Blaser R8 question

[SaintPanzer]

Do whatever you have to do, even if it means a trip to Europe to get some Dentler mounts.

Zielfernrohrmontagesysteme - Dentler Jagdwaffen

Montageschiene Basis (Optik)

dentler-jagdwaffen.de

 

[MD Driver]

One thing you need to consider as well. The scope mounts have to be adjusted to fit each individual barrel. So you can’t simply move your scope from barrel to barrel, without having to adjust the scope mount itself. You could possibly get lucky and have two barrels that would work with the same mount tension, but that’s very unlikely.

Glad you mentioned this, Toby. I had a variety of barrels in varying thicknesses…. eg Standard 7mm Mauser, and thick Selous .300 WM and .375 H&H. Big problem going between thin and thick barrels with the same scope/mount since the barrel “rings” have differing curvatures. IIRC, my thick to thick works OK (don’t have to adjust the mount itself…PITA if you have to BTW), but of course the zero will need adjustment. Thick and thin barrels with the same scope/mount wouldn’t be doable.

No idea if magnum and non-magnum barrels, both in standard thickness, would work either. Judging from what we’re seeing posted already, I’m guessing not.

 

[BeeMaa]

Glad you mentioned this, Toby. I had a variety of barrels in varying thicknesses…. eg Standard 7mm Mauser, and thick Selous .300 WM and .375 H&H. Big problem going between thin and thick barrels with the same scope/mount since the barrel “rings” have differing curvatures. IIRC, my thick to thick works OK (don’t have to adjust the mount itself…PITA if you have to BTW), but of course the zero will need adjustment. Thick and thin barrels with the same scope/mount wouldn’t be doable.

No idea if magnum and non-magnum barrels, both in standard thickness, would work either. Judging from what we’re seeing posted already, I’m guessing not.

FYI - There is a difference in the profile of your 300WM Selous barrel and 375H&H Selous barrel.

If you look closely at the caliber chart, there is a note (7) next to the tick mark for the 300WM and 300BLASER Selous barrels. They are 19mm but retain the barrel band sling swivel and brass bead front sight. All the other Selous barrels are 22mm. I also measured this because my wife has a 300WM Selous barrel.

For a while they made “safari” barrels that were also 22mm (but not in 300WM). The difference with these is that they deleted the barrel band sling swivel and the brass bead front sight found on the Selous. I believe @TOBY458 has a safari in 458WM. Last I knew the safari barrels had been discontinued.

Here is a picture that @TOBY458 posted. The bottom left rifle has a Selous barrel, and I believe the one next to it (bottom middle) is a safari barrel. Would need him to confirm this.

 

[TOBY458]

FYI - There is a difference in the profile of your 300WM Selous barrel and 375H&H Selous barrel.

If you look closely at the caliber chart, there is a note (7) next to the tick mark for the 300WM and 300BLASER Selous barrels. They are 19mm but retain the barrel band sling swivel and brass bead front sight. All the other Selous barrels are 22mm. I also measured this because my wife has a 300WM Selous barrel.

For a while they made “safari” barrels that were also 22mm (but not in 300WM). The difference with these is that they deleted the barrel band sling swivel and the brass bead front sight found on the Selous. I believe @TOBY458 has a safari in 458WM. Last I knew the safari barrels had been discontinued.

Here is a picture that @TOBY458 posted. The bottom left rifle has a Selous barrel, and I believe the one next to it (bottom middle) is a safari barrel. Would need him to confirm this.
View attachment 655556 The rifle in the middle is a 416 REM Mag Safari barrel. The 458 on the left is a 458 Win Mag. I believe you are correct about them no longer making the Safari barrels. The Selous barrels are all they make now, if I’m not mistaken.

 

[TOBY458]

FYI - There is a difference in the profile of your 300WM Selous barrel and 375H&H Selous barrel.

If you look closely at the caliber chart, there is a note (7) next to the tick mark for the 300WM and 300BLASER Selous barrels. They are 19mm but retain the barrel band sling swivel and brass bead front sight. All the other Selous barrels are 22mm. I also measured this because my wife has a 300WM Selous barrel.

For a while they made “safari” barrels that were also 22mm (but not in 300WM). The difference with these is that they deleted the barrel band sling swivel and the brass bead front sight found on the Selous. I believe @TOBY458 has a safari in 458WM. Last I knew the safari barrels had been discontinued.

Here is a picture that @TOBY458 posted. The bottom left rifle has a Selous barrel, and I believe the one next to it (bottom middle) is a safari barrel. Would need him to confirm this.
View attachment 655556

Yes, that is a Safari barrel in the middle. It’s a 416 REM Mag. I do believe these are discontinued, but I see a few still for sale from time to time.

 

[TOBY458]

My current brace of R8s. Always adding, subtracting and trimming the herd to get to that “perfect” combination.
From left to right,
458 Lott, 458 Win Mag, 375 H&H, 9.3x62. Although the two 458 rifles overlap completely, and the 375/9.3 rifles will do basically the same thing as each other, I love each of these calibers, and they would all take care of most any hunting situation you’d run across in Africa, while hunting thick, DG areas. If I were to ever go on a dedicated PG hunt, (which I probably won’t) I’d add a smaller caliber back into my collection, for taking longer shots. But as of now, these rifles have me covered.

 

[SaintPanzer]

I referred to the Dentler earlier, but wanted to take a moment to expound on it:

For the first barrel, you use the Dentler Basis, and put Dentler rings on the scope. BZO the scope.

For every subsequent barrel (or for that matter, other rifle) you need a Dentler Vario base. When you use the previous BZO'ed scope, you do not change scope settings, you adjust the Vario base. From that point forward, you can simply move the one scope from barrel to barrel, or for that matter, to whatever rifle, and you do NOT adjust the scope. You're zeroed on all of them.

It works well. We really need to find a US distributor.

 

[dchamp]

I referred to the Dentler earlier, but wanted to take a moment to expound on it:

For the first barrel, you use the Dentler Basis, and put Dentler rings on the scope. BZO the scope.

For every subsequent barrel (or for that matter, other rifle) you need a Dentler Vario base. When you use the previous BZO'ed scope, you do not change scope settings, you adjust the Vario base. From that point forward, you can simply move the one scope from barrel to barrel, or for that matter, to whatever rifle, and you do NOT adjust the scope. You're zeroed on all of them.

It works well. We really need to find a US distributor.

That sounds interesting. So, are you saying it is th mount you are zeroing and that once zeroed that mount stays on that barrel. How do the scope rings attach to the mount and are they capatible with rail scopes.

 

[dchamp]

For those who might be interested, this is from Blaser’s 2024 Catalog

 

[SaintPanzer]

That sounds interesting. So, are you saying it is th mount you are zeroing and that once zeroed that mount stays on that barrel. How do the scope rings attach to the mount and are they capatible with rail scopes.

On the basis mount, you zero the scope, then you use Vario mounts for other barrels/rifles, and zero the mount without changing the zero of the scope.

The site I linked to previously shows mounting rings, etc. It also lists the rifles and scopes for which the mounts are suited. SwarovskiSR is specifically listed. This Frankonia site will show the different optic mounts if you scroll through the drop down menu. Also, the second video there shows using the same Zeiss scope on different rifles, changing the scope between rifles, but not changing the zero. The center dot on the target used is probably a 1cm dot, although it may be larger. It's been a while since I held that target in my hands. https://www.frankonia.de/p/dentler/montageschiene-basis/182238?query=dentler&page=0

 

[R eight]

Yes, that is a Safari barrel in the middle. It’s a 416 REM Mag. I do believe these are discontinued, but I see a few still for sale from time to time.

Pretty sure that the Safari/ Selous barrels are still in production. I purchased a new R8 PH in 375 & 416 a few months ago. I also have a 500 J barrel on order. Delivery ETA is March.

 

[HBartley]

I have seen Blaser scoped mounts able to mount on a couple of barrels without adjustment but quite often they don’t and expecting them to have and hold zero for two different barrels and calibers would be a bit much to expect. I don’t think any manufacturer would make such a claim.

There are alternatives to Blaser mounts. I also use innomount. They are less expensive and I like them a lot. Innomount also makes a Piccatinney mount for Blasers. Innomount uses Torx screws which I like. I get mine from Titanium Gun Works out of Germany.

If you get a Blaser mount be sure to get their tensioning screwdriver also. It is very thin and you will need it. When mounting a Blaser mount loosen the two tension screws, then mount and close the swivel levers. Once that is done start adjusting the tension screws with the thin screw driver. I go one 6th of a turn at a time for each tension screw and stop when I feel a light snugness on both of the swivel levers.

In my mind I would rather have to different scopes for two completely different calibers, but that’s just me.

My question is are you planning on getting a Rail scope and mount, they look the cleanest in my opinion, or a tubeler ring mount, or there is always the versidle Picatinney.

Good Luck, Blaser is a good platform which ever way you go.

On your recommendation, I am waiting delivery of my innomount. Im sure it will be great. And there is NO WAY I would swap scopes back and forth on 2 different calibers. In my mind, Im using a 300 Weatherby with a 180gr. bullet and a 375 with a 300 gr. bullet... I want completely different power scopes and setups for each.

 

[TOBY458]

Pretty sure that the Safari/ Selous barrels are still in production. I purchased a new R8 PH in 375 & 416 a few months ago. I also have a 500 J barrel on order. Delivery ETA is March.

Is the barrel you ordered a Safari or Selous? The Safari has the standard iron sights and no barrel band sling swivel attachment. The Selous has the banded front sight and banded sling swivel attachment. I’m thinking that they only make the Selous barrels now, and no Safari barrels. But I’m not certain of that.

 

[dchamp]

On your recommendation, I am waiting delivery of my innomount. Im sure it will be great. And there is NO WAY I would swap scopes back and forth on 2 different calibers. In my mind, Im using a 300 Weatherby with a 180gr. bullet and a 375 with a 300 gr. bullet... I want completely different power scopes and setups for each.

I totally agree with you. I was only saying, poorly I might add, that I have had Blaser scope mounts that were able to mount, tension wise on a couple of barrels. If a scope were able to mount and hold the same zero for more than one barrel would be a fluke in the extreme and not something I would consider the norm nor practice nor advocate.

I do hope and think you will like the Innomount. Please let us know your impressions once you have used it.

Best of Luck

 

[R eight]

Is the barrel you ordered a Safari or Selous? The Safari has the standard iron sights and no barrel band sling swivel attachment. The Selous has the banded front sight and banded sling swivel attachment. I’m thinking that they only make the Selous barrels now, and no Safari barrels. But I’m not certain of that.

It sounds like it’s a Selous…I thought that the safari/selous was the same thing….incorrectly it seems.

 

[KIH]

And if you look at the caliber's there is a side nr 2. There you will find "everything", exept 458win, but it is in the configuration.