Blaser Rifles

[JohnSmith]

I had an R8 ultimate with several barrels. Great rifle, you won’t be disappointed. I’ve never had a barrel start rusting from the inside, and I’ve hunting in very cold temps, with the rifle completely frozen in ice.

If you’re going to commit, try to buy everything you need quickly. The prices on barrels/accessories seems to go up every year.

 

[Heym SR20]

I have used the R8, R93 and K95. They work well enough. But I don’t like the plasticky ness of them. I don’t like pushing forward the cocking slide which has a polymer cover.

Personally I would look at something like a Shultz & Larsen or a proper mauser 98 actioned rifle if spending enough for a Blaser. Or I would use the money to go on an adventure or two.

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

Just to throw the cat in amongst the pigeons, I would seriously look at the Baretta straight pull option, a lot of rifle for the money!

Had a play with a demo and it’s lovely, would have one of them any day against a blaser

Rrp £1300 from what I’ve been told

Beretta Rifle BRX1 for Hunting

Beretta Rifle BRX1 for Hunting<br/>

www.beretta.com

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

And it’s switch barrel with fitted picatinny rail so need to change mounts as the barrel comes with it, also barrels are about £600 from what I have been told.

 

[Dave_45]

Wouldn’t take one as a gift.

Unless I could immediately sell it for full RRP.


Plenty of people use them daily with great effect,just aren’t for me.

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

Wouldn’t take one as a gift.

Unless I could immediately sell it for full RRP.


Plenty of people use them daily with great effect,just aren’t for me.

What did it for me was a bloke I know was giving it all the trap when the R8 first came out, we went out one of my bits to zero his new £3K baby.

In short it shot like a bag of spanner’s and then I got my £270 rust bucket ruger M77 and shot a lovely little clover right In the middle of his group.

Never entertained the company of one since.

 

[UpNorthMI]

30 years ago I always said I'd never buy a Blaser, they were too expensive and too nice in wooden stocks for UK stalking. Now I own several non wood R8's, my main reason to opt for an R8 is travel, the ability to travel with a smaller compact rifle case with several barrels if needed.

The only bad thing is the cost and the fact that it is like a disease, you will have to spend more to get more parts and accessories! As someone said above, invest now because prices keep rising.

I'm impressed by the R8 overall, handles well, short action length, accurate, nice trigger and a practical finish. I have quite a few barrels and lot's of scope mounts, I strongly suggest you look at some cheaper scope mounts out of Eastern Europe, very good quality but much less cost. I shoot from .243 up to .375 H&H with my R8, six barrels in total. I just purchased another for my son's 21st birthday, we are off to Africa with our R8's next month.

You can certainly buy several stand alone good rifles for what an R8 costs, it's a lifestyle choice, if you enjoy the sport and can afford it, go for it. They hold good resale values. You need to consider extra barrels, mag adapters, different bolt heads between cartridge groups (mini, standard & magnum) and scope mount options. I ended up with at least one scope mount per barrel and extra mounts for red dot and thermal sights.

This pic shows a two Pelican 1700 cases each holding an R8 with 2 scoped barrels, in this case .300 Win Mag and .375 H&H Mag, total external case length is 38". Nice and easy for travel.

 

[artschool]

What did it for me was a bloke I know was giving it all the trap when the R8 first came out, we went out one of my bits to zero his new £3K baby.

In short it shot like a bag of spanner’s and then I got my £270 rust bucket ruger M77 and shot a lovely little clover right In the middle of his group.

Never entertained the company of one since.

source: trust me bro.

 

[HME]

We/I have used Blaser rifles for over 15 years, when it was almost impossible to give one way to now being the must have rifle, along with a Bavarian Mountain Hound and a Ford Raptor!

In those years I have put literally 10's of thousands of rounds down various Blaser barrels from .223 to .458 Lott in R93 and R8. The range rifles are .308, one barrel did 68,000 rounds, the other 62,000 rounds before being retired, both are still used on the boar range at 50m and still shoot more than adequately at that range but I wouldn't be happy putting a DSC1 candidate behind one for a shooting test. Being .308, they are lower velocity and pressure and lend themselves to hard use. We have over 26 Blaser/Sauer barrels in use and every one can and does rust! Our rifles are in use all day in all conditions with little downtime for maintenance between.

All Blaser barrels will rust if exposed to moisture, fact, the nitride finish isn't rust proof. the internals are worse. Keep it free from fouling (Jakele field kit) and clean it when it has reached room temperature to avoid condensation and the barrel will outlast most shooters. Even my hot calibres such as 6.5 x 284 Norma and 300 WM have lasted well in excess of other barrels when well maintained. A long day in the field in harsh conditions could lead to slight rusting, most of my culling calibres suffer from this, but it's nothing that can't be put right. Our range rifles will do in excess of 10,000 rounds each year per barrel and with maintenance soak it up all day long.

Regarding internal pitting, this can have a very significant effect on accuracy, as the pressure differences occurring within the barrel can make significant changes in point of impact, something we are seeing with increasing regularity with lead free ammunition. Without a borescope it's impossible to see the internal damage to a barrel, but it's highly likely that a lack of maintenance will contribute heavily to this, remove the loose fouling at the very least. Pitting is rarely from rust but from the powder residue combining with heat and moisture leading to a highly acidic (Nitric) residue acting on tiny fissures and pores in barrels. Get the loose fouling out, the carbon and copper won't affect accuracy in a hunting rifle under normal use. A target/hand cut lapped barrel with finer tolerances will be more affected by copper fouling.

Regarding 'shooting like a bag of spanners', I've lost count of the number of rifles that do that, yet when the shooter is taken out of the equation the result is very different. Only last week, we were sent a R8 in 30-06 that didn't shoot, despite the £500 plus tips range fees and £400 of ammunition spent with 'professionals' at other shooting grounds with nothing better than a 2" group. Six different types of ammunition off the shelf shot a sub 2cm group, that was an interesting conversation!

This is why we use the rifles we do, we depend on them, their reliability, accuracy and durability.

Hope that makes sense and helps?.

Safe shooting

HME

 

[scotch_egg]

I will have to add that my proof research carbon barrel has pitted. Not a blaser but non the less it shows that any and even the high end kit is susceptible to corrosion.

As for those saying that wouldn’t use a blaser. That wasn’t the question! Each to their own.

Wouldn’t take one as a gift.

Unless I could immediately sell it for full RRP.


Plenty of people use them daily with great effect,just aren’t for me.

The triggers are great in a blaser. The trigger I felt on the new Sako 90 felt numb and I wouldn’t own one. It’s personal choice. Stick to the question in point. How much do the rust….

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

Don’t get me wrong I can afford a blaser if I wanted one but they just don't do it for me.

I’m a hillbilly Ruger lover, practically indestructible, about as popular as a kick in the horlicks but 100% reliable, and just about all weather and every situation known to man!

Plus with a Ruger M77 you don’t get the blaser click


And that’s all I need 100% reliability

 

[Dave_45]

What did it for me was a bloke I know was giving it all the trap when the R8 first came out, we went out one of my bits to zero his new £3K baby.

In short it shot like a bag of spanner’s and then I got my £270 rust bucket ruger M77 and shot a lovely little clover right In the middle of his group.

Never entertained the company of one since.

I will have to add that my proof research carbon barrel has pitted. Not a blaser but non the less it shows that any and even the high end kit is susceptible to corrosion.

As for those saying that wouldn’t use a blaser. That wasn’t the question! Each to their own.



The triggers are great in a blaser. The trigger I felt on the new Sako 90 felt numb and I wouldn’t own one. It’s personal choice. Stick to the question in point. How much do the rust….

I’ve seen enough of them to know I wouldn’t own one, rust is definitely an issue for them , even with the most attentive owners.

As much as I was joking about , I wasn’t either.

 

[Lateral]

And it’s switch barrel with fitted picatinny rail so need to change mounts as the barrel comes with it, also barrels are about £600 from what I have been told.

A good, but very limited choice of barrels currently.

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

A good, but very limited choice of barrels currently.

30-06 what more do you need?

And 6.5 creedmoor for the limp wristed amongst us

 

[Lateral]

What did it for me was a bloke I know was giving it all the trap when the R8 first came out, we went out one of my bits to zero his new £3K baby.

In short it shot like a bag of spanner’s and then I got my £270 rust bucket ruger M77 and shot a lovely little clover right In the middle of his group.

Never entertained the company of one since.

So, a guy buys a new rifle, "any rifle", and goes to zero it for the first time, with untried ammunition, and shock, horror, the rifle doesn't like the chosen ammunition

And THAT'S what you based your conclusion on ???

 

[south-nofolk-stalker]

So, a guy buys a new rifle, "any rifle", and goes to zero it for the first time, with untried ammunition, and shock, horror, the rifle doesn't like the chosen ammunition

And THAT'S what you based your conclusion on ???

yep, I’m afraid so especially when it cost £3k

I’m an old-fashioned dinosaur, who has a blatant, hate, and disregard of blaser

Especially when a month ago, I had somebody stalking into a CWD. I was 15 yards away in the hedge and all I could hear was click – reload – click – reload – click– reload- bang dead cwd!

I was actually bloody surprised that the deer stood there long enough to get shot.

Sorry, but whatever ever, I have fed a sako/tikka/Ruger have all shot 1” or better with very little effort.

You want to spend £3K on a rifle crack on doing what you do.

BUT there are far cheaper, better alternatives out there!

 

[PasqualeM]

I wrote this a while ago: "I have an Ultimate Carbon with the adjustable cheekpiece and recoil pad. It shoots as well as my custom BAT rifle but you can adjust it for any shooting position and easily take it apart for cleaning and then put it together without any POI shift. Very good rifle in the winter time aswell, works in cold temps, -40...good rifle." When it comes to rust my opinion is that it is as good as anything outhere...both the R93 & R8. Me and a friend have used them for about 15 years during the winter.

 

[Overlay]

I wrote this a while ago: "I have an Ultimate Carbon with the adjustable cheekpiece and recoil pad. It shoots as well as my custom BAT rifle but you can adjust it for any shooting position and easily take it apart for cleaning and then put it together without any POI shift. Very good rifle in the winter time aswell, works in cold temps, -40...good rifle." When it comes to rust my opinion is that it is as good as anything outhere...both the R93 & R8. Me and a friend have used them for about 15 years during the winter.

Good testament for a working rifle

 

[Craigsaun]

yep, I’m afraid so especially when it cost £3k

I’m an old-fashioned dinosaur, who has a blatant, hate, and disregard of blaser

Especially when a month ago, I had somebody stalking into a CWD. I was 15 yards away in the hedge and all I could hear was click – reload – click – reload – click– reload- bang dead cwd!

I was actually bloody surprised that the deer stood there long enough to get shot.

Sorry, but whatever ever, I have fed a sako/tikka/Ruger have all shot 1” or better with very little effort.

You want to spend £3K on a rifle crack on doing what you do.

BUT there are far cheaper, better alternatives out there!

A very enjoyable film Regarding the (Blaser click) that will be down to the nut behind the but , not by no means the rifle , and that’s coming from a Blaser owner

 

[NullMac]

I have an R8 Ultimate 65CM Match barrel.

I have mixed feelings about it at the mo'.

I like:

- it is compact
- adjustable cheek is one of the best designs I have come across
- option to switch stock module is nice, I have the adj which works well. I am into ergonomics
- match barrel is fluted and its not particularly heavy
- trigger is nice without going to the upgrade.
- it shoots 7mm at 100m so nowt wrong with accuracy
- not had any rust problems unlike previous rifles
- the mount system; nice to take the scope off and have the same poi when it goes back on
- straight pull is easier to stay on target for me.
- drop out trigger is not the problem I feared

I dislike (with some enthusiasm):

- the forend; it flexes and can be hard against the barrel with some bipod settings. That is unacceptable in a rifle at this price bracket. It is a known issue and there are aftermarket solutions but really?!
- everything is £££.
- their rings? I think I can shift zero in some positions when managing recoil on the front ring. Not sure. Probably better with the pic rail and third party rings.

IMO at this price point there should be no dislikes which reflect design failures.