I have looked long and hard at it, including getting a quote from EuroOptic and spending some time on the phone with them as well, and I was even about to get a used one (safari pro with .375 H&H and .300 Win barrels) but the deal fell through...
On one hand:
- very fashionable, cool factor off the today's chart,
- very original engineering (is this automatically a plus?),
- very compact,
- very light,
- multiple barrels,
- good trigger.
On the other hand:
- a 7 lbs 6 oz .375 H&H standard R8 is very, very light... Too light? Yes, I know, the ergonomics are said to be so fantastic that the traditional weight vs. recoil equation is said to not apply to Blaser... How much of this is "eyes of the beholder"-centric remains an interesting question...
- a full weight steel chassis safari pro R8 complete rifle costs $7,000. A second barrel costs $2,000. Synthetic fibers and steel pipes must be very expensive in Germany these days...
- virtually any rifle stocked in a synthetic stock with full length metal bedding block can be assembled/disassembled at will while keeping its zero. This is not a Blaser exclusive...
- virtually any rifle with Talley, Warne, Alaska Arms, etc. bases and/or rings can have their scope attached/removed at will while keeping its zero. Never mind rifles with integral scope base dovetailed into the action (CZ, Sako, etc.). Never mind Suhl claw mounts, etc. This is not a Blaser exclusive...
- countless rifles have triggers every bit as good as the Blaser's. Try a Timney trigger on a Win 70, Rem 700, CZ 550, etc. As to whether the Blaser 1.9 lbs trigger might be too much of a good thing in some hunting situations, each will decide for themselves (hint: better be warm on that mountain)...
When everything is said and done:
- if the Pelican 1700 case size/weight is the appeal, well ... keep in mind that a Win 70 or a CZ 550 barreled action disassembled from its synthetic stock fits quit nicely in that same case, just as the disassembled R8 does, and it is no more complicated to tighten two action screws on a Win 70 or CZ 550 than it is on a R8...
- if the multiple calibers is the appeal, well ... keep in mind that that same Pelican 1700 case that takes a R8 stock and two barrels, also accepts quite comfortably a Win 70 or CZ 550 synthetic stock with aluminum bedding block, and two barreled actions...
I almost went for the $9,000 safari pro R8 package with .375 H&H and .300 mag barrels - make mine a .300 Wby, but yours can be a Win, a RUM, a Blaser, etc. they are all more or less indistinguishable in the field. In the end my Pelican 1700 ($25o) - actually, make mine a Storm IM 3100, I like its latching system better - hosts one Bell & Carlson Medalist Kevlar stock with full length aluminum bedding block ($290) and two tuned-up barreled actions CZ 550 .375 H&H - or .416 Rigby, I have both - and . 300 Wby (2 x $2,000). They are not as romantically appealing as Rigby steel, but every bit as functional and reliable (heck, Rigby used ZKK 602/CZ 550 actions for years when Mauser magnums were out of production, and Wayne at AHR or Harlan at Triple River are not exactly one-handed cripples), and I just could not find what more the $9,000 R8 package would give me over this $4,500 package. But I could see a few things it would not give me;
- true redundancy (two barreled actions compared to one action with two barrels)...
- true CRF, true Mauser extraction (each will identify for themselves what value these features have in their judgment)...
- impossible to loose trigger, bolt head, and magazine system (whatever is detachable is also losable)...
- 100% steel bottom and internals (I dropped and broke a SSG 69 "unbreakable" synthetic magazine way back when, so I do not believe in "unbreakable" synthetics anymore)...
- capacity 5+1 compared to 3+1 (not a big deal, I know ... until you need it - which I never have ... so far)...
- the Timney or AHR etc. triggers are just as good as the R8 trigger, and they are more adjustable...
This was not a money decision, I can afford the R8, and I am not overly concerned about the R8 action flying back in my face (although it DID happen with the R93...), it was just that in my own personal judgement, if the convenience of take-down and multiple calibers is the argument, I see numerous advantages in the option I chose that the R8 cannot duplicate, and I see nothing the R8 offers, that the option I chose does not offer ... for half the price.
To each his own, but I am personally off the R8 wagon, even though I recognize its elegance and current fashionable appeal. In the end, I speculate that buying a R8 is more an irrational appeal decision than a rational function decision, and it is just fine: by all accounts the rifle is fully capable, although maybe not providing much more than novelty over its competition.
PS: as to whether straight pull offers any advantage over a classic turn bolt action, I happen to live in Arizona, and there are a lot of beach front properties I can help folks buy if wily marketers convinced them that straight pull makes any real world difference... My money stays with "practice"...
What an extraordinary lengthy reply from someone who doesn’t own a R8. Have you actually even fired one? Come on now, holding one at a show doesn’t count.
I am tempted to dismiss the whole essay over just the weight comment. Anyone who knows anything about the rifles understands the resulting weight of a .375 depends on the rifle one creates. With an aluminum receiver, sporter barrel, and light weight stock like a classic sporter, one can get down to a 7.5 pound rifle before scope and ammunition or added. I absolutely love the result. It is like carrying an ‘06 all day. I find the recoil to be a non-issue. And I have fired mine in that livery a lot - and taken it after buffalo and PG. BUT, should the buyer prefer a heavier rifle, a steel receiver and semi-weight barrel creates a traditionally weighted .375. I suspect most choose those configurations. At the moment I have a steel receiver platform set up as a .300 Win Mag. It provides a very stable package for shots out there a bit. Fluted barrels, the heavier barrels of the African series like the Selous, etc can change the solution again. It is something you should really look at and understand.
I own a few rifles, and have owned a few others (around fifty in the gun room at the moment). Those rifles include stock production pieces, improved production pieces (with things like after market triggers), and full blown custom rifles. I have exactly two, with as good a trigger as my Blasers, and have never seen another production rifle out of the box with a better one. Ever.
And every rifle is a takedown? Sure. I own screwdrivers as well. It isn’t exactly the same thing.
And yes, other dismount systems exist for scopes. They do indeed work. I somehow missed the point.
I like the the multi-caliber option, but normally travel with just one. As I have noted elsewhere, I have an abhorrence to bag drags. The case I use contains rifle scope and dismounted barrel in something smaller than most suitcases.
Before getting into the real estate business, you really should try a double tap with your favorite CZ or Weatherby and the Blaser. Would it ever make a difference between loosing an animal or perhaps saving someone in a DG situation? I have no idea. I know the R93 I was using two weeks ago made the difference in taking a fallow stag. (I’m not repeating the story - you can check out the hunting report).
Yes, the Blaser is a 3+1 in .375. Of course, I can actually truly safely carry a round in the chamber with my R8, which I suppose makes it a four. How many rounds do you normally need?
But this is easy. If plastic parts offend you don’t buy the rifle. I have yet to hear of an example where something has failed - rather like the Glock. Traditionalists hated it, and Armies and police forces loved it because it was indestructible. But if that bothers you, don’t buy it.
If the cost seems unreasonable, then don’t buy it. I think it is one of the finest shooting and hunting investments that I have ever made. Moreover, it’s perceived value to me goes up every time I take one afield. But that is just the perception of someone who actually has a R8.
My purchase of a R8 is an “irrational”act ........ There is some truth to the fact that I have little patience with spread sheets, decision matrices, and detailed lists or the people who seem so fixated on them. I have indeed been served well over the years in both the military and a civilian career with a solid intuitive sense for decision making. And your point is?
There is indeed much to subjectively like about the R8 and other Blaser designs. They do indeed “feel” better than the typical production rifle. I am sure that has much to do with being willing to start with a clean sheet of paper rather than merely repeating century-old solutions.
Because they are supremely accurate, have wonderful ergonomics, and that special trigger, I believe that they inspire better shooting. I have not a shred of objective evidence to that effect, but I sense that is the case. I suspect, that is one reason they have continued to gain in popularity in spite of the grumbling of traditionalists. For that matter I am a traditionalist. I shoot English and Continental SxS shotguns, numerous quality Mauser actioned rifles, exquisite singles, etc. But the Blaser S2 opened my eyes to the notion of progress. The R8 confirmed it.
But as I say, this is easy. Based on your observations of the R8 you have concluded that it is not worth the investment, that is fine. You have the absolute right to that decision. If you even wish to believe that you are more rational than someone who invests in a Blaser, that is fine also. Give yourself a pat on the back. I would simply note that a number of other experienced and informed people obviously have concluded that there are both rational and, allow me to use the word - subjective - reasons to make a very different decision.