What are the bad points about the Blaser R8?

[bowji john]

I’m yet to find any real fault with mine in any calibre

I own

.22lR
.223
6.5 x 55
9.3 x 62
404 Jeff

Expensive?

Yes

But not as expensive as a £4500 custom Mauser 98 in 404 Jeff that I commissioned to be made for me and ended up throwing away

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

Disagree. The same R8 design is used in their 500 Jeferey as found in other calibers. [I have shot that rifle] The radial petal bolt lock-up is solid in all chamberings.



Not sure that is true. What I do know to be true is that Blaser replace barrels that fail early. I know. I have one. And when that was delivered I was told the "10 year warranty starts again"

Shouldn't have had to replace it in the first place

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

I remember, and I carried your lump with my Blaser lump back to the truck and then returned with my empty rucksack to fill it with your deer that you had shot at over 300m with the Blaser, so the weight is off set by the ridiculous accuracy of these rifles

a 300 meter shot is hardly ridiculous accuracy with modern rifles and dope charts

 

[Dunwaters]

My bone stock .308 tikka t3x 20" barrel, with Vortex Razor LHT, Stalon mod, bipod and sling weighs in at 10 and a half lbs.

My bone stock .22LR T1X 16.5" barrel with Vortex crossfire, Atec Wave, bipod and sling also weighs in just at 9lbs.

Both of which I though were on the lighter side. I've a Howa1500 in .223 with varmint barrel that's pushing over 14lbs

How much does yours weigh?

I have 2, the Sako comes in around 9Lbs loaded, the .270 is an ounce or 2 over 10.

 

[Rasputin]

@Rasputin which model is yours? I recall the “prettier” grades have a higher
That’s a few lb lighter than my current rifle so not a concern at all

A higher? Sorry I don’t understand what you mean.

 

[Bowland blades]

Yes a number of militaries use the blaser R93 TAC2, notably Spanish and Australian SF who have and still are using it to great effect.

I've found the rifling exceptionally hard wearing. Well over 2000 rounds through a 7mm rem mag, over 3000 through a .243 (both R93's but same metal and processes used in R8), the barrels are so hard that if you try to re-bore them you'll spend all day ruining your tooling.

I've seen plenty of over pressure issues on normal actions, never seen it 1st hand on a blaser yet but if you play stupid games you win stupid prizes. They do have overpressure release vents on the chamber so i'd say as safe as any and seeing as the bolt head mechanism is used in some cannons i'd say its a strong design.

There's plenty of disadvantages but the biggest is being labelled a Blaser wa**er.
They are a tad heavy (i know people that stalk with heavier tactical rigs though)
They are quite wide, wider than an R93
The eye relief issue is a non issue providing you choose the right scope and mounts but can limit your scope choice if using genuine mounts
The click is a non issue if you know the rifle and are a competent reloadeder
They are noisy if you stalk on an empty chamber but the safety is silent if you know how to use it correctly

exact opposite to my experiences with blazer

 

[Overlay]

A higher? Sorry I don’t understand what you mean.

price

 

[Bowland blades]

Disagree. The same R8 design is used in their 500 Jeferey as found in other calibers. [I have shot that rifle] The radial petal bolt lock-up is solid in all chamberings.



Not sure that is true. What I do know to be true is that Blaser replace barrels that fail early. I know. I have one. And when that was delivered I was told the "10 year warranty starts again"

again opposite to what i have known to be the case . Not sure on the actual working pressure of a 500 Jeferey , some of those big guns are big Bullet at a slow speed bit like the 410 against an 8 bore or a thumb placed over a water hose end ?

 

[Freeforester]

blazer design is not good with high pressure loads , There where several incidents in the past ( i think one was at a BDS event ?) A guy lost an arm i think ( long while back) . Certainly remember a lady who struggled with pressure on here .222 rem with factory and home loads . Rifling is shallow and gets about half the life of most ( maybe that's the steel , perhaps its because they sell user fit barrels and make a lot of dosh from doing that ? )
Personally i Like a good solid bolt gun and i can buy a couple of sako 85 for the cost of a Blazer . Does any military have or had a straight pull sniper rifle in their inventory?

Have been using R93’s now for thirty years, mostly my attaché .243, still very accurate, and has accounted for several thousand deer. Must’ve got a good one. My home loads aren’t hot though, built for meat consumption, not destruction. Sorry I know it’s off topic re R8’s.

 

[bowji john]

It is indeed the same R8 design from .22LR to 500 Jeff

It was a revelation to me to discover that my humble pro success was happily able to accommodate everything up to 500 J

I’ve shot most calibres up to and including 458 Lott in R8 pro success

No probs

No magazines falling out

No rust

No failure to chamber

No loss of zero

Comfortable to handle in the higher calibres

If necessary I’ll get around the difficulty of my inability to top load at speed by carrying a second preloaded trigger group

 

[devon deer stalker]

a 300 meter shot is hardly ridiculous accuracy with modern rifles and dope charts

Oh ok then smarty pants, I had used my R8 on the same trip, a few days before, 30-06, 445 yards across a mountain valley, with only a bog standard 8x56 S&B scope, no dope charts required, one dead Elk.
Of course before either myself or @big ears shot anything we re-assembled our rifles after the long air travel/hire car trip, and checked zero, which was just a waste of ammo really as the legendary accuracy meant they were still bang as before we left the UK.
How do you/did you find your Blaser when you owned one?

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

Oh ok then smarty pants, I had used my R8 on the same trip, a few days before, 30-06, 445 yards across a mountain valley, with only a bog standard 8x56 S&B scope, no dope charts required, one dead Elk.
Of course before either myself or @big ears shot anything we re-assembled our rifles after the long air travel/hire car trip, and checked zero, which was just a waste of ammo really as the legendary accuracy meant they were still bang as before we left the UK.
How do you/did you find your Blaser when you owned one?

I seem to have struck a nerve Almost proves my point in post #55

 

[Overlay]

It’s the other way around in my opinion. People who shoot anything other than a Blaser are seen as peasants to the Blaser

 

[JTO]

I've never had one, but the one I had demonstrated seemed very noisy.
Earlier in the thread, it was said that they can be noiseless, but elsewhere it was said that they have to be shut 'firmly'.

 

[Shootgun]

I've never had one, but the one I had demonstrated seemed very noisy.
Earlier in the thread, it was said that they can be noiseless, but elsewhere it was said that they have to be shut 'firmly'.

Mine is quiet as a mouse’s fart… you don’t need to slam the bolt shut, just push the bolt handle all the way…

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

Honestly you talk some shite mate.
your statement should win hands down for dick head of the year. well done

Ah I'm just salty because I cant afford a Blaser


And it's too easy to wind you blaser lads ups

 

[Selous]

A higher? Sorry I don’t understand what you mean.

Sorry I was being a computer illiterate F***wit and didn’t mean to post that. The way my addled mind was working was whether the higher grade “pretty” rifles had a different grade of finish to the metalwork than the professional grades but that seems unlikely as the spare barrels seem to be the same finish. Apologies for my muppetry!!

 

[vizslamad]

The price.

Rich people just seem to love em. I love my Tikka light, think I’ll just stay in Poverty Hall.

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

@Overlay why did you edit and remove your name calling post?

 

[Overlay]

i can’t be arsed with the thread anymore
no more contributions from me Mr