Blaser R8 for Dangerous Game

[BeeMaa]

I’ve been tempted by the R8 myself but have withstood it so far.

This thread is never gonna die.

 

[BigSteve57]

I appreciated the advice I got from RedLeg ,Beemaa, Oneday and others before I bought my R8 and cannot understand all the snarky comments about Blasers from folks who don’t own the gun. I like mine a lot and bought one for my son . A great tool for international hunting and a straight shooting, cool rig in my humble opinion .

It's Blaser envy, that's all. Similar to when you drive into a grocery store parking lot in a Benz and some clown tells you he's smarter than than you are because his Nissan Sentra gets him to the grocery store "just as well".

Has he ever owned or driven a Benz? Nope.

 

[Forrest Halley]

Things you can't un-see.

 

[BeeMaa]

OK @Forrest Halley, I’ll bite. What is that? Because it doesn’t look anything like a Blaser R8 and given the fact that you are not the biggest R8 fanboy, I have to assume is meant to provoke some type of negative reaction.

You know what, save it. I don’t even care.

 

[Tra3]

View attachment 431196
Things you can't un-see.

I’ll bite:
The top rifle looks like a dangerous game .22Lr rifle, maybe a marlin? I’d say it is a supremely accurate 2-3 MOA at 50 yards gun. The stock design and rifle design just aren’t very similar, in my opinion. But at least you’ve got semi auto in that big shooter. Overall it seems like an accurate apples to apples comparison and I should have spent the $300 on a marlin instead.

 

[Justin.]

View attachment 431196
Things you can't un-see.

Baluga R8, elephant medicine for when you just have to drop it on the spot

 

[Forrest Halley]

I’ll bite:
The top rifle looks like a dangerous game .22Lr rifle, maybe a marlin? I’d say it is a supremely accurate 2-3 MOA at 50 yards gun. The stock design and rifle design just aren’t very similar, in my opinion. But at least you’ve got semi auto in that big shooter. Overall it seems like an accurate apples to apples comparison and I should have spent the $300 on a marlin instead.

It's a Remington 597 and a representation. It has a very good trigger shockingly. The magazine design is the downfall of an otherwise accurate rifle. I have no idea what MOA it really shoots as I feed it bulk mostly, but it has been fully free floated and shoots to the cross hairs at 25y for the wife and does about 4 MOA at 100 yards on steel. Perhaps something to investigate further. It's likely quite the straight pull when fed subsonic ammunition. $178. I wouldn't purchase this rifle for that money and sadly I didn't have to.

The image has that Hipoint vs. Glock visage. I found it suits the point. Surely a rifle with a sub $300 sticker price could never hang with such fine guns. Men have lost their money with such notions. It doesn't need to say Anschutz 54 on the side to make a point, but it would be understandable if it did.

What MOA can one expect from the .22 kit in an R8? Do they come with test targets? Do you shoot spots at fifty feet with it? Likely not, so it matters little if it's ½ or 2 MOA or even what you feed it. You're using it for simulation and not an accurate one at that with the different cycle.

A Marlin 60 would be a good purchase. They are classics as reliable and accurate as I've seen.

 

[Tra3]

It's a Remington 597 and a representation. It has a very good trigger shockingly. The magazine design is the downfall of an otherwise accurate rifle. I have no idea what MOA it really shoots as I feed it bulk mostly, but it has been fully free floated and shoots to the cross hairs at 25y for the wife and does about 4 MOA at 100 yards on steel. Perhaps something to investigate further. It's likely quite the straight pull when fed subsonic ammunition. $178. I wouldn't purchase this rifle for that money and sadly I didn't have to.

The image has that Hipoint vs. Glock visage. I found it suits the point. Surely a rifle with a sub $300 sticker price could never hang with such fine guns. Men have lost their money with such notions. It doesn't need to say Anschutz 54 on the side to make a point, but it would be understandable if it did.

What MOA can one expect from the .22 kit in an R8? Do they come with test targets? Do you shoot spots at fifty feet with it? Likely not, so it matters little if it's ½ or 2 MOA or even what you feed it. You're using it for simulation and not an accurate one at that with the different cycle.

A Marlin 60 would be a good purchase. They are classics as reliable and accurate as I've seen.

I hunt small game with my .22 barrel. It is significantly more accurate than my other .22 rifles. I haven’t taken the time to shoot it off the bench and figure out just what the MOA accuracy is. that will be a good project for me fo do. I’ll report back. I’ll need a calm day, though, a .22 bullet has the aerodynamics of a frisbee.
But it really is a training tool because it is the same weight, same rifle, etc.
Why not have one rifle? In one case. Squirrel to elephant with .22lr, 7 mag and .375. And my wife doesn’t complain about the case size.

I bet many of us know the experience of putting 5-8 rifles in a vehicle for a range trip. That is a lot of stuff, space, cases. I’m tired of doing that.

 

[Justin.]

CZ 457 is a bit more than most .22 but it is one fine plinker! Wish I had one to prescribe to my local squirrels LOL!

 

[Justin.]

I hunt small game with my .22 barrel. It is significantly more accurate than my other .22 rifles. I haven’t taken the time to shoot it off the bench and figure out just what the MOA accuracy is. that will be a good project for me fo do. I’ll report back. I’ll need a calm day, though, a .22 bullet has the aerodynamics of a frisbee.
But it really is a training tool because it is the same weight, same rifle, etc.
Why not have one rifle? In one case. Squirrel to elephant with .22lr, 7 mag and .375. And my wife doesn’t complain about the case size.

I bet many of us know the experience of putting 5-8 rifles in a vehicle for a range trip. That is a lot of stuff, space, cases. I’m tired of doing that.

Can’t argue with that! Blaser really is such an interesting design, I imagine they’d be difficult to beat as a traveling hunting rifle for most people!

 

[Forrest Halley]

CZ 457 is a bit more than most .22 but it is one fine plinker! Wish I had one to prescribe to my local squirrels LOL!

You're onto more than you know. They are very fine when pressed for accuracy with a scope. Not an Anschutz, but will not hold back 90% of the shooters.

 

[Justin.]

They look excellent!

If I could have a Blaser R8 for most hunting and plinking, and a really nice O/U to hunt over a bird dog, I could die happy I think!

Don’t have the eyes for iron sights so a double won’t ever get to be loved by me sadly, astigmatism stops the RDS option as well LOL!

@BeeMaa bought one for his wife and I think I’d like one for mine as well, that way they have a gun they like, and you can have barrels that sit around not getting shot instead of guns that don’t get shot that are “theres”! Although I can only speak for mine of course!

 

[Justin.]

Between him, @Red Leg and @One Day... I’ve been wholly convinced they are one heck of a firearm system!

 

[Forrest Halley]

I hunt small game with my .22 barrel. It is significantly more accurate than my other .22 rifles. I haven’t taken the time to shoot it off the bench and figure out just what the MOA accuracy is. that will be a good project for me fo do. I’ll report back. I’ll need a calm day, though, a .22 bullet has the aerodynamics of a frisbee.
But it really is a training tool because it is the same weight, same rifle, etc.
Why not have one rifle? In one case. Squirrel to elephant with .22lr, 7 mag and .375. And my wife doesn’t complain about the case size.

I bet many of us know the experience of putting 5-8 rifles in a vehicle for a range trip. That is a lot of stuff, space, cases. I’m tired of doing that.

The problem is the price for the .22. For that money, to me it had better be doing something world class. For $3k I'm a ways into an Anschutz and it's working for its keep.

 

[Justin.]

Those are some SWEET rigs!!!

I agree they may not be up to par with a full custom, but I do love the idea of using it to train with the exact same rig you’re taking to Africa!

 

[Tanks]

It's Blaser envy, that's all. Similar to when you drive into a grocery store parking lot in a Benz and some clown tells you he's smarter than than you are because his Nissan Sentra gets him to the grocery store "just as well".

Has he ever owned or driven a Benz? Nope.

It is an unfair comparison to Benz. I'd say an R8 is more like a souped up Toyota Corolla. It is actually less expensive than most custom rifles in basic configurations.

I bought one in .300 RUM as I was concerned my 9.3x74R was not going to be ready for my leopard hunt. I did have a Defiance Machine lefty action I had ordered for a .300 RUM built but by the time I would have it barreled, sent to Accurate Innovations for stock built etc. it would have been too late.

The cost with a Savannah stock in .300 RUM with a steel trigger and their removable scope mount was less than half of the custom build (actually about the cost of the stock alone). I will use it next year in Zambia for PG. Being lefty friendly is also a big deal for R8, not many factory options are out there for lefties. Though the version with adjustable stock unfortunately is NOT lefty friendly.

 

[Christot]

You might visit their configurator. They added the lefty ultimate version (the fully adjustable stock) lately.

 

[CoElkHunter]

It's Blaser envy, that's all. Similar to when you drive into a grocery store parking lot in a Benz and some clown tells you he's smarter than than you are because his Nissan Sentra gets him to the grocery store "just as well".

Has he ever owned or driven a Benz? Nope.

I’d rather have a Ferrari than a Mercedes and I’ve never driven one. Ha! Ha!

 

[Tanks]

You might visit their configurator. They added the lefty ultimate version (the fully adjustable stock) lately.

Unfortunately too late for me. I might upgrade my MacBook Pro every few years, but not going into the R8 rabbit hole.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but nobody in their sensible mind can deny that the Blaser R8 is a very clever design. Rather than cast mud why not make suggestions for what you would do to improve it even further?