Blaser R93 Revisited

[BJH65]

There are presently a lot of outstanding deals on used Blaser R93 rifles. I’ve brushed up on some of the old AH threads regarding the rare catastrophic bolt failures of the R93. I think there were two catastrophic incidents worldwide but I could be wrong? Nor did I read about any conclusive proof of what exactly caused this, like too hot handloads? There was no recall that I’m aware of either?

My question is it worthwhile to obtain a used R93?

Are there any AH members who presently use an R93 without concern?

Is there a way to retrofit an R93 and prevent a catastrophic bolt failure?

There seem to be some pretty amazing deals on R93’s but I really don’t want to worry about having a bolt imbedded in my forehead! Years ago, the original Beretta 92 F 9mm service pistol had some failures with the slide coming off and injuring the user so Beretta engineered a retention disc to prevent this from happening and it became the model 92 FS.

Thanks for any feedback.

BJH

 

[SETH RINGER]

I BOUGHT A R93 +/- 20 YEARS AGO BASED ON MY GRANDMA LEAVING ME A BIT OF MONEY I DIDNT EXPECT OR NEED SO I BOUGHT SOMETHING THAT I THOUGH MIGHT LAST A GEN OR TWO. UPGRADED WOOD, 3 BARRELS, LEFT/RIGHT BOLTS, NICE SCOPES, THE WHOLE SHEBANG. ADDED ANOTHER SYNTHETIC STOCK AND ANOTHER COUPLE BARRELS.. COUPLE ELE, COUPLE BUFF, HIPPO, LEOPARD, BUNCH OF HOOFED GAME ALL OVER, NEVER A HICCUP.
NEVER BEEN SCARED TO SQUEEZE THE TRIGGER. THAT BEING SAID ALL WE SHOOT IS FACTORY AMMO.
WE ARE PRETTY MUCH SET WITH OURS, DO NOT SEE US "UPGRADING" TO "R8". IF YOU BUY A R93 THE THING I THINK NOW IS TO PICK UP ALL THE SMALL PARTS AS EXTRAS. MAGS, BOLTS, ETC.
PURA VIDA, SETH

 

[dlmac]

I was gifted a R84 Ultimate in 8x68 and 6.5x68. It has 2 scopes. I shot it years ago in the 80s and still remember the pain and sore arm for 2 days! Have never used it in the field.

 

[Dinsdale]

There are presently a lot of outstanding deals on used Blaser R93 rifles. I’ve brushed up on some of the old AH threads regarding the rare catastrophic bolt failures of the R93. I think there were two catastrophic incidents worldwide but I could be wrong? Nor did I read about any conclusive proof of what exactly caused this, like too hot handloads? There was no recall that I’m aware of either?

My question is it worthwhile to obtain a used R93?

Are there any AH members who presently use an R93 without concern?

Is there a way to retrofit an R93 and prevent a catastrophic bolt failure?

There seem to be some pretty amazing deals on R93’s but I really don’t want to worry about having a bolt imbedded in my forehead! Years ago, the original Beretta 92 F 9mm service pistol had some failures with the slide coming off and injuring the user so Beretta engineered a retention disc to prevent this from happening and it became the model 92 FS.

Thanks for any feedback.

BJH

So one of the famous accidents had the shooter load the rifle round with Blue Dot pistol powder. Im not too kind, so Ill leave out my comment on his stupidity.

I’m guessing on this forum I have had a R 93 about the longest in general, 2003 maybe?; think 10 barrels right now(?) 3 receivers/stocks , well over a dozen different optic mounts. Owned maybe half dozen more barrels.

Pretty fair round count on some of them,300RUM down to rimfire. Have been to Namibia in October with powder dust and had no issues; regular hunt in rain and snow at home.

Owned a R8 I assembled from used bits here and there on forum buys.

I sold the R8 for a good buck as a complete rifle and kept the R93 set ups and personally they have been 100% reliable.

 

[BJH65]

So one of the famous accidents had the shooter load the rifle round with Blue Dot pistol powder. Im not too kind, so Ill leave out my comment on his stupidity.

I’m guessing on this forum I have had a R 93 about the longest in general, 2003 maybe?; think 10 barrels right now(?) 3 receivers/stocks , well over a dozen different optic mounts. Owned maybe half dozen more barrels.

Pretty fair round count on some of them,300RUM down to rimfire. Have been to Namibia in October with powder dust and had no issues; regular hunt in rain and snow at home.

Owned a R8 I assembled from used bits here and there on forum buys.

I sold the R8 for a good buck as a complete rifle and kept the R93 set ups and personally they have been 100% reliable.

Thank you, great information.

 

[BJH65]

I BOUGHT A R93 +/- 20 YEARS AGO BASED ON MY GRANDMA LEAVING ME A BIT OF MONEY I DIDNT EXPECT OR NEED SO I BOUGHT SOMETHING THAT I THOUGH MIGHT LAST A GEN OR TWO. UPGRADED WOOD, 3 BARRELS, LEFT/RIGHT BOLTS, NICE SCOPES, THE WHOLE SHEBANG. ADDED ANOTHER SYNTHETIC STOCK AND ANOTHER COUPLE BARRELS.. COUPLE ELE, COUPLE BUFF, HIPPO, LEOPARD, BUNCH OF HOOFED GAME ALL OVER, NEVER A HICCUP.
NEVER BEEN SCARED TO SQUEEZE THE TRIGGER. THAT BEING SAID ALL WE SHOOT IS FACTORY AMMO.
WE ARE PRETTY MUCH SET WITH OURS, DO NOT SEE US "UPGRADING" TO "R8". IF YOU BUY A R93 THE THING I THINK NOW IS TO PICK UP ALL THE SMALL PARTS AS EXTRAS. MAGS, BOLTS, ETC.
PURA VIDA, SETH

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Dinsdale]

If shopping for R93’s be aware there was a recall for pins in the trigger group back in 2002.

Checked and subsequent manufacturing have a proof mark of a P in a circle on the side of the trigger.

Read here;

Blaser Jagdwaffen

Ive handled several dozen and never seem an unmarked gun, I think its pretty uncommon.


Only other issue,and I have another post on this forum, maybe a few others about it. Had a crappy 257WBY barrel that just wouldn’t shoot very accurate with factory ammo. At the time I didn’t hand load. I sold it to another guy who hand loaded and he didnt get much better out of it. Maybe a year later I was told there were roughly a hundred bad barrels in that specific chambering. I never bought another and Im pretty sure a return to Blaser would have probably got me a replacement. That was roughly 2006 manufacturer.

Everything else is more accurate then I am.

Favorite barrel is still my 28ga shotgun single shot. Squirrel, coon, turkey, crows, its what sits next to the door.


Rare/unusual finds finds you might encounter;

28ga shotgun barrel and flat tray magazine well filler, bolt head.
Original tracker with its shorty 308win barrel and stock with unique sling swivel locations.
The lightweight composite stock.
Off-road stock in Timber, a wood grain pattern on composite stock.
300RUM and 7STW require a “UM” bolt head and not just a magnum head.
Blaser pistol based on R93 action.

I have never had a magazine insert fail or lose grip even after many loading and unloading cycles. That said I would only buy a barrel with an insert in general because theres not as many around.

Go to “BlaserBuds”, good for info and classified.

 

[BJH65]

If shopping for R93’s be aware there was a recall for pins in the trigger group back in 2002.

Checked and subsequent manufacturing have a proof mark of a P in a circle on the side of the trigger.

Read here;

Blaser Jagdwaffen

Ive handled several dozen and never seem an unmarked gun, I think its pretty uncommon.


Only other issue,and I have another post on this forum, maybe a few others about it. Had a crappy 257WBY barrel that just wouldn’t shoot very accurate with factory ammo. At the time I didn’t hand load. I sold it to another guy who hand loaded and he didnt get much better out of it. Maybe a year later I was told there were roughly a hundred bad barrels in that specific chambering. I never bought another and Im pretty sure a return to Blaser would have probably got me a replacement. That was roughly 2006 manufacturer.

Everything else is more accurate then I am.

Favorite barrel is still my 28ga shotgun single shot. Squirrel, coon, turkey, crows, its what sits next to the door.


Rare/unusual finds finds you might encounter;

28ga shotgun barrel and flat tray magazine well filler, bolt head.
Original tracker with its shorty 308win barrel and stock with unique sling swivel locations.
The lightweight composite stock.
Off-road stock in Timber, a wood grain pattern on composite stock.
300RUM and 7STW require a “UM” bolt head and not just a magnum head.
Blaser pistol based on R93 action.

I have never had a magazine insert fail or lose grip even after many loading and unloading cycles. That said I would only buy a barrel with an insert in general because theres not as many around.

Go to “BlaserBuds”, good for info and classified.

Great, thanks for the information.

 

[Desaad]

Have had one for 15 years-great rifle,very accurate-never had any issues- face still in one piece!

 

[BJH65]

Have had one for 15 years-great rifle,very accurate-never had any issues- face still in one piece!

Thanks….thats a good thing!

 

[JohnCZ]

I have had an R93 Professional (sold when I bought the R8 Success), have a beautiful Makura Ulrich Takedown R93 and just bought another R93 Professional in 300 Win Mag that appears to be unused. Calibers? 25-06, 30-06, 300 Win Mag, 7mm Rem Mag and 375 H&H, issues? NIL Accuracy and operation? STELLAR. The R93 is such good rifle, it is only those who haven't owned them who usually dislike them, jealousy is a curse.
I bought into the R8 simply for ease of parts in Australia, there are very limited spares for the R93 here.

 

[GuttormG]

I love the way an R93 handles and shoots, it is close to perfect. I have shot double on red deer (and had started squeezing the trigger on the 3rd animal before I remembered I also had to deal with transport and butchering; I cant even remember reloading the rifle!).

But I will never buy one, I know of 6 incidents where shooters have been killed or seriously injured by failing R93. The problem as I see it is that the rifles design do not properly protect the shooter when things go wrong.
Its like driving on the highway with an A-Ford; no problem until you crash and an airbag and deformation zones in the body and chassis would have been nice to have.


The R8 is a strange thing, it has none of the things I love with the R93, and feels like trying to handle a piece of 2x8

 

[Kevin375]

I bought my first R93 in .300 Winchester magnum 20 years ago, and the second one in .375 H&H magnum 15 years ago. I have used them quite intensively and I have never had any issue. The .300 Winchester magnum has shot over 2000 rounds and it is still accurate despite a noticeable erosion of its land. Now, it has a free bore like a Weatherby caliber. I improved mines by removing the factory triggers and I installed Bix'n Andy triggers on both.
The R93 was, and is still very popular in my country and even more in my area. Despite the huge number of rifles sold, I have never seen any accident. I heard there was one case in the country, but as usual, it was a big mistake made by the owner who was also reloader.

Some accidents happened elsewhere, but they mainly concerned a very small amount of Blaser made at the beginning of 2000's. Blaser made a small run of the Offroad version, and because they were searching to have the rifle as light as possible, they switched a part of the bolt that was in aluminium against plastic. I had a link in German speaking about this problem, but unfortunately, it is not active anymore.
The famous accident that happened to the Haribo boss's gunsmith occured with this kind of R93. The rifle was in .300 Weatherby magnum and it seems the DEVA found the ammunitions were reloaded but they recreated the accident in their labotary. Afterwards, we havent heard about a real accident.

Many people like the R93 lightness and that's why, even when the R8 was introduced, the R93 was still the best selling till the end. When Blaser stopped the R93, we assisted to the explosion of its price in second-hand. Nowadays, a R93 in good condition is as expensive as it was before and sometimes even more expensive than it has ever been. The rifle is so appreciated that we have a gunsmith in the country who makes barrel for them, using Lothar-Walter barrel blanks, and he also produces a 100 % French Blaser's R93. Other gunsmiths build barrels for R93 using the Akila extension.

Here is a website with the different offers we have for the R93.

Blaser r93

www.naturabuy.fr

I also have 3 R8. The action is definitely stronger but I trust my R93's anyway.

 

[SETH RINGER]

I bought my first R93 in .300 Winchester magnum 20 years ago, and the second one in .375 H&H magnum 15 years ago. I have used them quite intensively and I have never had any issue. The .300 Winchester magnum has shot over 2000 rounds and it is still accurate despite a noticeable erosion of its land. Now, it has a free bore like a Weatherby caliber. I improved mines by removing the factory triggers and I installed Bix'n Andy triggers on both.
The R93 was, and is still very popular in my country and even more in my area. Despite the huge number of rifles sold, I have never seen any accident. I heard there was one case in the country, but as usual, it was a big mistake made by the owner who was also reloader.

Some accidents happened elsewhere, but they mainly concerned a very small amount of Blaser made at the beginning of 2000's. Blaser made a small run of the Offroad version, and because they were searching to have the rifle as light as possible, they switched a part of the bolt that was in aluminium against plastic. I had a link in German speaking about this problem, but unfortunately, it is not active anymore.
The famous accident that happened to the Haribo boss's gunsmith occured with this kind of R93. The rifle was in .300 Weatherby magnum and it seems the DEVA found the ammunitions were reloaded but they recreated the accident in their labotary. Afterwards, we havent heard about a real accident.

Many people like the R93 lightness and that's why, even when the R8 was introduced, the R93 was still the best selling till the end. When Blaser stopped the R93, we assisted to the explosion of its price in second-hand. Nowadays, a R93 in good condition is as expensive as it was before and sometimes even more expensive than it has ever been. The rifle is so appreciated that we have a gunsmith in the country who makes barrel for them, using Lothar-Walter barrel blanks, and he also produces a 100 % French Blaser's R93. Other gunsmiths build barrels for R93 using the Akila extension.

Here is a website with the different offers we have for the R93.

Blaser r93

www.naturabuy.fr

I also have 3 R8. The action is definitely stronger but I trust my R93's anyway.

GOOD WEBSITE. FOUND A STOCK (WITH TRIGGER GROUP) I WOULD BUY IN A HEARTBEAT BUT SELL SAYS IMPOSSIBLE TO EXPORT TO USA. DO YOU KNOW ANY DEALERS THAT CAN GET IT DONE? THX, SETH

 

[mark-hunter]

Is there a way to retrofit an R93 and prevent a catastrophic bolt failure?

German hunting magazine (I think Jagd un hund) at one point issued recall for R93, giving a serial numbers of rifle that should be checked, and fixed.
I posted this article on the forum, and it was deleted. Now, I cannot find it anymore.
But I remember there was something about it.
I believe that the smartest thing to do is to send email to Blaser company and see what they will say.

 

[Kevin375]

GOOD WEBSITE. FOUND A STOCK (WITH TRIGGER GROUP) I WOULD BUY IN A HEARTBEAT BUT SELL SAYS IMPOSSIBLE TO EXPORT TO USA. DO YOU KNOW ANY DEALERS THAT CAN GET IT DONE? THX, SETH

Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who is able to do it

I remember a recall for Blaser rifles in the late of 90's, or beginning of 2000's. It concerned a little issue with the trigger. There was indeed a little risk of corrosion in the triger unit and Blaser fixed the problem and gave 10 more year of warranty to the rifles on these rifles.
Rifles recalled and those manufactured later have a little "P" Stamped on the trigger.

 

[Dinsdale]

Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who is able to do it

I remember a recall for Blaser rifles in the late of 90's, or beginning of 2000's. It concerned a little issue with the trigger. There was indeed a little risk of corrosion in the triger unit and Blaser fixed the problem and gave 10 more year of warranty to the rifles on these rifles.
Rifles recalled and those manufactured later have a little "P" Stamped on the trigger.
View attachment 701642

I put a link to that recall in this thread (post #7).
As far as I know there have been no others.