Talk me into or out of a Blaser r8

[damundsen87]

Alright I need some opinions. I have begun to feel a little rifle heavy and am toying around with selling 3 or 4 of my bolt action hunting rifles and getting a blaser r8 professional with 300 win mag and 375 h&h barrels. I would put a z5 2.4-12 swarovski on the 300 barrel and a z6i 1-6 on the 375. Opinions please....

 

[mikecatt13]

I'm not going to be a good influence here, I say get one. They are expensive, but the multiple calibers are great, their QD mounts work, and the straight pull is nice.

I've had an S2 for a few months now and is very accurate, has nice triggers, feels great to handle and shoot, is clearly high quality, and of course a beautiful gun.

Ordered a R8 for my wife yesterday and expect it to be just as nice. R8 vs multiple bolt guns can be debated to death, but if you have the budget, you're certainly not going to regret the R8

 

[meigsbucks]

I don’t own one but have long coveted one, as has my brother. However, at last year’s NRA convention and this year’s SCI convention, we extensively handled the Sauer 404. Both of us are leaning toward the Sauer. Your chambering choices aren’t as great but you can get a .404 barrel.
In reality... pick your poison. Both would be a great purchase, but both are very pricey, especially when adding barrels and scope mounts.

 

[Red Leg]

I own the R8 in several configurations and have now taken it to Africa twice for Buffalo and a meaningful amount of PG. It is, in my opinion, the finest production rifle in the world. It is supremely accurate, the ergonomics have to be felt to be appreciated, and no rifle in my experience, which is not inconsiderable, has a better trigger. You will never regret the investment.

 

[mikecatt13]

I don’t own one but have long coveted one, as has my brother. However, at last year’s NRA convention and this year’s SCI convention, we extensively handled the Sauer 404. Both of us are leaning toward the Sauer. Your chambering choices aren’t as great but you can get a .404 barrel.
In reality... pick your poison. Both would be a great purchase, but both are very pricey, especially when adding barrels and scope mounts.

Aftermarket barrels in pretty much any caliber are available one source being J Sip and Sons, the safari style are almost 1/3 the price of Blaser branded ones too. Will be ordering one in .416 to go with the 300WM for my wifes R8 (same mag insert and bolt)

 

[Tra3]

I recently bought an R8 for myself. About 2 weeks later I got a second one for my son. After those two weeks of handling the rifle I was convinced that the safety system the best I have seen. My son turns 14 shortly and will receive his rifle this weekend. (It pains me that I’ve left the pieces in boxes to let him put it together!)

I believe you get what you pay for in quality and function. We topped them with swaro z6 scopes. Not a cheap purchase with 2 stocks, 4 barrels, glass and scope mounts. But for as much as I hunt I finally decided to just buy what I believe is the ideal rifle.

 

[mark-hunter]

Alright I need some opinions

On technical, or practical side, follow this thread, you will get all the pro's and cons:

https://www.africahunting.com/threads/blaser-r8-for-dangerous-game.53390/

there are some really good points on both ends!

But, technicalities aside, the real question is of hunters individual personality. Either modern and fashionable, or classic style oriented?

 

[samu]

Well first of all why buy one gun with two calibers when you can have two? Is your gun safe crowded? Do you feel there can be such thing as too many guns?

Then there's issue of R8 being factory made gun. Only engineering nerds get off on tight repeatable tolerances and optimized processes. Sure there's lot of manual craftsmanship in assembly but nothing like full cusom gun from proper gunsmith who will casually insult your preferences while discussing the job. There is Blaser Custom shop that will absolutely rob you if you like but it's not the same.

Do you really want straight pull rifle anyway? If you want speed, there's semi autos that are definitely accurate enough. Your fast followup will always be downplayed by haters because of course it's easy because you bought your shooting skills from sneaky germans. Notably this will never be done if you have a double rifle because their air of elegance and status as ultimate DG rifle. Even a gutshot with a double can be glorified and nobody will dare to challenge you, afterall such masterful hunter to wield a double must have had a reason for their actions not comprehendable for regular hunter. Make a bad shot with R8 super-rifle, you must be an absolute disgrace as a shooter.

I think there might be tiny bit of plastic in R8. We all know plastic kills marine life, is inherently suspicious and scary. It doesn't matter it's more impact resistant than steel per weight and when engineered properly has just as infinite service life as steel. Also it actually doesn't rust, no traditionalist hunter ever trusts anything that can get wet and not turn red or swell up.

Real actual downside of R8 is it might be difficult to get parts for one after 20 years.

That said, I'm currently waiting for my R8 to arrive.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Envy! An R8 seems like it would be so great to travel with! Same weight as a conventional bolt gun, but much more compact.
300 WM and 375 H&H! Just couldn’t get any better! Envy!

 

[WAB]

The real question nobody seems to want to ask is, WHAT ARE YOU SELLING???

 

[damundsen87]

The real question nobody seems to want to ask is, WHAT ARE YOU SELLING???

If I do it I have a pre 64 featherweight in 243 with a McMillan compact stock and Williams bottom metal. It has a set of talleys and a swaro z3.

Rifle #2 is a Remington 721 in 300 h&h with a mcmillan, Williams bottom metal and talleys. Scope would be coming off and going on the blaser.

Rifle #3 is a colt coltsman 30-06 in a mcmillan sako classic. It's a sako finnbear action that colt slapped their address on.

Rifle # 4 is a 2006 production model 70 safari express 375 h&h. One of the later new haven made guns. That one has had 3 rounds through it.
Here is the 300 h&h, the safari express and the 243 is on the bottom

 

[Opposite Pole]

Consider Z8i for your 375HH barrel. I’ve got a 1-6 Leica on my R8 375 and there are times when I wouldn’t mind a bit of extra magnification. The Z6 and Z8 weigh pretty much the same so why limit yourself? The Z8i is available with switchable 4A-IF reticle which helps with fast shooting. Also IMO it’s worth going with rail mounted versions of the scopes vs ring mounted ones.

 

[damundsen87]

I wouldnt mind the z8i but the z6i is already at my house.

 

[Opposite Pole]

Fair enough

I find that 375 is a rather flexible cartridge and with lighter bullets can reach quite a distance. I’m actually considering either getting a 1-8 scope for mine or a second scope of 2.5-10 or similar magnification. I guess it depends on what you want to use it for. Naturally one can shoot at reasonably long distances with low powered scopes or even open sights but appropriate magnification does help, especially in poorer light.

 

[damundsen87]

Fair enough

I find that 375 is a rather flexible cartridge and with lighter bullets can reach quite a distance. I’m actually considering either getting a 1-8 scope for mine or a second scope of 2.5-10 or similar magnification. I guess it depends on what you want to use it for. Naturally one can shoot at reasonably long distances with low powered scopes or even open sights but appropriate magnification does help, especially in poorer light.

Agree 100% when I got the z6i it was a good enough deal that I decided I could deal with 6x haha

 

[Philip Glass]

Alright I need some opinions. I have begun to feel a little rifle heavy and am toying around with selling 3 or 4 of my bolt action hunting rifles and getting a blaser r8 professional with 300 win mag and 375 h&h barrels. I would put a z5 2.4-12 swarovski on the 300 barrel and a z6i 1-6 on the 375. Opinions please....

I have really enjoyed my R8. I used it in .375 in Cameroon recently. I say yes, sell some guns and get the R8. You will be very happy you did. For me personally I want more magnification on my .375. I have the Z8 1.7-13.3X42 on my .375 Ruger and the Z8 3.5-28X50 on my 6.5 PRC.

 

[Opposite Pole]

Agree 100% when I got the z6i it was a good enough deal that I decided I could deal with 6x haha

I got my Leica second hand in as new state for decent price and decided the same ;-)

 

[Art Lambart II]

The R8 in 375 H&H will be my next rifle all I have to do is convince my wife I need one.

 

[375Fox]

I’ve only rented blaser rifles on hunts in Europe. I really liked the rifles but I had one complaint that would stop me from buying one. The trigger and magazine were one piece. I thought that caused a greater potential for something to break with trigger and to lose it when not put in tight. The guns I shot were 30-06 and 7mm. Is this the same with other blaser rifles? I don’t live in an area where I can find one on the shelf to see myself.

 

[mikecatt13]

I’ve only rented blaser rifles on hunts in Europe. I really liked the rifles but I had one complaint that would stop me from buying one. The trigger and magazine were one piece. I thought that caused a greater potential for something to break with trigger and to lose it when not put in tight. The guns I shot were 30-06 and 7mm. Is this the same with other blaser rifles? I don’t live in an area where I can find one on the shelf to see myself.

They are one piece but in my quite extensive research of the guns I didnt turn up any issues with these. If you're truly worried about it getting lost, they all have a function where you the trigger group can be locked in the receiver from the top, and you can load the magazine from the top like many common bolt actions