meigsbucks
AH legend
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2011
- Messages
- 2,867
- Reaction score
- 6,202
- Location
- Central Ohio
- Media
- 28
- Member of
- SCI, NRA Life Member
- Hunted
- Zimbabwe and Namibia
Before I get started, I want to give a shout out to @One Day..., @Philip Glass and @BeeMaa for answering my inquiries as well as a myriad of others who contributed to the various Blaser threads. I spent untold hours reading and rereading the threads.
My fascination began in about 2004. My wife and I were in the Gun Library of the new Cabela’s in Wheeling, WV. In the case was a Blaser. I had recently read an article about them. I was like a kid in a candy store. I began to extol the virtues of the Blaser to my wife. Now talking to my wife about a firearm was like talking to a rock. She has absolutely no interest in firearms, especially at that time, as we just got married the year before. I’ve since somewhat converted her to have some understanding of firearms. But I digress… The rifle had gorgeous wood and a matching wooden bolt knob. The Cabela’s salesman heard me talking to my wife and asked if I’d like to see the rifle. I remember the rifle having a $6k price tag. I was enamored with the rifle, but I was saving for my first safari. Additionally, the concept of a straight pull action wasn’t lost on me as the first rifle my dad bought for my brother and me was a Browning T-Bolt.
My next encounter with a Blaser was at the 2012 SCI convention. I took a cursory look as I was there to book my first safari.
Fast forward to the 2017 SCI convention. I was there to book my second safari. My brother accompanied me and we stopped at the Blaser booth. The Blaser rep demonstrated the rifle. The only problem was that the rifle was definitely out of my budget. My brother shoots but doesn’t hunt. We were both enamored with the R8. I had a slight preference for the Success stock. My brother, a Southpaw, actually prefered the Professional.
Next came the 2019 NRA convention in Indy. This turned out to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Due of of you enablers on here extolling the virtues of the 9.3x62, I decided I had to have one. Additionally, a friend of mine likes the round and has taken two elk with it. After doing some research I decided the Sauer 100 XT was what I‘d get. I’d never laid eyes on one. At the Sauer booth, the rep was well versed in his line of rifles. In addition to the 100 he showed us the 404, an impressive rifle.
However, right behind the Sauer booth was the Blaser booth. A young woman named Yim working the booth spent 30 to 45 minutes demonstrating and explaining the R8. Damn her, I was now hooked. I even told Yim, she was going to cost me a lot of money.
At SCI 2020 I stayed clear of the Blaser booth. I was there to look for a moose hunt for 2021 or ‘22, a Zim hunt in 2023, an Uganda hunt in 24 and a Namibian hunt in ’24 or ‘25. Purchasing a Blaser then would have eliminated or diminished one of those. Of course COVID hit immediately after SCI. But when I thought things couldn’t get worse, they did. I tore the meniscus in my left knee. A few weeks later, I found out I needed cataract surgery. That got postponed due to COVID but that fall, when they performed the surgery, they found I had an eye condition that may require a corneal transplant. Fortunately, it improved with so,e medication. But there was a bigger setback. My wife, who has Parkinson’s, began to have mobility issues and those have deteriorated to the point I’ll be relegated to local or or or two day hunts.
Due to the aforementioned circumstances, I decided that I might as well get the rifle I want, to use on the hunts I can go on and hopefully the situation improves, where I can go on my future “dream” hunts.
So the hunt for a rifle began. My brother said he’d like to shoot the rifle when he visits. I told him the Success stock was right hand specific. He suggested he’d just buy a left and stock, bolt and bolt head. When I told him the stock ran about $2000+, he dropped that idea. It was then I decided that it didn’t make much of a difference to me if I got a Professional, that way he’d only have to add a left handed bolt and head.
Next, reading a thread by @TOBY458, he and some others stated they rarely or never used the detachable magazine. Thus I started the search for a Pro-S. There seamed to be only one dealer of the Pro-S. I contacted another dealer, Cove Creek Outfitters, and found I could get a Professional with detachable magazine for only $200 more than a Pro-S. After a short discussion with Bob at CCO, I had a R8 headed to my local shop.
As far as chambering, this one is of course a 9.3x62. After getting it home and operating it some I was impressed. Decocking was an issue when I handled them at shows and I still find it a little difficult, but it’s getting easier. I was so impressed, without even mounting a scope or firing a shot, I ordered my second barrel.
The second barrel was the cause of a good deal of consternation. My original plan was for the second barrel to be a .280 Remington; an upgrade from the TC Encore barrel. Of course this isn’t a Blaser chambering so initially I intended to have J Sipp and Sons make one, however, after reading of his dubious business practices, he was a no go. Pale Horse Zero is another option but some have had quality issues with them. Maybe, sometime in the future I’ll give them a whirl.
Another factor entering into the choice was my brother… He’s used to shooting .22/250, .223 and 12ga target loads. He finds the .30/06 has more recoil than he prefers. I wanted this barrel to be my deer barrel, but elk / kudu capable. I thought of the 7mm-08. I have a 18” carbine and a full length barrel would give me a 250yd elk gun. I also considered the 6.5 Creedmoor, a.k.a. Man bun, but IMO it’s a minimum round for elk. I decided on a .270. I already have an extremely accurate Savage 110. I acquired it about 40 years ago for a hunt that is a humorous story to be told over a beer or in the “on the lighter side” thread. It does have a feeding issue with the fourth round. Two gunsmiths have worked on it, the first improved it a little and the second made it worse than it originally was. So I’m hoping this will equal the Savage’s accuracy.
in the near future, I plan on adding a .300 Wby, an upgrade from my old Tupperware stocked Vanguard and a .257 Wby, a round I’ve always wanted but never gotten around to purchasing.
This is what followed me home.
My fascination began in about 2004. My wife and I were in the Gun Library of the new Cabela’s in Wheeling, WV. In the case was a Blaser. I had recently read an article about them. I was like a kid in a candy store. I began to extol the virtues of the Blaser to my wife. Now talking to my wife about a firearm was like talking to a rock. She has absolutely no interest in firearms, especially at that time, as we just got married the year before. I’ve since somewhat converted her to have some understanding of firearms. But I digress… The rifle had gorgeous wood and a matching wooden bolt knob. The Cabela’s salesman heard me talking to my wife and asked if I’d like to see the rifle. I remember the rifle having a $6k price tag. I was enamored with the rifle, but I was saving for my first safari. Additionally, the concept of a straight pull action wasn’t lost on me as the first rifle my dad bought for my brother and me was a Browning T-Bolt.
My next encounter with a Blaser was at the 2012 SCI convention. I took a cursory look as I was there to book my first safari.
Fast forward to the 2017 SCI convention. I was there to book my second safari. My brother accompanied me and we stopped at the Blaser booth. The Blaser rep demonstrated the rifle. The only problem was that the rifle was definitely out of my budget. My brother shoots but doesn’t hunt. We were both enamored with the R8. I had a slight preference for the Success stock. My brother, a Southpaw, actually prefered the Professional.
Next came the 2019 NRA convention in Indy. This turned out to be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Due of of you enablers on here extolling the virtues of the 9.3x62, I decided I had to have one. Additionally, a friend of mine likes the round and has taken two elk with it. After doing some research I decided the Sauer 100 XT was what I‘d get. I’d never laid eyes on one. At the Sauer booth, the rep was well versed in his line of rifles. In addition to the 100 he showed us the 404, an impressive rifle.
However, right behind the Sauer booth was the Blaser booth. A young woman named Yim working the booth spent 30 to 45 minutes demonstrating and explaining the R8. Damn her, I was now hooked. I even told Yim, she was going to cost me a lot of money.
At SCI 2020 I stayed clear of the Blaser booth. I was there to look for a moose hunt for 2021 or ‘22, a Zim hunt in 2023, an Uganda hunt in 24 and a Namibian hunt in ’24 or ‘25. Purchasing a Blaser then would have eliminated or diminished one of those. Of course COVID hit immediately after SCI. But when I thought things couldn’t get worse, they did. I tore the meniscus in my left knee. A few weeks later, I found out I needed cataract surgery. That got postponed due to COVID but that fall, when they performed the surgery, they found I had an eye condition that may require a corneal transplant. Fortunately, it improved with so,e medication. But there was a bigger setback. My wife, who has Parkinson’s, began to have mobility issues and those have deteriorated to the point I’ll be relegated to local or or or two day hunts.
Due to the aforementioned circumstances, I decided that I might as well get the rifle I want, to use on the hunts I can go on and hopefully the situation improves, where I can go on my future “dream” hunts.
So the hunt for a rifle began. My brother said he’d like to shoot the rifle when he visits. I told him the Success stock was right hand specific. He suggested he’d just buy a left and stock, bolt and bolt head. When I told him the stock ran about $2000+, he dropped that idea. It was then I decided that it didn’t make much of a difference to me if I got a Professional, that way he’d only have to add a left handed bolt and head.
Next, reading a thread by @TOBY458, he and some others stated they rarely or never used the detachable magazine. Thus I started the search for a Pro-S. There seamed to be only one dealer of the Pro-S. I contacted another dealer, Cove Creek Outfitters, and found I could get a Professional with detachable magazine for only $200 more than a Pro-S. After a short discussion with Bob at CCO, I had a R8 headed to my local shop.
As far as chambering, this one is of course a 9.3x62. After getting it home and operating it some I was impressed. Decocking was an issue when I handled them at shows and I still find it a little difficult, but it’s getting easier. I was so impressed, without even mounting a scope or firing a shot, I ordered my second barrel.
The second barrel was the cause of a good deal of consternation. My original plan was for the second barrel to be a .280 Remington; an upgrade from the TC Encore barrel. Of course this isn’t a Blaser chambering so initially I intended to have J Sipp and Sons make one, however, after reading of his dubious business practices, he was a no go. Pale Horse Zero is another option but some have had quality issues with them. Maybe, sometime in the future I’ll give them a whirl.
Another factor entering into the choice was my brother… He’s used to shooting .22/250, .223 and 12ga target loads. He finds the .30/06 has more recoil than he prefers. I wanted this barrel to be my deer barrel, but elk / kudu capable. I thought of the 7mm-08. I have a 18” carbine and a full length barrel would give me a 250yd elk gun. I also considered the 6.5 Creedmoor, a.k.a. Man bun, but IMO it’s a minimum round for elk. I decided on a .270. I already have an extremely accurate Savage 110. I acquired it about 40 years ago for a hunt that is a humorous story to be told over a beer or in the “on the lighter side” thread. It does have a feeding issue with the fourth round. Two gunsmiths have worked on it, the first improved it a little and the second made it worse than it originally was. So I’m hoping this will equal the Savage’s accuracy.
in the near future, I plan on adding a .300 Wby, an upgrade from my old Tupperware stocked Vanguard and a .257 Wby, a round I’ve always wanted but never gotten around to purchasing.
This is what followed me home.
Last edited by a moderator:
I am honored to be mentioned and helped you in your decision. Feel free to reach out to me at any time to assist you along the way.
