Thoughts on the various modern straight pull rifles from Blaser, Merkel, Sauer etc?

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Northern Shooter

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I've never owned a straight pull rifle but I'm starting to see the appeal in these modern offerings from Blaser, Merkel, Sauer, Beretta etc. That slick action seems ideal for quick follow up shots when every second counts.

It looks like this style of rifle has really caught on in Germany/Austria in recent decades, especially for use during driven hunts.

I know that the Blaser R8 is the golden standard for these modern straight pull rifles but it has a price to reflect that. I see the appeal in having the switch barrel multi-caliber options with the R8, do many others offer this same feature?

I'm particularly interested in the Merkel Helix platform. Having that in a medium bore like 338 WinMag running irons would be just the ticket.

How does the Merkel Helix and others like the Sauer 404 and Beretta BRX1 stack up to the Blaser? Is the Blaser R93 still worth consideration?
 
I can see straight pulls becoming the wave of the future especially with all the restrictions on semi autos - very fast to operate without the usual restrictions on mag capacity.
 
PSE said:
I can see straight pulls becoming the wave of the future especially with all the restrictions on semi autos - very fast to operate without the usual restrictions on mag capacity.
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Fair point very Euro (and Canadian) friendly. From what I'm seeing some of these utilize detached mags but generally with a capacity or 3-4.
 
The majority of straight pulls seem to have a very long bolt travel, almost hitting you in the cheek while working the bolt with the rifle on your shoulder. From what I’ve seen the Merkel has the shortest travel as the bolt does not exit the rear of the receiver. BUT they use a type of camming action to get the short bolt throw. This is another problem because if you get a stuck case there is next to no leverage to free the action due to the design. So not as friendly if using reloads. I’ve handled a Merkel Helix at Wolverine Supplies, loved the short bolt throw, but the lack of leverage in event of a stuck case worries me.
 
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The sauer 404 is a conventional turn bolt gun with “easy” barrel changes, the sauer 505 is the new version The beretta=stoeger, I’d rather have a acera, (Quick change calibers straight pull or not aren’t successful in the North American market, it’s been failure after failure, with the exception of the blaser r8

The r8 is the only one with easily available barrels and parts.

The dead list, sauer 200/202, 404, r93 (internet pictures of blow ups killed it).
Cz600, helix=Wolverine supplies (they ran from this site with their tail between legs)
 
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Yes 200, 202, ssg3000, sauer 200 STR essentially all the same gun mechanically (think sako m995 vs sako TRG). Don’t buy the savage it would be like buying a Chinese tourbillon if your into watches.

The 200 came in two action sizes same as the 202 which was also available in an alum receiver. You have to stay in the same caliber family when switching calibers. On the 202, the bolt for the 243 and the 22-250 only had 3 lugs instead of the usual 6. I think this was for feeding reasons
 
Lots of people prefer the r98 over the r8, they say it is lighter and the ergonomics are better!
I don’t know! I like the Merkel on paper, I never handled one so take that for what it’s worth! The browning Maral is the fastest straight pull on the market right now!
 
^yes it’s better but having a bolt getting driven into your eye would make a lot of people apprehensive. If you do some reading the Australian? military had broken petals on some of their sniper rifles. if your into hand loading forget about any of em
 
I've owned three Blasers. Never did I require a rapid follow-up shot with the Blasers, nor any other bolt action rifle. I purchased the Blaser because it was unique, however I disliked the cocking safety fiture along with the high priced barrels. I did not find them any more accurate than quality turnbolts. The last Blaser I traded for a beautiful Cooper Custom Classic and never looked back. Yes, the quality is there, however; over priced along with their components, the fast action of the bolt was never required, a sales gimmick. Sorry, one of the Blaser's was the S2 Double rifle, the other two were bolt actions.
 
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I think for the majority of our hunting style in Canada a straight pull isn’t really an advantage, like track I never needed a super fast follow up shot, or at least fast enough to require a semi or straight pull! If you plan on hunting wild bore in Europe, that is quite different, but again lots of hunters out there use good “old” bolt action rifle with great success!
I always wanted a straight pull for the novelty of it, but I prefer simplicity now! Oh and I have a great browning bar 30-06 so fast follow shot can be done with that!!
 
That’s the thing, for most of us myself included the style of hunting we do over here rarely requires a lightning fast second shot. Now in Europe where driven hunts are very common it would be a must to have fast repeated shots, especially when boar hunting. In all my years of big game hunting I don’t ever remember needing a fast second shot. You choose your shots and do your best to make the first one count and usually thats all it takes. I think straight pulls are cool too but are more of a novelty than anything. Also you’d be surprised how fast some people can fire a regular turn bolt action.
 
^driving deer with dogs is still common in central Ontario, same with using dogs to chase coyotes, not sure what the regs are in other provinces
 
DGY said:
I think for the majority of our hunting style in Canada a straight pull isn’t really an advantage, like track I never needed a super fast follow up shot, or at least fast enough to require a semi or straight pull! If you plan on hunting wild bore in Europe, that is quite different, but again lots of hunters out there use good “old” bolt action rifle with great success!
I always wanted a straight pull for the novelty of it, but I prefer simplicity now! Oh and I have a great browning bar 30-06 so fast follow shot can be done with that!!
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He talks about the two versions of the acera which is basically a manual browning bar
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GhABWdIx8bk&pp=ygUOQnJvd25pbmcgYWNlcmE=
 
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