years ago, it has a 2x7 Burris and consistently shoots regular old RemWinFed ammo into 1-1.5"

I have experienced misfires using 180g bullets if I'm not careful to close the lever with a little oomph. Never a problem with 168's and lower but I think the extra length of the 180's can keep the bolt from closing if it's not done with "emphasis", the hammer doesn't fall.

I had a 30.06 rebored to .35 Whelen by LaBounty some years back, haven't shot it much at all, it seems to do about 2.5" but it does need to be tweaked and broken in.

I just picked up a .358, haven't gotten around to shooting it yet, will report when I do.

My BLR was mfg. in the 70's and the only complaint I have is it requires a small base FL sizing die for all brass, the chamber is quite tight. It is incredibly accurate considering I have custom rifles that require brass to be sorted by weight, only shoot certain powders & bullets accurately. My old BLR rifle shoots everything and I mean everything...into under a 1.25" with a lot less scope than the customs. It is chambered in a .243 Win and is one of those rifles you just take hunting. I do not shoot it much as the BLR's are a pain to clean but they can be cleaned from the breech by removing the action. I think the second generation BLR's with the flat mags are a bit more refined and function a bit smoother than those like my first generation. This rifle was a gift and it has accounted for over a dozen deer & antelope ea.. It is one of those things that I will never sell...well done Browning.

MC

MD, I hve a stainless BLR 270 WSM with the fiber optic sights I got about a year ago with the Federal 130 gr. ammo it will shoot
0.75 to 1 inch groups at 100 yds for 3 shots all day for me if I do not jerk the trigger.My son in law has already put a claim on it when he musters out of the Marine Corps.
AMRA

I bit the bullet and recently bought a Lt weight pistol grip takedown BLR in .308 Win - Browning did a nice job with this one. I'll be working up loads in 150 and 165 grain for this one when time permits.