I do a lot of tracking for wounded boars and red deers with my dogs. For nearly 20 years I did it with a Mauser98 in 8x57IS with laminated or synthetic stock, now since 7 years I do it with the Blaser R93-Nachsuche. After having never problems with the Mauser, I had have a lot of problems with the Blaser: broken bolt, losed open sights, bad magazin-loading with the .308Win.... The advantages of the Blaser: fast handling, light weight, great safety, but I miss the reliability of the Mauser! Anybody similar or other experiance?

It has it's downfalls but I have switched and I am not going back.

The safety, trigger, accuracy, and switch barrel versitility make it number one for me.

D99, you are right, it is a excellant rifle, but it has problems in heavy duty use!

Monastery-Forester
I use the Blaser R 93 quite a bit and I have not had any problems.
I have used my Blasers in dusty,sandy and wet conditions. Some very wet conditions.
Can you give us some of the details on how and what exactly has broken on your 93?

O.K., after tracking a boar in wintersnow, I was unable to open the action to put the .308 out of the chamber, so I fired . When the shoot sounded, the bolt was flying in the air!!! This was not a handload, it was a Lapua fabrikload with the wonderful naturalis bullet. I sent the gun back to Blaser, the could not find a mistake, but they told me, that the gun was dirty, what a wonder! When it came back, there was a new bolt. Some days later I losed the open sights, they are fixed with a mini screw and a little bit of glue! Handmade in Germany!!
Please pardonne my bad english!

Hi Monastery-Forester,

nice to see a fellow-German on AR! Where are you from in Northern Germany? I am from Münster if that rings any bell?

If you want to exchange good or bad experiences about the beloved R93, take a look at the German hunting forum http://forum.wildundhund.de. You might as well use the search function, then you'll see that people have almost been killing each other, arguing about this rifle...

Waidmannsgeheul,

elwood.

In the first instance my suspicion is you had a blocked barrel .... most likely you got some snow in it and it froze into ice. It doesn't take much ice to freeze the bolt shut. When you fired a round into the obstructed barrel the increased pressure drove the bolt back out of the action. If you wold have allowed the rifle to thaw and then worked the bolt I suspect you would not have had a problem. I would put a piece of tape over the end of the barrel if you are going to hunt in snow.

Hello;
Neu bedeutet nicht unbedingt besser.
Grizz

DB Bill, there was tape on the barrel, and I am sure, there was no snow in the barrel! Such problems I never saw in my mausers!

Elwood, Iam readind the "Wild-u.Hund"-Forum, translate my nick, perhaps you can find me there! I am living in the "Lüneburger Heide", 40 south of HH.

quote:

Originally posted by Monastery-Forester:
translate my nick, perhaps you can find me there!

Got it! Wasn't all that hard...

Sorry, sorry, I made a tranlation mistake, it was not the bolt, which was broken, it was the bolt handle! Sorry!

Monastery-Forester,

Ihr Englisch ist besser als mein Deutscher und verbessert vermutlich als mein Spanisch.

I have used the Blaser system since 94 -95. I have never had a problem with the rifle including 3 years in Africa! My Blasers get used evey weekend in the harshest conditions. I am very interested with your problems you had with your R 93, who did you talk to at Blaser?

Aleko

Hello HA, the problem with the bolt handle I have decribed earlier, a lot of trouble I had with the supply of the cartridges from the magazine to the barrel,they thrashed in the magazine. This problem is well known at Blaser with all short cartridges, very well known with the WSM! I have now my 3th magazine!Look to the open sights of the Offroad-Nachsuche( is it "Tracker" called in the USA?): perfekt in design and handling, but it is a very cheap plastic part , fixed with a mini screw and a drop of cheap glue. It is not qualified for the heavy duty use while tracking wounded boars!
You know, we are hunting in Germany in very small areas with a great number of game and our hunting saisons are very long, nearly from may to february, depending of the kind of game. So beeing something like a PH, I do a lot of hunting and guiding, my special function is the tracking of wounded game not only in my own hunting-area, I do in a great area ( in german mind). Often I do it every day in the saison, so my guns are working-tools and are weared hard!

I too have a tracker in .308, much like yours it is a tool that gets used heavily. It is my constant companion. Interesting problems. I am very interested in your magazine for the short action, I have never seen that problem, I have a 300 win Mag magazine that has been used for 8 years with out any noticeable wear.

I would very much like to speak with you privately my email is ha1@xmission.com

Aleko

HA, no problem, you can send me a mail:
Frank-Wolf.Dahlem@Klosterforsten.de

quote:

Originally posted by Heritage Arms:
I am very interested with your problems you had with your R 93

No.
You aren't. And you have proven that oft enough.
You are nothing more than a paid distributor of Blaser trying to dispell even the most glaring and best-proven problems.

Carcano

Not really. I am a user of the system too.

Aleko

quote:

carcano91:
No.
You aren't. And you have proven that oft enough.
You are nothing more than a paid distributor of Blaser trying to dispell even the most glaring and best-proven problems.
Carcano

Monastery-Forester

I was really happy to sell my blaser R-93....never ever again. Design's like Mannlicher, Mauser 1898 are far superior in my opinion.

My blaser R-93 was nothing but trouble, defect magazines, oversized chamber, rough barrel and unreliable function...A poorly designed product.

Cheers
/JOHAN

Johan,
I have followed your many posts on concerns about the R93. I agree with you. I do not own a 93 but do own an old R84. What are your thoughts about the R84?

Geoff

The R 84 was and is a decent gun. One may or may not like it esthetically, but it was a real, well-made gun (not a conglomerate of plastic and sheet metal sold for five times its value), and it did *not* have the built-in safety problem of the R 93.

Regards,
Carcano

quote:

Originally posted by geoff:
What are your thoughts about the R84? Geoff

Geoff,
I have very little experience with Blaser R84, those who has them are quite pleased. It seems to be far better built than Blasers current production.

Blaser Blockbüchse BL 820 was one of the company's most interesting models, naturally it's no longer in production

Cheers
/JOHAN

Johan, I think the Blaser "blockbüchse" was the most beautyfull gun ever produced by Blaser, but I like the K 77 too. It is much nicer than the K 95, which looks like a car without fenders compared to the K 77!
There were no plastic part on the BL 820!

Thanks guys,

Isn't it typical of industry? When something good is produced, it is soon discontinued for a new or "improved" model.

Geoff