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The attention to detail you find in a Blaser rifle is inspiring. The closer you get to the gun, the more there is to take in.
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Buy a Blaser on GunsAmerica: https://www.gunsamerica.com/Search.aspx?T=blaser
Read more about Blaser: https://www.blaser-usa.com/index.php?id=23&L=1
Some guns at SHOT Show are genuine treasures, but you aren’t going to read much about them online. There’s something about the brand, possibly, or the gun’s intended use that doesn’t have a place in the mainstream SHOT Show coverage. Sometimes, as is the case with Blaser, perfection is the norm–and that normality has become routine–and routine doesn’t make headlines.
Blaser is making headlines this year, though. And it is easy to see why. They brought some guns to the show that are uniquely Blaser, but break the mold on which the company has built its elite reputation. Check out these stocks.
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Two R8 rifles with acrylic stocks.
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The photographs don’t do the stocks justice. The lens finds a focal point on the surface that neglects the translucent depth. If you are a pipe smoker, you may recognize a process that’s common in high-end custom pipe stems. I immediately thought of the depth of a swirly bowling ball.
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This is a clear acrylic with a rich green dye and a grass-like material that reminded me of dried palmetto fronds.
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The stocks are made by mixing a something like aluminum shavings or dried grass with a dyed liquid acrylic. This is compressed and cured. Once that is solid, a stock can be cut from the blank, just like it could from a piece of wood. They’re finished in the same way, but the finished product is different. As wood is finished, the surface shines through. Progressively finer grits and buffing make the surface texture stand out. As these stocks are finished, the surface becomes like glass and the depth of the textures beneath become visible.
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The blue is added into a mix of acrylic and aluminum shavings.
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But they’re still rifles. Even though I’d likely sit around in the tree-stand, staring into the stock as the sun comes up, they’re still Blaser rifles. The straight-pull action is incredibly smooth. But there’s something else that is unique. The R8 is chambered in a long list of calibers, from .222 Rem up to .338.
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The fire control group houses the magazine, too.
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This unique system allows the action to sit farther back on the gun and reduces the overall length.
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The magazine is built into the fire control group in a way. This is hard to explain. When you drop the magazine, the trigger comes out, too. You might think, as I did, that removing the trigger and putting it back every time you change the magazine would have a deleterious effect on the precision you expect from a Blaser, but that’s not the case. The working parts behind the trigger are still housed in the gun. Essentially this is just the trigger itself, the trigger guard, and the magazine. So if you had three of these (one leaded with soft points, one with hollow point, one with hard cast bullets, etc.), you would notice no difference in take up, break, or reset. The gun remains consistent, every time.
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The straight pull is easy to work from the shoulder.
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All of the pieces of the gun are modular for calibers up to .338, and down to .222 Rem.
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The prices on these rifles vary based on the features. Prices are starting in the low $3K range. There are a wide variety of caliber options, and everything on the gun is modular, so you can mix and match as you’d like. These are heirloom quality rifles, too–so I’d look at it as more of a long-term investment in the platform.
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The safety is easy to see.
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The engraving on the top of the R8 pictured below.
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Blaser will work with you to make the engraving meet your specifications.
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Additions to the F3 Shotgun line
And if that’s not enough, they’ve got a nice take on the sporting shotgun, too. This is one of the first truly modular systems I’ve seen that I’d be willing to invest in. The Vantage F3 builds on their already popular F3 line by offering modular barrel systems. Now you can go between the 12 gauge, the 20 gauge, the 28 gauge and the .410 without the hassle of refitting the stock, learning a new trigger, or adjusting to a new sight rail.
The prices will start at $7,900 and each barrel set will be sold separately.
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One gun can accommodate 4 different barrel systems.
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Each set of barrels is sold separately.
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The wood on these looks good, too. Blaser bought a company that specializes in hardwoods so they are ensured the first selection of the best options.
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Blaser makes beautiful rifles, with that speedy straight-pull bolt reminiscent of the old supremely accurate but combat-unsuitable Canadian Ross .303 from WW1. But in my opinion to pimp up the stocks with those colours and designs ranks with putting a hot-rod ‘flame’ paint job on a Bentley Convertible. No thanks.