R8 Kilombero with Match or Semi-Weight Barrels??

[Globalstar66]

Hi guys. Just ordered a Blaser R8 Kilombero with safari 22mm 375 H&H barrel.

I want to add a couple of other calibers, but have seen some photos of the standard 17mm barrels and they look a bit out of place to me, on the 22mm barrel channel of the Kilombero.

My options I guess would be either semi-weight 19mm barrels so the opening on the sides are a little smaller, or match fluted barrels at 22mm....

Anyone here have some photos and advice on what the semi-weight and match barrels look like fitted to the Kilombero stock?

Thanks a milllion.

GS66

 

[Red Leg]

What does a .375 weigh in that configuration? It must be very heavy. That is a lot of steel for a relatively small hole.

I love my alloy receiver's with the standard 17mm barrel in .375. That creates 9.5 lb scoped rifle. Ideal for hunting and trying to walk down a buffalo. Recoil is a non-issue.

However, you have this beast, so from an appearance perspective, you may have to go with the semi-weight barrels. But they also make for very heavy mid-range calibers. My Jaeger came with a semi-weight 300 Win Mag barrel and barrel channel. It was much too heavy for a hunting rifle in that caliber. I replaced the semi-weight with a standard barrel and that improved things tremendously. The gap between standard and semi is not particularly noticeable. A 5mm difference, however, would be a lot.

As you suggest, fluted is probably the best way to go in order to shed some weight and retain an appropriate look.

 

[TOBY458]

There's very little difference in the diameter of the safari and semi weight barrels near the end of the forend. The semiweight barrel gradually tapers down to 19mm from just behind the front of the forend, to the end of the barrel.

 

[ay2626]

There's very little difference in the diameter of the safari and semi weight barrels near the end of the forend. The semiweight barrel gradually tapers down to 19mm from just behind the front of the forend, to the end of the barrel.

That’s interesting. Has anyone tried a 22mm barrel in semi channel receiver to see how it fits and if accuracy is impacted? Sounds like it would slip right in. I have a semi channel professional stock. I’m interested in trying a 416 safari barrel in there but don’t want to open it up anymore since I also have standard barrels and don’t want that gap from 17mm to 22mm.

 

[Red Leg]

That’s interesting. Has anyone tried a 22mm barrel in semi channel receiver to see how it fits and if accuracy is impacted? Sounds like it would slip right in. I have a semi channel professional stock. I’m interested in trying a 416 safari barrel in there but don’t want to open it up anymore since I also have standard barrels and don’t want that gap from 17mm to 22mm.

He means it's greater thickness is the back half within the forearm channel.

 

[Globalstar66]

What does a .375 weigh in that configuration? It must be very heavy. That is a lot of steel for a relatively small hole.

I'm not too worried about the weight, to be honest, as I have lots of relatively heavy rifles....

My Kimber Caprivi in 375 H&H with S&B 1-8x24 Exos weighs 10.8 lbs and I've hunted with that rifle a LOT. My Dakota 76 African in 416 Rigby with S&B 1.25-4x24 weighs 11.8 lbs (11 lb 13 oz) and my Sauer 404 with Sychro XT stock and Swarovski scope and sling weighs 11.3 lbs.

So yeah I'm sure the Kilombero will be a tad heavier, but probably not by much.

I just could not leave the deal on the Kilombero - brand new with grade 7 stock for US$5273.

 

[One Day...]

The facts...

A "Selous" barrel that is 22 mm at the muzzle is 22 mm at the end of the forearm.

A standard barrel that is 17 mm at the muzzle is 17.5 mm at the end of the forearm. There is therefore a 2.25 mm gap on each side of a semi-weight barrel in a barrel channel designed for a Selous barrel. It is clearly visible.

A semi-weight barrel that is 19 mm at the muzzle is 21 mm at the end of the forearm. There is therefore a 0.5 mm gap on each side of a semi-weight barrel in a barrel channel designed for a Selous barrel. It is virtually invisible unless under close inspection.

I agree with Red Leg that there is a noticeable, and somewhat unsightly gap when using a standard barrel in a barrel channel designed for a Selous barrel, but you can rest assured Globalstar66 that a semi-weight barrel will look just fine

Blaser R8 with 22mm channel and semi-weight (19 mm at the muzzle, 21 mm at the end of the forearm) barrel.

Blaser R8 with 22mm channel and standard (17 mm at the muzzle, 17.5 mm at the end of the forearm) barrel.

PS: please note that in my rifle's case, the forearm black tip has a channel slightly wider than 22 mm because it had tooling marks in it on the left side (notice the curve on the left side) and I polished them out.

Weight
My scoped .458 Lott steel receiver / Selous barrel / no kickstop / Leica Magnus 1-6.3x24 weights exactly 5,228 g (11.5 lbs.). Leaving the "16 oz." kickstop in it adds 498 g (1.2 lb.).

 

[Red Leg]

I'm not too worried about the weight, to be honest, as I have lots of relatively heavy rifles....

My Kimber Caprivi in 375 H&H with S&B 1-8x24 Exos weighs 10.8 lbs and I've hunted with that rifle a LOT. My Dakota 76 African in 416 Rigby with S&B 1.25-4x24 weighs 11.8 lbs (11 lb 13 oz) and my Sauer 404 with Sychro XT stock and Swarovski scope and sling weighs 11.3 lbs.

So yeah I'm sure the Kilombero will be a tad heavier, but probably not by much.

I just could not leave the deal on the Kilombero - brand new with grade 7 stock for US$5273.

At that price, I would sweat the weight later as well. I'll be surprised if you aren't over 12 with a scope. It will be a pussycat to shoot however.

 

[Globalstar66]

The facts...

A "Selous" barrel that is 22 mm at the muzzle is 22 mm at the end of the forearm.

A semi-weight barrel that is 19 mm at the muzzle is 21 mm at the end of the forearm.

There is therefore a 0.5 mm gap on each side of a semi-weight barrel in a barrel channel designed for a Selous barrel. It is virtually invisible unless under close inspection.

I agree with Red Leg that there is a noticeable, and somewhat unsightly gap when using a standard barrel in a barrel channel designed for a Selous barrel, but you can rest assured Globalstar66 that a semi-weight barrel will look just fine

Hi One Day

Thank you SO much.

Edit: And thanks for the photos - THAT'S what I needed to see. Semi-weight it will be!!!

It was after reading your posts on the R8's that I started looking into them with some effort. My plan was to order a Jaeger or Attache in grade 6 or 7 wood so as to get the ebony forearm tip, but whilst on my search, I stumbled onto this Kilombero for a price I could not leave....

So here I am - getting the Kilombero next week, and trying to figure out some extra barrels - and looking at the thread R8 Three Different Stocks, I gathered the 17mm barrel is an absolute no-go. I was curious to hear about the match 22mm barrel and the semi-weight.

I have read somewhere the semi-weight 19mm barrel and the 22mm match barrels weigh almost the same - so might as well then get the semi-weight as it costs about $200 less than the match here in Canada.

 

[Globalstar66]

At that price, I would sweat the weight later as well. I'll be surprised if you aren't over 12 with a scope. It will be a pussycat to shoot however.

Yeah, exactly my thoughts. And agree, probably a tad over 12#. Thanks for your input too - appreciate it!!!

 

[One Day...]

Here is the barrel verified data I have:

The three .375 H&H barrels are included

I updated my first post after you read it. See above... My scoped .458 Lott steel receiver / Selous barrel / no kickstop / Leica Magnus 1-6.3x24 weights exactly 5,228 g (11.5 lbs.). Leaving the "16 oz." (actual 17.5 oz.) kickstop in it adds 498 g (1.2 lb.).

The .375 will be a bit heavier: 146 g (5 oz.), due to the smaller bore. Assuming the wood stock is the same weight as the synthetic stock (which it is not, being I believe a tad heavier), your Kilombero .375 with kickstop on board will be 5,872 g = 12.9 lbs. I would take out the kickstop (even with the .458 Lott barrel I find it overkill), this will bring the weight to 5,374 g = 11.8 lbs.

PS: I do believe the Kilombero comes automatically with the 16 oz. kickstop, as does the PH.

 

[Bert the Turtle]

At that price, I would sweat the weight later as well. I'll be surprised if you aren't over 12 with a scope. It will be a pussycat to shoot however.

I’m not sure I’d ever get to experience the recoil if I had to carry that all day. Wouldn’t be able to lift it to shoot! Give me light weight all day long. Unscoped R8 standard weight 375 barrel is about perfect for me.

But if you’ve got what it takes, you’ve got a very nice rifle that will be mild to shoot for an excellent price.

 

[Globalstar66]

I am so grateful for everyone's help on here - thank you!!!

@ One Day - Thank you SO much for the ton of info. Yeah, I figured I'll remove the kickstop anyway, as I'm not recoil shy at all (unless shooting from the bench - LOL). The rifle will be plenty heavy enough to mitigate the recoil - the 375 H&H doesn't have much recoil to start with.

Would be nice to get a 404 Jeff barrel.... Pity Blaser don't have barrels in 404 Jeff - they do have them for the Sauer 404, but the Sauer might be a bit too light for the 404's kick...?

@ Bert - as I mentioned, a heavy rifle has never bothered me. I've actually never hunted with a "light weight" rifle - everything I own is 10+ pounds with my most loved Kimber Caprivi scoped just shy of 11 pounds - and I carry that rifle all day long in South Africa. It's become my "go-to" rifle for PG hunting there...