Blaser, love them or hate them?

[Norway]

You'll be better off with a Vektor spigot as you don't need to carry the bipod on the rifle. Just screw out the front sling attachment and screw in the spigot which also have an integrated sling attacment point. Cost about £60.
Then you can use "true clip on/off" bipods such as Versapod and Parker Hale type which I find superior to Haris in terrain/ against game. Carrying the rifle with bipod attached isn't too comfortable.

 

[bobjs]

Why are there so many people on here against/slag off Blaser rifles?

JMO:

over priced

over rated

and over here,

bob.

 

[Cseskynut]

I've shot them on many hunts in many countries in many calibres
you can abuse them and they never let you down.
wickedly accurate and perfect to use straight out of the box so why waste money on a custom modification of a cheap rifle which ends up costing you more
they are a class product which is the reason they have 80% of the German market and are taking over The Russian market
I wouldn't shoot anything else unless it was a Mauser (which are made in the same factory)
Blaser owners don't have to worry about their kit and can focus on the hunting

 

[swarovski]

All joking aside, I am sure are great rifles just not my kind of rifle,years ago I did have a fancy sauer, got rid before I ruined it.

 

[caorach]

What length legs do you reckon, bearing in mind I shall be mainly using this on the hill.

I think everyone is different in how they approach things. I mostly stalk in forestry with a little hill stalking however some of my forestry is like open hill being high heather etc.

I use the 9 - 13 inch Harris bipod and find it works well for me. I've used it on the hill and never had a problem and as you know if you can't make the bipod work then you can usually improvise a rest.

The very short bipod is too short for most field use in my view and the longer ones come into the sort of area where I'd just use my sticks, or a tree, or a sphagnum mound or whatever but the 9 - 13 covers all of the comfortable prone options for me, which is what I want a bipod for, and anything any longer would overlap with my sticks and not fully cover the prone positions.

 

[paultap]

I took my first Deer and several wild boar on a trip to France several years ago, I used the Guides rifle which was an R93 in 7x64 cal, I though it was an excellent rifle, very accurate, light and with a great trigger, my only niggle was the safety / thumb cocking lever which on this example was quite stiff and a non removable magazine, I certainly would have no hesitation in using one though.

 

[willie_gunn]

Love them.

Traded my Sako 75 for an R93 and only wish I had done it sooner. For a factory rifle it is more accurate and more usable.

willie_gunn

 

[blunderbust]

I have to admit, I am milling over getting one. I have always liked them and have been lucky to have had a few shots with a couple and really like the set up.

 

[willie_gunn]

I use the 9 - 13 inch Harris bipod and find it works well for me. I've used it on the hill and never had a problem and as you know if you can't make the bipod work then you can usually improvise a rest.

+1

For a good few years I took the long Harris bipod that I used down South up to Scotland. It was a false economy. A couple of years ago I bought a 9-13 for the trips up North and have found it far better where 99% of shots are taken prone rather than prone+kneeling+sitting, where I still prefer the longer version.

​willie_gunn

 

[charadam]

I dislike them intensely because of the scarring to the heel of my hand and wrist because I have been a turnbolter for more than 50 years.

A difficult habit to break in the heat of the moment.

 

[Tommo]

Completely agree, having heard the answers from a trade source

medium to to a good rifle at best, just marketed well, very well.

​t

 

[Wills]

I think everyone is different in how they approach things. I mostly stalk in forestry with a little hill stalking however some of my forestry is like open hill being high heather etc.

I use the 9 - 13 inch Harris bipod and find it works well for me. I've used it on the hill and never had a problem and as you know if you can't make the bipod work then you can usually improvise a rest.

The very short bipod is too short for most field use in my view and the longer ones come into the sort of area where I'd just use my sticks, or a tree, or a sphagnum mound or whatever but the 9 - 13 covers all of the comfortable prone options for me, which is what I want a bipod for, and anything any longer would overlap with my sticks and not fully cover the prone positions.

Thanks, that is what I will go for.

 

[RED-DOT]

Handled a few that Bushwear had on offer and i just couldn't see anything that seemed to justify the cost. My Sauers and Sako 75's are the opposite by miles.

 

[Wills]

View attachment 33176 Doesn't look too bad..

 

[whinfell]

Fitting a bipod stud to a R8 is a 5min job, you need a harris HB2a stud, remove barrel obviously, near the front of the stock is a round recess, drill a hole the same width as the bipod stud thread in the centre of the recess, push stud through the hole, screw on round washer/nut on inside of stock, using an allen key or screwdriver push through hole where bipod attaches to and tighten up, job done.

 

[Holland&Holland]

In the Netherlands i call the Blaser a yuppie gun. It is a rifle that people see and want to have just because somebody else "important" has the same rifle and / or that the advertisement looks so good. My judgement is (partly) based on the fact that a lot of the Blaser owners i know do not know anything about hunting but bought all the expensive fancy kit (including a chocolat coloured labrador) and start talking S...T.
That said, stalking with Wayne and Pete it turned out that there are some sensible and kind people owning Blasers too .

What i do not like about the Blaser R93 is the loading and unloading, no magazine ! The straight pull action i do not mind as much. What i do mind is the fact that most people love it because you can shoot faster and get more rounds out in a short time then with a bold action, for instance in a driven hunt. But the same people still do not like autoloaders because that is not real hunting or sporting . ?? Also 95% of the people who love it because you can reload so much more quicker only fire one shot every month on a fox or roedeer, or after the shot lower the gun from their shoulder to the hip, reload and put it on their shoulder again.... So no real advantage there i.m.o.
If you watch that German lad on youtube with his Sauer bold action, he shoots faster with this gun then all the Blaser lads i know.

The R8 with the thumbhole gets points for looks and handles really nice, also you finally have a trigger/magazine which ads to safety. But the price is too steep, even for a spare magazine you pay topdollar.

Hope i did not offend too many SDmembers.

 

[willie_gunn]

Completely agree, having heard the answers from a trade source

medium to to a good rifle at best, just marketed well, very well.

​t

Oh yes, of course, all that Blaser publicity and marketing splashed over the trade press makes a huge difference

I bought one because three of the stalkers I admire and respect use them to great effect. But what really brought it home was doing the Advanced Deer Manager's course and seeing just four of the candidates pass the shooting test without needing to utilise the optional re-take. Of those four, two had Blasers which they reassembled at the range and shot without any re-zero. That wasn't marketing.

I took my rifle back up to Sutherland this year and neck shot a red stag at what the stalker measured at just over 150 yards. Even though the Blaser had been broken down and reassembled several times I didn't question whether it would do the job asked of it. That's not marketing either.

I understand that everyone has different opinions about rifles, as they do about wine, football and Strictly Come Dancing, but what I don't understand is the dogged persistence of some people to bad mouth Blasers based on limited or no experience of using them. I had a Sako 75 and it was a nice rifle, but even Sako have their problems (just Google barrel blow ups, and don't even start me on their "key concept").

Blasers are not perfect by any means, but every time I grab one of mine out of the cabinet I don't have to worry about the kit doing its job. It is far more accurate than I can shoot in field conditions, it is the most transportable rifle I've seen and it provides tremendous versatility in terms of interchangeable barrels and scopes. Whether that matters enough to you to buy one is an individual choice, and so it should be.

As for your trade source, maybe he needs to get out in the field stalking a bit more?

willie_gunn

 

[Thar]

I am known for my Blaser knocking, although to be honest some of it is to see the Blaser owners without a sense of humour bite.

There is no doubt that the marketing has made them a aspirational product for some people, this has not doubt allowed the manufactures to price them higher than they otherwise might be able to in the market place. The mounts are the price of a second hand turn bolt.

The biggest plus point of the Blaser for me would be it’s the short length.

While accurate by all accounts, very very few can or need to exploit the ability of any rifle to shoot much less than 1” in a stalking situation, shooting off sticks, lying in bog, even from a high seat with a rail if the butt is not supported, not many will be able to shoot .2”.

The downsides are,
Such a complicated action, no detachable magazine, unless you go for the more expensive R8, the infamous Blaser click if the bolt is not hammed home hard, you need to full length size your brass to ensure that they recycle according to some owners. If the action does let go due to collet failure the bolt takes half you head away.
He is the famous photos that get all the Blaser owners upset, but they tell a thousand words.







If you were a good looking chap before you brought your Blaser you might not be afterwards

There are more important things in life to worry about though, if you like your Blaser fair play, oh yes I can afford one if I wanted one.

ATB

Tahr

 

[Grant.N]

If your stupid enough to put pistol powder in your cases then that's what might happen to any rifle as I believe this guy did.
The click you mention if the bolt is not slammed home is quite incorrect. All you need do is be firm and yes this can be done quietly. It is also a safety feature not allowing the rifle to fire unless the bolt is closed properly.
The rifle will also not fire if there is debris on the bolt face.
There are plenty of top loading rifles out there that don't have a detachable magazine.
The R8 has overcome this issue. At the end of the day it is personal choice.

 

[Wills]

I like my stuzen heym more though, just cant put a mod on it