Blaser

[gearguywb]

Damn....may be heading down this rabbit hole!

Great info here guys. Thank you!

 

[Mojave]

I am set up in Germany waiting to get a house, so I can start the hunting license renewal process.

I am not sure if I am going to Blaser initially, but I'll have one by the end of 2024.

The r8 makes a lot of sense here in our high seat and driven hunt world in Germany. Anywhere else in Europe I am not sure, especially anyplace where you are stalking and a lighter rifle is preferred or in the mountains like Austria.

I have been gone for almost 5 years. Frankonia and Living Active are the biggest gunshops near me in Germany. I was at Frankonia last weekend, and they have 3 R8's on the shelf and 15 Haenel NXT rifles, and 8 or 9 Merkel straight pull rifles.

I don't think Blaser has the market share they had when I was here last time. Not sure about other European countries.

 

[Southern Lights]

Blaser barrels are so good I wouldn't mess with a third-party option unless you really have to shoot some weird calibre.

Blaser is a hunting rifle and not for PRS. For hunting it's 4" shorter than standard rifles with same barrel length. It has a great stock (pro success) that is indestructible. It also has the de-cocking mechanism which is 100% safe with a round in the chamber. The straight bull is about as fast as a semi-auto with aimed fire.

I have two cut barrels (223 and 308) for suppressed. The barrels are hard, but a competent gunsmith can do it. Just ask if they've done Blaser barrels before.

I've never seen or heard of a damaged Blaser barrel myself and the guys I know with them shoot a LOT each year for pest control, etc. You have to shoot heaps to burn one out or a really abusive hot round. Every Blaser barrel I've seen is under 1 MOA, often with factory loads. My match Blaser barrel is 0.3MOA or better.

 

[left hunter]

Finally got a deer with my k-95

Hopefully I’ll get it in some mountains next year!

 

[gearguywb]

I am set up in Germany waiting to get a house, so I can start the hunting license renewal process.

I am not sure if I am going to Blaser initially, but I'll have one by the end of 2024.

The r8 makes a lot of sense here in our high seat and driven hunt world in Germany. Anywhere else in Europe I am not sure, especially anyplace where you are stalking and a lighter rifle is preferred or in the mountains like Austria.

I have been gone for almost 5 years. Frankonia and Living Active are the biggest gunshops near me in Germany. I was at Frankonia last weekend, and they have 3 R8's on the shelf and 15 Haenel NXT rifles, and 8 or 9 Merkel straight pull rifles.

I don't think Blaser has the market share they had when I was here last time. Not sure about other European countries.

Frankonia is a cool store. My son lives outside of Ulm, they have a small store in town.

Where are guys picking up Blasers here in the states? There seems to be one guy on GB in Mesa, AZ that has a ton of them. I have emailed a couple of folks that came up in the search (including Euro Optic) and never heard anything back from them

 

[Theringworm]

My Blaser R8 Ultimate in .375 H&H. I have a lot of custom rifles, but this may be one of my favorite rifles custom or off the shelf. The craftsmanship and repeatability is astounding. You cannot go wrong with a Blaser. And she weights less than you would think. If I recall it was around 9 lbs as she sits.

 

[Mojave]

Frankonia is a cool store. My son lives outside of Ulm, they have a small store in town.

Where are guys picking up Blasers here in the states? There seems to be one guy on GB in Mesa, AZ that has a ton of them. I have emailed a couple of folks that came uh (including Euro Optic) and never heard anything back from them

I would call.

There are over 30 Blaser dealers in America, coast to coast.

Euro Optics is my favorite, but not the only one.

 

[wind gypsy]

These are still intriguing. Definitely would want to shoot one before taking a plunge though. I’m just not sold on their chambering offerings either. 6xc would be cool but its an 8 twist and a 7.5 twist creedmoor is more attractive.

 

[BjornF16]

These are still intriguing. Definitely would want to shoot one before taking a plunge though. I’m just not sold on their chambering offerings either. 6xc would be cool but its an 8 twist and a 7.5 twist creedmoor is more attractive.

Why do you need a 7.5 twist ?

My 6XC does well with 108 ELD-Ms

 

[Southern Lights]

Barrels twists on Blaser are fine for general and long range shooting. I shoot heaps at long range with factory barrels with match loads. I don't shoot heavies that need really fast twists as I just don't see the use when other loads work so well.

My factory 270 barrel shooing 130 SSTs puts round after round on 8" plate at 600m. 6.5x55 Swede does the same shooting 140 ELD-M. Shoots as well as any match gun I've owned and competed with.

Advantages: Compact rifle, de-cocked safety, return to zero mount and calibre conversion. All in a hunting weight rifle that shoots like a match rifle but can take a beating in the field. Twist rate optimisation well worth the trade for the rest of the package.

 

[wind gypsy]

Why do you need a 7.5 twist ?

My 6XC does well with 108 ELD-Ms

View attachment 635411

I’m sure a 8 would work fine. Assume at sea level it would leave a little BC on the table with some bullets. The lack of factory ammo compared to creedmoor is the main thing that I’m not big on.

 

[BjornF16]

I’m sure a 8 would work fine. Assume at sea level it would leave a little BC on the table with some bullets. The lack of factory ammo compared to creedmoor is the main thing that I’m not big on.

Unknown Munitions loads for 6XC…just saying

 

[BjornF16]

Barrels twists on Blaser are fine for general and long range shooting. I shoot heaps at long range with factory barrels with match loads. I don't shoot heavies that need really fast twists as I just don't see the use when other loads work so well.

I’m interested in 7mm caliber for dual role: 1. Meet Africa minimum caliber on certain game, and 2. Long range (>800 yds) shooting/hunting

I’m not impressed with Blasers’ twist rates on their 7mm offerings (and .308 offerings for that matter)

 

[wind gypsy]

Unknown Munitions loads for 6XC…just saying

View attachment 635483

It is twice the price of the Norma and Sig 6 creedmoor “match” ammo I’ve been buying. I can justify factory ammo at less than $1.50/ea. above that it’s pretty hard to not handload.

 

[aer21]

I found this one not too far away from me, is it a good buy at $3100?

 

[BjornF16]

It depends…is it a Professional S (fixed trigger) or Professional (removable trigger assembly)?

Also, the Blaser 22-250 is a s-l-o-w twist, like 1:14, suitable for lighter weight bullets.

Now if it had a 6XC or 6.5 CM barrel, it would most definitely be worth it.

What cartridge are you wanting to get?

Edit: what you could do is sell that 22-250 barrel and magazine insert to help fund a barrel of your choice. Guessing that would add another $400 to your cost. New “Standard” barrels sell for approximately $1400.

 

[aer21]

I wouldn’t mind having another 22-250 and the twist is fine for me. I like fast and flat for coyotes and the 52 Berger should work with that twist. But also I’d like to have multiple barrels, the only other one I’m thinking of at this time is .204. Actually, that’s not entirely true but after reading this thread, I see it’s really not feasible what I would like to do. I would actually like to do a .17-.204, which is what I run now in a bolt gun for coyotes but according to this thread, the aftermarket barrels for Blaser is pretty sketch.

 

[BjornF16]

I wouldn’t mind having another 22-250 and the twist is fine for me. I like fast and flat for coyotes and the 52 Berger should work with that twist. But also I’d like to have multiple barrels, the only other one I’m thinking of at this time is .204. Actually, that’s not entirely true but after reading this thread, I see it’s really not feasible what I would like to do. I would actually like to do a .17-.204, which is what I run now in a bolt gun for coyotes but according to this thread, the aftermarket barrels for Blaser is pretty sketch.

If you’re good with that twist rate, you won’t find a better price

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I wouldn’t mind having another 22-250 and the twist is fine for me. I like fast and flat for coyotes and the 52 Berger should work with that twist. But also I’d like to have multiple barrels, the only other one I’m thinking of at this time is .204. Actually, that’s not entirely true but after reading this thread, I see it’s really not feasible what I would like to do. I would actually like to do a .17-.204, which is what I run now in a bolt gun for coyotes but according to this thread, the aftermarket barrels for Blaser is pretty sketch.

So you’d be willing to drop 1600 dollars to switch between 22-250 and a 204r?

 

[Mojave]

I found this one not too far away from me, is it a good buy at $3100?View attachment 635724View attachment 635725

That is an ok price. A new one is about $4000ish. There are not very many R8-Professional S models out there. I would not be afraid to buy one. The removable trigger group adds a pound. They (the S) were originally $1000 cheaper. But I don't know if you can still get one for $1000 cheaper.

Barrels are $1400-1600ish new for basic 17mm barrels. There are always used barrels.

This is not a custom barrel gun. Both American sources suck. Get used to that aspect of it.