No one using Browning BLR (lever action) for plains game?

bruce moulds · Aug 15, 2019

maybe rebarrel it to 318wr.
then you would be a true African hunter.
oh I forgot! the 318 has a ballistic twin, the 338/06, and you can get cases and bullets for it.
bruce.

curtism1234 · Aug 16, 2019

I think this has been stated in other threads, but there are a few custom gunshops that offer the BLR in 375ruger and the total cost is only like $1500

That seems like the perfect rifle for (pretty much) all things Africa.

njc110381 · Aug 16, 2019

I just bought a BLR in .308. Can't really see why you couldn't use one for plains game, it's essentially the same as a bolt action when it comes to the actual feeding and bolt head design. It locks with lugs at the front of the bolt unlike most levers and has a box magazine so pointed bullets can be used. They're not that common here in the UK either - I figured it would make a fine boar gun for rapid reloads so I bought one to try.

CoElkHunter · Aug 16, 2019

curtism1234 said:
I think this has been stated in other threads, but there are a few custom gunshops that offer the BLR in 375ruger and the total cost is only like $1500

That seems like the perfect rifle for (pretty much) all things Africa.

Kinda off the subject here on BLRs, but when you mentioned a re-chamber to .375 Ruger, I remembered this. About a month ago, I was reading an article about the re-chambering of pre Mark 2 (steel vs. aluminum receivers?) Browning BARs from .338WM to either .416 Taylor or .458WM. I guess “why” doesn’t matter, but some I guess are/have done it?

bruce moulds · Aug 16, 2019

I know of 1 bar that was done to 458 win mag.
bruce.

CoElkHunter · Aug 16, 2019

T

bruce moulds said:
I know of 1 bar that was done to 458 win mag.
bruce.

Thats cool! Yeah, the semi-auto platform takes some of the “bite” out of the recoil. That’s why I prefer that action in my shotguns when using heavy pheasant or waterfowl shells or when shooting many, many rounds like when I go dove hunting.

CoElkHunter · Aug 16, 2019

bruce moulds said:
if you could get one with 275 rigby written in the barrel, maybe the hardon factor of that will offset other problems with a lever in Africa.
who knows, you might even get some game with it then.
bruce.

Bruce,
Again, off this specific subject (that’s the way it seems to go for me on AH), what are ALL of the Rigby calibers? I hadn’t heard of the .275, being a U.S. hunter and not familiar with them? And, do they all have a larger diameter cartridge base like the .416 Rigby? And, since this is a BLR thread, which Rigby caliber would work in a BLR (or BAR)? Just trying to keep within this thread. Thanks!

bruce moulds · Aug 17, 2019

co,
275 rigby = 7x57 mauser.
rigby just rebranded it when they were the british agents for mauser.
the bore diameter of 7mm is 275/276, while the groove diameter is 284.
the cartridge would fit as it is between 308 and 30/06 length, and similar diameter.
feeding is an unknown.

bruce.

crs · Aug 17, 2019

Thank you ragman! Been there, done that can clear the air quickly.
And it did need to be cleared.

May I add the success of a certain redhead lady in our Limpopo Safari a few years back that took Kudu and other game with her BLR- one shot each. Her husband also scored big with his lever gun. This was the last week of the Safari when I took my cape buffalo with a Winchester 1895

Levergun!

What has this world come to when cowboy guns are allowed to take game in Africa!

CoElkHunter · Aug 17, 2019

bruce moulds said:
co,
275 rigby = 7x57 mauser.
rigby just rebranded it when they were the british agents for mauser.
the bore diameter of 7mm is 275/276, while the groove diameter is 284.
the cartridge would fit as it is between 308 and 30/06 length, and similar diameter.
feeding is an unknown.

bruce.

Thanks!

bruce moulds · Aug 17, 2019

if you feel inadequate using a blr there are a few things you can do to fill the void.
first is to chamber a round, and then carry the blr, hand on muzzle end of barrel and butt over the shoulder all day.
make sure you are photographed doing this.
second is, with a round in the chamber, when you stop for a rest, put the butt on the ground and your hand over the muzzle.
you can practise doing these things with an empty rifle for safety.
you would not want a bullet that has gone through your hand going through the roof of your house!
having perfected the above techniques, someone might have to look hard to see you have a mere blr.
bruce.

bruce moulds · Aug 17, 2019

there is another fix to using the wrong gun.
get a puma white hunter knife and wear it continuously. to prove your cred.
can't get one?
there are available knives with crossdraw sheaths on an angle so you can do quickdraw.
put all these things in place and it doesn't matter what gun you use.
bruce.

crs · Aug 17, 2019

Right on Bruce!
May I suggest a pith helmet?
On my first safari, one hunter had one AND ONLY WORE IT FOR PHOTOGRAPHS!

Red Leg · Aug 17, 2019

bruce moulds said:
there is another fix to using the wrong gun.
get a puma white hunter knife and wear it continuously. to prove your cred.
can't get one?
there are available knives with crossdraw sheaths on an angle so you can do quickdraw.
put all these things in place and it doesn't matter what gun you use.
bruce.

Blaser R8 w/Classic Sporter stock

Red Leg
Jun 7, 2018
1

Exactly what I wear.

Should try it. Never in the way while bouncing your hips around a Land Cruiser. And it is a perfect companion, assuming a bit of training, in a land where a handgun is not an option. And the design, based on a bit of experience, is a collaborative effort with our own @Von Gruff.

bruce moulds · Aug 18, 2019

no handguns here in oz easily.
perhaps a shoulder holster sheath with spring loaded quick release would suit for undercover work.
bruce.

Scrumbag · Aug 18, 2019

Well, for PG a .30-'06 / 300WM seems a good idea and feedable pretty much anywhere. If accurate enough, what's the problem?

If you felt like customising, maybe a .30-'06 action length to 9.3x62?

crs · Aug 18, 2019

Red Leg,
Exactly which country did you mean was "a land where a handgun is not an option" ?
Certainly not RSA?

curtism1234 · Aug 18, 2019

Scrumbag said:
Well, for PG a .30-'06 / 300WM seems a good idea and feedable pretty much anywhere. If accurate enough, what's the problem?

Your post reminded me of what I read up on when I bought my 308 blr five years ago. I forget the exact reasoning, but folks online strongly recommended going with short action only in the blr. It might be the length of the bolt as the short action will just just about smack you right in the nose when you work the lever. There might be another reason though...

Anyway, I would probably go with the 308 or 300wsm (and maybe the 7mm-08, though I personally don't see the appeal of it in a lever gun for some reason)

CoElkHunter · Aug 18, 2019

bruce moulds said:
if you feel inadequate using a blr there are a few things you can do to fill the void.
first is to chamber a round, and then carry the blr, hand on muzzle end of barrel and butt over the shoulder all day.
make sure you are photographed doing this.
second is, with a round in the chamber, when you stop for a rest, put the butt on the ground and your hand over the muzzle.
you can practise doing these things with an empty rifle for safety.
you would not want a bullet that has gone through your hand going through the roof of your house!
having perfected the above techniques, someone might have to look hard to see you have a mere blr.
bruce.

OR, if a BLR is too heavy for one to carry around all day, opt for a Winchester .30-30! Apparently, according to an OP, famed African hunter Wally Johnson used one for awhile to dispatch lions! After all, on another thread with a video, a guy “crossed some palms” with silver or .465 h & h cartridges, and hunted then gut shot a Cape Buffalo with a crossbow! No guts, no glory! Ha! Ha! Ha!

curtism1234 · Aug 18, 2019

CoElkHunter said:
OR, if a BLR is too heavy for one to carry around all day, opt for a Winchester .30-30! Apparently, according to an OP, famed African hunter Wally Johnson used one for awhile to dispatch lions! After all, on another thread with a video, a guy “crossed some palms” with silver or .465 h & h cartridges, and hunted then gut shot a Cape Buffalo with a crossbow! No guts, no glory! Ha! Ha! Ha!

A BLR 308 is 6 1/2 pounds. A model 94 is 6 1/2 pounds and a Marlin 336 is 7. That was a factor in my decision to buy the BLR. It's a light handy little rifle and the 308 is imo far superior to the 30-30. Now for 200 pound animals inside 100 yards it doesn't matter, but the 30-30 is effective out to around 200 yards max.

No one using Browning BLR (lever action) for plains game?

bruce moulds

curtism1234

njc110381

CoElkHunter

bruce moulds

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CoElkHunter

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crs

CoElkHunter

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Red Leg

Blaser R8 w/Classic Sporter stock

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