I just picked up a Blaser R8 Ultimate today with the ATZL trigger. For whoever is interested, I’ll share some initial impressions. Buying a Blaser is a significant investment and it’s not easy to try one unless you have know someone who’s already made the commitment. For the few that have an interest, this post is for you.
For starters, one of the biggest advantages is that due to the design, you get a couple of inches of barrel length for free. I bought a standard (17mm) barrel and had Blaser USA cut it too 18 inches and thread it 5/8 x 24. The rifle is essentially the same overall length as a 16 inch SA Redline that I own that has a 16 inch barrel. I was pleasantly surprised to discover this. A unique annd useful advantage indeed.
This is subjective but the feel of the rifle is extremely solid and of superb quality. The stock is plastic but it’s not cheap by any means. In fact the texture of the finish is very “grippy” and functional. The ergonomics are absurdly good. It molds to my grip perfectly. I was concerned about having to reach too far for the trigger. Fortunately, that is not the case but YMMV.
I did not do any in depth accuracy testing but I can say that it is certainly sub-MOA. I did however test it in longer strings of fire in order to detect any major POI shift due to heat. No significant stinging detected. In fact, I hit a 9 inch plate 6 times in a row at 650 yards using a batch of Hornady 147 match that has been particularly bad in terms of ES and SD. This was after the barrel was already quite hot.
The ATZL trigger is by far, no question the absolute best trigger I have ever used. It smokes TT Diamonds, Bix and Andy, Calvin Elite…..any of them. Those top end triggers aren’t even in the same league. It is extremely easy to make accurate shots with this trigger. I think the ATZL alone warrants selling of several custom rifles to buy this thing.
Perhaps the biggest advantage I noticed was the straight pull bolt. Once you have set a good shooting position it is much easier to maintain that position if you’re simply pulling the bolt straight back and then pushing forward. On a traditional bolt gun, when you’re canning the bolt up and back, it applies forces that are torquing you out of position. It takes more technique in a traditional rifle to overcome this. The R8’s straight pull makes this much easier.
Finally, switching barrels is extremely fast and easy. You simply loosen two bolts with the provided hex tool and you swap into another caliber. The scope stays with the barrel so zero is always maintained perfectly. If you need a different bolt heads, it’s as easy as flipping up a retainer pin in the bolt housing and replacing the bolt head with another bolt. I plan on buying a 223 barrel of the same exact length and contour as well as the requisite bolt head and training in the EXACT same platform as any other caliber I own or wish to own. All the way up to 338 Lapua.
Side note, I tried to accomplish this with a Terminus Zeus switch barrel build. I have not one time switched the barrels. Why? Because once you get a perfect zero set, you just don’t want to mess with it. In practice, other switch barrel setups aren’t practical. I have a $1,200 6.5 PRC barrel sitting in my safe that has never been shot.
The downsides are:
1. Weight. It’s on the heavier side.
2. If you don’t force the bolt forward with enough force, you can get a light primer strike which happened to me one time.
3. Your options are fixed to what Blaser offers. Those options are extremely expensive and you will pay a premium for them.
The real question is whether this rifle actually enhances my shooting and does something, measurable, that a much cheaper off the shelf gun doesn’t already do for much less money. Albeit with less prestige. So far my answer is absolutely yes it does. More so than any other rifle I have ever purchased or had built. The straight pull is functionally more useful for staying in target. The trigger makes accuracy more consistent. The shorter OAL translates to being able to use a longer barrel that achieves higher velocity while maintaining a very handy and suppressor friendly rifle. All that with an actually fast and practical switch barrel setup.
I can’t think of any other rifle system that achieves these benefits.
It’s early but I can definitely see myself selling all (gasp) my custom guns and buying more Blaser barrels, bolt heads and accessories. If you’re considering taking the leap, I think it’s worth it.
For starters, one of the biggest advantages is that due to the design, you get a couple of inches of barrel length for free. I bought a standard (17mm) barrel and had Blaser USA cut it too 18 inches and thread it 5/8 x 24. The rifle is essentially the same overall length as a 16 inch SA Redline that I own that has a 16 inch barrel. I was pleasantly surprised to discover this. A unique annd useful advantage indeed.
This is subjective but the feel of the rifle is extremely solid and of superb quality. The stock is plastic but it’s not cheap by any means. In fact the texture of the finish is very “grippy” and functional. The ergonomics are absurdly good. It molds to my grip perfectly. I was concerned about having to reach too far for the trigger. Fortunately, that is not the case but YMMV.
I did not do any in depth accuracy testing but I can say that it is certainly sub-MOA. I did however test it in longer strings of fire in order to detect any major POI shift due to heat. No significant stinging detected. In fact, I hit a 9 inch plate 6 times in a row at 650 yards using a batch of Hornady 147 match that has been particularly bad in terms of ES and SD. This was after the barrel was already quite hot.
The ATZL trigger is by far, no question the absolute best trigger I have ever used. It smokes TT Diamonds, Bix and Andy, Calvin Elite…..any of them. Those top end triggers aren’t even in the same league. It is extremely easy to make accurate shots with this trigger. I think the ATZL alone warrants selling of several custom rifles to buy this thing.
Perhaps the biggest advantage I noticed was the straight pull bolt. Once you have set a good shooting position it is much easier to maintain that position if you’re simply pulling the bolt straight back and then pushing forward. On a traditional bolt gun, when you’re canning the bolt up and back, it applies forces that are torquing you out of position. It takes more technique in a traditional rifle to overcome this. The R8’s straight pull makes this much easier.
Finally, switching barrels is extremely fast and easy. You simply loosen two bolts with the provided hex tool and you swap into another caliber. The scope stays with the barrel so zero is always maintained perfectly. If you need a different bolt heads, it’s as easy as flipping up a retainer pin in the bolt housing and replacing the bolt head with another bolt. I plan on buying a 223 barrel of the same exact length and contour as well as the requisite bolt head and training in the EXACT same platform as any other caliber I own or wish to own. All the way up to 338 Lapua.
Side note, I tried to accomplish this with a Terminus Zeus switch barrel build. I have not one time switched the barrels. Why? Because once you get a perfect zero set, you just don’t want to mess with it. In practice, other switch barrel setups aren’t practical. I have a $1,200 6.5 PRC barrel sitting in my safe that has never been shot.
The downsides are:
1. Weight. It’s on the heavier side.
2. If you don’t force the bolt forward with enough force, you can get a light primer strike which happened to me one time.
3. Your options are fixed to what Blaser offers. Those options are extremely expensive and you will pay a premium for them.
The real question is whether this rifle actually enhances my shooting and does something, measurable, that a much cheaper off the shelf gun doesn’t already do for much less money. Albeit with less prestige. So far my answer is absolutely yes it does. More so than any other rifle I have ever purchased or had built. The straight pull is functionally more useful for staying in target. The trigger makes accuracy more consistent. The shorter OAL translates to being able to use a longer barrel that achieves higher velocity while maintaining a very handy and suppressor friendly rifle. All that with an actually fast and practical switch barrel setup.
I can’t think of any other rifle system that achieves these benefits.
It’s early but I can definitely see myself selling all (gasp) my custom guns and buying more Blaser barrels, bolt heads and accessories. If you’re considering taking the leap, I think it’s worth it.
