Transitioning To A Blaser R8 - A Two Months / 500 Rounds Review

Has anyone tried or handled one of Blaser’s new carbon stocks? Looks like the have the ultimate
That’s full on polished carbon fiber. And a regular stock that looks coated with side plates. Mad dog
Was reporting 6lbs without scope. Looking because we do a lot of driven hunts here with friends
And the blaser gets pretty heavy after a full day of beating the brush. Last year I used a Q fix it
Was great for weight and length but the aluminum frame got cold later in the season.
 
Has anyone tried or handled one of Blaser’s new carbon stocks? Looks like the have the ultimate
That’s full on polished carbon fiber. And a regular stock that looks coated with side plates. Mad dog
Was reporting 6lbs without scope. Looking because we do a lot of driven hunts here with friends
And the blaser gets pretty heavy after a full day of beating the brush. Last year I used a Q fix it
Was great for weight and length but the aluminum frame got cold later in the season.
Yes, I just picked up a Carbon fiber Professional success not too long ago. The thumbhole-type setup of the professional success is super comfortable.

I cant weigh the gun right now as it's at the gunsmith for a custom project I hope to soon share
 
With multiple synthetic and wood Blasers, upgrading to the CF Success was enough of an improvement to have several rifles for sale!
 
With multiple synthetic and wood Blasers, upgrading to the CF Success was enough of an improvement to have several rifles for sale!
Welcome to AH.

You should share some pics of your rifle...
 
20221113_103110.jpg
 
What does that weigh? Impressive. I think it would be too light for me, but I’ve always loved carbon fiber.
LOOK OUT...@Tra3 will soon have his own. :ROFLMAO:
 
LOOK OUT...@Tra3 will soon have his own. :ROFLMAO:
I really like the Ultimate stock that I currently have. It is light enough. But… that shiny carbon fiber…
Restraint needed, because my daughter is hunting with me in June. She likes to hunt. “Dad, can I hunt a kudu?” Pretty hard to say no to that.
 
I really like the Ultimate stock that I currently have. It is light enough. But… that shiny carbon fiber…
Restraint needed, because my daughter is hunting with me in June. She likes to hunt. “Dad, can I hunt a kudu?” Pretty hard to say no to that.
You can find some smoking deals on them if you're patient, just saying lol. Got mine for 7k, I think theres a 308 right now listed for 8500 ish. Most of the time they're closer to 11k
 
I was disappearing down a rabbit hole looking to order a 30” custom barrel for the R8 in 300 Norma for long range (mile)

I received a swift “kick up the jacksie” by the gun smith who suggested that you don’t put wings on a Cadillac and expect to get to the moon

In the same manner I’m not sure I’d put a light weight stick on a heavy calibre

but who knows?
 
Per a few members' suggestions, so that all R8 info is on the same thread, I am adding in this thread something I posted a few months ago in another thread in response to a member's question :)

R8 scope mounts clearance

Based on factual experience with 8 different barrel / scope R8 combinations, I had to actually exchange 2 "low" 30 mm scope mounts for 2 "high" 30 mm scope mounts.

There is a potential clearance issue with the Blaser scope mounts, but contrarily to the classic issue of front bell clearance, with the Blaser mounts, the issue is with the turrets housing bottom.

About any reasonable objective diameter I can think of, including 56 mm, will easily clear the barrel (and the rear sights if present) with a low mount, whether 1" or 30 mm.

What may not clear, is the bottom of the turrets housing...

Let me explain and illustrate using six examples...

Swarovski Z3 4-12x50 in 1 inch low mount on standard .223 barrel.jpg

Here is a Swarovski Z3 4-12x50 in 1 inch high mount on a standard .223 barrel. Observe how the 50 mm objective comfortably clears the barrel. This was my first Blaser mount, and I used a high mount because, like you, I did not know - and could not find out - if a 50 mm objective would clear a low mount. Turns out it would clear it easily.

Leica Magnus 1-6.3x24i in 30 mm low mount on Selous .458 Lott barrel.jpg

Here is a Leica Magnus 1-6.3x24i in 30 mm low mount on a Selous .458 Lott barrel. Observe how, of course, the straight tube clearance is indeed not a concern, but observe also how little clearance the low mount leaves to the bottom of the turrets housing. There is not much margin, and it works ... but just barely...

Leica ERi 2.5-10x42 in 30 mm low mount on semi-weight .375 H&H barrel.jpg

Here is a Leica ERi 2.5-10x42 in 30 mm low mount on a semi-weight .375 H&H barrel. Observe how the 42 mm objective clearance is also not a concern, but observe also again how little clearance the low mount leaves to the bottom of the turrets housing. There is not much margin either, and it too works ... but again just barely...

Zeiss V4 scope in Blaser R8  mm low scope mount.jpg

Here is a Zeiss V4 4-16x50 in 30 mm low mount on standard .300 Wby barrel. Although there was plenty of clearance for the objective bell, observe how the bottom of the turrets housing is bottoming out. I immediately saw this but still tried against all visual indications. When I tightened either front or rear ring, the scope tilted front or back, clearly confirming that the low rings are lower than the turrets housing bottom. I had to return and exchange two low 30 mm scope mounts for 2 high scope mounts...

Zeiss V4 4-16x50 in 30 mm high mount on standard .257 Wby barrel.jpg

Here is another Zeiss V4 4-16x50, this time in 30 mm high mounts on a standard .257 Wby barrel. This is one of the two scopes for which I had to return and exchange a low mount for a high mount. Observe how the clearance for the 50 mm objective is largely superior to the clearance for the bottom of the turrets housing.

Zeiss V4 4-16x44 in 30 mm high mount on standard .270 Win barrel.jpg

Here is a Zeiss V4 4-16x44 in 30 mm high mounts on a standard .270 Win barrel. Observe how the clearance for the 44 mm objective is disproportionate, and would be easily accommodated by a low mount, but how the clearance for the bottom of the turrets housing is still what mandates a high mount.

Observe also how in all cases, the scopes easily clear the rear iron sights, not visible on all pictures, but present on all barrels, because Blaser install the rear sights way forward.

In summary, yes, there are some mount height limitations for the R8 with the low mounts either 1" or 30 mm, but in my experience the diameter of the objective bell is not the limiting factor (at least for common sizes, up to and including 56 mm). Check carefully the bulging of the bottom of the turrets housing...

I hope this helps :)
 
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This is incredibly helpful!
 
Good work showing those. Had the exact thing happen to me with a Zeiss V6 scope on an R8. Unfortunately the eurooptic guy apparently didn't know, but gave me bad advice anyway on which rings to buy. They're standup people and they made it right, so no foul there. If a scope does bottom out underneath, DON'T accept screwing the top rings just higher, with the screws not engaged as much as they should. The geometry of things there will result in the screws engaging the lower halves at an angle and cross-threading. Just make sure that for whatever scope is properly mounted on an R8, you can see a gap between the scope bottom and the rail below.

Again, good work!
 
That is a very informative set of pictures.

Surprising to see the bottom of the turrets being the limiting factor. That was news to me.

Surprising to see such wide gaps between objective and barrel even with a so called "low mount".

Do you make use of a raised cheekpiece to get your eye level with those scopes?

Is there no alternative mount available for the Blaser R8 allowing a lower mount than in your pictures?
 
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That is a very informative set of pictures.

Surprising to see the bottom of the turrets being the limiting factor. That was news to me.

Surprising to see such wide gaps between objective and barrel even with a so called "low mount".

Do you make use of a raised cheekpiece to get your eye level with those scopes?

Is there no alternative mount available for the Blaser R8 allowing a lower mount than in your pictures?
The easiest way around this is to have a scope that has an integral rail mounted to the housing. Then your mount is nothing more than an adapter between the scope and the barrel. I used a Contessa QD mount on mine, but Blaser also offers mounts for their scopes along with ones from Swaro, Zeiss and Leica.

Here's a picture of the scope with the mount installed...
1693420093791.png

And a picture of one installed on a rifle. It's not the same scope, but you get the point.
1693420170251.png
 
The easiest way around this is to have a scope that has an integral rail mounted to the housing. Then your mount is nothing more than an adapter between the scope and the barrel. I used a Contessa QD mount on mine, but Blaser also offers mounts for their scopes along with ones from Swaro, Zeiss and Leica.

Here's a picture of the scope with the mount installed...
View attachment 554214
And a picture of one installed on a rifle. It's not the same scope, but you get the point.
View attachment 554215
Yeah, and Swaro has an especially nice rail with teeth to help prevent any movement. Problem for U.S. market is that even though Swaro, Zeiss, and S&B have very nice integral rail scopes, they haven’t caught on well here for some reason. So, ordering, waiting, etc. Certainly not impossible here, but most of my luck finding them was in Cologne, or ordering and waiting. They truly are superior mounting designs.
 
Yeah, and Swaro has an especially nice rail with teeth to help prevent any movement. Problem for U.S. market is that even though Swaro, Zeiss, and S&B have very nice integral rail scopes, they haven’t caught on well here for some reason. So, ordering, waiting, etc. Certainly not impossible here, but most of my luck finding them was in Cologne, or ordering and waiting. They truly are superior mounting designs.
We ordered 3 Swaro scopes at the same time from Euro Optic and didn't wait very long to get ours. Maybe a month or so, but that was pre-Covid. Not sure what the wait would be now. If I had to do it over again, I get the same thing and endure the wait. It's worth it.
 
Per a few members' suggestions, so that all R8 info is on the same thread, I am adding in this thread something I posted a few months ago in another thread in response to a member's question :)

R8 scope mounts clearance

Based on factual experience with 8 different barrel / scope R8 combinations, I had to actually exchange 2 "low" 30 mm scope mounts for 2 "high" 30 mm scope mounts.

There is a potential clearance issue with the Blaser scope mounts, but contrarily to the classic issue of front bell clearance, with the Blaser mounts, the issue is with the turrets housing bottom.

About any reasonable objective diameter I can think of, including 56 mm, will easily clear the barrel (and the rear sights if present) with a low mount, whether 1" or 30 mm.

What may not clear, is the bottom of the turrets housing...

Let me explain and illustrate using six examples...

Swarovski Z3 4-12x50 in 1 inch low mount on standard .223 barrel.jpg

Here is a Swarovski Z3 4-12x50 in 1 inch high mount on a standard .223 barrel. Observe how the 50 mm objective comfortably clears the barrel. This was my first Blaser mount, and I used a high mount because, like you, I did not know - and could not find out - if a 50 mm objective would clear a low mount. Turns out it would clear it easily.

Leica Magnus 1-6.3x24i in 30 mm low mount on Selous .458 Lott barrel.jpg

Here is a Leica Magnus 1-6.3x24i in 30 mm low mount on a Selous .458 Lott barrel. Observe how, of course, the straight tube clearance is indeed not a concern, but observe also how little clearance the low mount leaves to the bottom of the turrets housing. There is not much margin, and it works ... but just barely...

Leica ERi 2.5-10x42 in 30 mm low mount on semi-weight .375 H&H barrel.jpg

Here is a Leica ERi 2.5-10x42 in 30 mm low mount on a semi-weight .375 H&H barrel. Observe how the 42 mm objective clearance is also not a concern, but observe also again how little clearance the low mount leaves to the bottom of the turrets housing. There is not much margin either, and it too works ... but again just barely...

Zeiss V4 scope in Blaser R8  mm low scope mount.jpg

Here is a Zeiss V4 4-16x50 in 30 mm low mount on standard .300 Wby barrel. Although there was plenty of clearance for the objective bell, observe how the bottom of the turrets housing is bottoming out. I immediately saw this but still tried against all visual indications. When I tightened either front or rear ring, the scope tilted front or back, clearly confirming that the low rings are lower than the turrets housing bottom. I had to return and exchange two low 30 mm scope mounts for 2 high scope mounts...

Zeiss V4 4-16x50 in 30 mm high mount on standard .257 Wby barrel.jpg

Here is another Zeiss V4 4-16x50, this time in 30 mm high mounts on a standard .257 Wby barrel. This is one of the two scopes for which I had to return and exchange a low mount for a high mount. Observe how the clearance for the 50 mm objective is largely superior to the clearance for the bottom of the turrets housing.

Zeiss V4 4-16x44 in 30 mm high mount on standard .270 Win barrel.jpg

Here is a Zeiss V4 4-16x44 in 30 mm high mounts on a standard .270 Win barrel. Observe how the clearance for the 44 mm objective is disproportionate, and would be easily accommodated by a low mount, but how the clearance for the bottom of the turrets housing is still what mandates a high mount.

Observe also how in all cases, the scopes easily clear the rear iron sights, not visible on all pictures, but present on all barrels, because Blaser install the rear sights way forward.

In summary, yes, there are some mount height limitations for the R8 with the low mounts either 1" or 30 mm, but in my experience the diameter of the objective bell is not the limiting factor (at least for common sizes, up to and including 56 mm). Check carefully the bulging of the bottom of the turrets housing...

I hope this helps :)
Considering how much a firearm flexes upon firing, the space between scope turret and mount base is critical. I experienced the same thing you did even with high 30 mm rings. The solution was to add two washers to create space. It now works very well, however prior to the addition of the rings I could barely pass a dollar bill under the scope. What you bring up with the photographs is of great importance for creating consistent accuracy while preventing damaging the mechanism of the scope.
 
When I first purchased my R8, I was running into the same scope issues as you. @One Day was good enough to give me the insight he has provided here.
When purchasing the saddle mounts, I found the clearance from the top of the base to the bottom of the scope tube to be as follows (best I could measure):
1” low: .200”
30mm low: .120” (weight: 6.75oz)
30mm high: .220”
I hope this helps.
 

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(cont'd)
Rockies museum,
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Charlo bison range and Garnet ghost town
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I plan to visit MT next Sept.
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Looking to buy a 375 H&H or .416 Rem Mag if anyone has anything they want to let go of
 
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