Blaser Rifles?

Twisted Canuck

Twisted Canuck

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Just curious if anyone has a Blaser Rifle, either in R8 or R93? I'm completely unfamiliar with them, never seen one up close and personal, but been reading a bit on them and might consider acquiring one down the road (like after I recover from the shock of paying my flippin property tax, :mad: which actually may not be for a year or two.....).

Anyway, I'd like to hear about first hand experience with the rifle, not particularily concerned about the chambering and such, just generally on rifle quality, build, action, warranty, 'fit' etc.
Thanks for the input in advance. TC
 
One of the best. I have owned many. Winchester (levers and bolts), Many bloody Remingtons, Ruger, Tikka, Sako, TC (seriously overrated), Marlin, several Savages (even the target trigger), a Tavor, an XCR... bla bla bla. So you can see I buy and sell and trade many. My R93 will not or ever be sold.

Simply put, its amazing. with the normal weight .308 barrel I can shoot clover leafs all day. The trigger beats the accutrigger badly, and everyone I've let try it says it's the best trigger they have ever tried. You can take off the scope, and it returns to perfect zero every time. Enough so that I've shot deer at 487 after putting the scope back on. I can go on and on over the rifle. The engineering and finish are amazing. Mind you I only have the synthetic model, because I didn't want to have to worry about the wood finish.

Anyway, PM me if you want any specific info. I think I have some photos if you want. I have a .308 and a .257 Weatherby barrel for it. Getting a .375 to round off the collection. The problem with the gun, is it spoils you, nothing else is good enough after.....
 
Straight Pull Question

I never saw a Blaser except in pictures.

But a few years ago, I was on a flight full of Yankee hunters going to Nunavut to kill critters. The 'good old boys' all had Swarovski scopes and Blaser rifles. When I remarked on the merits of leupolds and Winchesters, I thought they might throw me off the plane. Apparently, people with money choose the Blaser.

I since bought a Swarovski scope, but I have never even seen a Blaser in the flesh. How does it feel working a straight pull? I own a Ross and I must say I prefer a turn bolt. My Ross is very stiff and jerky. Is the Blaser the same?
 
I handled one twice and think the action is a pretty slick design. The bolt handle swivels rearward and locks foward. I think the last time I was in Canadian Tire on Maclead trail in Calgary they had a synthetic version but that was awhile back. It's also a switch barrel design which is rather useless for a guy like me where I may be able to afford the rifle but not another barrel. :p

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I've shot them and handled quite a few, from the first ones to the newer.

They're very well built and should be for the price. The problem I can foresee is that it would have to be my only gun, as I always wanted to pull up on the bolt in the traditional fashion.

The mechanism of the bolt is pretty complicated with rails and such. I've heard a couple of African PH's complain about malfunctions and stiff actions when they get dirt or sand in theirs.

I suppose the advantage is the ability to change calibers with just a bbl. and bolt head changeover. I've found the cocking mechanism a bit goofy as well.

Just my $.02 :)
 
I used a borrowed one in Germany to shoot a couple of Roe deer and a couple of pigs. I found it to be a very well built rifle. My friend is a forester for the City of Cologne, they are not wealthy people but he and all his work mates shoot Blasers, they consider them to be the best rifle made in Germany. The trigger on his was soft and creepy, I'm sure it just needed adjustment. The only other fault I could find with it was the plastic magazine feed fingers. I'm sure the magazine parts are strong enough, but seemed cheap on a $4000 rifle. The bolt is very smooth to operate.
They are an ideal rifle for driven game hunts. I've considered selling a half dozen lesser rifles and buying one Blaser with two barrels, but I like fooling around with many different rifles so the Blaser will have to wait for now...
IMG_2528.jpg
 
I've never owned or even used a Blaser, but i saw and handled one at the Sportsmans show in T.O. many years ago, the action seemed sloppy, there was alot of wear apparent(at least to me), there seemed to be alot of visible wear on the front part of the bolt, which were more like little "fingers". I asked the Blaser Rep about it and he said it was because it was a demo model, so I don't know if this is typical of a used Blaser!
 
Very well made, over engineered European ...stuff

zIf that appeals to you, go for it. It won't bring game home any better than anything else.:p
 
I appreciate all the feedback, thanks for the PM you sent with the link CreamySmooth.

I guess what I keep coming back to is that I'm an old fashioned bolt guy. While I do like to try new things from time to time, the cost of the Blaser seems pretty stiff to me, besides which I don't even know where I could buy one.... Seems like I can buy a nice stainless/laminate Sako and put a Swaro scope on it with rings, sling and bipod, buy a hundred rounds of premium ammo....and come out about the price of the Blaser. (thats for a particular .308 Sako I was looking at today, mmmmmm).

I still like to try one someday though, just to actually compare.
 
Funny, all I ever read is negative stuff on these, yet every person that handles mine goes away impressed or wanting one. I got my synthetic for about 2100 bucks new at the Yorkton Home Hardware. The actual distributors in Canada is R. Nichols.

People who complain they prefer a " turn bolt" haven't fired one. It's very natural and takes minimal adjustment. The only part I had to adjust to was not having to dismount to charge and fire again. Very fast.

I figure good ol' Van Zwoll calls it one of his favorites, and the most significant advance in bolt rifle design since the original Mauser. There is no rotational forces on the case, there is no feed ramp (what are feeding fingers?) there is no connection point from barrel to action, and the "searless" trigger design does not allow sloppy triggers... There can be no take up on the trigger because of the design. This trigger is off.... And then it's on. No middle ground.To this day, I cannot judge when it will break, it's always a surprise and that's always good for accuracy.

Anyway, in Alberta, the shooting centre in the west ed mall usually has a few. Check one out there, but they are always way overpriced.

It's a technological advancement. And it works.
 
A few years ago, the local gunshop had 2 R93 offroads on the shelf in 300wsm, they were about $2100 at the time. The only that stopped me from getting one was that there isnt a 280 rem barrel avaiable for it.
 
I've got two receivers (one in a synthetic stock, one in wood), a couple of barrels and a couple of scope mounts. Exceptionally accurate, outstanding trigger action and feel, absolutely perfect return-to-zero after removing and replacing barrel, bolt carrier and scope mount. If you don't see a need for barrel/caliber interchangeability, then what value do you place on a takedown rifle that packs down into a ridiculously short package for travel, then goes back together in less than a minute, ready to shoot? Left- and right-hand bolt interchangeability in case you share the gun with a lefty...like I do with my wife. Ten minutes of practice and you are working the bolt faster than any one will ever work a standard bolt action. The "goofy" safety allows you to carry the rifle with a round in the chamber in total safety, cocking the gun as you raise it to shoot.

Sadly, yes, they are not cheap, or easy to find. I've never needed service so far so can't address that aspect. The R8 and R93 are apparently not sharing barrels and bolts, so that might raise concerns about the longevity of the R93 factory support, although Blaser claims that it will continue with both guns for the foreseeable future.

If you go with the Blaser, I would recommend the American-style straight stock over the Euro-hump. I've shot both, and find that recoil is much more comfortable with the straight stock.
 
2 of ,my friends shoot them, one has the tactical thing, he never seems to miss with it. The other chap has serious collecting issues and lots of different barrels and stocks. He cant get enough of them and is constantling trawling web sites to buy used ones to make into rigs for specific tasks. Thats the beauty of them, you can swop bits about and being a left hander is no hindrance!
 
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