Cheap Browning BLR... should I?

Hessian

Hessian

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To sum it up I'm fairley new to firearms but since eating moose and elk a few years ago for the first time I've been looking to get into hunting for some time. So I told a friend (an avid hunter trapper)to keep an eye out for any hunting rifles he may find for sale. Yesterday he told me he came across a .308 Browning Model 81 (also called a BLR from what I've heard) with a 3-9x40 simmons scope for $350. Says its in good shape clean, no rust, still has blueing, just a ding on the butt and some minor scratches. Its been sitting in a safe for the last 17 years, before that it only saw acouple years of use.
I trust my friends judgment, he says its a good deal so I'm pretty convinced. He just doesn't know much about it. So thought I'd ask here and see what people have to say about this rifle based on first hand experience.

EDIT: Well I bought it. I found out the former owner passed away 17 years ago and his wife is moving soon which explains the time in storage and price. My friend who looked at it said the magazine was fully loaded the entire time so I imagine that will need fixing, hopefully its not too big a deal. Now I just need to find a weekend to go pick it up due to the 6hr drive; never been to the Okanagan. Should be a fun little road trip! Thanks for the feedback everyone
 
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There are those who like BLRs. I don't. That is based on having to work on ones brought into my gunsmithing shop. I consider them to be mechanical mousetraps. However if you want one, that sounds like a good buy, and as suggested, use the scope that is on it, unless there is a problem when you test the rifle. If you are going to replace the scope, factor that cost into the deal.
 
If you are going to shoot a lever they are the best of all generally very accurate they have a strong bolt system the triggers are okay i have owned a 243 and a 308 with the wright hand load i have shot 1'' groups .$350 is a steal upgrading the scope would be a good idea.
 
If it is what the info says it is, yep, get it.
You should be able to $$ up if you decide you don't like the action
or the rifle itself.
Maybe take a seasoned rifle nut with you to go over it.
Good luck, hope it works out for you.
 
tiriaq said:
There are those who like BLRs. I don't. That is based on having to work on ones brought into my gunsmithing shop. I consider them to be mechanical mousetraps. However if you want one, that sounds like a good buy, and as suggested, use the scope that is on it, unless there is a problem when you test the rifle. If you are going to replace the scope, factor that cost into the deal.
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Not trying to stir the pot, but I have issues when people say "don't change the scope unless there is a problem when you test the rifle." An el cheapo simmons may work just fine at the range, when a gun is handled carefully. The same scope could easily fail in the field where it will be likely that it will see harder use. Of course you won't know the zero on your cheap scope has shifted until you miss your shot at an animal.

Although any scope can fail, those cheap POS scopes will fail long before quality glass. Spend the money, or shoot irons.
 
Not to stir the pot, but Simmons has marketed a lot of different scope models for quite a number of years. When they first appeared, I sold quite a few through my little shop in the Arctic. Equipment there is used hard. Don't recall one being brought back broken.
I did find out early on that there was no point selling the promotional line of scopes offered by most makers. These would fail. Lower priced variables in particular would be returned.
To suggest that all these scopes are POS junk isn't meaningful.
 
I have a BLR in .308 and i would put it up against any other lever out there, and even some bolt rifles. It seems the bolt rotates into battery like closing a bolt action when you close it, so this may be why it's more accurate than you may be used to with a lever. Plus, the detatchable mag is a huge bonus. Even if it needed a total re-blue and stock refinish, i'd jump on that for $350.

Words of the wise: Be careful with the scope. I've got a bell 3-9x40 on mine, and the eye relief is a little too short. If i get in close enough to get a good sight picture, the scope JUST touches my glasses on firing.
 
If I were you I'd be all over that. I kick myself when I had the chance to purchase a new one for $650. regrets!
 
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Yes give the scope to someone you don't like or back over it with a truck.It never ceases to amaze me how people will willingly drop a grand for a gun and put on a $50 scope?Harold
 
BLR in 308 very good rifle and accurate at 350 if it's clean and work good... wow take it and a simmons scope is ok if you dont shoot 300 rounds a year... JP.
 
That is a rare good deal for a Browning BLR, unless there is something wrong with it. Sitting in a safe hardly used for 17 years is a plausible explanation for the seller offering it at such a low price. And .308Winchester is a very good all purpose big game cartridge.

As long as it isn't broken, you should buy it. If you use it a bit and find that you don't care for the cartridge, or for lever-actions generally, or BLRs in particular, it will not be hard to sell it quickly, probably for a bit more than it will have cost you.

Don't worry about the scope. It may be not very good, as several people have warned, but at that price you are still doing well, and it may turn out to be as good as the ones tiriaq mentioned.
 
If you are going to replace the magazine, hope that the rifle is a Post 81 BLR with the new style mag. Finding the Pre-81 is getting more difficult with each passing year.
Tiriaq is correct, some Simmons scopes are of good quality especially when they first entered the market.
 
Why would he have to replace the magazine? I would have thought a new spring would do the trick if it is in fact damaged. As far as i know, properly tempered springs wear out not from being under compression for long periods of time (think of the shocks on your car sitting and not being driven) but from many compression/decompression cycles that work hardens the spring?
 
Hessian said:
...My friend who looked at it said the magazine was fully loaded the entire time so I imagine that will need fixing, hopefully its not too big a deal...
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I'm not saying he has to replace the entire magazine, but most people will look for a complete mag instead of just a spring. In the event he tries to replace the mag, my advice stands.
 
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