I would like to hear from people who own, have owned or are familiar with either. Not looking to buy either, just want to hear feedback. Maybe someday..........

While I have only handled a blaser, I do steal my brothers Cooper 52 custom when I go coyote hunting down in Buffalo County. The gun is accurat, wood is out of this world and the fit is second to none. If it were a choice, hands down it would be cooper. I just think that the R8 concept is sort of gimicky, cool but giminky.

Seems to me apples and oranges. The strength of the Blaser is the interchangeable barrels. I have an R93 with 375H&H, 300WM and 7mm RM barrels. Probably the last rifle I will ever sell.
Peter.

I'm with Peter on this one. At one time I had 18 separate Blaser barrels, from 22-250 to 416 Remington. And you don't give up accuracy with a Blaser either, they're one of the most accurate rifles I've owned. It doesn't take much trial and error to get a 1/2" shooter out of just about any of them.

I have never seen a Blaser that wasn't accurate. The ones I shoot were accurate right out of the box. I own a Mauser M 03 system. Barrels from 22-250 to 404 Jeffery. All accurate. As I understand it, Blaser, Mauser, and Sauer are 3 manufacturers under one roof in Germany. All well made and accurate.

I own two coopers. Both are exceptional. Never owned or handled a Blaser but have only heard praise about them.

I have shot several Coopers and they are fine rifles. Most if not all of the centerfire rifles out there are single shots.

With the Blasers you get a system. Multiple barrels, easy interchangeably, compact storage and travel and sub minute of angle accuracy with every one.

Blasers hold their value, unlike other brands.

I am biased and even started a web site just for Blaser lovers, but as many others have said, once you seriously shoot and use the R93/R8's, you will give up all of your other bolt guns.

To me, it's no comparison.

I hunted all my life with traditional bolt guns, buying/selling/trading many of them over the years, and the one Cooper that I owned was certainly one of the two or three finest of that bunch. Once I tried the Blaser system (in my case the R93) it quickly supplanted all of them as my "serious" hunting rifle. It can't be compared to a traditional bolt action rifle...aesthetics aside (and I am not in love with the Blaser profile) it has all the attributes and none of the pitfalls. Handling, light weight, trigger, QD scope mounts that really do return to zero, easy takedown, barrel and modular interchangeability, accuracy, shooting comfort, decocking safety...there's no practical downside for me.

I still hunt for fun with other bolt guns occasionally, but when I do I feel the same way as when I use a single shot falling block, a lever action or even a muzzle loader, i.e. that I am using an obsolete hunting weapon with inherent disadvantages for which I must allow and compensate. For varmints, or deer on the back fourty, I like that. For a serious hunt far from home, in a location that I probably will never see again, or for a species that I may never hunt again, or simply when I need meat in the freezer, the Blaser always gets the nod as the best, most reliable and most capable tool for the job.

.

the cooper is a rifle, the blaser is a piece of machinery

quote:

Originally posted by butchloc:
the cooper is a rifle, the blaser is a piece of machinery

I agree completely. To hold and fondle, to admire the sleek lines and fine wood, to cluck and coo over the hand craftsmanship, or to use for hunting while honouring traditions of the past, give me a fine bolt gun any day, or better yet a nice single shot or double.

To concentrate on hunting, in tough or nasty conditions, where you are after meat and where there are other things to worry about aside from the idiosyncrasies of ancient technology embodied by the gun in your hands...give me my Blaser machine.

I don't have any experience with Cooper Rifles but I have a good friend that has several and he tells they all shot well.

I have a Blaser R93 with two barrels, one in 9,3X62 and a second barrel in 30-06. The whole rig, with scopes and all, fit in a nice tiny little case and I figure that I could probably hunt the world with that one gun. They are very accurate and damn near as fast as a double. Triggers are excellent and IMHO, Blaser has created the very best scope mounting system on the market.

Do you guys who think the blaser is an over engineered piece of machinery rather than a rifle also think the pinnacle of automotive design is the 57 chevy?

Well I shoot a Blaser, I only had it for 6 years now. Its my hunting rifle of choice. They just shoot, no fuss. When you are done, you can take it down put in in a draw of you dresser. And come hunting season or a hunt to some far off place. Put it together, check the zero, they stay zeroed with one or two shots, then go shoot something and repeat. A very very good rifle for a serious hunter who what to just hunt rather than endless fiddling and load development.

Can't help but be amused by this discussion. There is a rifle for sale in Classifieds where the owner spent $550 getting it accurized! Never heard of a Blaser owner having to do that. There is a joy in owning an accurate rifle. In fact as somone else said "only accurate rifles are interesting". The Cooper certainly has a reputation for accuracy and beauty, so it is undoubtably a fine rifle as well. The OP did not mention caliber. I suspect that the Blaser is available in a greater variety of calibers. The trigger is amazing right out of the box. Haven't touched mine. I have QD mounts on my S2 and the scope returns to zero with 100% reliability. Certainly amazing design and engineering. When will the USA equal or challenge this? Never, as long as Americans buy what the companies produce. Having said that, rifles in the $300-$400 range are certainly of interest, but not in the "heirloom" category.
Peter.

I have never seen a Cooper in the flesh, so I'm not going to say anything untowards; I'm sure they're a fine rifle.

I own a Blaser R93 "system", 2 stocks, 7 barrels, 11 Saddle Mounts with a corresponding array of optics and mini, standard & magnum bolt heads in both right & left-handed bolt carriers. It is my hunting rifle of choice; all I have to do is quickly consider the hunting parameters and then select the appropriate chambered barrel to obtain the desired (accurate) results.

Snob, Nah, far from it; the overwhelming purchase decision was my good fortune to be able to afford the considerable $$$ outlay (because they're not exactly inexpensive) and the ability to slide a Left-Handed bolt out and insert a Right-Handed bolt into an action just as easily as speaking about it. Accuracy in all barrels has been superb; just pick a bullet, the appropriate powder and go to work, usually the initial effort was <1" and some tweaking had 5 shot groups into usually about half that.

quote:

Originally posted by Gerry:
. . . I own a Blaser R93 "system", 2 stocks, 7 barrels, 11 Saddle Mounts . . .

Gerry, my have you been busy lately, you trying to catch me?

I can only comment on Blaser, have 2x R93 and an R8 with a 'few' barrels. For a hunting machine it is absolutely great, put the machine together with appropriate optics and enjoy the hunt.

Traveling is a consideration in this day and age with number of bags and extra fees. An R93 in a short Pellican with two barrels and two scopes and off to any point on the globe for a wide variety of animals. A great advantage is you are always using the same stock, same trigger, and have the same feel and rifle with whatever barrel you slap on.

If you want it in a configuration that 'feels' like a Cooper, with enough dollars you can get the Baronesse, a mighty fine looking 'machine' Waidmannsheil, Dom.

Try doing this with something other than a Blaser. A complete 300 Weatherby Magnum rifle, a large handgun and room to spare and it all fits into a case that complies with airline dimensions/weight for standard baggage. Best of all, you put the Blaser together in about 5 minutes and it shoots to the same place and just as well as when you took it apart.

If you do much traveling with firearms and especially if you change airlines in the process, what you save in charges for oversized baggage will make a Blaser seem not so expensive.

Grummy, pretty dark wood on that one :-)

I know and it's pretty handy when sitting up in a pig blind at night when it's raining a little.

quote:

sitting up in a pig blind at night when it's raining a little

Out here, we call that poaching! :-)

quote:

also think the pinnacle of automotive design is the 57 chevy?

well yeah!!!

I have had a play with few blasers and there is lots to like and for a "stalking" rifle they would be fine.
For me though, the 3 shot internal mag is a limitation that l can't look over. Unfortunately they could of fixed this with the R8 but they made it worse with the abortion that they came up with. They should have gone with the system of a detachable magazine that they employ on the tac2.
For me a rifle needs to hold 5 internally or if less then it must have a decent detachable mag.

I own several Blasers and, as stated above, all are < MOA, regardless of caliber.


.300 Win Mag


9,3x62


.222 Rem


Travel outfit with .300 Win Mag and 9,3x62 scoped barrels.

BTW GK1, the R8 has a detachable magazine and trigger housing with a capacity of 4 + 1.

Andre' l am aware that the R8 has a 4 shot mag, but it also has the trigger and trigger guard hanging off it. It's not the sort of thing you can have a couple of in your front pocket.
As l said, for some applications they would be fine for, but what do you do when there's a large mob of goats or pigs? They are not the sort of rifle that can be reloaded quickly. You can't even fire a 5 shot group without interruption.

quote:

Originally posted by gk1:
Andre' l am aware that the R8 has a 4 shot mag, but it also has the trigger and trigger guard hanging off it. It's not the sort of thing you can have a couple of in your front pocket.
As l said, for some applications they would be fine for, but what do you do when there's a large mob of goats or pigs? They are not the sort of rifle that can be reloaded quickly. You can't even fire a 5 shot group without interruption.

They can also be loaded from the top like a traditional bolt action.

I'm not really much interested in guns as, in the end, they are just a tool to do a job and life isn't about gadgets bur rather is about what you do while you are here. I find the Blaser is a very simple tool that works well, is easy to travel with, is easy to adapt to left handed operation, is easy to load for. Also I often hunt in rain (actually it seems to me I always hunt in rain) and my plastic Blaser comes apart, gets a quick wipe down and that's the job done once I come back from a day out.

At first I didn't appreciate fully the advantages of the Blaser but over some years of stalking and travelling with it I find that I just couldn't face going back to a more traditional rifle. If I wanted a fancy rifle I'd love an H&H in 300H&H but the truth is that it would be more trouble than it is worth in terms of travelling with it and keeping it in good condition and...

So, I agree that the Blasers aren't pretty and that they are just a tool for doing a job but for someone who is interested in stalking and hunting and for whom the rifle is merely a tool to get them out in the countryside or off to some far flung spot then I think the Blaser is hard to beat. I think what that means is that as a rifle it will not be well suited to a lot of people but there are plenty of other options to go around.

quote:

Originally posted by TerryR:
Do you guys who think the blaser is an over engineered piece of machinery rather than a rifle also think the pinnacle of automotive design is the 57 chevy?

Non sequitur...

quote:

Non sequitur.

Hey! Isn't that a dirty word? :-)

My cooper hasn't left the safe since I got a Blaser.

I'm taking my R8 with me to kodiak next week.

Good luck on the Island. Bring rain gear!

I have used Blaser products since 1999..starting out because I was left handed and the R93 could go left or right. I have owned 14 different barrels in the R93 system and have 4 barrels for the R8. The Blaser is one of the most accurate guns out of the box you can buy. Out of the 18 different barrels I have owned. I only had one that would not shoot under 1 inch at a 100 yards. I had a 222 and a 9.3 barrel that were true one hole barrels. They are durable, accurate, and expensive. Are Coopers good rifles???Sure they are--but I will put my blaser up to a shooting contest with any cooper--then break it down and put it away in a take down case that travels great.

The only bitch I have is the scope mounting system is pretty damn expensive..and service can be spotty at times, their change in managment and what they carry changes by the day!

quote:

Originally posted by ALF:

The genius lies not in the fact that it is a "system" but rather in the fact that the bolting is done directly to the breech end of the barrel.

Guns of this design all share a common trait and that is uncanny out of the box precision shooting capability.

The plus points to this type of setup is obvious not only in the fact that it negates many of the problems associated with botling to an action but also that the actions now do not need to be bulky or have any inherent strength, the bolt itself does not need to be long, it's length not determined by stroke needed to clear the case form the breech, and now the optics are mounted directly to the barrel.

Perhaps the "american" gun manufacturing trade will one day to wake up to this fact.

A bit of hyperbole, don't you think Alf?

No one is saying Blasers are not good rifles, but locking the bolt into the barrel is not a new idea whether it is done by European companies or American ones, is it?

Omark is an American corporation, but its subsidiary Omark of Australia was manufacturing rifles with the bolts locking into the barrels in the very early 1970s.


The problem with that is when one wants a different barrel, it is much more expensive to come by unless one is satisfied with a factory profile of barrel, in a chambering offered by the factory.

Cutting the locking lug recessess into a new barrel and achieving correct headspace is not a service very many gunsmiths enjoy doing, so it is priced accordingly by them.

It is not something seen to be a thrilling revolution in gunmaking for American firms whose sporting market is measured in millions of sales worldwide. Most of their customers are not the well-heeled, but the everyday working Joes who may be able to afford a new barrel to play with every year or two or four as long as getting/fitting it doesn't break his budget.


The same sort of concern is what killed some of the Savage rifle company models back in the 1920s and '30s. They were made by the factory with a 1-piece action and barrel. They shot well enough, but when one wanted to renew the barrel or make any other substantial change to the chambering or barrel he was intercoursed but not kissed, to put it politely.

As some one else here put it, it is a comparison of Apples and Oranges to compare Blaser rifles and any of the high dollar American semi-customs. Like the two fruits, both are delicious but comparing their tastes is an exercise in abstract futility.

Eh?

I'm a Blaser Addict like many who have added to this thread... Very simple to dry off, and accuracy is outstanding out of the box... I have 2 stocks and 11 R 93 barrels.... No need for any other rifles except the Defense/Assault rifles... For the Zombies of course!!!

True. One can do just about any hunting thing with a Blaser, the right stocks, bolt-heads, and barrels.

No need for anything else.

But then it isn't about "need" for most of us, is it?

I like some models of Blaser rifles. But I don't consider American makers of firearms unenlightened (or belittle them) for meeting their markets the way they do.

I consider their assessment and recognition of their market(s) both domestic and foreign as the major reason they have sold so many of their products for so long. And I am tickled they are still here and still in business.

The Coopers, in my experience, are a fine rifle. I admire the fit and finish and they are very accurate. The ones I have are awesome.

When I go hunting, though, I take the Blaser R8. I have calibers for just about anything.

To answer the OP's question - both good rifles. Different, but fine just the same.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
I have never seen a Blaser that wasn't accurate. The ones I shoot were accurate right out of the box. I own a Mauser M 03 system. Barrels from 22-250 to 404 Jeffery. All accurate. As I understand it, Blaser, Mauser, and Sauer are 3 manufacturers under one roof in Germany. All well made and accurate.

+1 the R93 that I had some years ago (9,3x62 & 300WBY) were very accurate, as well as the two R8 I have today (9,3x62 & 338WM)which cover all my huntings.
You are right the three marks belong to the same company and are produced at Isny in Germany.

i dont like either of them, but overall blaser is better