Home Forums Lever Action Central Lever Actions - General BLR accuracy

JB,
That should make for interesting reading. There actually ARE rifles other than bolt actions that shooot accurately. Remington 7600 slide actions, Browning BAR's, AR-15's, Browning BLR's, Marlin levers, Savage levers, ect... While I appreciate a nice bolt gun, I can also appreciate other rifles. A lot of old timers simply wanted the best tool for the job, and that isn't always a bolt gun. These old fellows weren't "gun cranks", they were hunters first and foremost. They needed to make winters meat and enjoyed the hunting and not fiddling with bedding and the many minute details a gun crank douts over. They couldn't care a whit if the rifle shot a group that spread a tad over the magical one MOA mark. If the gun shot well enough to make meat that was fine. It was the way the gun carried and handled that mattered most!

I have owned two. I still own the first a 257 roberts with the flat mag. The second was a 7mag that was a decent shooter but was a clunky" for lack of better word" handler, lever throw felt really long and awkward. The bob will shoot 5 in 1&1/4 most of the time and i shot a 2&1/2 300yd group" was so good i refused to try to reproduce it". Incidently the bob wears a 4x leupy and my best loads are with sierra 120's and h4831. Nice saddle gun but it bugs me that browning sets these up for iron sights and they have more drop to the comb than any gun they make.

I have an older BLR 81 in 243 and it is the least picky rifle I have as far as ammo goes, it puts just about anything with in a inch if I do my part

MOGC,

Yeah, the rifle you mention are those I specifically deal with in the article. I have a Rem. 7600 in .308 on hand right now, as a matter of fact, that shoots around an inch with factory loads, and my own AR-15 (Bushmaster carbine with skinny 16" barrel) is well under an inch with my standard .223 handloads. So the essay will probably stir up the troops.

To all, thanks again for the information you've provided.

Here is a pic of a typical target from my main coyote calling rifle, a .243 BAR Lwt. Synthetic with factory ammo.

I have only shot 1 BLR that I owned for a short time. Early Steel BLR in .358, very accurate with a Peep Site put 1st reloads into very small group at 80 yds. Seemed to shoot well with all loads with minimal load work up. Did not like stock so I sold it.
Owned 2 other NIB BLR,s for a while but sold them before I shot them. One was in 22-250 wish I kept it, would have made a great walk about varmit rifle for a leftie.

MD, I have--at one time or another--3-308's(all pre-81), 2 358's(one pre-81 and one of the new ones), and one 7mm-08 in a model 81. Every one of them has been sub MOA, and all three 308's scary accurate. The .308's will shoot as good as most bolt actions.

My old pre-81 BLR in .358 Win will shoot under a 1.5" group at 100 yards anytime. Most groups are about 1" if I stop at 3 shots. That goes for handloads and the 200 grain silvertip factory loads. I have a 1.5-5x Leupold on it with a HEAVY crosshair, and I am convinced I can shrink those groups with a different scope. The trigger is horrible on my rifle!

I think most folks can expect <1.5" groups from out of the box BLR's on a regular basis, despite the trigger. A friend has the newer BLR in .300 WSM, and gets the same accuracy as I do.

I did have a very old made in Belgium BLR (first year or 2 of BLR production)in .308 that did not shoot as well, but I did not handload at the time I owned it, and did not experiment with different factory rounds.

Browning really cornered the market with the BLR by chambering it in "non traditional" lever action/carbine rounds.

Hi Mule deer

My BLR is a straight grip 358 Winchester topped with a 2 X 7 Leupold vari X 1. My curent handload consist of 47 grains of Hodgdon 4895,Hornady 200 grain soft point flat base bullet and Winchester LR primers. I am getting 1.5 to 2.oo inch groups at a 100yds.
I chose the Hornady bullet based on a article you did awhile back( can't recall thre name of it) This year I killed my first doe with my handload. One shot appr. 25-35 yds. doe ran about same distance.I am pleased with the performance of the Hornady bullets. Did not do a post mortem the deer was dropped off to be processed. Look forward to the article.
Thanks for the articles and sound advice

358win

My BLR is a 7mm mag aluminum reciever. With handloads loaded to the lands, it will shoot 5 shot groups from .8"- 1". After trying dozens and dozens of factory loads, the best one was right at 3" groups, with the average factory load being in the 5" range. I sent it in and Browning says it is in spec so I'm stuck with it. My former gunsmith, now deceased, found what was wrong with it and it requires a rebarrel, a costly fix if done well, with the 6 lugs of the bolt locking into the barrel and not the reciever. The chamber is not cut in line with the bore, but it is close enough to be "in spec" as far as Browning is concerned. I've never seen a new BLR(mid 90's on up) that did not have a terrible trigger, both weight of pull and rough, expect to pay a smith to fix that.

Yes, often the BLR's need a trigger job, although I have had a few that were pretty good, Well at least decent. In reality, I have had plent of Remington 700's and Ruger77's with terible triggers, however, it is usually eaiser to fix the trigger on the bolt guns or replace with a Timiney.

I paid a gunsmith to give me a decent trigger on my first BLR and it's still shooting good after many years.

Good topic. Just to ask, with Browning coming out with the take-down BLRs, does anyone have any experience with these? I'm thinking of getting one in 308 Win as I plan on booking some hunts in faraway places and a take-down rifle would be nice to have as it would reduce the size of one of my pieces of luggage.

1990's japanese BLR '81 in 308 w/steel frame, and straight grip with barrel band, & skinny little 20" barrel, and it shoots the cheap-o remngton and Winne ammo from Wally world, paying no attention to lot numbers or brand, just weight of bullet, into 1.5-1.75" with ease. Scope is a Leupy 3.5 x 10. I was about to buy a reloading rig, but my good buddy just moved back to town, complete with full RCBS setup in tow, and has offered it's use if I buy him 2 sets of dies he wants - like I would turn that deal down!

I intend to develop a good load for it (taking magazine length into due consideration), and also to try it without the little barrel band, as it appears to have little to no use, and bet I can shrink it to 1" with little effort.

I got a great trade on mine and did not care for it at first as it was neither modern enough or traditional enough to suit me, but the BLR is one of those unsung rifles that are just great for hunting. The combination of quick lever-action firepower,a hammer that is always handy yet always safe, and powerful standard cartridges + excellent accuracy make it a great combo. Pair that with a box magazine for easy loading/unloading (unlike the King gate on traditional guns), and you have one that is TOUGH to beat!

My gun is quickly establishing itself as my "go to" gun for Southeastern white-tail hunting. This year I intend to have the metal surfaces tefloned, and then i may have the Exotic Synthetics guys work thier magic on the stock, thus making it as beautiful as it is functional.

I have seen a number of them that shot exceptionally well. They are a nice rifle IMO..I would not hesitate to buy one.

For the last 33 years, my early Jap .308 will put the first three 150gr Sierra flatbase handloads in a nice tight group. After those three rounds though, that thin hot barrel spreads them to just about an inch or so. My .257 from the mid-1980's holds an inch with 100gr Hornadys (pre-Interlok) and Nosler solid bases. Never tried any others. My .223, also from the 80's, with its cheap scope, stays between .75 and one inch for five rounds with the old Hornady 55gr Frontier factory loads I bought about a century ago. Bought several cases on a super closeout when a local shop closed. May have to find my dies soon. The only "tuning" done was to clean up the triggers on the .223 and .257. Being two piece stocks, they bench more consistantly for me with the bags or rest under the action rather than the forearm. Overall, I basically quit carrying bolt guns after finding these. For my needs, they are accurate enough, they're handier, more lively for a field gun and reach as far as I can hit. What more is there to ask?

After all this talk, I gotta have me one too - it's on my Christmas list.

Just bought my wife one for Christmas in .308 with the rounded pistol grip. Used but is in mint condition.

What's a good scope for it?

Marlinlover,
Check out my "heresy" thread for a sampling of scopes that folks are using on levers.

I have two BLRs.Both have low power variable scopes. One is in 308 with an alloy reciever,pistol grip stock and no barrel band on the fore end. The rifle shoots like a good bolt action. It will put three Hornady 150 grain factory loads into an inch or better at 100 yards. I don't know how it groups any other load,this is the first one I tried and quit looking. I don't know how it shoots for five rounds either.

My other BLR is from a recent run of 358 winchesters. It has a straight grip stock and a barrel band fore end. It has shot three different loads into about two inches at 100 yards. I figure it's relative inaccuracy is either due to the barrel band or the mighty thin barrel,358 is a big hole in such a light barrel. Practically speaking,I'm happy with both guns,either has plenty of accuracy for any task that I would pick for their respective calibers.

Both guns are light,handy,responsive and feed and function perfectly. The only thing I don't like is the trigger pulls,but it must not bother me too bad because I have not bothered to get em fixed.

Britt

I was informed on another board that the newer BLR's have plastic gearing inside - can anyone confirm or deny?

I really want one, as they come to my shoulder almost perfectly, but I'm not a fan of plastic gears in anything.