BLASER K95-The Good, the Bad, the......

[uplander01]

For some reason, don't know why, I've always been intrigued by single shots. On top of that, I love the idea of a takedown set-up that would fit in a tiny case for travel to Africa, be adequate for plains game hunts. Had a Merkel k3 many years ago in 270 win,....really liked it, but needed money at that time so I sold it, wasn't a fan of the engraving on that one either. I love the Dakota Model 10, if they made it in a takedown, I'd have one........hence my curiosity with the Blaser K95. This rifle seems like it would fit the bill, they sure do want a lot for them, whoa,....but a 7x57R with a Swaro 2.5-10 Z3 would really get it done.

Does anyone on this forum have a K95 and put it through the paces? Just looking for honest feedback on things you like, things you don't. How does it shoot without a whole bunch of load development (the true Litmus test IMO).

As always thanks for all the input-

 

[quandary]

I Elk hunted for years with a K95 in 30-06. The rifle was extremely accurate. However it also weighed about 5/5.5 lbs and the recoil even in a mild mannered 06 was wicked. Beautiful rifle.

 

[MacJenkins]

Yes, we now have 3 frames and 8 or 9 barrels. Have taken one with a 300wm to Africa 8 times I believe. Shot truckloads of game. My wife has probably shot more game than me with one.

Last year took the kids and wife too. We took two of them, 308 win barrel and a 7RM. 308 we chopped to 18” and the 7 to 20”.

I also travel to a buddies place for whitetail in Oklahoma and usually take a 6.5x57R barrel. With Blasers case they are so compact we just slip it in the bottom of a duffle for domestic flights. That barrel has shot well north of 100 whitetails. (We get a lot of depredation tags there.)

I bought my first one probably 15 years ago used off of another forum it was too good of a deal to pass up. Not thinking it would ever get much use. Once I put it though it’s paces and seen how compact and easy they breakdown I was shocked to see it get put in the rotation as much as I do.

Yes they are dumb expensive. We have bought all of ours used. Anytime we find a decent one between 3-4k I snag them for buddies. I have two that are currently wanting them.

PM me if you would like to discuss further. When it’s just me hunting Africa I had a compact case made up for checking. Double rifle goes in one side and a K95 in the other. I don’t think you can beat them.

 

[Longwalker]

I was shopping for a K95 for a couple years, I think they are wonderful rifles. I never found the right one or the right one was snapped up by someone else just before I found it. And then they changed the stye of stock and receiver finish and somewhat reduced the appeal to me. So I looked at a used Kreighoff Hubertus. Glad I did. I like the style and lines better, and a bonus is that the traditional under barrel action lock allows much better finger access to remove spent cartridges than the tilting block action of the K95. Mine is chambered in .30R blaser. It is very very accurate, and shoots to almost the same point of impact with 184gr. and 165 gr. factory loads and a light 150 gr. handload. I've used it very successfully for local hunting for moose and deer. Hasn't been to Africa yet, but I plan to rectify that.

 

[Muskox]

I do not currently have one. I feel the same about the 30-06. Kicked really hard. Actually the 243 kicked like the 30-06 in an 9 pound rifle. I had a 222 barrel as well. They all shot really well.

If they were not 5500 Euros, I would try one with the new Success synthetic stock.

Hubertus here cost almost the same. I don't feel as though the barrel qualities the same as a Blaser.

Merkel is 1500 Euros cheaper and it shows at 3000-3500.

The Sabatti is 2000 Euros.

They are all the same other than build quality. The sabatti doesn't have a good scope mount situation.

 

[Rimshot]

Got my first K95 on the way (for wife) so I'll update soon.

My first Blaser was a D99 Duo. It is so accurate and well engineered I bought an S2. Then I got a BD14. The scope mounting solution at first seems odd, but in my experience has been the best "return to zero" of any other system. They shoot well without being fussy.

One of my main gripes is the antiquated relatively slow rifling twist rates in most chamberings. Long, heavy for caliber, high BC bullets won't fully stabilize. Inexcusable in 2026. (e.g. 6.5x55 = 8.66", 308/30-06/300wm = 11", 22 Hornet = 16", etc)

The other gripe is availability. Getting things from Germany takes years.

For what they are they seem to cost more than they should, but have no direct competition besides around the edges from firms like Krieghoff.

I put up with the shortcomings because Blaser is filling a tiny niche building the kind of guns I like that no one else is doing.

BlaserUSA customer service has been really good to me. That counts for a lot.

 

[MacJenkins]

I agree on the twist rates. I was surprised however a buddy and I both have 6.5x55 barrels and they stabilize the 155 mega just fine. It is a blunt bullet. So that helps.

 

[Rimshot]

I agree on the twist rates. I was surprised however a buddy and I both have 6.5x55 barrels and they stabilize the 155 mega just fine. It is a blunt bullet. So that helps.

Yup, the 155 Lapua Mega is a short(er) bullet and shoots very well from my 6.5x55. Hornady 143 ELD-X not so much - it will shoot great groups in warm weather but is only marginally stable and shoots terrible in denser air. It took me a while to discover the issue. Now my go-to is the 140 Partition.

 

[MacJenkins]

Yup, the 155 Lapua Mega is a short(er) bullet and shoots very well from my 6.5x55. Hornady 143 ELD-X not so much - it will shoot great groups in warm weather but is only marginally stable and shoots terrible in denser air. It took me a while to discover the issue. Now my go-to is the 140 Partition.

Good to know. Thx!

 

[dchamp]

I have two K95’s along with four barrels, chamberd in, 6.5x55, 8x57irs, 30-06 and 257Wby. The 257Wby barrel is around 25-1/2 inches, the other three are 23.6 inches. The rifles are light and slim and a pleasure to handle and shoot, and all four shoot well. I like the rimmed 8x57 the best. The rimmed cartridge slides into and out of the chamber on its own where the rimless cartridges may need a little asisstance from the flick of a finger.

I think Blaser has the best scope mounting system. There are some other manufacturers who make very good scope mounts for Blaser barrels also.

One of the things I like about the K95 is that the rifle breaks down into three peices and will fit into a relativly small case. Just pull the lever on the fore-stock and pull it off, push the lever on the tang and break the action open and the barrel comes off.

I think you won’t be disappointed, I know I‘m not. Gook Luck

 

[Green Chile]

I had a K95 in 22 hornet that took a bunch of night critters in Africa and T10. Super accurate and not fussy about loads. I liked being able to use the same scope mounts as my Blaser R8's. I've also owned Dakota Model 10's and they are fantastic rifles...same for ParkWest.

 

[SFRanger7GP]

We have a couple Merkel's. Mama has a K1 in 7x57R and I have a K3 in 30-06. We have taken them apart 100's of times and they always return to zero. Both shoot sub-MOA with all factory ammo and reloads that we have tried. I don't find the recoil bad at all on the K3 30-06. But I will say, I tried some Barnes factory "reduced recoil" 130gr TTSX 30-06 ammo and it is a kitten! Even better is that it is sub-MOA with that ammo. I have not killed anything with that ammo as of yet.

The Merkel's appear to be about the same as the Blaser as far as action, safety, etc. They are a bit less expensive. I have had no issues with them but I think I could get all the Democrats to support Trump before Merkel customer service ever responded. Different caliber barrels? Forget about it. As they are now, and how they have performed, we are happy. We have a "clam shell" Americase that both fit in but the case is very heavy. We normally use the small Americase we have for each and that fits perfectly in the bottom of our drop bottom duffle bags. They have travelled to Argentina like that several times.

Safe hunting