Browning BLR 81 in .284 Win....What Would You do?

Tabacco Brook

Tabacco Brook

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I picked up a 1989, (steel receiver), BLR 81 .284 Winchester last night. The over all condition of the rifle is about 85-90%, no rust or pitting, ....bluing on the barrel is at 98%,...bluing on receiver is at 85% and lever is at 80%. The stock has a few dings in the glassy finish, and the forend only has a couple miner light scratches in the finish on the bottom. Long story short,..it was a hunting rifle and has the usual nicks, dings and blue wear from being carried. THE BORE IS MINT.
I think I got a pretty good deal on it,...I got it for $450 with a box of ammo,...the ammo is $70 per box, so that brings the price of the rifle down to $380,..I thought it was a good deal for the .284win.
Anyway,....I can't decide what I should do with it,..... Should I try to sell it at a higher price and make a few dollars,...should I keep it and have it professionally refinished and store it away as a keep sake,...or should I leave it as is and continue its life as a hunter,.....what would you do?

p.s. I handload so ammo is not a problem.
 
Tabacco Brook said:
I picked up a 1989, (steel receiver), BLR 81 .284 Winchester last night. The over all condition of the rifle is about 85-90%, no rust or pitting, ....bluing on the barrel is at 98%,...bluing on receiver is at 85% and lever is at 80%. The stock has a few dings in the glassy finish, and the forend only has a couple miner light scratches in the finish on the bottom. Long story short,..it was a hunting rifle and has the usual nicks, dings and blue wear from being carried. THE BORE IS MINT.
I think I got a pretty good deal on it,...I got it for $450 with a box of ammo,...the ammo is $70 per box, so that brings the price of the rifle down to $380,..I thought it was a good deal for the .284win.
Anyway,....I can't decide what I should do with it,..... Should I try to sell it at a higher price and make a few dollars,...should I keep it and have it professionally refinished and store it away as a keep sake,...or should I leave it as is and continue its life as a hunter,.....what would you do?

p.s. I handload so ammo is not a problem.
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You can do all those things if you do them in the right order.
 
I have one of those, and it is my go-to deer rifle. Use it and enjoy. As Looky said, if it has the see through mounts, loose them.
I doubt that you could recover your costs if you had it professionally re-done
 
Right on guys. I think I'll probably hang on to it and use it as is for awhile,.. and then if I like it I might get it refurbished. A new stock and forend will cost over $300,.. plus what ever a good blue job will cost,...so as "jtsudbury" said recovering all money invested is not likely to happen, but that's OK I'll just hand it down to my boys with the rest of my keepers.
There is no see through mounts on it, nor will there ever be on it or any of my other guns either, lol. It will probably get a low as possible mounted 2-7x33 Leupold or Redfeild,...that's what I have on my 358 BLR and its a good set up.

Thanks guys.
 
I think you got a killer deal. The cartridge is very capable, the rifle could be sold for a profit, but nothing of equal value would replaced it even if it the profit was realized. And then what, you must have appreciation for that style of rifle or you would have passed it up and gone onto other things. So to me the answer is obvious, keep the rifle, enjoy it as is, or if your preference is to have it refinished (a nice oil finish is better than shinny plastic anyway) do that, shoot the hell out of it, and use it as it was intended to be used. The BLRs don't really do it for me, but it's slim profile makes it a dream to carry, better in that regard than the Winchester 88 or the Savage 99, and it has a better trigger to boot. Mounting a low power variable scope like the 2-7X will enhance it's versatility.
 
Boomer said:
I think you got a killer deal. The cartridge is very capable, the rifle could be sold for a profit, but nothing of equal value would replaced it even if it the profit was realized. And then what, you must have appreciation for that style of rifle or you would have passed it up and gone onto other things. So to me the answer is obvious, keep the rifle, enjoy it as is, or if your preference is to have it refinished (a nice oil finish is better than shinny plastic anyway) do that, shoot the hell out of it, and use it as it was intended to be used. The BLRs don't really do it for me, but it's slim profile makes it a dream to carry, better in that regard than the Winchester 88 or the Savage 99, and it has a better trigger to boot. Mounting a low power variable scope like the 2-7X will enhance it's versatility.
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;)BUM will get you for that.
Laugh2
 
Boomer said:
I think you got a killer deal. The cartridge is very capable, the rifle could be sold for a profit, but nothing of equal value would replaced it even if it the profit was realized. And then what, you must have appreciation for that style of rifle or you would have passed it up and gone onto other things. So to me the answer is obvious, keep the rifle, enjoy it as is, or if your preference is to have it refinished (a nice oil finish is better than shinny plastic anyway) do that, shoot the hell out of it, and use it as it was intended to be used. The BLRs don't really do it for me, but it's slim profile makes it a dream to carry, better in that regard than the Winchester 88 or the Savage 99, and it has a better trigger to boot. Mounting a low power variable scope like the 2-7X will enhance it's versatility.
Click to expand...

I knew it.......................... butt I darzs'int type such ginch bern'in werds.
Yew da MAN.............. :wave:
 
bushwhacker said:
Try shooting it and see if you think you can live with the trigger horibbillus heavyyus.
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I don't think the trigger will be a problem,..I don't mind the trigger on my 358 BLR, so I doubt/hope this one will be much different. I have hunted with older guns with heavier triggers longer than I have with newer guns with better triggers so I am not picky about triggers. The 284 will be used for hunting at close to medium ranges, and not shot at paper too much.
 
You made a great deal. The problem is unless you handload it is very expensive to shoot and at the end of the day it's still a BLR. Nice handy deer rifle but you can get the exact same results with a .308 or 7mm08 which cost way less to shoot. There is always a collector value to any rifle in .284 so I would max out my profit and buy something like a 7600 or more conventional BLR. Deer and moose won't be offended. Then again if you like to collect guns, this has some collector value.
 
linderhof said:
You made a great deal. The problem is unless you handload it is very expensive to shoot and at the end of the day it's still a BLR. Nice handy deer rifle but you can get the exact same results with a .308 or 7mm08 which cost way less to shoot. There is always a collector value to any rifle in .284 so I would max out my profit and buy something like a 7600 or more conventional BLR. Deer and moose won't be offended. Then again if you like to collect guns, this has some collector value.
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There is a significant difference in powder capacity between the 7-08 and the .284, and there is no reason to think you wouldn't see .280 Remington or .280 AI performance from the .284. For those who are about to say that there's no difference between 7-08 and .280 performance, you're not trying hard enough. The .280 will send a 160 at the same velocity that the 7-08 sends a 140, and based on powder capacity, so should the .284.
 
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