Nobody talks about Browning lever action rifle BLR 81. Is there a problem with the gun??

BLR's are an anomaly. A lot of people don't consider them true lever actions because they are a hybrid. They are technically a bolt action rifle run by a lever. They get talked about quit a bit in the regular forums.

I have one in .308 and it is sweet. Quick, light and accurate. I end up using it a lot more than most of my bolt actions. If going for a long action cartridge though, I prefer a bolt action.

The only thing bad about the BLR is the trigger. There is a lot of creep in it. I had my gunsmith work on it and and now the trigger works great.

I've got 2 of them and would like some more. They shoot as well as any bolt gun when fed a proper diet.
I think they are like slowhand says a hybrid, so they've never really caught on with lever fanatics, and because or the lever bolt snobs won't give them a second look.

There are quite a few Levers I'd like to have, but don't. The BLR is one of them...

how smooth is the lever. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/help.gif" alt="" /> [color:"blue"] [/color]

the lever is very smooth, and without a scope they have handling characteristics close to the Win .94, and even with the scope I like the way they handle better than a Marlin.

I wanted one for a long time in the BLR81 steel receiver, really wanted a .30 cal but ended up with a .243. I had trouble with the gun. I know a few guys (brothers) that are BLR fanatics, they are the ones that really turned me on to the BLR81's. My action would lock open with the bolt carrier stuck in the rear position & the lever fully opened. I had to be really careful cycling the action. I really liked the look of the gun, it came up nice & it was very accurate but it locked open on me 3 different times. When I say it locked open I don't mean it was kind of stuck & a little tug on the lever would free it. I mean the rotary gear pin had to come out of the receiver every time & I would have to re set the timing. The guy I bought it from was good enough to warn me about the problem & stated that he had sent it back to browning once & they "fixed" it. This same problem had occurred with one of them BLR brother's rifles in 7mm mag. Then again a year ago on the other BLR brother's .270. I sold mine last year. The other guys I talked about are huge fans of the rifles & won't give up on them. There was a plastic bushing in the rotary gear that rode on the receiver pin (definitely not the place for a plastic part in a gun!) The two BLR brothers had there plastic bushings replaced with brass ones. The guy with the jammed .270 (locked open) missed out on a nice buck because of it, trying to cycle a second round & the action stuck open. He was all pumped up in the moment & in his haste to get his second shot he pulled hard on the lever to try & free the action & he busted a bunch of them micro teeth off the gears in the action. When I opened up his action for him back at the hunting shack hoping we could just reset the timing & I saw that mess of busted tiny little gears I swore off the BLR for good. I prefer a more robust mechanism in a rifle action. I've got a weakness for lever actions & the clip fed beautiful BLR appealed to me but it's not the only option for feeding pointed bullets in a lever action. There is always the savage 99 & the winchester 88 if you can find one, nice strong mechanical actions there. Not everyone will have this problem with there BLR's but I've talked to gunsmiths about it & it seems pretty common. I watched a gunsmith free a stuck open BLR with a quick rap on the back of the bolt carrier with a plastic faced mallet. he rested the muzzle on the toe of his boot & gave a quick sharp rap straight down like he was driving a nail & it popped free & fell forward. He says he usually tries that first & themn checks to see if he has to retime it or not, many cases that's all it takes. You don't want to hit the carier too hard though because if it's stuck real good you could easily rip some of them little teeth off the rotary gear or the half moon gear in the lever.
They are pretty but I'll take a Winchester 88 any day over the BLR. The 88 is still clip fed, it's basically a lever operated bolt action much like the BLR, the action is just stronger.

Northern Dave in all the years I've been exposed to the Blrs amd the half dozen or so that have been thru my hands I've never run into that problem or heard of that problem until now.
Just wondering why you didn't send the rifle to Browning to have it fixed? It surely must have been defective and I imagine they would have fixed it.

well, the guy I bought it from used had sent it back to browning once already. Obviously all they did is pop the receiver pins out, drop the guts out & set it all back in with the timing corrected. I honestly blame the problem on the plastic bushing in the rotary gear. My two BLR friends that experienced the trouble have several BLRs but to the best of my knowledge they only experienced the problem on one out of each of their collections. The one guy had troubles with his 7mm mag & the other guy with his .270. Both had the plastic bushing in the gear. I know the guy with the 7mm mag had his plastic gear bushing replaced with a brass one. The guy with the .270 got his back from the gunsmith just before deer hunting, the gunsmith tried to talk him into getting rid of it (he didn't want it, he just wanted to see Tom try something different). He gave Tom a heck of a bad time about his BLR, told him he sees it all of the time, he wouldn't own one etc, etc. I'm unsure if tom got a brass bushing in his new gear or not, I know the rotary gear needed to be replaced because he busted some teeth off of it last year while trying to free the action. I could have either found or made a decent rotary gear bushing for mine & it would have been just fine I'm sure. But I originally bought it for my wife to hunt with, I have so many other bolts & levers that I didn't need it for myself (first gun I ever could say that about, I'm trying to be nice though). I was uncomfortable with my wife working that gun, even if I did get the action fixed so it wouldn't jam open any more. I was uncomfortable with her working a hammer/lever gun with no cross bolt saftey. I saw her slip the hammer loose once after unloading it trying to let the hammer home "click", that click could have been a "bang" if she had slipped trying to let it forward in the deer stand after chambering a round. So, I had saftey concerns with my wife handling the gun, I have kids coming of hunting age soon but would have the same worries with them being new to hunting, I have other guns that I favor for my hunting use, so down the road it went. I sold it for $350 to one of the BLR brothers I mentioned, he was well aware & familiar with the action troubles. He was OK with it, I'd rather sell it like that than to someone who would get surprised/let down out in a hunting situation. He'll probably get the plastic bushing replaced & have a real nice gun that he likes, it was absolutely flawless in appearance, just had some action issues. I got the wife into a clip fed bolt action with a 3 position tang saftey, she loves it, I'm happy, happy endings all around.
Maybe the action problems were specific to only a few years of production? That BLR has had many revisions over the years. Mine was out of the mid 80's I think, it had the hammer that you could roll forward at half cock (hinged) and the clip fit fairly flush & flat when inserted as apposed to some older units I've seen that look like they have a wallet inserted, more of a rounded clip shape.....

The original BLR was a pre'81 model with the rounded clip. I have never heard of action problems on one of these. Some of these did have bad clips that had to be replaced. I haven't heard of any problems with the new BLR Lightweight with the straight stock and flush mounted clip. I have a new .358 and it functions flawlessly. In between these two were the BLR model 81 and the BLR Lightning. I have one of the originals and you would have to kill me to get it.

I've had at least 6 of them and didn't have any problems, I now bear hunt with blr81 .358 (steel reciever) and put handloads in it most people would not use. It has never failed me.
I might mention one I had, that didn't shoot well. I bought one of the first lighting models that came out with the pistol grip some years ago it wouldn't shoot a group at all ! I live about two hours from Browning so I took it to them , an ecect was there and I explaind the problem, after some testing. He took me in the warehouse and said pick oput one I liked ! The other rifles bore was oversize ! But I didn't like the forearm set up and it didn't fell as good as the old Blr81 so I sold it.
But, I think they have corrected the problem in the current lighting models and I like where the swivel is on the fore arm. I'm getting tempted again !

Well BearII I hope you continue to have the same luck with your steel 81, especially for bear! It's probably like most things, either you have a bad one or you have a good one, you obviously have good ones. If they haven't failed you by now I doubt they will.

I absolutly love mine! Its has turned into my goto deer rifle. Its so light, and points so well, this gun just fits me perfectly. Mine is a new one in .308, I like the flush mounting magizine better.

I have one of the new model BLR 81 in 358 Win. Absolutely love it. Shoots everyting very very well, even factory 200s. It is a very nice rifle for everything. I have a Leupold VX II 2x7 on it. My only problem is that they don't come from factory with swivel studs, but a call to Uncle Mikes for their kit will solve the problem.
Happy New Year.
ed

I have a BLR81 in .358 and it has become my favorite lever for hunting. I have never had a problem with it. I bought a BLR81 in 7-08 and it didn't function correctly ( it was used) the bolt would not return far enough to pick a round up from the magazine, returned to browning to be fixed and they said it had a broken pin in the lever? They said they fixed it, took it to the range and it still didn't work. I called browning and they said ship it back. I asked them how many times they would need to work on it before they could get it right. I did not return it but sold it to a friend (he knew about the problem) and he sent it to his gunsmith, still waiting. I still like the BLR and bought a new lgwt 81 in .358 that I havn't fired yet. Hopefully it's alright as I have heard of hammer problems with these. The 2005 browning web site now shows a pistol grip version (lightning?) as well as the straight grip.

I was at Cabela's yesterday and they had STAINLESS BLR's with Gray Laminated stocks. The magazine was sill black and looked a little hokey, but those might be pretty nice. I think the price was $879 though.

Went on a wild boar hunt Sat. shot one boar 3 times with my Bar 06 and never recovered him.
I switched to my BLr81 in .358 and killed 2 on the spot. Used .250 grn speers with 53grns of 748.
Many of the hunters carried large bore lever guns or single shots, some others also had .358's. One guy toted a Rugar single shot in .458 win. and it was not too much gun ! I've seen used Blr 81"s in .358 on Gunbroker and Guns America for 450 to 600 . Get one you will never regret it.

I was all cranked up to buy one - found a dealer near me that had a couple 7-08s.........., while looking 'em over, I noticed the barrel on both was stamped "7mm-08 Winchester" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />. At that point, I lost interest and later found something else I had to have.

I own a BLR 81 in .308 ...no function problem yet...handy rifle, esp. with peep sites ..but to my eye they are by far the UGLIEST lever action made...cheers mic

I have to say that I think they are one of the best rifles made. I have never had any problems with any of mine!

I also own a pair of Winchester 88's and a mitt full of Savage 99's, I like the BLR's for the bush work. Of these three lever models the Winchester 88's are the most troublesome. And the Savage 99's are the heaviest.

Nice looking collection. Personally the look of a straight stock BLR is very apealing. guess I just had a lemon.

I have owned a Browning BLR since 1978 in the 358 Win caliber. I has been the best damn gun a man could want. I have not had any mechanical problems with it. And, my brothers, I have hunted very hard with it. It is now scratched, chipped, and weathered. But, it will still shoot a 1 to 1.5 inch group at 100 yards with the proper ammo. For years I used the Winchester Silver Tip in the 200 gr. It was not a very good round for my gun. I then had a loader in Arizona start loading some 200 gr Barnes psp for me and I am not sure of the powder and such, but the gun now is a real tack driver.

I love my browning BLR.

Shot my blr81 .358 a few days ago with 53gr 0f 748 and ..250 speer's, got a 3 shot one hole group most times it runs 3/4
Also did a little comparing of fit and speed with my model 88 win.,savage99 and marlin 336. The blr is the fastest and smoother than any of the others. But, the 88 win. just fits like a glove, I find the blr a little butt heavy. But, hell would freeze ove before I let this one go ! I've shot 17 bears,one moose and 2 elk with it, bang, flop !

Thanks for an informative topic. I really like my .308 Lightning BLR, as it is an excellent fit and shoots very well, but I have not yet subjected it to hard field use.

I have a BL-22 rimfire I bought new and dearly love that little rifle. I recently bought a model 92 BL in 357 mag that just fit me like a glove. I have never heard of anyone having problems with Browning levers??? Not saying they have not had any, just have not encountered anyone who has said they did. Is this a problem on any specific models?

Dave

I bought an older (used) .358 steel receiver BLR about a year ago. It has the extended magazine. I really do not like that magazine. It seems to get in the way when carying the rifle, and can be a bit noisy if hit the wrong way. I have a 1.5-5x Leupold on it. That rifle will shoot under an inch all day, every day. It is slowly becoming one of my go to rifles. I bought it with the intention of selling it if it's accuracy was not up to my standards. Man, I was blown away with what that little rifle can do. So far I have taken a 150 lb hog and an 8 point whitetail with it. I am in the process of purchasing another steel receiver BLR in 358 that has the flush magazine. If that shoots as well as the one I have, I may sell the older one. BTW, I have never had a problem with mine or ever heard of any problems. I did have a Belgium made BLR .308 (1st year of production) that did not shoot anywhere near as accurate as my .358.

I have been shooting a Browning blr for a number of years.I gave my winchester 88 to my son in law! I am an olld man but hope I live long enough to own a Sako Lever action.I missed the only one I have seen in a shop.It is so slick it is like sticking your finger you know where.

My three steel framed BLR's are not for sale. Bought the drop magazine .308 used in '74. Guess that's when I quit using bolts. The '81s in .257 and .223 came later. Never a malfunction and the way they shoot...

Bought a NIB Lightning 7 mag yesterday. Looking forward to it's arrival. To me that rounded pistol grip and forearm are as graceful as a lever gun gets. My intention is to rebarrel/chamber this rifle in .416 Taylor for Alaska. I think I'll do some testing on it first. This is the first of these sort of problems I have heard of in this rifle. I contacted a firm that customizes and rebores/rebarrels lever guns to big bore configurations, and no mention was made of any reliability issues. Were the brass bushings aftermarket parts, or 'smith-made?

Those "stainless" BLR's are aluminum with a special finish. I saw one the other day chambered in WSM.

I have a new BLR in 358, shoots wonderful! Its my whitetail medicine for woods hunting. I use Sierra 225 gr with RL7 not too hot. It's a pleasure to shoot.

Spot

[img]http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/biljaxrep/detail?.dir=f332&.dnm=4b25.jpg&.src=ph[/img]


This is my BLR in 223 after a bit of fun