I am having a moderate midlife crisis at the moment, having hit the age of 43 and increasingly drawn to the idea of getting shot of my mixed cabinet full of rifles and buying a new Blaser R8 (or even an R93) with three or four barrels in my favourite flavours - probably .223, .270, .300WM and something really big. I'm doing a lot of overseas hunting over the next two seasons and lugging big Pelicases full of rifles is a pain in the fundament, particularly when the smug Blaser owner wanders off with his tiny little fiddle case containing an armoury.

I've hunted with other people's Blaser rifles and liked them a lot - accurate, light, versatile etc. On the downside, the R93 is a tad primitve with all that top loading and the Professional stock is a bit tupperware-like. No bother with the straight-pull action and I like the decocking mechanism. Triggers are good out of the box with no fettling required. I don't like the Mauser MO3 because it felt a bit agricultural for an expensive rifle and thought the Saur was too heavy.

I could also consider a dinky little 'gentleman poacher' drilling like IanF but I just don't have the moustache or the trousers to do such a purchase justice

So what does the panel recommend - seek counselling, get over the crisis and enjoy what I've got or cross the rubicon to purchase a pile of German gun-Lego? I need to act fast before my lovely wife discovers my off-shore rifle fund and blows it on spurious so called essentials such as university tuition fees for my children.

A.

Simples!

Buy the trousers & grow a moustache......

Seriously, though the idea of a one rifle armoury can sound appealing - having a variety of hard-ware allows me to ensure that visiting hunters are always catered for.

That doesn't stop me taking a Drilling abroad & having the option of shot / rifle or even a .22lr insert for mass rabbit charges! Yes, it breaks down into the same fiddle case into the bargain.

Rgds

Ian

Adam we have not spoken but our mutual friend Ghubert speaks highly of you and hopefully we will meet some time in the near future.

I have had many Blaser, MO3 and Sauers.
They all do the same thing either in drag or wearing trousers.

Once the novelty factor wears off - it's just a tool to do a job.

Once you get used to it the Blaser system makes so much sense when travelling.

For me there is no downside.

It's a win win situation.

A lot of hunters moan or speaks badly about them because the total system price is outside their reach.

However once you have made the investment you really don't need anything else.

Just one thing - be very careful when you play around with hand loads.

I have permission from my friend in Germany to post the following photos all steming from Blaser handload accidents.

Have fun - P.S. Rupert have got quite a few R93 attaches with unbelivable discount at the moment.

Also have a look at Blaserpro.com if you have time

I have done what you are thinking about Adam. I got rid of a couple of rifles and got an R93 in 9.3 and 300win mag and couldn't be happier. its a practical way to go. It my not be as nice as some of the bolt guns I had but it makes life easier to travel and hunt thats for sure.

OK,

I have an R93 and an R8 as well as a D99. Blaser makes great products. I figured I would start thinning out the safe in my own good time and have these as the core of rifles I use for the majority of my hunting.

The funny part, I mostly bowhunt. That being said, once you shoot them you will find they do have a place in your safe as well. The scope mounts are well thought out ands reliable. I also like the idea of having equal pressure around the base of the cartridge instead of relying on 2 or 3 lugs.

Cheers,

AKMatt

Adam - How about this to consider

Instead of a rifle system like the R93 or R8 with 03 barrels which your are proposing and god knows where that is going to stop

How about a super caliber with 03 loads and projectiles with one rifle and three scopes ?

Londonhunter,

In the last photograph, was the hunter operating the bolt with his toe or was it the result of an ND!? In the other pictures, what was the primary cause - hot loads or issues with resizing brass (I understand the necksizing only is a no-no with Blasers - cases need full resizing)?

The 'perfect calibre' is an interesting one - I'm a great fan of .270W and have used for almost everything I have hunted to date. I load it with silly-fast 90gn HP loads for vermin hunting, fast flat 130s for the hill, 110 VMax for hinds, 150s going slow for woodland Roe and even 156s going slower still for the tiddlers like Muntjac. But at the end of the day it's still a compromise and fast, flat 130s is what it does best...so with the Blaser there's no compromise as each barrel will do its job perfectly.

What constitutes your perfect calibre? (Amir has warned me I may regret asking this question as many, many bytes of the internet could be used up in the ensuing discussion).

A.

Why don't you spend a little more and get a Blaser K95 with several barrels instead?

This rifle is probably as precise as the R93 but a KABOOM has to my knowledge never been heared of.

Also, I think it does look nicer and besides, it trains you to focus more on a "one shot - one kill" approach.

Adam

We will meet up and talk about this

I know exactly what you are going through.

I am in the process of selling literally everything bar 03 rifles.

Caliber discussion on the forum leads to nowhere I find

quote:

Originally posted by Adam.270:
Londonhunter,

In the last photograph, was the hunter operating the bolt with his toe or was it the result of an ND!? In the other pictures, what was the primary cause - hot loads or issues with resizing brass (I understand the necksizing only is a no-no with Blasers - cases need full resizing)?

The 'perfect calibre' is an interesting one - I'm a great fan of .270W and have used for almost everything I have hunted to date. I load it with silly-fast 90gn HP loads for vermin hunting, fast flat 130s for the hill, 110 VMax for hinds, 150s going slow for woodland Roe and even 156s going slower still for the tiddlers like Muntjac. But at the end of the day it's still a compromise and fast, flat 130s is what it does best...so with the Blaser there's no compromise as each barrel will do its job perfectly.

What constitutes your perfect calibre? (Amir has warned me I may regret asking this question as many, many bytes of the internet could be used up in the ensuing discussion).

A.

I really don't know the exact causation of these accidents but I do know from somebody that he has spoken to most of them directly or to the proof house examining the aftermarth as a consultant to Blaser.

Invariably the answer is HOT loads or reloading issues (wathever that is)

There has never been a documented issue with factory loads

There is an indian shooter on the reloading forum now claiming Blaser has the strongest action and that he loads it until he needs to slam the action open with a hammer !

And he has not had any maxillo-facial surgery to date !!! lucky fellow

Yes

your idea of varying the weight of projectile in one favourite caliber is exactly what I am doing.

These are hard economic times ........!

With my R93, I have gone for .22/250 (match barrel), 243 and 300wm. I think that has all bases apart from DG covered...
I know the .243 will do essentially the same as the .22/250 with the right loads, but when I got the .22/250 the licensing department would not allow anything larger for fox/vermin.

Adam, there is some merit in your plan. The Blaser does travel really well, but so does the Sauer 202 and a few other rifles.

If it is genuine multiple calibre interchangeability you want, Blaser does seem the best way to get it. But, as I am sure you are well aware, Blaser is not a cheap route to multiple calibres.

I have a really tasty R93 with a 30/06 barrel, it pretty accurate and the trigger is great. However, if you just want one easily transportable rifle, I might go Sauer. If you need two travelling calibres, say a 30 cal and a 375, then Blaser might be best, though they are very light for a big boomer.

I have decided after much spent cash, that a couple of Sako 75's for hunting at home and the Blaser for travelling is pretty much the perfect setup.

Adam,

I'll chime in too.

I enjoy the R93. Currently, if I was gonna go the Blaser route I'd jump on the R8 bandwagon. I've got too much invested in the R93 to switch in the middle of the stream; it's a synthetic stocked OffRoad.

1. .222 Remington
2. .223 Remington
3. .243 Winchester
4. 25-06 Remington
5. .30/06 Sprg.
6. 300 Weatherby Magnum
7. 9.3x62
8. .375H&H

Somewhere in the future I can envision a .270 Winchester, 7x64 Brenneke or 7mm Remington Magnum to sorta round out the entire collection. The 7x64 is a nose ahead going into the stretch. Whew! Where does it all stop?

Oh, yeah; and a K95 in 7x57R.

I like the flexibility, the travel ease and options.

RSA normally gets the .30/06 Sprg. & .375H&H option; Namibia the 300 Weatherby & 25-06, ect.

I've seen all the gory anti-Blaser pics, too. What they don't depict nor discuss are the Remington, Winchester, Mauser, Sako, (name another brand) etc. blow-ups that other shooters manage also.

Hi guys

where I can buy some more shares in the Blaser group please ?

It will definitely go up and it will pay for my shooting

Adam,

If you are looking into buying an R93 or an R8, these days I (like Gerry) would personally buy an R8. I have a ton of R93 rifles and barrels and could not be happier with them, but the R8 is more oriented towards the future these days. (Besides, I tried an R8 on for size a couple of weeks back, and the trigger was better than the R93 trigger IMHO).

If you are looking for a "system rifle" (i.e. switch barrels etc) which travels well, as Brian mentioned above, the Sauer 202 also works well, as does the Mauser M03 (which has the advantage of the manual cocking mechanism as well).

- mike

As far as unnatural urges go this one is pretty tame for you Adam.

Go on, embrace the camp middle age you were to born to flower into...

You seem to be confused:

Blazer = camp, particularly when accessorised with a silk scarf and inappropriate slacks.

Blaser = firearm of Germanic origin, manly, rugged, grrrrrr!

Anyway, middle-age is great - my children will leave home soon (so I'll be able to move house without telling them), leaving me alone with my lovely wife's undivided attention. Unless of course she leaves too, in which case I'll have plenty of time to extend the reloading suite and sort out the thousands of cases I seem to have accumulated. What's not to look forward to?

Anyway, back to the important matter of my new guns...

A prostate the size of a cantaloupe.

They are great rifles and for travelling the portability is indeed worth a great deal.

I.....just....don't.....like....them.....

Pity to get rid of the .458 Churchill, the .300 Finnbear, the....etc.

Do you know what I mean guv'nor?

Ok they are nice to travel with I will give you that.

But how many of you with multiple barrels for your R8 or 93 still have just the one stock?

The other downside is if you dont have an extra stock etc then do you have a spare rifle?

quote:

Originally posted by DJM:
But how many of you with multiple barrels for your R8 or 93 still have just the one stock?

Currently 4 stocks (3 synthetic, 1 wood) plus about 15 barrels or so. Blasers tend to grow on you...

I traveled to Namibia with two Blaser stocks, 2 barrels (.300 Win Mag & .257 Wby) all packed in a take-down case small enough to fit in my duffel bag within the 20 kg weight limit. Two scopes for each rifle (pre-sighted) and other optics went into my hand luggage. What is there not to like?

- mike

quote:

Originally posted by Ghubert:
A prostate the size of a cantaloupe.

They are great rifles and for travelling the portability is indeed worth a great deal.

I.....just....don't.....like....them.....

Pity to get rid of the .458 Churchill, the .300 Finnbear, the....etc.

Do you know what I mean guv'nor?

No, I have no emotional attachment to any of my possessions any more, least of all guns - I'd get rid of all of them in a heartbeat for something that served my purpose better.

I'm having a bit of a moment currently, getting rid of everything I don't use, including rifles, shotguns, optics, vehicles (I've had a 1962 S2 V8-converted SWB Land Rover and a dismantled 1973 Laverda SF2 stashed away in barns for at least 20 years and never waved a spanner at either) and a whole raft of shooting ephemera that I seem to have accumulated over the last few years. From now on, my mantra is 'less kit, best kit'.

I'm going to tootle over to Cirencester at the weekend to look at the R8 and price up what I want.

I give it 6 Months.

I think it took Brian about the same amount of time to see the light. Maybe a bit longer but he is a paddy...

K

quote:

Originally posted by DJM:
Ok they are nice to travel with I will give you that.

But how many of you with multiple barrels for your R8 or 93 still have just the one stock?

The other downside is if you dont have an extra stock etc then do you have a spare rifle?

For the R93 I have both wood and pro, but you do not need an extra stock to have caliber options. Fantastic travel outfit, great to have all in one nice compact short Pelican, one pro stock, two barrels, two scopes, calibers may require approp bolthead, not a problem. I guess if you physically busted the stock you'd be outa luck, but I think that would be extreme bad luck.

In the morning throw on a 300 Winnie and hunt Kudu or Red Stag, in the evening put your 243 on and stalk Reh or Springbock. No sighting in required and about a 2 minute max job to switch over. I guess the devil and naysayers can always bitch and moan about something, don't bother me though Waidmannsheil, Dom.

If it must be a Blaser consider a look at the K95 single shot. I really do mot like the R93/8 but I own two K95 now in 7x57r and 257 Wby. Both very satisfying guns, good balanced and without safety concerns.

If its just for the traveling why not just take the stock off your normal turn bolt and pack it in a smaller case. On arrival at chosen exotic destination re-assemble and check zero.

All of my sakos stocks can be removed and refitted without it affecting the zero as can the scopes.

A torque screwdriver is a lot cheaper than an R8!

Bought my first Blaser probably 5 years ago, and while I do own many other "specialty" rifles for African hunts, varmints, etc, my "Go To" remains a Blaser. I have an Attache', a Safari Attache', and a camo synthetic Pro, and barrels in:
6.5x68
270 WSM
7mm Rem Mag
7.5x55 Swiss
300 Win Mag
300 RUM
8x68S

I have been using Blaser R 93's for seveal years, in some pretty bad weather conditions...

I have reloaded for them, including necksized only ammo...

I have done accuracy tests with some High Dollar well known Sniper Rifles, and Blaser R93's with regular and Match barrels...

I have never had any Drama.
I have found the Blasers to be as reliable, as accurate,as rugged, as weather proof, or even more so, than any other Bolt rifle I have ever fired/used/carried...

quote:

Originally posted by DJM:
If its just for the traveling why not just take the stock off your normal turn bolt and pack it in a smaller case. On arrival at chosen exotic destination re-assemble and check zero.

All of my sakos stocks can be removed and refitted without it affecting the zero as can the scopes.

A torque screwdriver is a lot cheaper than an R8!

Interesting concept DJM, does anyone else do this regularly?

Yes I am doing exactly that with Aluminum pillar bedded stock.

I have 05 rifles in that format plsu the usual factory offerings from Blaser, sauer and Mauser

quote:

Originally posted by DJM:
If its just for the traveling why not just take the stock off your normal turn bolt and pack it in a smaller case. On arrival at chosen exotic destination re-assemble and check zero.

Absolutely possible. I have travelled like this multiple times, either before I switched to R93s or if I have chosen to travel and hunt with a non-R93 rifle (seldom these days).

But, once you have worked with a rifle designed for takedown, you realize how comparatively complicated this option is. In a regular (non-takedown) rifle, you need to figure out how to avoid loosing guard screws, bottom metal and magazine box. Canadian Customs managed to loose my guard screws because of an overly enthusiastic officer. In addition, the trigger assembly of a non-takedown rifle is terribly exposed when travelling without the stock mounted to the barreled action.

With an R93 (R8, Mauser M03 etc), it takes less than a minute to take the rifle apart and dump it into the travel case. There are no loose parts to go missing, and no additional exposure to fragile elements of the rifle.

All in all, it is totally possible to travel with a conventional rifle without the stock mounted. But once you have tried a rifle designed for takedown, the choice is easy. It is a bit like comparing a Mercedes to a Tata (no offense intended to Tata owners). They both get you from A to B, one is more comfortable, though.

- mike

quote:

Originally posted by Boghossian:

quote:

Originally posted by DJM:
If its just for the traveling why not just take the stock off your normal turn bolt and pack it in a smaller case. On arrival at chosen exotic destination re-assemble and check zero.

All of my sakos stocks can be removed and refitted without it affecting the zero as can the scopes.

A torque screwdriver is a lot cheaper than an R8!

Interesting concept DJM, does anyone else do this regularly?

Yep I have two stocks for my 260. the kevlar synthetic for travelling and the heavy laminate for when the fancy takes me.

K

quote:

Originally posted by mho:

quote:

Originally posted by DJM:
If its just for the traveling why not just take the stock off your normal turn bolt and pack it in a smaller case. On arrival at chosen exotic destination re-assemble and check zero.

Absolutely possible. I have travelled like this multiple times either before I switched to R93s, or if I have chosen to travel and hunt with a non-R93 rifle (seldom these days).

But, once you have worked with a rifle designed for takedown, you realize how comparatively complicated this option is. In a regular (non-takedown) rifle, you need to figure out how to avoid loosing guard screws, bottom metal and magazine box. Canadian Customs managed to loose my guard screws because of an overly enthusiastic officer. In addition, the trigger assembly of a non-takedown rifle is terribly exposed when travelling without the stock mounted to the barreled action.

With an R93 (R8, Mauser M03 etc), it takes less than a minute to take the rifle apart and dump it into the travel case. There are no loose parts to go missing, and no additional exposure to fragile elements of the rifle.

All in all, it is totally possible to travel with a conventional rifle without the stock mounted. But once you have tried a a rfle designed for takedown, the choice is easy. It is a bit like comparing a Mercedes to a Tata (no offense intended to Tata owners). They both get you from A to B, one is more comfortable, though.

- mike

Hello Mike

I am using 03 stocks currently that fits the bill.

Accuracy innovation stock
Joe Widden stocks
Knoxx stock

Absolute return to ZERO no bedding just a torque drive

It fun turning the POI with torque
Has anybody tried it ?

The last one is amazing tough as anything and virtually NO recoil at all.

BTW I hunt with a TATA - I mean a land rover 110

I have never personally used a stock with an aluminum bedding block (other than the Blaser R93). I have to admit, though, that even when travelling with an R93, I much, much prefer to retest my zero when the rifle has been reassembled. In theory, no change in POI should occur, I just feel a lot safer having retested. So for me, the argument of maintained POI after take down is not so important.

- mike

Mike,

Good points about the screws trigger etc.

One of the guys we had with us in RSA in April was travelling with a R93. I was in fact quite impressed by how quickly it was all taken down and reassembled, all with relative ease.

However the point regarding traveling with a non take down rifle out of it's stock are very true in that bit's get lost and indeed that's a risk I won't take, along with exposing the fragile trigger mechanism.

The other thing is if you intend to travel with two calibres in the same rifle or not. Personally I don't so hence I went for the Sauer that takes down by removing the stock and leaving the barrel attached to the receiver. It's a very comfortable way to travel with a compact case.

If I was going to travel with two calibres then jokes apart, I can see the benefits of the blaser system.

K

My travel outfit in .300 Win Mag and 9,3x62

Andre

Any chance of us doing a montere next year as we discussed some time ago ?