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

[Altitude sickness]

Or have separate turrets made for each barrel

 

[Challer]

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

This. Harder to find in the US but worth the effort. I’ve got integral rails on all Blaser barrel scopes but the .22, and it’s just that much better.

 

[TTundra]

Could a person use one scope and just have it documented where to adjust elevation and windage for each barrel. The hallmark of a high quality scope is repeatability and accurate clicks.
Has anyone tried it.

Having quality scopes on 3-5 barrels negates the benefits for me to just save on stock cost and space only.

Now if the scope moved barrel to barrel, now that is same real weight and cost savings.

One stock. One scope and multiple barrels. I hope this does not read as being negative. I love the idea of the platform.

Yes, but not on a Blaser. I have made marks on turrets where different loads shoot and dial between them based on load. Most recently with sub sonic vs standard velocity. Any repeatable scope should be able to do this.

A 'zero stop' really can't be used effectively with this setup, but I switch between loads periodically and have never had an issue with going back and forth to my marks.

 

[Paul Homsy]

Could a person use one scope and just have it documented where to adjust elevation and windage for each barrel. The hallmark of a high quality scope is repeatability and accurate clicks.
Has anyone tried it.

Having quality scopes on 3-5 barrels negates the benefits for me to just save on stock cost and space only.

Now if the scope moved barrel to barrel, now that is same real weight and cost savings.

One stock. One scope and multiple barrels. I hope this does not read as being negative. I love the idea of the platform.

It's a great idea but moving a scope from one barrel to another requires adjustments every time. I have four barrels and each has a dedicated scope.

 

[bowjijohn]

I happily move scopes from barrel to barrel

Of course I have to re zero when I do

If I stick to MPBR (you call it battle field zero I believe) then it isn’t too much of an issue

I’d not do it for barrels for use at ranges that require dialling - as that is too much faffing around

My red dot - for example - will happily sit on the .22LR barrel and the 404 Jeff barrel with no adjustment @ 25 to 50m

The swaro z8i 2 - 16 x 50 gets used on .223 and 6.5 x55

It isn’t ideal but can be done

J

 

[dchamp]

Curiously I’ve just invested in a swaro z8i 1 - 8 x 24 rail mounted using the swaro rail mount

Something is not right as I run out of elevation on my .223 barrel @ 150m !!

I can only put it down to the claws not fitting in the barrel recess correctly giving the scope an uphill slant

Anyone else run into this?

The only time I had a problem with a mounting recess Blaser type barrel was with an after market barrel. I sent it back to the barrel maker and he fixed it. I have never had a problem with a Blaser barrel.

I think the first thing to do would be to check the seating between the scope rail and the mount to make sure the teeth are meshing properly. Also check your tensioning when mounting the scope to the barrel. It doesn’t need to be torque tight, just slightly snug. If you still have a problem then I would try a different mount.

I have two Z8i 1-8x24 rail scopes. I am using the Blaser mount on one and a Innomount mount on the other. Both work well.

 

[dchamp]

I forgot to mention, try another scope an mount on that barrel. If it’s off the same as your .223 barrel then it’s probably the barrel.

 

[One Day...]

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?

No I do not use a raised cheekpiece, I find that the scopes line up perfectly with my eye, using a classic American "crawl the stock" position

Observe also that I always place the scope as far forward as mechanically possible, with the front of the turrets housing resting against the front ring.
.
The Swarovski is the lone exception because on the Z3, the turrets are significantly far back. This may also be the case (?) with the Z5, Z6 and Z8, but I do not own any of those because in my view the optimum return on glass investment is with the Zeiss V4. Any additional magnification range (e.g. Z5, Z6, V8, Z8, etc.) is of no use to me for hunting, and any additional light transmission is wasted on most human eye as it takes a lab instrument to differentiate between 90% (V4), 91% (Z6), 92% (V8), 93% (Z8) light transmission. But to each their own, and Z8, V8, etc. are certainly great scopes, although to me the triple price over a V4 is wasted money...

Back to placing the scope as far forward as mechanically possible, with the front of the turrets housing resting against the front ring. The eye relief in all modern scopes is long enough for that (it does not matter if there may occasionally be a slight "black fuzzy ring" visible on the perimeter of the sight picture in the ocular) and this provides two major advantages:

1. It makes it virtually impossible for the scope to hit me under recoil in about any shooting position, even with the .458 Lott full house loads, and this is good because it hurts like crazy and blood pouring from a cut eyebrow does not help looking through the scope for a follow up shot
2. It makes it mechanically impossible for the scope to slide forward in the rings, under any sort of recoil (I am thinking here .500 Jeff, but I have seen it many times on caliber as "low" as .416 with rings that are not as tight as they should). My Z3 is on a .223 barrel so this does not apply to it

 

[One Day...]

Could a person use one scope and just have it documented where to adjust elevation and windage for each barrel. The hallmark of a high quality scope is repeatability and accurate clicks.
Has anyone tried it.

Having quality scopes on 3-5 barrels negates the benefits for me to just save on stock cost and space only.

Now if the scope moved barrel to barrel, now that is same real weight and cost savings.

One stock. One scope and multiple barrels. I hope this does not read as being negative. I love the idea of the platform.

Yes you absolutely can, provided this is a quality scope with reliable and repeatable clicks, which is far from being the case with many (most) of the less expensive scopes, and even some of the surprisingly expensive ones of the previous generation, before ballistic turrets became fashionable on hunting rifles.

The challenges, of course, as you click up or down, right or left, are:

1. You absolutely must be 100% certain of which setting you start from, including did you click (and how many clicks) to compensate for wind drift and/or shooting up or down hill on your last shot?
2. You need a little table listing all possible scope transfer scenarios between the 3 or 4 barrels (e.g. as would be my case in Africa: .257 Wby to .300 Wby, .257 Wby to .375 H&H, .257 Wby to .458 Lott, .300 to .375, .300 to .458, .375 to .458 and vice versa). This can get "involved", and the smallest mistake ruins out the zero for all calibers.
3. A good scope for hunting plains game or far away mountains game with the .257 Wby is vastly different from a great scope to hunt dangerous game up close with the .458 Lott. No need to expand on this one, everyone in this thread knows the differences...
4. This precludes the use of BDC (bullet drop compensator) turrets which I find to be the most useful application in above 300 yd. shots, now that we can easily clock our own ammo in our own barrels and compute with a smart phone software once and for all the clicks required and have them engraved on custom BDC turrets (I use Kenton Industry turrets). Range the distance, instantly turn the turret to 375 yd., forget about painfully converting range to MOA and clicks, just put the crosshair on the vitals and focus on the shot...
5. Believe it or not, not all Blaser barrels have the scope mounts recesses machined at exactly the same depth (surprising, I know), and in addition to clicking the different trajectories when swapping barrels, you would likely have to click for mount tightness adjustments. Now that becomes a little iffy...

All of that to say that I do not think that the 1 scope for 4 barrels is a very practical solution, but it may be the only one on a limited budget, and it can be done by a meticulous hunter owning a reliable scope.

You may (?) be lucky and the various zeros may be close enough that you may mark the turrets etching marks with red, blue, green marks (fine permanent markers work great on white etching marks), and this simplifies things tremendously. For example, the scopes on my .22 LR practice rifles have a green bar for 100 yd. zero and a red bar for 150 yd. zero. But each scope stays on its rifle...

 

[TOBY458]

Yes you absolutely can, provided this is a quality scope with reliable and repeatable clicks, which is far from being the case with many (most) of the less expensive scopes, and even some of the surprisingly expensive ones of the previous generation, before ballistic turrets became fashionable on hunting rifles.

The challenges, of course, as you click up or down, right or left, are:

1. You absolutely must be 100% certain of which setting you start from, including did you click (and how many clicks) to compensate for wind drift and/or shooting up or down hill on your last shot?
2. You need a little table listing all possible scope transfer scenarios between the 3 or 4 barrels (e.g. as would be my case in Africa: .257 Wby to .300 Wby, .257 Wby to .375 H&H, .257 Wby to .458 Lott, .300 to .375, .300 to .458, .375 to .458 and vice versa). This can get "involved", and the smallest mistake ruins out the zero for all calibers.
3. A good scope for hunting plains game or far away mountains game with the .257 Wby is vastly different from a great scope to hunt dangerous game up close with the .458 Lott. No need to expand on this one, everyone in this thread knows the differences...
4. This precludes the use of BDC (bullet drop compensator) turrets which I find to be the most useful application in above 300 yd. shots, now that we can easily clock our own ammo in our own barrels and compute with a smart phone software once and for all the clicks required and have them engraved on custom BDC turrets (I use Kenton Industry turrets). Range the distance, instantly turn the turret to 375 yd., forget about painfully converting range to MOA and clicks, just put the crosshair on the vitals and focus on the shot...
5. Believe it or not, not all Blaser barrels have the scope mounts recesses machined at exactly the same depth (surprising, I know), and in addition to clicking the different trajectories when swapping barrels, you would likely have to click for mount tightness adjustments. Now that becomes a little iffy...

All of that to say that I do not think that the 1 scope for 4 barrels is a very practical solution, but it may be the only one on a limited budget, and it can be done by a meticulous hunter owning a reliable scope.

You may (?) be lucky and the various zeros may be close enough that you may mark the turrets etching marks with red, blue, green marks (fine permanent markers work great on white etching marks), and this simplifies things tremendously. For example, the scopes on my .22 LR practice rifles have a green bar for 100 yd. zero and a red bar for 150 yd. zero. But each scope stays on its rifle...

I agree. Especially in regards to the QD lever adjustment from barrel to barrel. They are definitely not identical. A mount that is adjusted to one barrel, may be either too loose or too tight on another barrel.

 

[Paul Homsy]

Could a person use one scope and just have it documented where to adjust elevation and windage for each barrel. The hallmark of a high quality scope is repeatability and accurate clicks.
Has anyone tried it.

Having quality scopes on 3-5 barrels negates the benefits for me to just save on stock cost and space only.

Now if the scope moved barrel to barrel, now that is same real weight and cost savings.

One stock. One scope and multiple barrels. I hope this does not read as being negative. I love the idea of the platform.

Sure, you can do that. I did it at first between two barrels.

 

[One Day...]

Per a member's suggestion, so that all R8 info is on the same thread, I am adding in this thread something I posted a month ago in another thread in response to a member's question

Understanding and avoiding the "Blaser click" on the R8

I have two R8's (Professional stock and GRS Norwegian made birch laminate) and four barrels, .223, 22-250, 30-06 and 375 H&H. I have never had a problem with factory rounds. The 22-250 would occasionally misfire using reloaded ammunition. I would hear a click but no dent on the primer. I am assuming this is a case sizing problem. Likely need to full length resize rather than neck sizing but I haven't taken the time to investigate further. Anyone else run into this problem?

Operating words: "using reloaded ammunition".

Here is what happens, in as concise a form as possible:

The R8 bolt locks when the collet (green) is expanded outward by a steel sleeve (Orange) that is pushed forward by the in-line forward rotation of the bolt handle, and the collet lugs line up and engage in the barrel recess.

THIS IS DONE IN THE LAST HALF INCH OF BOLT HANDLE FORWARD ROTATION, when the bolt head advances forward the last ~1/128th of an inch.

If the last half inch of bolt handle forward rotation is not done, the action LOOKS closed, but it is not:

If the trigger is depressed at this stage, this is the dreaded "Blaser click". The firing pin is released (just as it can be released with a turn bolt action by depressing the trigger while closing the bolt), but it is blocked by its safety block and stops short of striking the primer.

The three most classic ways for the "click" to happen are:

1) The use of reloaded ammo either not fully re-sized, or incompletely fully re-sized. The case does not penetrate completely in the chamber; the bolt head does not penetrate the last ~1/128th; the collet lugs do not line up with, and do not engage in the barrel recess; and the action does not close although it looks closed at a glance. The action is not in battery, therefore the safety block stops the firing pin.

2) Hunters loading a round in the chamber in close proximity of a game they have stalked and trying to do it ever so delicately in complete silence. Because there is a marked mechanical stage after the bolt is partially closed, before it is locked by the bolt handle rotating forward the last half inch, some new Blaser users have failed to actually close the bolt fully. The action is not in battery, therefore the safety block stops the firing pin.

The infamous "Blaser click" likely annoys reloaders, and probably cost a few R8 novices an easy shot after a successful stalk, but it is the result of operator error. This would be similar to moving the bolt forward on a classic turn-bolt action, but not turning the bolt down fully to actually engage the bolt lugs in the barrel recesses and lock the action.


Conversely, when the bolt is fully rotated forward, the action closes and is in battery (ready to fire).

There are two possible ways to ensure that the action is closed:

1. In most cases: slams the action forward after having cycled it vigorously backward to ensure full ejection and pick up of a cartridge from the magazine. Note: this is the reason why it took out the rearward action cycling stop on the .223 Rem and .22 LR magazine inserts, so that I practice the full action cycling rearward during training and do not form incorrect physical memory.
2. When reloading silently, keep pushing the bolt forward after the first marked mechanical stage when the bolt is partially closed, until the bolt is fully closed in a second marked mechanical stage.

And also... in a similar vain, some have experienced a failure of the action to close when inadvertently forgetting to change the bolt head when changing barrels from a standard to a magnum caliber. Oooops!!!

And too... also in a similar vain, some have experienced a failure of the action to eject when inadvertently forgetting to change the bolt head when changing barrels from a magnum to a standard caliber. Oooops!!!

Not to forget... still in a similar vain, some have experimented feeding issues when forgetting to change the magazine insert when changing barrels. Oooops!!!


I hope this was of interest.

 

[Paul Homsy]

Replying to Powdermaker: (unable to find your post to link it to my reply.)

Treat the R8 like a pump rifle or an auto. Full length resizing is mandatory
All the best!
Paul

 

[CoElkHunter]

Per a member's suggestion, so that all R8 info is on the same thread, I am adding in this thread something I posted a month ago in another thread in response to a member's question

Understanding and avoiding the "Blaser click" on the R8




Operating words: "using reloaded ammunition".

Here is what happens, in as concise a form as possible:

The R8 bolt locks when the collet (green) is expanded outward by a steel sleeve (Orange) that is pushed forward by the in-line forward rotation of the bolt handle, and the collet lugs line up and engage in the barrel recess.

THIS IS DONE IN THE LAST HALF INCH OF BOLT HANDLE FORWARD ROTATION, when the bolt head advances forward the last ~1/128th of an inch.

If the last half inch of bolt handle forward rotation is not done, the action LOOKS closed, but it is not:

If the trigger is depressed at this stage, this is the dreaded "Blaser click". The firing pin is released (just as it can be released with a turn bolt action by depressing the trigger while closing the bolt), but it is blocked by its safety block and stops short of striking the primer.

The three most classic ways for the "click" to happen are:

1) The use of reloaded ammo either not fully re-sized, or incompletely fully re-sized. The case does not penetrate completely in the chamber; the bolt head does not penetrate the last ~1/128th; the collet lugs do not line up with, and do not engage in the barrel recess; and the action does not close although it looks closed at a glance. The action is not in battery, therefore the safety block stops the firing pin.

2) Hunters loading a round in the chamber in close proximity of a game they have stalked and trying to do it ever so delicately in complete silence. Because there is a marked mechanical stage after the bolt is partially closed, before it is locked by the bolt handle rotating forward the last half inch, some new Blaser users have failed to actually close the bolt fully. The action is not in battery, therefore the safety block stops the firing pin.

The infamous "Blaser click" likely annoys reloaders, and probably cost a few R8 novices an easy shot after a successful stalk, but it is the result of operator error. This would be similar to moving the bolt forward on a classic turn-bolt action, but not turning the bolt down fully to actually engage the bolt lugs in the barrel recesses and lock the action.


Conversely, when the bolt is fully rotated forward, the action closes and is in battery (ready to fire).

There are two possible ways to ensure that the action is closed:

1. In most cases: slams the action forward after having cycled it vigorously backward to ensure full ejection and pick up of a cartridge from the magazine. Note: this is the reason why it took out the rearward action cycling stop on the .223 Rem and .22 LR magazine inserts, so that I practice the full action cycling rearward during training and do not form incorrect physical memory.
2. When reloading silently, keep pushing the bolt forward after the first marked mechanical stage when the bolt is partially closed, until the bolt is fully closed in a second marked mechanical stage.

And also... in a similar vain, some have experienced a failure of the action to close when inadvertently forgetting to change the bolt head when changing barrels from a standard to a magnum caliber. Oooops!!!

And too... also in a similar vain, some have experienced a failure of the action to eject when inadvertently forgetting to change the bolt head when changing barrels from a magnum to a standard caliber. Oooops!!!

Not to forget... still in a similar vain, some have experimented feeding issues when forgetting to change the magazine insert when changing barrels. Oooops!!!


I hope this was of interest.

Wow! Way too complicated for me when just trying to hunt/shoot something. I’ll stick with a traditional bolt action. Preferably my Browning with a 60 degree bolt throw for PG and my CZ for DG. LOL

 

[Flewis]

Wow! Way too complicated for me when just trying to hunt/shoot something. I’ll stick with a traditional bolt action. Preferably my Browning with a 60 degree bolt throw for PG and my CZ for DG. LOL

I’m way to dumb for an R8.

 

[CoElkHunter]

I’m way to dumb for an R8.

Well, I’m dumber! Dumb and dumber! LOL

 

[Tra3]

Wow! Way too complicated for me when just trying to hunt/shoot something. I’ll stick with a traditional bolt action. Preferably my Browning with a 60 degree bolt throw for PG and my CZ for DG. LOL

Haha! It is so complicated that I prefer my kids and new hunters to use an R8…
Actually, in regular use it is delightfully simple. It is fun to watch kids learn how to use one. It is surprisingly quick to figure out.

 

[Aussie_Hunter]

Yeah but lets be realistic here, at the end of the day use the correct ammo to the correct spec and cycle the bolt properly and there is no issue. No different than anything other repeating rifle.

 

[Daisy]

Wow! Way too complicated for me when just trying to hunt/shoot something. I’ll stick with a traditional bolt action. Preferably my Browning with a 60 degree bolt throw for PG and my CZ for DG. LOL

Everything in that post could’ve been said as simply as:

Push the bolt firmly forward when cycling

 

[TOBY458]

Everything in that post could’ve been said as simply as:

Push the bolt firmly forward when cycling

Exactly. Push the bolt handle until it hits a firm stop. Gun will go bang every time in my experience.