Blaser R8 for Dangerous Game

[BeeMaa]

I shot it off-hand without the scope and it was wicked easy.
Sorry, no video of that.
It felt like a 300WM and pointed like a shotgun.
Gonna give it a try this upcoming weekend at the range and see how I do.

 

[BeeMaa]

Come on down to Texas, we’re open for business

That would be an excellent way to work on my technique.
From what I understand there are several African species down there.

 

[Professor Mawla]

The Blaser R8 in .338 WM ( Winchester Magnum ) is certainly a great ibex killer . Especially when used with 250 grain Nosler Partitions .

 

[TOBY458]

Thought I'd resurrect this thread, since I'm toying with getting a DG caliber for my R8. I'm thinking of getting a 416 Ruger in standard 17mm configuration from PZ. I'm just waiting to hear back from Kreiger to see if they can make it work. It should definitely be lively! Haha!

 

[BeeMaa]

Thought I'd resurrect this thread, since I'm toying with getting a DG caliber for my R8. I'm thinking of getting a 416 Ruger in standard 17mm configuration from PZ. I'm just waiting to hear back from Kreiger to see if they can make it work. It should definitely be lively! Haha!

Appreciate the resurrection!

Guessing it would come in around 9.5# with a scope?
Maybe even less?
Lively...that's one way of putting it.
Can we be expecting a short video of you shooting it?

 

[TOBY458]

Well....I ordered a standard contour 375 H&H Barrel with Hi Viz sights and an extra scope mount this evening. So maybe I'll just go with that for now. My bank account weeps....

 

[USMA84DAB]

CAustin can talk to the cartridge for you.

 

[Red Leg]

Well....I ordered a standard contour 375 H&H Barrel with Hi Viz sights and an extra scope mount this evening. So maybe I'll just go with that for now. My bank account weeps....

Brilliant choice.

 

[dchamp]

The .375 is a great choice. I think the .416 may be a bit much for a 17mm barrel.
(17mm).669"-.416"/2=.1265". Maybe

 

[BeeMaa]

Well....I ordered a standard contour 375 H&H Barrel with Hi Viz sights and an extra scope mount this evening. So maybe I'll just go with that for now. My bank account weeps....

The reality is you don't NEED anything more for DG.
You've hunted DG, you know whats going on.
Shot placement, shot placement and more shot placement.
Save the 416 barrel money and put it into 375 practice ammo.

Down the road if you want a 416, get another stock to mess with.
You will regret channeling out the one you have.

 

[IvW]

Pity I cannot get the barrels I want in the R8

 

[IvW]

On the same patform that is...

 

[IvW]

I would like 500 Jeff, 375 H&H or 9.3x62 and 7x64 Brenneke...but cannot...

 

[BeeMaa]

@IvW
You can get those calibers on the R8.
But you would need different bolt heads.
500J uses the JE head.
375H&H uses the MA head.
9.3x62 and 7x64 use the ST head.

In reality, it takes less than 2 minutes to change heads.

@Tally-Ho HUNTING SAFARIS has an R8 in SA.
I believe he's using 300WM and 416RM barrels.
Both use the same MA bolt head.
Not sure where he's getting his stuff from.
I'm sure Stuart would be willing to help out a fellow PH.

Here is a list of calibers/barrel/bolt head combos.

 

[IvW]

R8 configurater wont allow it 500 Jeff only in Safari

 

[TOBY458]

R8 configurater wont allow it 500 Jeff only in Safari

Yes. But the Safari will accommodate all of the barrels of any size. You'll just have a large barrel channel for everything. Look back a few pages in this thread and you will see pictures of a standard barrel mounted in a PH stock.

 

[BeeMaa]

+1 @TOBY458
The aptly named Professional Hunter (PH) stock with the 22mm channel.
This fits ALL of the barrels.
But the gap when using the 17mm barrels is very noticeable.
Much less so with the 19mm semi-weight barrels.

 

[TOBY458]

+1 @TOBY458
The aptly named Professional Hunter (PH) stock with the 22mm channel.
This fits ALL of the barrels.
But the gap when using the 17mm barrels is very noticeable.
Much less so with the 19mm semi-weight barrels.

It's just a shame that there are such large price jumps when going to the PH receiver and Selous barrels. No way it should be that large of an increase for a steel receiver and a larger contour barrel. If you figure the extra time and materials to mount the banded front sight and barrel band sling swivel, I would figure a $600.00 premium TOPS.

 

[IvW]

So what do I buy for my 3 barrels 500Jeff, 9.3x62mm and 7x64mm?

 

[Ridgewalker]

It's just a shame that there are such large price jumps when going to the PH receiver and Selous barrels.

Production volume is the key cost factor. You have the set-up times for each that have to be factored into the costs as well as different materials. Low volume...higher costs. High volume...lower costs. Supply and demand.