Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles How many Blaser men here?

Barrels.
Every Blaser barrel I have owned(7) were mirrorlike & super-slick inside. All cleanup'd with ease. Reminding me of Sako, Tikka & Sauer barrels.
The 24 is also excellent! More like the few G model Model 70's I had, which were superb!
All mentioned here shot.

I prefer the crown on my Blaser barrels over the 24. Due to the fact R8 tapers down more(less likely damaged if hit IMO). Nothing wrong with the 24 crown though, & it's certainly polished beautifully!

Mag design.

Staggered type magazines IMO are not as fool-proof as single-stack mags, in 'general'.
The finest staggered design I have owned 'out of the box'(no tweaks) would be my old Sako 75(243win) & 85(375H&H), which were slightly better than my higher end$$ Sauer 202 Hardwood(9.3x62) & Nosler custom 48(7mm-08).
Those Sako's just lead the race here IMO, but I did hear some small issues with WSM cases giving grief in the 85. Nothing is every perfect I guess, & individual rifles can vary...

The Sauer just had a few knotchy issues with the last round in the mag. Something that was soon fixed with a little bolt cycling.
The 48 gave me a few issues. Great bench rifle(that rifle shot bugs) but not such a great 'bang em on the run' rig.

My XCR 375 used to feed & extract everything slicker than gooseshit. I pulled off a assy shot on the run with that rifle(with my son present. in ear, out of the side of head) which I don't believe I will every match again(fluke shot)

I saw the Tracks Across Africa buffalo hunt show today. The guy was hunting with an R93. It looked like the extractor let go of the shell before it was ejected. The empty case remained partially in the chamber and prevented another round from feeding. The upside was he was able to just flick it out with his finger and chamber another round. I wonder what the problem was? I've never had that happen on my R8. Maybe just a dirty or gunked up bolt.

With that said. The 24 feeds & extracts like a Sauer. No Sako though but getting there with use.....

The single column design of the Blaser is IMO not matched by most.
My old T3 270WSM used to gobble those rounds up quicker that I could work the bolt(grin).....
R8 can be fed on any angle(like the T3) fast or slow with never an issue. Accubonds & BT's style pills can catch in the barrel chamber if the AOL bullet length is pushed too far out. If one sticks to the approximate 'standard' recommended AOL specs there was never an issue(with my barrels anyway....)

Blind-mags certainly bring a rifles weight down but are a PITA at times. More about this later.
I prefer the detachable/lockable design the R8 offers. But saying that. Blaser made one big [bleep] here IMO. That being. When the rounds are in the R8 mag one cannot lock it, more importantly, unlock the mag. So the mag-lock needs to be applied beforehand.
This lock should of been recessed into the bottom 'outside' of the mag IMO, similar to my old Sauer 202 Hardwood.....just my thoughts here

Where I stalk it is law that one "empties the entire magazine & fully open the bolt when crossing a public area". Which means a designated walking track(hikers) & 4x4 track. With that said. It doesn't sound like a hassle but I can assure you it can be hunting my quarry. Which are quick to hear any metallic sounds from a distance, usually results in a quick departure.....
There are many tracks in the remotest of places too. And although your chances to quickly cross these areas, it is against our law......so as a general rule I play along...

Both the 24 blind-mag & 'locked' 2 polymer tags(similar to the old Tikka 695) R8 fail here, for me.
Unlocked the R8 is perrrrrrrrrfect but then you take the chance of loosing the mag/trigger system. Which is highly unlikely, but it does render the 'entire' rifle un-fireable....Certainly a concern.

The new camo R8 Pro stock would correct the noise issue. This coating Blaser apply certainly has a softer feel & would match the 24 in camo appeal...

Finally the kicker here for me & others, is. 1 stock with many different barrels to be had if needed or when one wants a change....
So essentially you have 1 gun with many options, & all can be carried in a wee little case if needed.......bravo.

Merry Christmas lads

Looking back through my notes on some of the rifles I have owned.....

17Rem Remington 700 BDL. Bought new. It fed, balanced, shot & was deadly accurate on Foxes. No hiccups whatsoever, 100%.

22 Hornet CZ 527. Bought new. Superb light little rifle, although little rough out of the box compared to some others in it's price range, but 100% reliable.

22-250Rem. Bought new. The single stack CRF snapped under the claw with precision. A little heavy & cumbersome for a mountain Fox outfit, but it shot! No issues.

243Win. Sako 75 stainless hunter. Bought new. explained above. Great rifle although I found it a little too heavy & I didn't care for that stupid key lock Sako installed on it. 100%

270WSM Tikka T3 lite. explained above. Stock did not fit me as good as Sako. 100%

270WSM Winchester Model 70(Classic. G series) Featherweight. Outstanding rifle that shot silly little groups with factory ammo. Sold it in a moment of thinking I needed a synthetic stalking rifle..... The bloke that owns it now says. "it's my go-to rifle" .......100%

270Weatherby UL. Bought new or so I thought. I opened the box to find it looked like it was their demo rifle from the year before or just bad QC? It went back the day after.....

270Weatherby Blaser R93. Outstanding in every way 100%. Shot .7" with 5 handloads(150gr TSX).

7mm-08Rem Blaser R93. """"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""". shot .2-.3" with 3 federal 140gr factory ammo. 100%

7mm-08Rem Nosler custom 48. Light strong Melvin stock. Although made by NULA the finish & grip were not the same as NULA. Mis-fed every now & then. Cerakoted did it's job. This rifle shot lights out!!! Balance was superb. Solid action design!

7mmRM Blaser R8. Just like every other Blaser barrel, it put 5 into MOA. 100% but too heavy for an allday mountain stalker. light felt recoil!

30-30Win Pre-64. Secondhand. Light, extremely low felt recoil. They don't make em like this anymore! Outstanding rifle. If I ever get recoil shy this rifle is my pappy

308Win Sako L579. Secondhand. This rifle fed & shot 'OK'(in respect for Sako. me thinks this barrel was a little worn out) but it used to slap me in the mouth more than not(stock did not fit me). Gave me a flinch my .22 had to sort out later(grin)....Older Sako's are heavy brutes. These L61R & L579's are not for me. The trim Sako L461 is a different beast though....

308Win Kimber Montana(one of the very first productions). Bought new. Light & extremely trim. It shot around 1.1-1.5" at 100 with 150gr ammo & sprayed a few.....
It mis-fed(only from one side of the staggered mag) most of the time. Pretty piss poor quality given what it cost me($1600). 3 position safety felt crisper/more direct than any 64 or Classic M70 I have felt.

308Win Browning A-Bolt SS. Bought new. Light & balanced. It shot too, around 1" with 3. Tang safety is certainly my preferred safety system for stalking Deer. I liked the mag design. Bit of POT metal but IMO is serves a purpose between lightness & strength. 100%.

300WSM Winchester Model 70 Classic Stainless. Bought new. CRF SS toughness, shot 3 into MOA with anything. QC on the stainless machining could of been better. Stock was basic but robust & fairly quiet for a leggo stock. 100%.

300Weatherby Blaser R8. Same as 7mmRM barrel + some recoil. Loud! 100%.

338 Win Mag Blaser R93. Bought new. 3.6kg & my best meat gatherer to date. It was a Deer willing-stick, filled with luck & precision. Just ran a basic 2-7x33 vx11, hand rolled 210gr TSX's. Never missed with this rifle. 101% perfect & singlehandedly the finest combo I have had, which I sold, due to what is being discussed on this thread. 'integrity of the R93 strength', before I actually new the real facts. Listened to the wrong people....
Pre-ordered my R8 Pro not long after this lesson. Moral of the story. Believe none of what you hear & only half of what you read

338 Win Mag Kimber Montana(one of the first 338's). Bought new. To my knowledge I am the only man alive to have this problem with a Kimber rifle. Lucky again(laughin)
One of the 'rear base holes' was tapped off(12" was the closest I could get it to the bulleye) centre. I did not realize just how bad this would effect sighting-in until range day came. Other than that. It fed(after I tweaked the claw to grab the rounds tighter) & shot MOA. Piss poor quality again from Kimber.

338 Win Mag SS Ruger Hawkeye. Bought new. Solid but a little rough. Spent some time working the action & safety, which slicked things up considerably. Fed great rough & slicked!
A tad heavy for an allday mountain stalker, but mygod nothing is perfect for these bills$.
It shot 1.2" without any mods.
If I needed a rifle to beat the [bleep] out of & give zero issues due to it's KIS all steel design. These Rugers are hard to beat IMO. 100%.

340Weatherby Accumark. Bought new. It did everything exceptionally well. Heavy recoil & too heavy a mountain rifle. Live & learn though.... Gave me fallen arches...lol 100%.

35 Whelen Remington 7600. Bought new. Felt recoil was more than it should of been, meaning, stock just did not fit me. Other than that. It fed, extracted & shot into 2". 100%.

9.3x62 CZ 550 Battue(hogback). Bought new. Rough, needed a fare bit of slicking up. This shot great! Fed fine & extracted well clear of the rifle.
After owning this rifle I came to the conclusion that hogback rifles are not for me....100% other than that.

9.3x62 Zastava M70. Bought new(still own). Rough but everything on it seems to be made using old school steels & laths. It shoots!, feeds & extract better than many rifles I have owned. Too heavy for a dedicated mountain rifle(for me) with scope & mounts fitted. The finest/cheapest centrefire rifles I have bought bare none, pure M98 too . 100%.

9.3x62 Sauer 202 Hardwood. Bought new. Mentioned above. Sauer make solid rifles. This steel action type was great running bare(no scope) but once scope & mounts were fitted it was a tad heavy.....Other than that 100% when the minor mag issue was worked a little.

375H&H Remington XCR. Bought new. Mentioned above. This rifle surprised me...& I liked it allot more than not.... Tri-nyte is IMO one of the best(better than cerakote IMO) wet weather coatings I have come across. Fed, shot & extracted great. 100%

These are some of the rifles I've purchased over the years. So what you read here is mostly the notes I had written down, with some mental notes....
I added these not to show how many or the sort of rifles I have owned, but only to show how different companies can vary somewhat. With some companies products shining, others not so & rifles can be individuals.
So please take it for what it's worth gents. A Compromise, Nothing is Perfect, mostly. And every man has their own 'ideal walking stick'

Good stalking men

Not much to really add other than I now own an R93 and an R8 both in the professional models. Will be adding a Jaeger stock to the R8 here very soon. First time I saw a Blaser I knew nothing about the rifles and was turned off by what appeared to be a very complicated rifle. My primary rifles were a Colt Sauer I'd bought back in 1974 and a couple of Remingtons over the years. Later the Sauer 202 came out and I started collecting them. Great rifles btw and they all shot very good.

Couple years ago I met some Blaser owners who took the time to explain how the system worked and why it kicked butt like it did. I bought my first R93 in October of 2010. Purchased the R8 in the kit form in January 2011. Today I have the R93 set up with a 270 Wby fluted barrel, 257 Wby fluted barrel and a 243 Winchester round barrel. The R8 has a fluted 300 Wby barrel. The 270 Wby is my main hunting rifle and performs flawlessly. It's a pleasure to shoot and will shoot sub 1/2" groups with factory Weatherby ammo. The 257 shoots just as well with Wby ammo and the 243 will shoot 1/2" with the blue box Federal 80 grainers as well as 55 grain Federal ballistic tips.

The R8 300 I've only put 4-5 rounds through it and hope to get some time to shoot it here soon. I honestly don't care for the R8 Professional frame since it is bigger and bulkier than the R93 frame. Thus I'm adding the Jaeger wood stock which is lighter, nimbler and has a cant to it so it will fit better. I've handled the Jaeger and to me it was more the style of rifle that I prefer versus the Professional.

One of the biggest selling points was the scope mounting system and the fact that you can use the Swarovski rail mounted scopes on them and it is as slick a system as there is. Easy on/off, sight in is back dead on after swapping things around. The scope mounts on the barrel which just makes so much sense. The bolt locks up in the barrel adding to the inherent accuracy.

The one big thing was the fact that it looks complicated if you don't know how it works. Once you understand it, it's a piece of cake.

Saw the earlier postings of the American quality and to some degree must say the fellow had some good points. I always told people to buy a Remington 700 if they were looking for a good rifle. I won't do that today after seeing too many coming out with issues. I will say though that I've had 2 Thompson Icons, one in blue and one in weathershield and they both shot as good as any guns I've owned. And that's putting them right with the Blasers and Sauers. For the money the Icon is a super rifle and as one who would like to see 'Made in America' mean excellent quality I'm glad to see that they're still doing top notch work. Had friends over the years who swore by the Encore but that just wasn't my style of rifle even if they did shoot good. Hear good things about Savage as well. Guide buddy of mine has one and it definitely shoots darn good. Tikkas, Sakos, Kimbers and several others that I've owned and all were accurate or 'fixable' if they weren't. Still have an older Rem 700 Mountain that I probably will never part wit. But for the every day rifle the Blaser won out.

Lots of good rifles out there. Everybody has certain taste and certain things that aren't for them. That's what makes the world go round and everybody who builds these guns has a job as do the folks that distribute and sell them. And like some pointed out we're all free to own any of them we want to. Only problem is paying for them all!

340Wby, very thorough, thoughtful, and detailed review. I am impressed by your attempt to be impartial, although it is clear enough that you prefer the Blaser. In truth, had I done the review, I could not have been nearly so kind. Well done.

Thanks ULA. I guess I was quick to have a crack at you before too. I should of been more tactful....

Yes, the R8 is my preferred go-to rifle ATM, it's a gem!
But every time I take that NULA for a walk....... After a few hours I find myself a scenic spot to take a breather(side of a mountain)......the scenery, crisp fresh mountain air, freedom, contemplate life....& admire my rifle.
Yes sir, that 24 is a true joy to carry all day long & I could very well finish with it.......

A malfunction can happen to any rifle, but there's just too much of the proverbial "smoke" around the fire to give me pause. That and the fact the trigger housing comes OUT as part of a detachable magazine(two "qualities" I detest in hunting rifles) AND for the amount of money they want for one of these "Super Rube Goldberg" gizmos, it has PLASTIC parts, I think I'll most definitively pass. jorge

The proverbial smoke around the fire in this case, is caused by poor digestion, from guys who can not grasp the concept, and rather than just accept the fact that others do, and are extremely happy with the platform, have to interject, unfounded, uneducated, and rude comments, such as "Super Rube Goldgerg" gizmos, concerning Blasers.

You both make some good points, and they have been expressed and hashed out even on Blaser enthusiast boards as well. I have owned at least one and sometimes multiple R93's since 1995 and have put them through the paces in the field and at the range, and I can honestly say the only parts I have ever broken is the arm off a bolt assembly when I dropped it in my house and a throw lever on a QD scope mount. Both of these parts are metal by the way, and BlaserUSA promptly sent me a replacement for both free of charge.

I am one of the many folks who believe Blaser has stepped on their pecker by discontinuing the R93, and I have no intention of ever owning a R8. Like you, I am not fond of the detachable magazine and think it is a poor design, and I also think that for the money, there is entirely too much plastic in the gun. On the other hand, I do believe that they are tough and will hold up to any hunting condition.

On another note, I have a friend who had one of the defective safety/triggers in his Remington 700 and now has a prostetic foot because of it, and that being said, I am more scared of and will never own one. So to each his own on what rifles we own and shoot.

On a related note, folks seem to only focus on the R93 and R8, but Blaser builds other guns on different platforms. I also own a BBF97 combo gun in 12 ga over 308 and have recently acquired a K95 single shot in 30-06. The BBF is nice, but the K95 has become my "go to" gun which I have already killed 4 deer with. They also make a really nice drilling (D99) and double rifle (S2), but I have not had the opportunity to even handle either of them.

Unfortunately here in the US, BlaserUSA admittedly has no interest in selling any of them which just seems crazy to me.

Spare me.
"Rube Goldberg": A Rube Goldberg machine, contraption, device, or apparatus is a deliberately over-engineered or overdone machine that performs a very simple task in a very complex fashion, usually including a chain reaction.

Gizmo: Something unspecified whose name is either forgotten or not known; "she eased the ball-shaped doodad back into its socket"

Given German propensity to the former, and given the fact the Blaser consists of consiserably more parts that your standard push feed bolt, the term "Rube Goldberg" is not far of the mark. AS for the latter, I don't know the exact terminology of the "gizmos" used in that Rube Goldberg type action, therefor the word usage was accurate.

Your posts have not proven to me (and neither have those from the other side)beyond a reasonable doubt these issues did not occur as advertised, hence the term "smoke". Lastly, my last two comments are my *opinion*. i.e. I don't like detachable magazines, much less as a part of the trigger group and even more so, paying that kind of money for PLASTIC components is something I'm not prepared to do. Nowhere have I called these rifle junk or anything of the sort. So enjoy your Blasers and maybe grow thicker skin. jorge

Yeah, have you checked out their doubles? Barrel heavy, no ejector options and you have to use the cocking lever EVERY TIME you reload (unlike Krieghoff's which one need only cock once). No thanks.

If you had read a little farther into my post, you would have seen that I HAVE NOT seen a D99 or a S2, but I do own a BBF97 and K95.

Like such a discussion I had with a now deceased member of the Fire, it is hard for a man who pays so much money for what he thinks may be the perfect gun, to have to admit to himself that it is not.