Blaser R8

[30-06hunter]

Hi all,

I'm planning on purchasing a new rifle and the choice is too much but ever since I fired a Blaser R8 years ago I've been obsessed with them.

From the people who actually own them, what are your general thoughts? I know they are expensive but like anything you get what you pay for... hopefully.
Have you ever sat there and thought.. was it worth it?

All my mates here in Aus dont really get the whole European thing of spending more than 1500 on a rifle (im an ex pat) every man and his dog here owns a Sako or Tika, and to be fair they are great rifles but i like to be a little different.

so was thinking of getting in on the ground floor of Blaser with a professional in .30-06.

was it worth it?
Do you actually utalise the switch barrel?
How does it perform in the bush?
does the ergonomics of the gun handle recoil (non thumbhole) ?

cheers.

 

[Magnificent 7]

I bought an ultimate success and the day I collected it I was apprehensive.Previously owning tikkas and loving them tbh.Once I got out and used it all that was a distant memory.Ive a few barrels for it and use them regularly with very little adjustment needed for th scope swap (I've yet to purchase more scopes).Would I buy one again Yep definitely it's accurate comfy to shoot and practical.Youll get a lot of haters but a lot of that will be sour grapes the same folk would slag you behind your back for your new truck buy once cry once.Best of luck if you do buy one you won't regret it especially in 30 cal.I also bought the kick stop.

 

[Steff]

I've been shooting Blasers for 20 years when I got my first R93. There's been a short excursion into Sako, but without giving up any of the Blasers.
I think this says it all.

 

[JH83]

What I don’t get with high end blaser/sauers (circa £3-3500) is why folks don’t gravitate to a full, bespoke custom rifle. Unlike shotguns, more money ploughed into a rifle can directly correlate to more performance. For the money you’d be getting into Borden action, Bartelin barrel territory-the kind of stuff that would bring home serious silverware should you choose to go down that route. Just food for thought.

 

[Overlay]

yep same here with the R93 and the R8
once you get used to shooting them, they are a faultless piece of kit and one of the best safety led rifles about, very very accurate and don’t bruise easily, you can swap from day to night scopes in seconds and maintain a very accurate rifle
ive got one or two and they are working rifles out all the time and for many years now and have never let me down, ever - some say there is a safety issue, there isn’t, its a driver issue, not learning how the rifle works and low safety standards will bring the worst out in any rifle, i can say I’ve never had a problem with any of mine and I’ve worked them hard, a real accurate reliable rifle that is utterly reliable with a cracking barrel exchange system that is so simple but 100% if it gets soaked take it to pieces dry and oil up put it back together and it shoots the same as before you took it to bits

 

[Steff]

What I don’t get with high end blaser/sauers (circa £3-3500) is why folks don’t gravitate to a full, bespoke custom rifle. Unlike shotguns, more money ploughed into a rifle can directly correlate to more performance. For the money you’d be getting into Borden action, Bartelin barrel territory-the kind of stuff that would bring home serious silverware should you choose to go down that route. Just food for thought.

The answer to this question is very simple. It's the DIY modularity of the system. Fancy another stock, barrel, calibre? Easy. Just order it, fit it and it will shoot. Hardly ever a gun smith required.
Along with this goes the maintenace friendliness of this set up. Take it apart, clean it, reassamble, shoot and hit your aim. Any dummy can do this.
The fact that it is a straight-pull is actually of minor importance, at least to me.

 

[Magnificent 7]

What I don’t get with high end blaser/sauers (circa £3-3500) is why folks don’t gravitate to a full, bespoke custom rifle. Unlike shotguns, more money ploughed into a rifle can directly correlate to more performance. For the money you’d be getting into Borden action, Bartelin barrel territory-the kind of stuff that would bring home serious silverware should you choose to go down that route. Just food for thought.

This answer to this question is very simple. It's the DIY modularity of the system. Fancy another stock, barrel, calibre? Easy. Just order it, fit it and it will shoot. Hardly ever a gun smith required.
The fact that it is a straight-pull is actually of minor importance, at least to me.

And every bit as accurate I'd say with the right nut behind the wheel

 

[bowji john]

Had one for about 5 years and continue to be impressed with their engineering, versatility and ease of use

I also own 4 custom rifles - they too have their place

The R8 continues to please

 

[JH83]

And every bit as accurate I'd say with the right nut behind the wheel

No I doubt it. Or PRS competition/various disciplines would be snowed under with blasers/sauer-which they ain’t. The more accurate route is never likely to be a factory rifle no matter how good.

The modular aspect is important, I’d imagine for travelling abroad. Very impressive. A couple of friends use blasers for shooting pigs abroad and to that end they make a ton of sense.

 

[big ears]

Very accurate, had one in 30-06 and a 6.5x55 barrel. Easy to swap between.
only downside was they are heavy in the end I sold it and got a K95!
Blaser are good but you can get a dodgy one. Know of one chap whose barrels rusted and here reports of others.
Overall they are good rifles

 

[Magnificent 7]

Very accurate, had one in 30-06 and a 6.5x55 barrel. Easy to swap between.
only downside was they are heavy in the end I sold it and got a K95!
Blaser are good but you can get a dodgy one. Know of one chap whose barrels rusted and here reports of others.
Overall they are good rifles

Had an almost new tikka rust and since then I'm very anal about drying and oiling after every use must admit shotguns are more hard wearing

 

[WildBoarHunter]

I have the R8 Professional since 2014. Still love it. Would be very hard to find something as well engeneered and thought out as this. Very accurate, excellent direct trigger, very compact length - probably the shortest bolt action out there, very rugged, very easy to dissasemble, clean, maintain... Like others have pointed out, it's modularity is amazing. You can go and buy any kind of upgrade you can think of. Had some health related issues and needed to reduce recoil. Just bought another barrel in 6.5×55 with factory thread, a muzzle blake, a kickstop, a precision fit Limbsaver and I was all set up to continue hunting.

 

[boar & deer]

I've had a r8 since they were sold by open season it's been used and and abused and I absolutely love it i switch between. 243 and .308 have 2 day scopes and a night vision scope all in blaser mounts and they hold zero spot on being removed every time the rifle is put in the cabinet the best thing is I always have 100% confidence with the setup

 

[404Shooter]

I didn’t buy a Blaser for one reason but it might be important to you. It’s probably a very personal thing but I found I couldn’t cycle the action for a second shot without lifting my head (and losing the sight picture). Can you try before you buy?

 

[Uncle f]

Got two R8’s now and three barrels. One wooden grade 8 stack professional and an ultimate. There just very very good. Mounts are brilliant and hold zero every time.
Expensive yes but really worth it in my opinion

 

[mark2853118]

Have had a R8 Professional Success for over 6 years now in 243 & 308 - like the others have said a very versatile compact and reliable rifle. Well worth the premium price.

 

[andychas]

Obviously they are marmite guns, some hate the look/design and others love them. I like them, design and engineering is really well thought out, excellent triggers, safety is solid, accuracy top notch and I personally think the Ultimate Success stock is superb, rock solid with no flex and very comfortable. I really like the handling, being shorter than most rifles (barrel length dependent of course) it carries well in the woods and handles nicely.
I was sceptical about the modular barrel concept at first, as I was with my Schultz & Larsen, but it works, returning to zero better than the Schultz imo. I particularly like having the scope attached to the barrel rather than the action so zero is unaffected by barrel change.
Expensive? Most certainly, and the Blaser rabbit hole is very easy to fall down with bespoke sling swivel sizes, mounts, bipod adapters etc,
Of course you can go and get a custom rifle built in each of the calibres you want, very accurate it will be too I’m sure, as are most Tikka/Sako/Mauser/Howa etc (truth is most modern rifles will outshoot their owners), its all down to personal choice and whatever makes you smile, and the Blaser definitely makes me grin when I get it out!

 

[Boomerang]

Ask yourself what are your shooting parameters?

I started with an R8 Professional in 6.5x55 over 10 years ago to stalk deer in lowlands locations but wanted the flexibility of having the same set-up for different applications. I had the budget for one with great optics. Now I also have 6.5x47L Match fluted and a .300WM. Likely to get a .270 barrel. Interested in the .22LR. I have use cases for each of those calibers (although getting a .270 is just something I want rather than need). I replaced the Pro Stock with a KKC stock for a better cheek-stock fit - really happy with that. When I first mounted the barrel with the existing optic onto the KKC stock, as the scope is zeroed to the barrel, the point of zero had not changed. I like the Blaser optics mounts - but they are not cheap. But with time, Blaser now offering adjustable stocks so you can get a good fit and third parties OEMs are making cheaper mounts. If you buy different calibers and/or barrel profiles, you will need to re-zero your optic on each barrel change or buy multiple optics. They are a great piece of gear and offer a platform to build around. You can buy second hand and just add barrels - is harder to buy second hand and just change the stock - as you need to remove and replace the receiver or buy another one - that does not tend to be very cost effective or you have a spare useless stock.

IMHO they are not all things to all people - they are Vegemite - but do you really care? In my mind, they are primarily a hunting rifle and I achieve great accuracy and precision with mine. To borrow someone's express they are definitely "minute of deer" accurate if you are. They are not necessarily a .25MOA competition rifle - although I know of owners who can shoot that tightly. I plan to use my 6.5x47 Lapua to explore competition shooting but will I win competitions with it? Probably not, even if I was a great competition shooter - as the chamber dimensions are sloppy to accommodate a large range of bullets weights and profiles. But if you hand-load you can achieve accurate and precise tuned loads. If you have a good cleaning regime, Blaser factory hardened barrels retain great accuracy for 1000's-10,000's of rounds - unlike relatively soft stainless steel competition barrels which tend to wear more quickly and for which the parameters for change are different (e.g. loss of 0.25MOA accuracy at c.4-6000 rounds vs minute of deer for a lot longer).

Decided what you parameters are and make yourself happy...

But have a look across the Tasman Sea at Hardy Rifles (Custom rifles) - a mate has one - he can pimp your Tikka or Sako or go for one of switch barrel Hardy Hybrid - Hardy Hybrid. He can supply hardened or carbon fibre barrels. Could be another alternative but a small OEM. Think they have Aussie distributors too.

 

[30-06hunter]

thanks all for your advise.. it defiantly holds true to all the reviews on line.. I struggled to find any real negative points to persuade me otherwise.

ill try my best to reply to each of you

.Ive a few barrels for it and use them regularly with very little adjustment needed for th scope swap (I've yet to purchase more scopes)

this is something that I am really interested in not only the multi barrel aspect but the multi scope. where I can zero a hunting scope, aimpoint and thermal all with keeping zero.

What I don’t get with high end blaser/sauers (circa £3-3500) is why folks don’t gravitate to a full, bespoke custom rifle

for me its the weight of the rifle which is pretty decent and also the overall length. with the shorter action of the Blaser it means I can run a standard length barrel but overall shorter than a standard turn bolt rifle. you can cut down barrels but you then in some cases sacrifice accuracy and like Rider says.. I can have multiple accessories for it and all keep zero.. don't think there is a custom rifle out there that can do that.

very very accurate and don’t bruise easily

when you say don't bruise easily are you referring to the synthetic stock.. I've heard they are tough but my mate says ill cringe as soon as I take it into the Aus. bush and scratch it up.. to me they are just stories to tell on a rifle.. it is a tool after all.

Blaser are good but you can get a dodgy one. Know of one chap whose barrels rusted and here reports of others.
Overall they are good rifles

Ive been told by my supplier that the barrels hold a 10 year guarantee?, obviously that only matters if you take proper care of it.. which I am a bit OCD about rifle care for rust. hopefully your mate managed to get it sorted

I have the R8 Professional since 2014. Still love it. Would be very hard to find something as well engeneered and thought out as this. Very accurate, excellent direct trigger, very compact length - probably the shortest bolt action out there, very rugged, very easy to dissasemble, clean, maintain... Like others have pointed out, it's modularity is amazing. You can go and buy any kind of upgrade you can think of. Had some health related issues and needed to reduce recoil. Just bought another barrel in 6.5×55 with factory thread, a muzzle blake, a kickstop, a precision fit Limbsaver and I was all set up to continue hunting.

that's great that you were able to use the modularity to keep you in the field

I didn’t buy a Blaser for one reason but it might be important to you. It’s probably a very personal thing but I found I couldn’t cycle the action for a second shot without lifting my head (and losing the sight picture). Can you try before you buy?

I have fired one before and had no issues.. and can at least cycle the rifle in store but they don't offer a try before buy.

IMHO they are not all things to all people - they are Vegemite - but do you really care?

yeah couldn't believe the kick back I got, but its typical Aus mentality with guns (some Aussies anyway).. why spend more than 1500 when it still shoots as straight, but we also don't have a strict limit per say on the amount of guns we can own in Aus. so they would rather have 6 cheap rifles.. "sort of the same mentality as some Americans" I love it so like you said I shouldn't care.

Blaser factory hardened barrels retain great accuracy for 1000's-10,000's of rounds - unlike relatively soft stainless steel competition barrels which tend to wear more quickly and for which the parameters for change are different (e.g. loss of 0.25MOA accuracy at c.4-6000 rounds vs minute of deer for a lot longer).

There is a guy near me who is a commercial shooter who runs the R8.. puts 1000 rounds a month through his barrel and cant say anything better about them. so I guess that says a lot.

But have a look across the Tasman Sea at Hardy Rifles (Custom rifles) - a mate has one - he can pimp your Tikka or Sako or go for one of switch barrel Hardy Hybrid - Hardy Hybrid. He can supply hardened or carbon fibre barrels. Could be another alternative but a small OEM. Think they have Aussie distributors too.

There is a Hardy rifle in a local dealer (this one didn't stock Blaser) so naturally was trying to persuade me that they are no good and instead showed me a Hardy hybrid... absolutely stunning rifle, full carbon. but.. $8K before you fit it out with glass and to be honest, too light.. must be great to lug up the hills in NZ for that one shot but for day to day the recoil on something that light must be something. but really at the end of the day that Hardy is just too expensive for me after I add glass etc.

 

[Overlay]

Morning 30 06
The stocks are really good, never had any problem with any of mine, wood you have to take special care with just like any other rifle, the plastic ones tough as old boots
try all the models and see what suits you, i like the R8 success stock in plastic or whatever it is