Blaser or Sako?

[NickJ]

I have a milestone birthday in a few months which coincides with my renewal so have decided to treat my self, my only centre fire rifle is a Sako 85 in .243 which I really like and has served me well.
I really fancy a blaser but not sure if it’s worth the extra money or is it all just hype? If I were to go for the Sako it would definitely be a carbon wolf and if a blaser more than likely an R8 Ulitimate.
im not looking for the old “I have a Blaser and it’s the best rifle in the world” but more the positives versus the negatives and if anyone had owned both that would be even better. Likewise I don’t need to hear “I have something else and it’s much better than a Sako or Blaser so you should get that instead”
Give me your thoughts guys

I own two Sako 85s, and had a third generation sako forester handed down. Never an issue and out of the box accuracy amazing.

I borrowed a Blaser once. All I can say is that after 35 years of working a 'normal' bolt I couldn't get my head/muscle memory around a straight pull and it actually slowed my reloading.

I know people who love their Blasers and cycle them quickly for driven boar but as you mentioned .243 that won't be a consideration so I can't see the advantage of a straight pull for static game. They feel they are very accurate.

Some PH's in Africa will not have Blaser's on Dangerous Game after higher than normal jamming issues generally down to not proper recycling of the bolt, again not an issue with .243 though.

If you are going to switch barrels/calibres then obviously that's a plus for Blaser.

 

[zambezi]

Some PH's in Africa will not have Blaser's on Dangerous Game

I know two PHs that run with Blaser rigs for DG.

I have hunted buffalo with Ian Brown, the posterboy of the Blaser promo below. He carried a Blaser R8 in .500 Jefferey. It is the rifle he choses to carry in front of DG. I.e. this is not just sales imagery.

 

[Pkiernan]

My R8 shoots 140 grain Sako 270 rounds under 1 inch at 200m consistently, and 130 grain Fiocchis the same, just 2 inches higher.

The only downside is its weight, but a good slingmakes this much more bearable.
I enjoy hunting much more knowing that my rifle will hit its target.

I had a different make that would group great, but throw the odd flier 6 inches off, which always added stress and caused self doubt.

The repeatability of the Blaser aftern cleaning and reassembly is priceless to me.

 

[DEVONDEER]

I have a milestone birthday in a few months which coincides with my renewal so have decided to treat my self, my only centre fire rifle is a Sako 85 in .243 which I really like and has served me well.
I really fancy a blaser but not sure if it’s worth the extra money or is it all just hype? If I were to go for the Sako it would definitely be a carbon wolf and if a blaser more than likely an R8 Ulitimate.
im not looking for the old “I have a Blaser and it’s the best rifle in the world” but more the positives versus the negatives and if anyone had owned both that would be even better. Likewise I don’t need to hear “I have something else and it’s much better than a Sako or Blaser so you should get that instead”
Give me your thoughts guys

Also treated myself to a birthday present
Went Blaser pro creedmoor
With left hand stock/ bolt
Extremely accurate and great to shoot

 

[Milligan]

I think the key point of the blaser is being overlooked and that is the switch barrel.
Once you have a rifle you can get additional barrels in the bolt face family for not a lot of money, certainly less than the cost of another sako, and you have a very consistent experience.

As to comments on the trigger, the blaser trigger on either r93 or r8 has never been something that I have really been aware of or thought about. Every sako I have had (four), I have adjusted.

 

[DavyG]

I looked at s20 hunter as second rifle no comparison quality wise to my R8 but at about half the price it's an option

I too looked at an S20 to replace a rifle. It felt like I'd be taking a "step down" changing my Finnlight 2 for one....
Off topic, but there you have it.
DG

 

[Steff]

Two reasons I prefer Blaser over Sako:

1. ) You can take the Blaser apart after a wet day, dry it, clean it, put it back together and you are 100% good to go again. A Sako will need a serious bedding job to be done aftermarket in order to be able to to this - and even then ...

2. ) The Blaser Service in Germany is second to none, while the Sako/Tikka service is a disaster.

Switch barrels and modularity are also very nice add-ons for me.

 

[Beretta shooter]

Thanks again for all the reply’s guys.
my new rifle will be in a larger calibre than my .243 and that will become my fox/roe rifle.
If I go down the Sako route it certainly won’t be the S20 route, only option would be the carbon wolf.
a very valid point about stripping the blaser down for cleaning and drying, one I hadn’t really given much thought.
also thankfully my Sako has been nothing but reliable and accurate but good to hear how good the blaser customer care is!
thanks again BS

 

[User00040]

Tikka or Howa.

You won't lose anything by choosing these makes, in fact you will probably kill more deer as you'll spend more time and money stalking instead...

 

[JH83]

Tikka or Howa.

You won't lose anything by choosing these makes, in fact you will probably kill more deer as you'll spend more time and money stalking instead...

They weren’t among the OP’s options though

Does anyone else feel uneasy about the trigger/mag assembly being removed all the time? Has this lead to reliability issues, with dirt ingress? Either way there’s no remit to carry a spare mag....can blasers be top loaded?

 

[User00040]

They weren’t among the OP’s options though

but should be!

Does anyone else feel uneasy about the trigger/mag assembly being removed all the time? Has this lead to reliability issues, with dirt ingress? Either way there’s no remit to carry a spare mag....

A friend had a guest out who lost this somehow... an hour of searching and re-tracing of steps led to it's recovery, the stag waited patiently for them to do this and they got him too!

can blasers be top loaded?

yes

 

[mchughcb]

I like the fact that the blasers are take down and fit in neat little cases.

I like my R93, K95, BBF97 and BD14 for every conceivable occasion.

The best thing about having a safe full of them its like going to a store choosing one but not having to give it back.

 

[zambezi]

Does anyone else feel uneasy about the <Blaser> trigger/mag assembly being removed all the time? Has this lead to reliability issues, with dirt ingress? Either way there’s no remit to carry a spare mag....can blasers be top loaded?

Removing the R8 trigger assembly is entirely optional.

You can flip a tab in the magazine well that locks trigger-magazine assembly into the rifle.

In this mode, it is like any top loading rifle.

The plus with having a removable trigger assembly as an option is that it is a pocket-sized component that renders the rifle safe as soon as it is removed. [useful if rifle is in hotel room/car/etc]

 

[Rutland lad]

Mauser M03 ...........
Standby for incoming ...

 

[mchughcb]

I really like the M03. An alpine stutzen in 308 would suit me.

 

[Grandhubert]

A second hand blaser with a synthetic stock makes a lot of sense as a travelling rifle for overseas trips.

for that role, it is an excellent rifle; the best you can buy in fact for the take down and come back to zero and pack into a briefcase convenience.

there is no way in hell anyone could persuade me to spend the money those jokers want for a new one, especially the wackier grade models that retain the plastic bits but add leather patches, high grade walnut and faintly ludicrous names like “professional success”...

I mean, really?
If it was a car it would be called the “GTO AMG M Turbo bastard nitrous” and roundly and rightly mocked for it.

 

[Leics_stalker]

I have owned rifles from many different makers over the years and for the last two years my "go to" has been the Mauser M12 Impact in 6.5x55 SE as it is a great rifle and very accurate to shoot. Recently I had the opportunity to own a Blaser and resisted for a number of reasons for quite a while, having traded in two of my other rifles I picked up a R8 Pro Success last Friday and all I can say is wow. I'm really pleased with everything about the rifle, at the moment I have a .223 and .300 win mag barrel and can't wait to get the 6.5x55 as soon as the fallow season is over and I never thought I'd want to get rid of the Mauser.
I went for a Blaser and I'm very happy with it, they are expensive and so are all the extra bits you'll need but they are worth it in my opinion.

 

[TexasWestPointer]

I thought I had settled on the Sako 85 Carbonlight in .300 Win Mag and the Sako 85 Kodiak in 375 H&H, absolutely gorgeous rifles....but, I just purchased a Blaser R8 at an auction. It came with 6.5 and 300 barrels. Am I crazy to switch over to the Blaser? Absolutely love those Sakos, but the Blaser is incredible. Maybe a little heavy though. Any UK Suppliers have aftermarket Carbon R8 Stocks they ship to the US?

 

[North Cornwall Deer]

I don’t have a sako, I have owned a tikka in the past.
However I do own a Blaser R8 professional and semi custom Howa 1500.
The Howa is always the first out of the cabinet. As much as I want to love the Blaser I’m not sure if it’s the heavier trigger or the professional stock but it just feels unnatural in my hands, also try loading an R8 quietly not hammering the bolt home will result in a click rather than a bang.
The fact that the R8 loves Privi and can be shot off either shoulder does make it a perfect training/client rifle, which was my initial reason for its purchase.

 

[palo]

Take a look at the new sako 100 as well.