Looking for one of these for my 20-year-old son as a gift in .358. Any suggestions on year of manufacture I should be looking at. From a purely appearance standpoint I like the pistol grip.

I like the Blr 81 model the best. Those lightnings (the ones with the pistol grip) just feel to clumsy when I handle them.

I have 2 Blrs in .358 one is A blr 81 and the other is the new lgwt. They were not offered in the lightning in .358 Either way there nice well made rifles. Good luck

I love the pre-'81 and the early '81 with the steel receivers and straight stocks. I've got a pre-'81 with the straight stock in .243 that I never get tired of. Fast, light, and a real shooter. I am, however, thinking about a re-bore to .260.

Guys- Thanks for the help. Kid already has a 7600 in .35 Whelen...looking at the tables tells me he's got the "quick handling .35 cal." thing covered. He'll need to think of something else.

I have yet to use a BLR. However, I just placed an order for a new BLR 308 within the last week. After much internal debate I settled on a 308. It certainly is effective at anything I plan on hunting and more versitel than a 358. Also, MUCH less recoil. It is a light/nimble carbine. I could have gotten other styles such as a Rem Mod 7 or similar Bolt but for brush lot, broken cover hunting and driving like I do, a bolt is not convenient. I already have 2 of those. A semi auto is not an option In PA. A pump like a 7600 carbine is not a light weight, but a good second choice. I elected to spend more than I probably should hav, but lately I have come to realize that If you buy quality up front you wont regret it. Good luck

STV:
Congrats on your new BLR purchase. I think you made a great choice. I have a BLR 308win for my 14 year old son and he thinks it is just the best thing going.

As for spending a little more that your budget, well I am from the old school where you pay what it takes to call it your own! (These internet auctions are going to break me SOON)!

Just this morning I had to pay what I felt was a premium price to own a 99C in a 22-250 but it is now mine and the wife don't even know about it yet! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

stv I think that Blr and the 308 are one fine combination. With my wifes rifle and its favorite loads it'll print a 3shot cloverleaf off the bench. And she uses it with deadly effect on all sort of critters.

stv,

I have hunted with the same guide in Newfoundland twice and he has seen allot of caribou, moose and bear bite the dust, all shot with allot of different things. He does not guide in his spare time he guides and traps for a living. His personal rifle for hunting the same game is a BLR in 308.

Whitetail, I hate asking this as you already said your 14 y.o shoots it and somebody's wife does too BUT at the risk of sounding like a total wimp - how is the recoil? I am looking at tables that show how nice 308's are to shoot if you have an 8lb rifle. I am worried that a 6.5lb rifle, with a straight stock, might not be a gun I would want to put a box or two through at the range.

By the time you put a scope and sling on it its closer to 7.5 pounds. My wife is on the small side and she shoots her Blr in 308 quite well.

Kenjs1:

I understand your concerns fully, this was also an issue for me when I bought the BLR for my son. He is about 5'4" and about 125lbs. When he first started to shoot at the range the noise was more of a issue than the recoil.



Well the way I explained it to him was this:



"Now that you have your own 30 cal rifle you can shoot the biggest game that we will ever hunt and knock them down with one well placed shot, it is good to have a loud gun because once you knock down the big buck the loud noise will scare all the little ones away and that will make them smarter and maybe survive until the next hunting season. I told him that is why my 300 win mag is so loud. I refer to it a game management." I think he bought it! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />



My reason for this story was to teach him just how important the first shot is and that it has to be a well placed one and also for him to accept the loud noise of the hi-powered rifles.



I can hardly wait until the training of the next generation starts. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />



That little BLR shoots so nice and smooth that he shoots gophers with it and has no problem at all. Right now I have him shooting 150 gr mid loads for whitetail and smaller. I don't want to make anything 'hot" for him for 2 reasons.



1) I don't want to create a flinch in him.

2) I want him to keep his first rifle for his lifetime and always respect it and by shooting mid loads it should last a long time with proper TLC.



Don't hesitate to buy a BLR just find the right one in the correct calibre and one that fits your budget. There is a good supply of them to choose from on the new and used market right now. Enjoy

Just picked up my new 2004 BLR. The trigger is very good and the rifle handles well. With scope, bases and rings, its 7.5 pounds. So I don't think that recoil will be an issue as compared to 8 pound rifles.

Whitetale's point is well taken though. 130 grain light deer loads are pretty mild. 180 grain "hot" elk loads can smack pretty good (this is the experience with my 8 pound Savage 99).

BMT

I load the wifes Blr 308 with hornadys 165 gr boatail interloc.
That bullet has worked well on elk, deer and antelope. And the recoil is very tolerable.

I have an 81 in .308, no recoil issues. I also have an 81 rebored to .35 Whelen. Haven't shot it yet but put a Decelerator pad on anyway.

RD

I'v got a BLR 81 in 7mm08 & my wife, all 5 feet of her thinks it recoils less than a 30/30. Now I might argue that point with her as I find the opposite to be true, but I believe the lack of percieved recoil is due the lack of a recoil pad on the 30/30 vs the BLR. Also, for me anyway, that BLR just fits. I guess one might call it ergonomic.

I have a BLR Lightning in .270 win. I prefer the balance on the lightning series although the 81 series has the "western lever look". I like my BLR except for 1 thing, it almost always goes bang!. Thats right "almost always".

Have any of you ever had this happen? According to my gunsmith what happens is that the hammer instead of falling all the way & striking the firing pin it catches in the half cock position & the momentum carries the hammer the rest of the way to the half cock & hammer down position. ie. safe. Initially I thought it was the ammo. But when you extract not a mark on the primer so my gunsmith must be right. Apparently it is quite common with BLR's.

Has this happened to any of you guys? Apparently there may be another cam that can be used to fixe this but I have written to Browning 2x now and never even raise a response. Their customer service dept must be having a good time or non-existant.

Regards
JohnT

The only time I've had anything like that its usually because the lever isn't completely locked up. It may look like it is but if you squeeze the lever up just a little tighter then it fires.

Ken

I have a new BLR lightweight 81 in .358 win, the recoil is not bad at all on the bench so i cant imagine the .308 being any worse. As far as the .308 being more versatile, i guess it would be if you did not handload, but what could be taken with a .308 that you couldnt take with a .358?

I have another question for BLR fanatics, why do quite a few people advocate getting the old steel receivers? The receiver does not contain the pressures the barrels chamber does that, it almost sounds like an old wives tale. I wouldnt trade my 6.5lb 20 inch carbine for the world!

264bore
I have 2 Blr's in 358, 1 is the 81 steel receiver and the other is the new lightweight. Whenever I read a post they all say they like the new lightweight but they don't know about the alluminum receiver. The bolt locks into the steel barrel so it shouldn't make a difference in my opinion