Rick,

Hope you love the rifle!

I was just plugging for the M-70...my favorite rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by pagosawingnut:
Michael458,
Keep it up you little shit!
Todd's reloading equipment just took a huge price hike

OK, OK! I'll keep it shut until after all the stuff arrives. But after that ... Wwwhhhooooaaa NELLIE!!

Nice rifle, nice caliber. Though for only $22,000 you could've had these ...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti...x?Item=330388372#PIC

Lane,
No harm, no foul. Winchester fans have deep roots and are almost fanatical about their rifles. I just wasn't raised around them. We all have our favorites, mine being Remington. The older style heavy barrels from the late 60's and 70's but I'm intrigued by the acclaimed out of the box accuracy. I've got to see for myself. Besides, it's nice to be able to find a rifle that fits me out of the box. This rifle has a nice feel to it and certainly has PLENTY of weight. Won't be too bad to carry and will be joy to shoot. My biggest hope is that it will be as accurate as my Big Bore Remingtons.
Chuck,
I really considered those but couldn't come up with the money...

quote:

Originally posted by pagosawingnut:
Lane,
No harm, no foul. Winchester fans have deep roots and are almost fanatical about their rifles. I just wasn't raised around them. We all have our favorites, mine being Remington. The older style heavy barrels from the late 60's and 70's but I'm intrigued by the acclaimed out of the box accuracy. I've got to see for myself. Besides, it's nice to be able to find a rifle that fits me out of the box. This rifle has a nice feel to it and certainly has PLENTY of weight. Won't be too bad to carry and will be joy to shoot. My biggest hope is that it will be as accurate as my Big Bore Remingtons.
Chuck,
I really considered those but couldn't come up with the money...

Once again, nice rifle pagosa! We own Rem 700s, Marlin 336C in 30-30, a Weatherby Mark V, an M70, and a CZ 550. They all shoot and work great (some took a little work). No bias on my part.

I have such a conglomeration of makes, models and calibers that it's pretty hard to pick out a favorite. Rifles, it has to be Remington, but will reserve judgement until I have time to wring out this Blaser. Handguns (revolvers) it has to be Smith & Wesson. Auto's, any brand of dependable and accurate 1911. Not much into shotguns but do like my sxs's

I started into the R8 and it has been slowly replacing everything else in the safe. The switch barrels are great, it made things a lot easier on my trip to Africa last ear. It wasn't the weight savings as much as the space in the tuff Pak.

Pagosawingnut that's a great looking rifle.

I just got my Blaser 416 Rem Mag Licence approved yesterday. Its not such a showpiece though - R93 Offroad. Can always switch with my 375H&H though and have a fancy looking rifle for photographic purposes

Thanks for the nice comments(and some of the nastier ones too ) gents.
Deon, I think it's gorgeous. Probably for what you do with it, and I'm assuming you're a PH from your post, this rifle is a bit heavy. I asked for the steel receiver and a kickstop installed due to the amount of rounds I tend to put downrange, mostly off the bench while working up loads. I have to ask Andre if the kickstop is removable because I don't need it for the 3 calibers I have for it. It makes a .416 shoot very smooth, about like a .375 and should calm a .458 Lott down a bit, but the trade off is It Is Heavy. I didn't think the alloy receiver would stand up to the amount of shooting I do. If it doesn't rain or snow here today, I'll try to get it sighted in today and see what it does.

Rick, the Kickstop is removable...not a Gunsmith-only endeavor.

Jon,
PM me with the details please.

After you put 10 rounds through it you will decide that you would rather have something smaller. So, I'll take that 416 barrel off your hands and lash it to my aluminum receiver'ed R8! We'll see if I can bend it into a pretzel.

(Actually, the 416 can go on either. For larger, they recommend the steel.)

Let us see some groups!

quote:

Originally posted by michael458:

quote:

Michael,
I have owned 2 Winchesters. Nastiest barrels known to mankind. Shoot 30 rounds and clean it for 4 damn days!!! Maybe with custom barrels, they are acceptable. I know that you are haveing a hard time right now with all that has been on you but I AM NOT THE CAUSE!! BE NICE
HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH

Wingnut

No man, someone must have switched barrels on you! HEH......... I actually still have 3-4, 5 maybe, M70s few from the custom shop, drop dead accurate, no joke, 1 hole with 3 at 100.... So don't know what happened with yours... Hey, I know, for cleaning get some steel bullets, that seemed to work pretty good! LOL.......

Anyway, regardless thereof, it is what it is, and congrats, how about some photos of that "ugly" thing! HEH......

Enjoy, just fussing with ya!

Michael

That's easy to do... shoot target, then aim 2 'fliers' off the edge and walk down to the target and say dayuumm!! Look at dat!! One hole Zeke!!

Absolutely nothing wrong with the looks of the Blaser.....until you open the bolt.

Rick - nice looking rifle with exceptional glass. I hope it shoots as well as my Montana Rifle Company DGR.

Dave,
I hope it shoots as well also. I'll wring it out this weekend and see. I don't know if the barrel screws holding it to the action have a torque value that I need to use or just get them snug but will find out. I hope it shoots my already worked up load for the .416 as well as my Remington does. If it comes close, I will be happy.

quote:

Originally posted by Biebs:
Lane, but to take down the Winny for travel, you'd need a hacksaw :-)

Biebs,

Apparently you didn't get the memo. Any and all comers new or old are welcome to trash talk the Blaser. After all it's a euro trash barbie rifle. But the M-70 is American steel and you are not permitted to trash talk or disparage it in any way.

Please adhere to this policy with any future postings.

Thank you.

Blue blooded American rifle shooters.

Pago:

I have an R93 Prestige with two standard contour barrels, a 30/06 and a 9,3X62. I'm with Biebs on this one. Out of the box they are very accurate with great triggers and are the best takedown bolt action rifles on the market today. Your R8 is a beauty.

Thanks Dave.
The trash talkers are just jealous i think. Hell, it doesn't matter. We all shoot some kind of a firearm. I know several that have owned Blaser and sold them, on the other hand, I know several that bought Blaser products and then bought more.
The trigger out of the box is nice. Crisp and light. I'm already used to the "cocker" from my many shots out of the S2 so I shouldn't have any problem getting used to it. Already have a .375 barrel ordered for it, picked up a used barrel and bolthead in 30-06 so I will play a bit this weekend and see how it shoots. As heavy as it is, it certainly tames the .416 down quite a bit and I don't mind the weight. Most of my rifles are heavy barrels already. Butch will have my .500 ready in a week or so so I get to take 2 new rifles to Zim this year.

Of course we're jeolous. Very nice rifle. In my opinion, the perfect calibre, and some pretty wood to boot. Who wouldn't be jeolous?

And, I apparently can't spell.

Pagosa,

I was just having some fun with that whole M-70 schtick. Congratulations on your new rifle. That is a stunning .416. Enjoy it.

Surestrike,
Apparently I should have put a smiley face after my post about trash talkers. I haven't taken any of it to heart. That's why all of the different gun manufacturers sprang up, a newer, different idea, different look and so on. I ordered it for me to try. I also have heard of the malfunctions and misfires. Watched Tony Makris have his .416 not fire on a nice buffalo but also heard him admit to shooter error. He forgot to push the bolt all the way forward. It's all good.
Lavaca, I ordered the wood version because I'm tired of taking synthetic stocks with me. I want to hunt with wood for a change. I'm hoping that the weather here is pretty enough to put it on paper and see what it'll do.

Pago:

If this is your first Blaser, don't be gentle with the bolt. Don't be afraid to slam it shut. That's how it works.

It is my first Dave. What really convinced me to try it was the factory 14 1/2" LOP. At my size, I just need that extra little bit of length and it shoulders very nice, albeit a little heavy with the steel receiver and the kickstop in the stock. Don't need it for the lighter caliber but it will be nice in the .458 Lott.