Anyone got first hand opinion of Blaser F16 Shotguns?

[suburban bushwacker]

I thought the F16 quite a nice gun, but I'm not really a shotgun shooter
Have you any experience of them? What are the other options ar £2k second hand?

 

[Hatch]

I was very fortunate to be the first person in the UK outside of the Blaser team to try the F16 before they did the release event at my previous company so I have a pretty good grip on them. Genuinely lovely guns, very nice and similar to the F3 which is the more expensive and feature-rich brother of the F16.

They do a a Sporter and a Game version of the F16 so it just depends on what you're planning on using it for? Game or Clays? Not that you can't use both for their opposite use, it's just that you have different features within each that best suit the discipline you're going for.

Other options available are really down to, again, what you are planning on using it for as well as what you find most important within a shotgun (i.e. engraving, wood, ruggedness, utilitarianism etc.). With a bit more info I'm sure I can find something that picques your interest!

 

[suburban bushwacker]

I was very fortunate to be the first person in the UK outside of the Blaser team to try the F16 before they did the release event at my previous company so I have a pretty good grip on them. Genuinely lovely guns, very nice and similar to the F3 which is the more expensive and feature-rich brother of the F16.

They do a a Sporter and a Game version of the F16 so it just depends on what you're planning on using it for? Game or Clays? Not that you can't use both for their opposite use, it's just that you have different features within each that best suit the discipline you're going for.

Other options available are really down to, again, what you are planning on using it for as well as what you find most important within a shotgun (i.e. engraving, wood, ruggedness, utilitarianism etc.). With a bit more info I'm sure I can find something that picques your interest!

While I talk a good fight about rough shooting ill probably spend 95% of my time warring the ashtrays / clay busting.
Love nice timber, unmoved by engraving, the black ones look fine to me

 

[Hatch]

While I talk a good fight about rough shooting ill probably spend 95% of my time warring the ashtrays / clay busting.
Love nice timber, unmoved by engraving, the black ones look fine to me

So by the sounds of it you wouldn't be too offended by something like a Browning 525 or a 725 with an upgraded wood - you can get a 725 in black as well. If you're keen on that sort of gun then also have a look at a Miroku MK38 Grade 3/5 - they have some gorgeous wood and are absolute work horses of guns.

If you're more of a Beretta man (prefer a generally slimmer profile than the Browning) then have a look at the Silver Pigeon III which will have a nice stock on it as well as a pretty game scene. I would put Blaser guns in this ballpark with regards to the 'slimness' in the action.

With all of these, especially if you're buying second-hand from an RFD, try and put some carts down it. You'll be surprised what you realise you like after you've tried a couple of guns in quick succession.

 

[6pt-sika]

Let me begin by saying for an O/U Clays or pigeon ring gun nothings better than a Krieghoff K-80 or a Fabbri in my very biased opinion . However I’ve been allowed to play some with the Blaser F3 and F16 . I also have several friends that are upper rung competitive sporting shooters that like and use Blaser guns . I found the Blaser gun to fit me nicely and relatively easy to shoot well .

 

[andychas]

I switched to an f16 from beretta after trying a friends, for me the balance and fit were spot on. They are slim guns and balance well in the hand. well built and robust, you won’t go wrong with one but as with all shotguns, being correctly fitted to you is the most important thing.

 

[Kalahari]

Funnily enough shotguns are quite like boots, find one by a "reliable" maker that fits you well, and that is probably the one to get.

David.

 

[filzee]

I love my F16. Always had berettas but the Blaser feels so much better quality.
Fits well and I shoot well with it.

 

[Hatch]

Let me begin by saying for an O/U Clays or pigeon ring gun nothings better than a Krieghoff K-80 or a Fabbri in my very biased opinion . However I’ve been allowed to play some with the Blaser F3 and F16 . I also have several friends that are upper rung competitive sporting shooters that like and use Blaser guns . I found the Blaser gun to fit me nicely and relatively easy to shoot well .

If I could afford it, I'd shoot a Kriegoff Parcours - no questions asked.

It's just the teeny tiny matter regarding the £13k price that makes it a bit of a non-starter. That and I don't think the long haired admiral would approve...!

 

[finbar]

Bought mine 7 years ago 32 inch barrels feels like a 30 parm swell
Trigger pull better then some rifles av fired
Used clays pheasants tried it out on pigeons when a first got it just a tad to long in the hide
But that’s what automatic is for
Had brownings berettas all ok just seem to fit into this gun better
Mind a 6 foot 1 & built like shrek

 

[Zio65]

Are really Blaser production? One question only

 

[suburban bushwacker]

So by the sounds of it you wouldn't be too offended by something like a Browning 525 or a 725 with an upgraded wood - you can get a 725 in black as well. If you're keen on that sort of gun then also have a look at a Miroku MK38 Grade 3/5 - they have some gorgeous wood and are absolute work horses of guns.

If you're more of a Beretta man (prefer a generally slimmer profile than the Browning) then have a look at the Silver Pigeon III which will have a nice stock on it as well as a pretty game scene. I would put Blaser guns in this ballpark with regards to the 'slimness' in the action.

With all of these, especially if you're buying second-hand from an RFD, try and put some carts down it. You'll be surprised what you realise you like after you've tried a couple of guns in quick succession.

I have an old Citori which I hit more (I probably mean miss less ) than any other gun I’ve tried but you know how the itch is lol

 

[Hatch]

I have an old Citori which I hit more (I probably mean miss less ) than any other gun I’ve tried but you know how the itch is lol

The Browning 725 might be your ticket then. Although definitely get out and try the Blaser as I am usually a Browning man but do like/and shoot relatively well with Blasers.

 

[HallyButt]

If it’s for clays, hold your load for a bit and find a 694. I had an F16 it seemed to recoil alot for a clay gun and the finish started to wear within 12 months, I sold it and bought a DT11 which I sold and bought a 694 and deer equipment. Unless you are in AAA you won’t tell the difference between DT11 and 694.

 

[6pt-sika]

If I could afford it, I'd shoot a Kriegoff Parcours - no questions asked.

It's just the teeny tiny matter regarding the £13k price that makes it a bit of a non-starter. That and I don't think the long haired admiral would approve...!

I understand the admirAl point of view ! Mine
Would be out of sorts if I bought a $20k gun as well .

 

[6pt-sika]

FWIW I have a friend that got a
Cesar Gurennie 34” sporting gun a couple months ago . It something they supposedly just came out with . The gun balances well in the hands and isn’t heavy at all for a 32” gun much less it actually being 34” . I shot the thing maybe a dozen times and never dropped a target . I honestly do t k ow the cost of one of these but I’m thinking $8kish .

 

[Heym SR20]

A friend has a Blaser F16. I have shot it a Few times on clays. It feels a very easy gun to shoot, enormously capable. But there is a huge variation from one to another in how they are set up etc.

For me it was an easy gun to shoot. I would describe it as a modern black Mercedes E class saloon car. Enormously capable easy to drive fast down long motorways and you can drive the length of Europe without any fuss or bother. And it will half a million miles without missing a beat. But its enormously capable car, that anyone who wants such a thing will drive.

It didn’t put a smile on my face. For me I much prefer a gun that I enjoy using - it’s probably why I like old English and Scottish side by sides - they have soul, character from the men who crafted them out of blocks of steel and walnut with honest sweat and tears.

Perhaps my analogy is wrong. An F16 is a modern Porche 911. But an old British or Italian sports car, whether its an MG or Fiat, up through Austin Healy, E Type or Alfa, to Ferraris and Astons just put a smile on your face when you and they are in tune with each other. Indeed you can draw a parrallel with modern British and Italian Sports Cars compared to the German ones.

Of all the modern guns I have shot, the one I really liked was Dickson’s Alex Martin over and under that they had built for them my a small Italian maker.

 

[Hatch]

FWIW I have a friend that got a
Cesar Gurennie 34” sporting gun a couple months ago . It something they supposedly just came out with . The gun balances well in the hands and isn’t heavy at all for a 32” gun much less it actually being 34” . I shot the thing maybe a dozen times and never dropped a target . I honestly do t k ow the cost of one of these but I’m thinking $8kish .

34"?! You might as well be holding out a net and catch the clays as they come past you

 

[NullMac]

I have done a lot of competitive shooting with all sorts. For some reason never a Blaser. I think the F3 was always pushed as the competition gun but I prefer the F16.

It is a straightforward, well built gun with a nice low action. I know it has fancy engineering but you pull the trigger and it goes bang.

I shot both at a Blaser open day and I found the F16 to be more free flowing than the F3 but still in clay territory. It wasn’t a zippy game gun.

I would have one.

Buy one with an adjustable stock.

 

[suburban bushwacker]

A friend has a Blaser F16. I have shot it a Few times on clays. It feels a very easy gun to shoot, enormously capable. But there is a huge variation from one to another in how they are set up etc.

For me it was an easy gun to shoot. I would describe it as a modern black Mercedes E class saloon car. Enormously capable easy to drive fast down long motorways and you can drive the length of Europe without any fuss or bother. And it will half a million miles without missing a beat. But its enormously capable car, that anyone who wants such a thing will drive.

It didn’t put a smile on my face. For me I much prefer a gun that I enjoy using - it’s probably why I like old English and Scottish side by sides - they have soul, character from the men who crafted them out of blocks of steel and walnut with honest sweat and tears.

Perhaps my analogy is wrong. An F16 is a modern Porche 911. But an old British or Italian sports car, whether its an MG or Fiat, up through Austin Healy, E Type or Alfa, to Ferraris and Astons just put a smile on your face when you and they are in tune with each other. Indeed you can draw a parrallel with modern British and Italian Sports Cars compared to the German ones.

Of all the modern guns I have shot, the one I really liked was Dickson’s Alex Martin over and under that they had built for them my a small Italian maker.

I have a ‘regulated by Alex Martin’ .303 so that appeals to my inner stamp collector lol