Blaser R8 or Mauser M03?

[Aaron N]

They are a beautiful rifle, not saying the Mauser is anything to slouch at either!

 

[spike.t]

I would take the R 8,much better than R 93,and in relationship to Mo3 a real perfect beauty.
Nothing compares with R8.

foxi as they say "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" so they dont do it for me

 

[Foxi]

foxi as they say beauty is in the eye of the beholder

sure, you right.
Both are excellent weapons.
@Aaron:what does" to slouch at either" mean ?
The translation with my dictionary makes no sense.

 

[spike.t]

sort of means its "not bad", "its nice" , "nothing wrong with it either"......that sort of meaning

 

[Foxi]

sort of means its "not bad", "its nice" , "nothing wrong with it either"......that sort of meaning

I understand now.Thank you.

Nothing is wrong on Mo3 .
A little bit heavy, when you have a small caliber,may be.
But dont forget:both are industrial produced guns.
The king size gun were for me, a custum made system of M98 .

When ,yes, when I had enough of that bloody money.
Damned economic system

Good night fellows.
1.04 a.m. in munic

 

[flatwater bill]

Hey Foxi.............................beautiful foto of an R8.................you have definitely got wood. One of my many hunting fantasies is to hunt the Blaser Jagfarm in Namibia with an R8 like that. But if I ever spend 30 days on the spoor of a hundred pounder in the Okvango, I will have the Mauser, double square bridge M98 ...........one day.....................FWB

 

[ZG47]

Im sure with selfloaded XXL high power ammunition.
Every gun in Germany must be tested by "Beschussamt",an official NGO .
There is a sign, hammered from them on the barrel.
And they test them with 30% over a maximimum serial loading .
I belive maximum pressure is 15.000 bar.

EVERY SINGLE ONE.
Without that, is not allowed to sell them.Not only one.

Over pressure and/or over-resized!

I have seen a Musgrave target action from a 1,000 yard rifle, with both lugs gone. The NRA shooter in question had been full length resizing his cases with the die hard down to the shell holder, instead of ensuring shoulder contact when chambering. Every time he fired the rifle, the case would have acted like a piston. The issue would obviously be exacerbated if the shooter failed to dry the chamber before shooting.

 

[matt85]

I had a chance to handle both rifles at the SCI show.

I really wanted to like the Blaser but it had two things working against it. first the guy at the booth was rude and second none of them felt right on my shoulder. they all had sort of a strange thin feel with a balance that just wasn't right.

the Mauser rifles felt much more comfortable to shoulder and the balance was as it should be in a good bolt gun. I think the changeable bolt head to match changeable barrels was a novel idea. you could have one rifle that was both a 458 Lott and a 9.3x62. they also offer 404 Jeffery as a standard chambering which isn't exactly common.

-matt

 

[Grady]

Blasers make me very uncomfortable, an R93 blew up in my shooting range, next to a friend of mine. Shooter had serious trauma to his head and lost his eyesight.

So far no blowups reported on the R8, but I prefer a simple Mauser action.

Interesting, did you find out the reason for the "blow up"? As mentioned, it is normally not the gun, but the person behind the gun that causes the problems....

 

[Velo Dog]

Over pressure and/or over-resized!

I have seen a Musgrave target action from a 1,000 yard rifle, with both lugs gone. The NRA shooter in question had been full length resizing his cases with the die hard down to the shell holder, instead of ensuring shoulder contact when chambering. Every time he fired the rifle, the case would have acted like a piston. The issue would obviously be exacerbated if the shooter failed to dry the chamber before shooting.

Hi ZG47,

If the Musgrave 1000 yard rifle is / was made with the Model 98 Mauser action, like so many of their hunting rifles, it must've been a super heavy barrel to contain the pressure well enough to shear off the lugs.
Also, the 98 Mauser generally has a third "safety lug" so perhaps it was some other patent or model.

About 40 years ago, a character I knew (named Marv Danley) in California (A serious Mecca for Worshipers of Ridiculously High Velocity Cartridges) nearly died when he accidentally loaded Bullseye brand pistol powder into some cartridges for his .250 Ackley Magnum which, was a .300 Weatherby necked to fire .257 diameter bullets, 40degree shoulder and almost no taper on the main body of the cartridge.
The rifle blew in half on or just at the front of the chamber, but the Mauser lugs held, thereby saving Marv's life no doubt.

He was knocked unconscious, both eardrums ruptured, wood and metal fragments had to be surgically removed from his hands, arms and face.
His Bausch & Lomb shooting glasses saved his eyes but part of the wire frames had to be surgically removed from the bridge of his nose.
His neck swelled up like a tree frog's neck in heat but the Doctors kept him breathing until the danger had passed.
The scope was never found but he kept the two main rifle pieces as a sober reminder to not try to party with friends while simultaneously hand loading ammunition.

Back on topic; it seems unusual for any 1000 yard target shooter to full length size their cases, much less to intentionally or accidentally press back the shoulder on their hand loads.
1000 yard shooters are typically the most like people to be all phobic about those things and also the most likely people to invest in target grade neck sizing dies for their pet rifles.

Well anyway, I guess my point is, if a big game rifle's lugs shear off, the bolt can blind or even kill the shooter. Reportedly, the WW-I era Canadian Ross straight pull was known to do this on occasion and now possibly a more recent design, the Merkel straight pull as well.
As far as I know, the Model 98 Mauser and its decendents are not generally known to slam the bolt into the shooter's face.
Not even if you blow your rifle in half evidently.

Cheers,
Velo dog.

 

[ZG47]

Velo

I appreciate your response, as, I imagine, will others. I respectfully assert however, that, firstly:

I was talking about the piston effect;

secondly:

it is not the first time that such a thing has happened in that shooting community;

and, thirdly:

whilst some people in that community are studious reloading scholars who load for a variety of firearms and participate in a variety of shooting disciplines and hunting activities, there are some, at the other end of the bell curve, most particularly desk-warriors, it seems, who simply have one projectile type, one case brand, one type of primer and several propellant charge weights for the range of distances they shoot.

Those people, who might be highly practised in the art of shooting through mirage and coping with wind, rain, etc. can be extremely unsophisticated in their understanding of reloading techniques. The rarity of such events indicates that they are relatively few, but even the more highly educated are sometimes guilty of hubris. I am acquainted with a retired rocket scientist who once decided that it would be a good idea to replace the cast steel (another name for crucible steel) firing pin in his 7.62 x 51 target rifle with an aluminium alloy substitute that he had machined. It was a bad idea but fortunately no one was hurt!. This was a really nice guy for whom I have a great deal of respect and ... yes, I have done a few silly things myself with firearms, over the years!

Thank you, again, for your response to my post and for telling the scary story of your acquaintance's shooting mishap.

 

[Velo Dog]

Hi again ZG47,

If my previous long winded rant sounded too flippant, I apologize.
I was perhaps off target when I perceived you were implying that the man blinded was somehow to blame and not what some of us would call a questionable locking system on the rifle he was using when this tradgity occurred.

I agree with you that he may well have fired an over-pressure hand load or created a head space problem or perhaps forgot a cleaning patch in the bore, etc.......maybe so, maybe not.

The point I was trying to make was that with a simple and robust Mauser 98 type locking system, you can evidentially actually blow your rifle in half (old Marv's scope is probably still orbiting Saturn) and the bolt lugs will very likely prevent it from slamming into your face.

Regards,
Velo Dog.

 

[Nyati]

Interesting, did you find out the reason for the "blow up"? As mentioned, it is normally not the gun, but the person behind the gun that causes the problems....

As far as I know, he had just bought the gun for an upcoming hunt in Africa with two barrels 7mmRM and .375HH. He came to the range directly from the gunshop and tried the 7mmRM barrel, when the gun blew up. The ammo was factory, just bought, the gun was used.

Now, all this happened a few years back, the shooter sued Blaser, who replied the usual "accident due to faulty ammo", and nobody knows the outcome of the legal proceedings, so we all suspect there has been a quiet settlement.

Anyhow, whatever the reason of the blow up, if it had been with a Mauser action, the outcome would not have been as serious.

 

[Velo Dog]

As far as I know, he had just bought the gun for an upcoming hunt in Africa with two barrels 7mmRM and .375HH. He came to the range directly from the gunshop and tried the 7mmRM barrel, when the gun blew up. The ammo was factory, just bought, the gun was used.

Now, all this happened a few years back, the shooter sued Blaser, who replied the usual "accident due to faulty ammo", and nobody knows the outcome of the legal proceedings, so we all suspect there has been a quiet settlement.

Anyhow, whatever the reason of the blow up, if it had been with a Mauser action, the outcome would not have been as serious.

Nyati,

You have stated very clearly, in your last posted sentence, exactly what I've been babbling about, like the dunce that I am sometimes, with paragraph after paragraph on this spooky subject.

Regards,
Velo Dog.

 

[richteb]

I took my MO3to Africa a couple years back. Chambered in 375 H&H it was there as a backup and also to hunt PG. I have also a 30-06 barrel, both combinations are used t hunt Sambar and Fallow deer here in Oz. I would say with a fair degree of confidence that Blazer are far more common, at least here in Oz I have never come across any one else with a MO3. I don't believe that the two can be compared due to being different action types. As with all rifles there pros and cons to both. Will say this, both brands have a high quality finish, and as far as the MO3 is concerned it is very accurate and so far 100% reliable. No matter what calibre combination is installed.

 

[Big5]

. . . The point I was trying to make was that with a simple and robust Mauser 98 type locking system, you can evidentially actually blow your rifle in half (old Marv's scope is probably still orbiting Saturn) and the bolt lugs will very likely prevent it from slamming into your face.

. . . Anyhow, whatever the reason of the blow up, if it had been with a Mauser action, the outcome would not have been as serious.

I've sure got to agree with 'Velo Dog' and 'Nyati'.

 

[spike.t]

I took my MO3to Africa a couple years back. Chambered in 375 H&H it was there as a backup and also to hunt PG. I have also a 30-06 barrel, both combinations are used t hunt Sambar and Fallow deer here in Oz. I would say with a fair degree of confidence that Blazer are far more common, at least here in Oz I have never come across any one else with a MO3. I don't believe that the two can be compared due to being different action types. As with all rifles there pros and cons to both. Will say this, both brands have a high quality finish, and as far as the MO3 is concerned it is very accurate and so far 100% reliable. No matter what calibre combination is installed.

View attachment 40497

richteb what is the barrel length 20 inch or shorter.....just a bit difficult to judge with the slight shadow, and is it the .375 in the photo?

 

[richteb]

richteb what is the barrel length 20 inch or shorter.....just a bit difficult to judge with the slight shadow, and is it the .375 in the photo?

The fitted barrel in the image is a 30-06 cal and is 23.5" the 375 barrel is 25.5" Both are the standard, or as mauser classify them as solid. One can order different length's, open sights or not, fluted ect.
Since both Mauser and Blaser are owned by the same people it is perhaps not surprising that the method by which the barrels attach is almost identical. Aside from the obvious difference in action types, the other fundamental difference is in the scope mounting. On the blaser the scope mounts on the barrel and on the mauser (scope mounts are proprietary) on the action. I guess this could be considered a potential point of inaccuracy for the mauser, since one is required to remove the scope when ever the barrel s being changed. Surprisingly this is not the case. As I mentioned, possibly the greatest disadvantage in both system is that no other accessories fit, ome stuff is expensive (at least here in Oz), Mauser are not the best people to deal with (very slow) in sending stuff to their dealers (most likely reason is just on demand manufacturing). The biggest advantage at least on the mauser is superior quality. I have used mine a lot and so far zero failures.

 

[HendrikNZ]

+1 for the M03.

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

I would recommend Mauser M03.
Personally, I would rather Mauser m98.
Witold