Who on AR is a Blaser user and expert? I shot one recently and am seriously impressed! (no, I am not on drugs....)

Well, I know a few good psychiatrists...

...a lot of seasoned Blaser shooters around here...Biebs is the resident expert.

I've only had mine a little less than a year...what is it you need to know?

I have an R8 and an R93. I have multiple barrels for the R93, including a 9.3x62, a .375 H&H and a .416 Rem Mag. The R8 is a .500 Jeffery. All are incredibly accurate. The triggers are the best on any rifle, period. I lugged the .416 Rem Mag on a long hunt in Zim, through swamps and everything else. Functioned absolutely flawlessly.

Beibs an expert???
I missed that in his resume.

I shot the R8 in .300WM with a suppressor and was blown away by the accuracy and the lack of noise.

Is the R8 the current best or where does it fit in the product line? I really know very little about them.

I liked the bolt and the trigger. I had zero issues shooting quickly with that bolt and magazine.

quote:

Is the R8 the current best or where does it fit in the product line? I really know very little about them.

The R8 replaced the R93 years ago..it can be had in anything from the most basic grade all the way up to exhibition quality.

http://www.blaser-usa.com/index.php?L=1


I bought from EuroOptic...great guys to deal with
http://www.eurooptic.com/blaser.aspx

I'm not an expert, but have an R93 and R8. The R8 is the newest and comes with either a removable trigger and magazine..There is a newer less expensive model with a fixed trigger and magazine box. Anyone you pick is exceptionally accurate. Enjoy

Ross,

I'm a traditionalist in that I like some form of Paul Mauser's design. Having said that though I had a chance in Zambia to look over a German's R8 rifle and watch him disassemble and reassemble it. The only thing I didn't like about it was the price. Yeah it has plastic parts and the straight pull might provide a new learning experience but I just don't see that as a problem.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:
Beibs an expert???
I missed that in his resume.

I shot the R8 in .300WM with a suppressor and was blown away by the accuracy and the lack of noise.

Is the R8 the current best or where does it fit in the product line? I really know very little about them.

I liked the bolt and the trigger. I had zero issues shooting quickly with that bolt and magazine.

I have a couple of R 93 Blasers and multiple barrels. They may seem expensive until you consider the fact you'll not need to have any work done on one to make it feed right or make the trigger better. You can also remove the scope via the QD rings, remove the barrel and reassamble it and there will be no loss of zero. That means you can get it into a pretty small case for travel.

Though I have R 93s, if I were buying one now I'd get an R 8 as the R 93 is being phased out and Blaser will probably stop supporting it.

There are two things I don't like about them; the front stud for the sling is on the tip of the stock which makes it unsuitable for use with a bipod. Also, on the barrels with iron sights, the stock, at least for me, doesn't let me align the sights as easily as other iron sighted rifles.

PM sent :-)

quote:

PM sent :-)

Biebs, you're slipping. It took you 2hrs & 38mns. to respond.
Go getem tiger.

I have never owned a rifle that is more accurate or reliable than a Blaser, and right out of the box, by the way.

Mine and my wife's are all R93s. Never felt the need for the newer one.

My blazer R93 attaché was one of the first to arrive in Australia and have enjoyed using it on many head of game.
Some great points are Safty, accuracy, scope mounting,portability, point and more.

Walter loves his Blaser.

That is enough reason for me to dislike the bloody thing

I have used Blaser since 1996. I have R93 and R8 in 3 different stocks and 4 different barrels. Travelled with the rifles on 30+ international hunts in 11 different countries.

What do you want to know ? Send me a PM and I will try to answer the best I can.

Morten

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Walter loves his Blaser.

That is enough reason for me to dislike the bloody thing

Mr Todd Williams is another true disliker


Morten

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Walter loves his Blaser.

That is enough reason for me to dislike the bloody thing

Well, he and I are engineers, I think. That usually explains something that is simple yet complex - crude yet efficient - expensive yet ...whatever....

Other people have been impressed too...











Wonderful guns, until one finds out their fundamental design flaw.

Unfortunately, people keep getting maimed... I've been following these accidents for long, and I'm sick and tired of seeing every few months that one more shooter is maimed for life.

Don't believe me outright, do your own research... And remember, Billy Bob telling you "That's bullshit, I've been shooting mine for years and nothing ever happened" is one of the stupidest comments you'll ever hear - and you'll hear it often.

Search, and ye shall find the problem...

In my past life, I was on a medical evacuation team charged with getting a gentleman, who suffered injury from a Blaser malfunction, to proper medical care. I realise this is anecdotal, but it left a mark with me.

they are great for helping a tank out of the ditch

Philip A., handloading is too complicated for some people, and they should not attempt it.

Some of them find out too late for their own good. Most of those injured by their own mistakes are not Blaser owners, but some are.

I feel very sorry for such people, but they do not affect my choice of fiream or my handloading practices.

I think a design fault and operator error add up to produce these nasty blwo ups with Blasers.

I have seen people just tap the bolt forward, and let it go forward and lock all by itself.

Most of teh times this works, but every now and then, the bolt does NOT close properly, and in the instances I have seen, the rifle misfires.

Now if we have a combination of a slightly long firing pin and a sensitive primer, the rifle goes off with disasterous results.

We have a Blaser R93 LRS2 here3 which people like to shoot.

I specifically tell them to make sure they PUSH the bolt forward and make sure it has locked.

Those are from an older Blaser model, no longer manufactured. Blaser denied that their gun had anything to do with those injuries, but they did stop making that model.

If I was going to buy a straight pull, I would be looking at a Merkel.

Ross:










And don't forget:

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:
Philip A., handloading is too complicated for some people, and they should not attempt it.

Some of them find out too late for their own good. Most of those injured by their own mistakes are not Blaser owners, but some are.

I feel very sorry for such people, but they do not affect my choice of fiream or my handloading practices.

Nope. This is Blaser's argument, and it's not true: some victims did handload, but many were just using factory ammunition.

It is a DESIGN FAULT.

Under certain circumstances, the R93 fails to lock and fires out of battery, or unlocks when there is a case separation (design fault)

Due to its basic design, then the bolt is turned into a missile that hits the shooter straight in the face.

Blaser is fully aware of that, and this is why they ENTIRELY REDESIGNED their "absolutely safe" locking system - without telling anything to the public: the R8 (did you ever see in ANY of the R8 adverts that Blaser proudly tells about their NEW locking system? No? Why does a manufacturer put in service a MAJOR redesign without advertising it???)

If a manufacturer risks to be out of business because they seriously screwed up a model, do you think that they are going to fess up, or that they are going to try and blame the shooter? Think...

Do your research, and you'll find out.

BTW, Mauser 98 systems have been in service for over 110 years, produced in tens of millions. More people have been monkeying around with Bubba-ised actions and stupid loads with these actions than any other in the world, for three or four generations. If you find one instance of the bolt flying back in the shooter's face, please let me know. I don't mean it never happened, I just mean I never heard of it - and I did search for it for a long time.

Blaser R93s maim people several times every year. The DESIGN IS WRONG.

Have been handloading for so many years, tried practically every make of bolt gun on the market - including some that were manufactured so many years before I was born, and never had any one blow up.

This despite the fact that we develop wildcats, and try to push them beyond the limits of normal handloading.

As Philip says, the Blaser has a basic design fault, and no argument is going to change that.

Its "accident" history speaks for itself.

I can only speak for my self .... since 1996 I have not had any problems at all with these rifles and I have over the years shot many thousands rounds... I have some friends using Blaser too and the same goes for them..

If the bolt is not locked it is not going to ignite and fire... I have seen photoes of a couple of persons in Scandinavia showing the same injuries and all of them did reloading. Esopecially one guy did reloading for several people. If the bolt head is locked it is the ammo that makes this problem, not the rifle in itself.

Since I am an avid hunter and hunting a lot both at home and abroad I would not use these rifles if problems like you guys are talking about would be the story. Time and money spend on the hunting and the joy of hunting is far to important to risk failure and injuries like this. If this would be the fact I would not use such rifles at all. But sincve I have not experienced any problems and they are fast handling, very accurate and easy travelling with I found them superb !


Morten

I don't own a blaser.
And I only dislike them for religious reasons.
BUT It is a bloody straight shooting, compact and easy handling rifle. And best of all, every single client that brought one shot well with it!

quote:

Originally posted by Thor Kirchner:
I don't own a blaser.
And I only dislike them for religious reasons.
BUT It is a bloody straight shooting, compact and easy handling rifle. And best of all, every single client that brought one shot well with it!

Funny that.

A PH told me he had one client who brought one box of ammo on safari. He wanted to shoot a lion, of all things.

He finished half the box sighting in, and missed every single round of wha is left trying to shoot bait

bloody ugly things wouldnt have one even if it was given to me.........

I'm no expert on them and I have been a traditional bolt gun, wooden stock guy since I started hunting, I bought an R-93 about 10yrs ago for the take down size for travelling and mountain hunts its been an bloody good piece of kit. its practical and extremely accurate tool.

Gun Blow-ups with a Barrel Occlusion - See What Happens to the Blaser

It must be very frustrating to a gunsmith to have a gun out there you don't need to do anything to. The trigger is right and they need no work to make them feed slick as snot. They also don't need accurizing though I didn't have one junk barrel that just wouldn't shoot I bought used; Blaser replaced it with a new one with which I have no complaints.

Also keep in mind the R 93, regardless of what you've heard or how it's classified, is NOT really a bolt action gun. It's more like a pump action (yea, they also have bolts). So, if you wish to compare statistics you should really compare it with like firearms that also blow up on occasion.

In addition, even factory ammo can be defective. I met a gentleman who had a serious injury when his shotgun blew up and he was shooting factory ammo.

The advice to be sure the bolt is fully locked and forward is good though if not locked it's pretty unlikely the gun would fire.

Life is too short to shoot an ugly, unsafe gun.

I bought an R93 in the 90s & had it for considerably more than 10 years....... it was accurate, easy handling & I really liked the rifle...... and I've got to say, it did a lot of work and sometimes wasn't treated well by clients.

One year I took it on a series of safaris to an area that has lots of ultra fine dust and one day, a VERY experienced client climbed out of the truck, took the Blaser from me, cycled the bolt to load a round into the chamber & it fired without him touching the trigger...... I'm 110% sure he didn't touch the trigger because I was watching him like a hawk.

Back in camp, we were able to reproduce the error on several but not all occasions. - In the short term we found him another rifle to use and when I got home, I took the rifle to the then main dealer in Johannesburg who told me the reported error was impossible.

I agreed with him and then reproduced the error (obviously with an unloaded rifle) right there and then. He didn't argue after that but did agree to send the rifle back to the manufacturer who kept it for several months and then returned it with a letter saying there was nothing wrong with it....... However, they had changed everything except the stock & barrel.

I never used the rifle again and sold it soon after but I did tell the dealer I sold it to what had happened and I never heard another word about it...... My bet is it was returned to the manufacturer.

As good as the rifle was for most of the time I had it, I'd never buy another one.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MJines:
. The triggers are the best on any rifle, period. QUOTE]

Gross exaggeration. The two stage triggers made by Tubb, X-Treme, and Bix n'Andy are the best triggers in the world.

Maybe they are the best on any rifle you own.

I have owned 5 blasers, I am currently down to just one a K95. The trigger is ok, but it is not a two-stage.

Even a factory Sako TRG-42 is better than a Blaser.

As I've been told, you can't buy reloading components in Germany without a Gov't issued "reloading license."

This requires a set number of hours of formal training, etc... much in the same way of their hunting license.

Unlike here (where you can order powder and dies and maybe or maybe not read a book or two) there really aren't any "bubbas" reloading in Germany.

Chris: yes you need a licence for reloading and for buying powder in very limited quantities. Bullets, cases etc. are not restricted.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Have been handloading for so many years, tried practically every make of bolt gun on the market - including some that were manufactured so many years before I was born, and never had any one blow up.

This despite the fact that we develop wildcats, and try to push them beyond the limits of normal handloading.

As Philip says, the Blaser has a basic design fault, and no argument is going to change that.

Its "accident" history speaks for itself.

To each his own and your own mileage may vary. I kinda go by this. My own experience on safari in Africa I have seen two guns fail. One was a PHs 458 Ruger 77 and the other a friends Model 70 375 H&H.
The Blaser R93 is my favorite travel rifle so it goes with my when I spend the most money for a hunt. That speaks for me. On the other issues that I hear expressed that is your right. I do not care to try and change anyone's mind as I know I would not be successful in arguing the point anyway. In The US we are a pretty letigous place. While I know the Blaser has been rated to withstand pressures stronger than most "accepted" models, I just have not found the numbers of lawsuits out there in the US to prove out that the Blaser design is not safe. I shoot all brands and types of rifles so I have no agenda to say one is better or not but I like to pack a rifle in a small case for traveling but it has to work when I get to where I am going plain and simple. A lot of guys use them for this reason. Times change and synthetic stocks are not a fad. Black rifles are not just a color and if you look at how many scopes are designed for the tactical guys you realize it's not just about the hunters any longer. The world is changing and technological improvements are happening. We don't have to like them or accept them but change happens. Look at what is going on the optic field. Jump on and off the technological train where you choice but it does not stop for time

There are many Blazer users on the European forum. Tomo is the best one I know.