I'm interested in picking up a new rifle and would appreciate comments from those who have owned/shot both of them. And I have a few questions,

1) Can you custom order a new stock - the one's I see on most of them have a lot of drop and if so any idea of time required?

2) Extra barrels - do you need to send them the receiver to be fitted or is there somewhere in the US where it can be done?

3) How well do they extract/eject non-rimmed cases? I'm thinking about a .308 with maybe an extra .223 bbl.

4) Best places to purchase in the US? Anyone know of dealer's in Southern California?

Last - anyone have one or more they'd like to sell?

Don't have both, but I do have a K95. But I do have some answers to a couple of your questions.

In my inquiry for additional barrels, Blaser USA may have to fit them, but I was told they "should" just drop in...

They don't eject, just extract. Mine is a 270 and if you are right handed, you shouldn't have too much of a problem unless you have mittens on. The extractor is on the left side of the bore at about 9 o'clock. It does extract the case enough to get some grip on.

Hope this helps.

I am new to the K-95. Have one in 300 WM and the extraction has been great. Shot about 400 rounds since i got it earlier this year. Also have shot 17 animals with it. Bought a 6.5x55 barrel and had a lot of extraction issues. Sent it back for a 6.5x57R barrel. Also have a 5.6x50R barrel as well. All have dropped right in and have had no need for fitting. As far as best places to buy them I bought mine used off of this forum. I have seen a couple come up recently here and there. I know Euro Optic can order you what you want and I think they will be a bit off of retail. Other than that Mad Dog on Gunbroker appears to stock a ton of Blaser but the pricing appears to be full blown retail.

pm coming at you, Bill.

i had a blaser with 2 barrels and it quite an accurate piece. can't comment on the merkel - never shot one. i sold the blaser - just could not get used that safety arming thing. nice trigger though

I have not used a Blaser, but I have a lot of experience with the Merkel K-3's. I think you will find that the K-3 does not have too much drop unless you have a body type that requires some stock alterations. Most body types work well with the K-3 stock dimensions. Check with GWB and I think he will confirm this.

The K-3, like the Blaser, is an extractor gun only. This simplifies the interchangeability of the barrels. All the K-3's and K-1's I have shot are incredibly accurate. I would highly recommend the 7x57R or .30-06 as a caliber in the K-3.

PM me if you have additional questions.

Mike

Sir,

I jokingly say that my Merkels want to be Blasers when they grow up.

What is the old Dirty Harry line, " A man's gotta know his limitations".

One can barely buy a barrel for his K95 Blaser for what I paid for my Merkel K1s.

The Blaser K95s are currently above my pay grade.



I have now owned three Merkel k1's. I recently purchased a K1 in 300 Win Mag, mainly because of the price for which I acquired it. Good trading power. I traded it for a Luxus Model 11 in 280 Remington.

Currently I own a Merkel K1 Jagd Stutzen in 7mm-08 and a K1 half stock stalking rifle in 9.3 x 74 R.



I wanted the 9.3 x 74 in the Jagd Stutzen. I looked for it for about a year and did not find one, so I did the next best thing and acquired a Stalker in that chambering.

You had several specific question. Let's see If I can address some of those.



I'm interested in picking up a new rifle and would appreciate comments from those who have owned/shot both of them. And I have a few questions,

I've not owned a Blaser or a K3. I specifically bought the K1's as they are older, can be purchased at a greater discount off MSRP and have the Recknagel twist mounts, rather than the Blaser saddle mounts. I have found the Recknagel twist mounts to be excellent. They can be removed in a heartbeat and return to zero when remounted.



1) Can you custom order a new stock - the one's I see on most of them have a lot of drop and if so any idea of time required?

I would contact either a Blaser dealer or Blaser USA and inquire. The R8 and R93 have the stock styles featured by most American rifles. The K-95's and the Merkels have the European "hump back" stocks. Just a comment. I am 5-8" and 180 lbs and not particularly large framed/boned. Most of my load testing employs a Caldwell lead sled w/ 40 lbs of lead. On game I very seldom shoot more than once. Consequently, being 62, young and excitable, I don't seem to notice recoil. Some talk about the "hump back" stocks slapping one in the face. That has not been my experience.

2) Extra barrels - do you need to send them the receiver to be fitted or is there somewhere in the US where it can be done?

Once again I would contact a Blazer dealer to be sure. I do know that I tried for almost a year, talking directly to Styer Arms, the Merkel dealer in Alabama about purchasing a 9.3 x 74R barrel for my Stutzen. Basically got nowhere. You see literally tens of barrels on Gunbroker for Blasers. In the three years or so that I've been focusing on Merkels, I've not seen one barrel/fore-end advertised for sale. I offered to pay a sizable deposit or even in full and got no response from Steyr Arms. I've ended up buying complete rifles rather than bother with trying to come up with barrels. On the Blaser repeaters such as the R8 and R93 those can be had reasonable. For the K95, once again, I can typically buy a complete rifle with rings for less than I can buy a Blaser Barrel.

3) How well do they extract/eject non-rimmed cases? I'm thinking about a .308 with maybe an extra .223 bbl.

Don't know if you've ever owned a Browning/Winchester HighWall or a Ruger #1. They have ejectors. The Blasers and Merkels have extractors. When you break the rifle open there is a mechanical slide the is forced rearward by the tilting of barrel forward. One must reach under the scope (if you have one mounted) to grasp the spent cartridge with the thumb and fore-finger, then replace the spent round with a new loaded round. That is one of the limitiations in regards to a second shot. I don't hunt dangerous game and very seldom need, much less have the opportunity for a second shot. Shooting hogs I try to sever the spine with the first shot. If I think a second shot is necessary, time usually is not of the essence. The 7mm-08 and the 300 Win Mag are not rimmed cases and I've had no extraction problems.

4) Best places to purchase in the US? Anyone know of dealer's in Southern California?

As mentioned before, Mad Dog Firearms is a large Blaser distributor.

http://www.gunbroker.com/Aucti....aspx?Item=358610380


http://www.blaserbuds.com/forum/ is a website you might look at also. I do believe Biebs and Elk8801 are members there.

Good luck in your quest.



Best,

GWB

Another blaser user site with members from around the world.

www.blaserpro.com

quote:

Originally posted by DB Bill:
I'm interested in picking up a new rifle and would appreciate comments from those who have owned/shot both of them. And I have a few questions,

1) Can you custom order a new stock - the one's I see on most of them have a lot of drop and if so any idea of time required?

2) Extra barrels - do you need to send them the receiver to be fitted or is there somewhere in the US where it can be done?

3) How well do they extract/eject non-rimmed cases? I'm thinking about a .308 with maybe an extra .223 bbl.

4) Best places to purchase in the US? Anyone know of dealer's in Southern California?

Last - anyone have one or more they'd like to sell?

My experience is with the Blaser K95 only. I have a Luxus with a .308 barrel. I will try and answer your questions:

My stock is the American style with no drop

I sent my 308 barrel and forearm to Andre at Blaser USA for fitting. He had it back to me in no time. Really a painless process

My 308 extracts nicely. I have never heard of a problem from any 308, 30-06 or 300 mag owners

Best place to buy new IMO is Eurooptic. Alex is fantastic. I picked mine up used in Cabelas Gun Library

You will enjoy the K95 very much

Two Merkel K's sit in my safe. One is a K1 in 7mm RMag and the second (my wife's) is a K3 in 7x57r.

Both rifles are absolute tack drivers. The 7mm RMAg will shoot a 1.25" group at 200 yards, the 7x57r will easily shoot a 2" group at 200 yards with factory ammo.

I've not had any extraction problems at all and I've put about 200 rounds downrange between the two rifles to date.

Recoil is stout in the 7mmRMag however the rifle feels remarkably solid under recoil.

Regardless, the rifles are very well put together and superbly accurate. They handle magnificently well and are just a joy to carry in the field.

Blaser and Merkel, both are excellent.

Thanks for all the input. I finally got to handle a Merkel yesterday - it was Stutzen chambered in .30/06 -- a package deal with a Swarovski 3-10x42mm already mounted all in a fitted Merkel case. I think they wanted $4250 for it

My impression -- it was a beautiful rifle with very nice wood and engraving. It was, even with the scope mounted, very light but well balanced and it would be a joy to carry all day.

The Merkel, at least the Stutzen, didn't make me want to reach for my wallet for several reasons - (1) the comb on the stock was much lower than I'm used to shooting and that in combination with the ltwt would make me start to flinch within a box of ammo, and (2) the trigger was very light but there was a lot of take-up before the trigger actually tripped the sear and even that had a mushy feeling.

I think if I eventually buy a single-shot it will be a Blaser - mostly for the American-style stock.

quote:

Originally posted by DB Bill:


I think if I eventually buy a single-shot it will be a Blaser - mostly for the American-style stock.

I don't think you'll be disapointed. Good luck on your quest.

Best

GWB

quote:

Originally posted by DB Bill:
(2) the trigger was very light but there was a lot of take-up before the trigger actually tripped the sear and even that had a mushy feeling.

Strange comment on the trigger. Did you adjust it? It's the little lever on the left side of the guard...

Anyway, the two triggers on my rifles are flat out superb set in the 2# mode. No mush, no slop. Just plain superb.

I didn't try to adjust it - the store was fairly busy and I didn't want to keep the clerk away from from helping another customer.

The rifle really was as cute as a bug and it was very well balanced - it felt like a very well made 28ga O/U shotgun.

And I know I looked good just holding it.

quote:

Originally posted by DB Bill:

And I know I looked good just holding it.

Chicks Dig 'Em!

quote:

Originally posted by rnovi:

quote:

Originally posted by DB Bill:

And I know I looked good just holding it.

Chicks Dig 'Em!

Hoglets hate 'em!



Merkel K1 Stalker, 9.3 x 74 R




Merkel k1, Jagd Stutzen, 7mm-08







Best,

GWB

quote:

Originally posted by DB Bill:
Thanks for all the input. I finally got to handle a Merkel yesterday - it was Stutzen chambered in .30/06 -- a package deal with a Swarovski 3-10x42mm already mounted all in a fitted Merkel case. I think they wanted $4250 for it

My impression -- it was a beautiful rifle with very nice wood and engraving. It was, even with the scope mounted, very light but well balanced and it would be a joy to carry all day.

The Merkel, at least the Stutzen, didn't make me want to reach for my wallet for several reasons - (1) the comb on the stock was much lower than I'm used to shooting and that in combination with the ltwt would make me start to flinch within a box of ammo, and (2) the trigger was very light but there was a lot of take-up before the trigger actually tripped the sear and even that had a mushy feeling.

I think if I eventually buy a single-shot it will be a Blaser - mostly for the American-style stock.

Bill

I think you will be very happy with the Blaser. I have the Stutzen prototype with the straight stock in 6.5x55. It is a wonderful lightweight rifle and I think almost perfect for stalking Proghorn.

http://blaserpro.com/articles/article15.php is an article I wrote a few years ago, the Kreghoff is also an excellent little rifle, but the superior Blaser scope mount is what makes it the first choice with most guys.

quote:

The rifle really was as cute as a bug and it was very well balanced - it felt like a very well made 28ga O/U shotgun

Very good analogy. That describes the K95 as well for me.

I own the K95 in a caliber 30.06. Without a doubt, it's my favorite rifle. Handles like a dream, shoots better than I can hold.

It was my rifle of choice on 3 safaris, elk hunts, and it makes an excellent mountain rifle. The last mountain goat we ran across sure didn't like it though.



My sons like it too

Hi,
go for the Blaser K95!
look here:
http://forums.accuratereloadin...043/m/2261058351/p/4
and no extraction problems yet.
Best Regards
Heinz