Anyone else had a Blaser R8 Dog?

[Penyard]

Hi Guys,

As per title, I'm not looking for the Blaser haters to jump in but am interested to know if I am unique in have a Blaser R8 that just refuses to shoot well along with another annoying gremlin whereby with certain loads the safety catch comes on when fired.

It is a standard R8 Professional and I have 2 barrels for it. The .243 standard barrel is fussy but it shoots well enough and no issues with safety catch. The .30-06 semi-weight fluted barrel chambered in .30-06 is where the trouble starts. When I first acquired the barrel I worked up a load using 180gr Norma Oryx for a boar hunting trip a couple of years ago and eventually got it shooting about MOA (probably > MOA if I'm honest) but accurate enough for driven boar. I have since failed to work up an accurate load that I am 100% happy with using a multitude of components. Neither have a I found a factory load that will shoot close to MOA in it. The latest instalment in this sorry saga being to try and work up a load using 130gr Barnes TTSX as I am on my journey to non-toxic and was determined the invest the time and effort in to working up a load I would be happy with for this rifle which I really want to be an accurate all rounder that I can use for deer and the odd boar instead of my heavier rifles in other calibres. I achieved the velocity I desired for the Barnes bullets with no signs of pressure but then the rifle started putting the safety catch on when fired, even on mild loads way off max. The rifle was sent off under warranty and, eventually, returned with a new bolt assembly but with confirmation that it had been test fired with my original bolt and that there had been no sign of the safety catch issue that I had been experiencing. Regardless, the bolt assembly had been replaced FOC under warranty anyway just in case so fair enough, hopefully problem solved! Sadly not, First time back on the bench and no issues with Sako Factory although the groups were very poor and when I fired the Barnes home loads the safety catch came back on with most firings.

Next chapter is that I decide to abandon the Barnes 130gr TTSX and embark with fresh enthusiasm on a load development with 130gr Fox which I am reliably informed are prone to shoot better than Barnes. First development with N140 resulted in poor groups but no safety catch issue. Latest development with RL15 resulted in poor groups with intermittent safety catch issue even on the milder loads.

I appreciate that I have no leg to stand on with warranty as I am using home loads but am at a complete loss as to what is going on here. I am using loads below book and QL max, working up carefully in sensible increments using a chronograph and the issue occurs in some instances well below max and I have no signs whatsoever of excessive pressure even on the top weight loads. What makes the issue even more baffling is that the safety catch issue does not happen when firing 180gr bullets (factory and reloads) with the much greater recoil so it cannot be a product of just recoil but rather (I'm guessing?) resonance and recoil combined.

So we have a weird issue with the safety catch that seems to manifest itself (so far) only with 130gr non-toxic bullets with RL15 powder.

I am a reasonably experienced reloader having been taught well by an expert 15 years ago and have worked up many accurate loads for many calibres during my time. I suspect that it will be possible (with further effort) to work up a load that I am happy with accuracy wise and hope that a different bullet weight and powder combination do not cause the highly annoying safety catch issue! I am off to Newent shortly to HPS and intend to buy 20 Factory loaded Fox 150gr to see how they shoot and in the hope that they are somewhere close and I can then copy that load with possible refinements achievable.

Not sure if this would be better in the reloading section but post it here as I am really looking to establish if I am the only one who has experienced the bolt/safety catch issue and if anybody has any ideas on either that or the pursuit of an accurate non-toxic load.

Many thanks

Penyard

 

[Highfield]

im no expert but i hear that headspace is criticle when loading for blasers and the fact that the problem with it decocking on fireing only happens with your own loads might point to this. as for the poor accuracy that could well be down to a sloppy barell. get someone else to shoot it with a range of shop bought bullets with a lot of sandbags to prove or dispove. no mention of silencer, these are often the cause of accuracy problems.

 

[Penyard]

Thanks Highfield. The decocking issue has manifested itself with virgin Lapua Brass as well as once fired full length sized brass. It doesn’t do it with 180gr bullets using the same brass. However, not one to dismiss good advice, I will measure headspace and look closely at that.

With regards to accuracy, I take your point but I am shooting tight groups with all my other rifles using a bench and bags, including a heavier recoiling calibre. If it was pilot error then I think I would have established that by now.

Yes, it has a moderator fitted. No sign of bullets hitting baffles but I guess I can investigate that further and try groups with brake on instead.

kind regards

Penyard

 

[ezzy6.5]

Couple of things to check.
take the barrel off and make sure there is no oil or grease at all on the bedding block.
same with the scope mounts. Is it free floating when your holding it as if your shooting (on the bipod holding the grip) might be touching the semi weight.
My forend was a tiny bit out of line. I’d be had it off to put a stud in it and hadn’t quite lined it up 100%.
definitely make sure you are bumping the shoulder when resizing.

 

[NullMac]

Neither have a I found a factory load that will shoot close to MOA in it.

That's the key.

Your reloading efforts are above and beyond. If it will not shoot factory to any standard then there is a problem with the rifle. Dunno where you are in the ownership cycle but if it was new I would ultimately be rejecting this as not being made to an acceptable quality under the Consumer Rights Act. Best to be nice and give them the opportunity to replace/fix it but they can't fob you off; neither is it up to you to fix it.

This rifle is not going to shoot without some intervention, so save your components and send it back.

 

[Flash9919]

It’s very unusual for a Blaser not to shoot well, I reckon I’ve loaded for at least a dozen different calibres in r93 or r8 and not one has failed to shoot moa, most if not all shoot considerably less, and I’m not a crack shot by any means! it’s expensive, but if you can find a box of rws buy it..if it won’t shoot that well then you’ve got a dud, as a general rule mine have always preferred European ammo over American ammo but not always. With regards to reloading, as someone else has said they are headspace fussy, you need to fl size but only bump the shoulder 2 or 3/1000’s. My friend did have the same issue as you regarding the safety automatically engaging after a shot, it was on a 375 and Blaser replaced the bolt which sorted the issue......but it clearly wasn’t a one off!

 

[Alantoo]

Did you send the complete rifle to Blaser for checking or just the bolt and barrel?

From your description the thing that jumped to my mind immediately was the safety interlock feature that ensures the cocking slide reverts to the safe uncocked state as soon as you release the trigger / magazine unit...have you checked that the magazine and 30-06 magazine insert is okay and moving freely (maybe borrow and try a mate's one perhaps) and is going fully home?

As the .243 combination works okay it seems unlikely that the slide rail metal work of the action is not firmly attached to the stock but that was another thought....i.e. so when the magazine unit is pushed home the bolt and rails can't lift away from the magazine on firing.

Alan

 

[Dickie]

Have you tried locking the trigger assembly on and top loading ? Similar to the advice above.
or fitted your barrel trigger and bolt on a different stock and see if it still happens.

 

[Magnificent 7]

Strange mine has been accurate out the box with almost all loads I chuck at it including my reloading and I just reload to book recipes and length.I adjusted right after the three hole group in the pic.This was after a barrel swap from 300 to 308

 

[Steff]

take the barrel off and make sure there is no oil or grease at all on the bedding block.
same with the scope mounts.

THIS!

 

[springbok787]

@Penyard we are not that far apart if you wanted to meet and use my R8 with your barrel, mag etc etc and vis versa. Might help pin down the problem.

 

[Selous]

Is the scope ok or could it have taken a dump? Wouldn’t explain the safety though

 

[EMcC]

The first Blaser I bought was an R93 in .308
I collected it on a Wednesday, zeroed it in the shop with a red dot laser thingy, went out the back of the shop and checked the zero at 100 yards using PPU 150gn soft point. First two off centre by 2" corrected it with the next three rounds and packed up
Flew to Lithuania the following day and on the Friday, my first chance to use it, I shot a Boar from a high seat at over 100yards.
While I had it I put all sorts of ammo through it and found it to be very accurate.
I have since gone over to an R8 in 30-06 and found it needed a few more rounds at first for it to settle down but since the first, probably 20 rounds, have found it shoots practically anything to point of aim.

 

[Pete655]

I went through similar accuracy issues with a new baser R8 7x64 using factory ammunition and focused on the same points that ezzy6.5 mentions around barrels and scope mounting yet struggled to get it to consistently shoot 4MOA after many attempts. Ended up picking up a second hand 6.5x55 barrel and setting that up and it shot perfectly with great accuracy. Only odd thing I found was that when I came to zero it was that it initially shot near perfect elevation at 100yds with same scope but shots landing 25 clicks left of bull? I suspect that something was not seated properly when on the 7x64 but could never identify what. Recently started using the 7x64 barrel again and set that up with another scope and mount to find it shot well on a few targets so took it up to Scotland at the weekend and had near perfect shots out to almost 250yds.

 

[arron]

Forgive me if I'm talking rubbish,, but regarding the accuracy in the 30 06 semiweight barrel is your channel correct for the barrel ,, I have heard this being an issue and fixed by opening up the barrel channel a little ,, granted it is only part of the problem !! hope you get it sorted

 

[Penyard]

@Penyard we are not that far apart if you wanted to meet and use my R8 with your barrel, mag etc etc and vis versa. Might help pin down the problem.

Thanks Springbok787, it is a most kind offer. I have a mate locally with an R8 so will be trying the suggested approach without needing to put you to any bother but really appreciate your offer of help.

 

[Penyard]

Forgive me if I'm talking rubbish,, but regarding the accuracy in the 30 06 semiweight barrel is your channel correct for the barrel ,, I have heard this being an issue and fixed by opening up the barrel channel a little ,, granted it is only part of the problem !! hope you get it sorted

Cheers Arron, a very sensible suggestion but I paid for the barrel channel to be widened professionally when I bought the rifle and there is plenty of clearance around the barrel.

Likewise, there is no oil, grease or cleaning residue underneath on the bedding block or elsewhere.

I have found previous Blasers to be accurate and generally like them but this .30-06 barrel is driving me nuts!

Thanks for all your suggestions guys.

Best wishes

Penyard

 

[Magnificent 7]

Forgive me if I'm talking rubbish,, but regarding the accuracy in the 30 06 semiweight barrel is your channel correct for the barrel ,, I have heard this being an issue and fixed by opening up the barrel channel a little ,, granted it is only part of the problem !! hope you get it sorted

Slightly of topic but did you ever get your 6.5 to shoot Aaron ?

 

[DavyG]

Anyone else had a Blaser R8 Dog?​

Springadors, cockapoos, labradoodles….what next?
DG

 

[arron]

Yes ,, alot of trial and error , a big deep clean and polish, its now near keyholing at 100mtrs , seating depths also played a major part ,I found ,, but its back on track