Browning blr-81
- Thread starter darkman
- Start date
RememberTheSomme
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
Wow.
.300 WM in a BLR. I had the BLR .308 from 1987 till 3 months ago and could say nothing bad except the heavy trigger. Killed most of my deer over the years with it, and I usually sit with a .270 FWT or 7mmRem Mag.
To go to that long range, large game caliber, I don't see where the combination is an advantage or good mating. If the BLR magnums group like the .308Win does, then the accuracy potential through the pencil barrel and heavy trigger/stock ergonomics may limit you to ranges where a 7mm/08(did I just type that) or .308WIN is doing enough of a job anyhow.
I guess if it has to be a lever for you, and you don't mind the longer, heavier Rifle, than what is a traditional lever carbine to most, it will deliver alot of penetration and shock on Very Large game inside the practical accuracy range of the platform. I never owned the .300 but it to me is one of the greatest Cartridges of the second half of the 20th century(just behing the Big 7 of course....hmmm...)
Kinda makes me feel like you want to carry a Rifle like the old Winchester1895 in .30-06 or .303British.
.300 WM in a BLR. I had the BLR .308 from 1987 till 3 months ago and could say nothing bad except the heavy trigger. Killed most of my deer over the years with it, and I usually sit with a .270 FWT or 7mmRem Mag.
To go to that long range, large game caliber, I don't see where the combination is an advantage or good mating. If the BLR magnums group like the .308Win does, then the accuracy potential through the pencil barrel and heavy trigger/stock ergonomics may limit you to ranges where a 7mm/08(did I just type that) or .308WIN is doing enough of a job anyhow.
I guess if it has to be a lever for you, and you don't mind the longer, heavier Rifle, than what is a traditional lever carbine to most, it will deliver alot of penetration and shock on Very Large game inside the practical accuracy range of the platform. I never owned the .300 but it to me is one of the greatest Cartridges of the second half of the 20th century(just behing the Big 7 of course....hmmm...)
Kinda makes me feel like you want to carry a Rifle like the old Winchester1895 in .30-06 or .303British.
Had one in 30-06. It is a lighter gun and therefore will tend to pack a bit of a whallup.
My biggest issue was with the mags themselves. I bought my rifle new and it came with a mag. I ordered two additional Browning factory originals and life was supposed to be good. One functioned ok, but the other was useless in that it would misfeed and jam almost continually. Yes, it was stamped correctly for the caliber. I took out the calipers and found there were measurement differences between the mags that worked and the one that did not. The one that worked very well also had different measurements than the one that was so-so.
At $60 a pop, I ended up buying two more mags that worked fine. As a shooter, it was pretty good. The trigger was a little stiff, but hey, I shoot an M14, so that was not an issue for me. The rifle now resides with my son.
My biggest issue was with the mags themselves. I bought my rifle new and it came with a mag. I ordered two additional Browning factory originals and life was supposed to be good. One functioned ok, but the other was useless in that it would misfeed and jam almost continually. Yes, it was stamped correctly for the caliber. I took out the calipers and found there were measurement differences between the mags that worked and the one that did not. The one that worked very well also had different measurements than the one that was so-so.
At $60 a pop, I ended up buying two more mags that worked fine. As a shooter, it was pretty good. The trigger was a little stiff, but hey, I shoot an M14, so that was not an issue for me. The rifle now resides with my son.
Personally if I were in the market for a .300 magnum I would go with a bolt. Much better trigger, more accurate than a two piece stock, more weight out front for steadier offhand shooting. As well as less fussy about overall cartridge length and full length resizing if you reload. With familiarity, a bolt can be just as fast as a lever in AIMED fire. BLR's are difficult to tear down and reassemble but this is not required unless it's broken. A gunsmith friend of mine makes a fair bit of money and suffers more than a few headaches from guys who simply MUST take it apart and end up in a jam.
I would suspect "ouch" to the recoil! My youngest son had one in 30-06, he did not like the recoil there, so it's long gone. I love BLR's, but only short action ones. The long action ones seem to be monsters in my hands. 7mm-08 and or 308 should do you fine. A buddy just bought a new BLR in 270. He likes it very much. But then again, he didn't even twitch when he test fired my oldest son's 458 Lott, and even asked for a second round!
- Location
- Haliburton County, Central Ontario
I like the rifle very much (have one in .270 WSM) and the .300 caliber as well, but not together I'm afraid. The recoil from the .300 Win Mag in the lightweight BLR would render this combination a non starter from my perspective. Recoil in my gun ranges from 15 to 19 lb/ft compared to the .300 Win Mag at 24 to 33 lb/ft. Where's the fun, or the accuracy, in that? Most of the newer BLRs you see on the EE are in the bigger calibers and I think I may know why this is A heavier bolt action is the way to go with the Win Mag if you need this much caliber. IMHO.
A heavier bolt action is the way to go with the Win Mag if you need this much caliber. IMHO.
You are getting some good advice here.
I have owned several dozen BLRs, or probably more than that. Anyways, I find ALL of the long action BLRs to be "clunky" and, like my buddy two dogs, I would not hunt with any BLR but a short action. My go-to deer rifle for about thirty years has been a BLR 81 in .308 Win - in other words, I got one pretty soon after they came out (in 1981) and never swapped it away. My longest deer kill with it was right around 400 yards, from a prone position at an unmolested and stationary deer. Almost all BLRs will give you 1.5 moa accuracy for THREE SHOTS and some do better. Almost all BLRs heat up and string any shots after a third one, and a typical five shot group is 2.5 to 3.0 moa, still well within hunting accuracy but not benchrest by any stretch of the imagination.
If you want to shoot a magnum rifle, I very strongly suggest a bolt gun.
HTH
Doug
I have owned several dozen BLRs, or probably more than that. Anyways, I find ALL of the long action BLRs to be "clunky" and, like my buddy two dogs, I would not hunt with any BLR but a short action. My go-to deer rifle for about thirty years has been a BLR 81 in .308 Win - in other words, I got one pretty soon after they came out (in 1981) and never swapped it away. My longest deer kill with it was right around 400 yards, from a prone position at an unmolested and stationary deer. Almost all BLRs will give you 1.5 moa accuracy for THREE SHOTS and some do better. Almost all BLRs heat up and string any shots after a third one, and a typical five shot group is 2.5 to 3.0 moa, still well within hunting accuracy but not benchrest by any stretch of the imagination.
If you want to shoot a magnum rifle, I very strongly suggest a bolt gun.
HTH
Doug
