Mike6.5 Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Good day I’m after a switch barrel rifle in 22-250 and 308. What rifle is the best out of the bunch in your opinion? Or can you suggest any others? 1. Blaser R93 Professional 2. Mauser M03 Extreme 3. Sauer 202 Outback Key factors Safety, Accuracy and reliability. Blaser - I’m reading bad reviews on 4% misfires and allegedly exploding bolts? And not to use HOT hand loads. Mauser M03 Extreme - I’m reading that it’s not the most accurate? Sauer 202 takes longer to swap barrels re zero etc? Cheers Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John MH Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 T2k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brown dog Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 What's the intended purpose of the rifle? If it's Hill stalking; the Sauer by a country mile. (I've owned 3 Blasers and 2 Sauer 202s so feel qualified to comment ). If it's target-type accuracy; none of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike6.5 Posted November 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 What's the intended purpose of the rifle? If it's Hill stalking; the Sauer by a country mile. (I've owned 3 Blasers and 2 Sauer 202s so feel qualified to comment ). If it's target-type accuracy; none of them. Intended purpose and use... Hill stalking, verminting and foxing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John MH Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Apart from the one above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offroad Gary Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 i would have to say blaser (i am biased), had them in 22-250, 243, 2 x 25-06, 308. shot them in 223, 6.5x55, 30-06, 270. accurate (sub .5moa easily ahievable with most ammo, sub .3 with homeloads normally found with the first few attempts), reliable (if you full length size or use factory ammo), consistent (everyone who shoots mine shoots same poi, bipod, sticks, mirror, even shot a fallow at 240y off someones leg once - it was 100ft elevated!!), compact - great for in the truck - very short overall rifle length for a reasonable barrel length, safe - nothing better than having an uncocked rifle around which is 100% safe and can be cocked silently in an instant, straight pull keeps you on target better than the canting of a turnbolt. also returns to zero when reassembled - none of mine have ever let me down. the best thing about the blaser is the look you get when you hand one to a foreign hunter - no need for words, the look says it all, and it cant come uncocked accidently behind you when youre looking for the buck of a lifetime. blaser has best second hand spares network and the barrels (reported to be from same factory as others? are rock hard and last a long time, never had or shot a bad one) some people dont like them though - each to their own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunsgobang88 Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Intended purpose and use... Hill stalking, verminting and foxing. Hi Mike, Nice problem to have, choosing from those three! I've worked for the importers of all three in the past as a gunsmith and consultant and have spent time at the Blaser/Mauser factory at Isny. All three rifles have had many myths repeated about them, the worst being Blasers 'blowing up'. By 'hot' handloads do you mean cartridges exceeding commercial pressures? Any incidents have been as a result of dangerous handloads. Misfires are caused by users not closing the bolt correctly but 'throwing' the bolt forward and relying on inertia to close and lock the bolt. The Blaser R93 (and it's R8 derivative) became Europe's best selling sporting rifle by being an excellent product. I sold the first Mauser MO3 in the UK (.243 Win. wood upgrade, ex importer demo), it shot cloverleaves all day long with just about any ammo we cared to use. I'm on record in various magazine articles stating that in my opinion the MO3 is the finest production sporting rifle available today. The Sauer 202 is a little more 'old school' and takes a bit more time to change barrels but has a much greater range of after market scope mounts available for it. The biggest problem with Sauers is that apart from the most common models they are usually on back order due to demand. My advice would be to look at all three, study the features and options available and go with the one that ticks all of your boxes, have fun, Best regards Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronin Posted November 28, 2011 Report Share Posted November 28, 2011 Ive shot all three brands and used several versions of each at zeroing shoots run at BDS gatherings. The Blaser would be my own choice - I am biased though as I use a Tac 2 for stalking (sometimes) Barrel change on the Blaser is a two min job and as Alan has explained, there are myths / rumour and fact surrounding all three brands, plus many others. If it were my own choice and I was thinking outside the factory box, I would have a full custom built and get a spare barrel........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wsm Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 To be quite honest I can't understand this Blaser love affair that european hunters have As B/D says the misfire problem isn't a myth and I've seen it happen in the field far more times than I'd be happy with. As for blow ups perhaps they're one in how many million but I'd much prefer some steel lugs taking the pressure than the straight bolt collet system if I were to be that one Obviously just my opinion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baldie Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 I,ve experienced the same failure to fires on a couple of customers blasers too. Personally i wouldn,t have one given. Cant comment on first hand experience of blow ups, but there have been reported cases. I look at it this way. A gun that wont handle the rare occasion of an overcharge [like a proof round ] is extremely dangerous. That bolt if it lets go, would punch a very clean hole through one,s head. If you handload ammunition, you have to have confidence that a gun would handle such a charge, because one day it will likely have cause to. There are many , many ways to introduce a hot load into a gun....it doesn't have to be a loading mistake even. Put a wet round into a wet chamber and see what happens. A very common thing in a stalking gun. Its very unusual for a standard lugged bolt to have lug failure on a catastrophic blow up, and blow the bolt backwards. Most common actions are vented to allow the rapid release of gas in such an event. Sauers ? The common fault i,ve seen on these are stripped mount holes on a regular basis. Couldn,t comment on the Mauser.Never used, or worked on one. A friend has one and it looks to be a very well made gun indeed, and he says it very accurate.Its a swede i think. For what these rifles cost, especially the grossly overpriced blasers, you could have a two barrelled custom rifle built, that didn,t have any of these faults/problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tackb Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 not a fan of blasers (don't even get me started on a detachable mag system that has the trigger group attached to the mag,FFS!) just don't like the mauser like the sauer but think they are a bit over priced now , speaking of which have you considered the dta srs ? why a change barrel system ? why not just two rifles ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brown dog Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Sauers ? The common fault i,ve seen on these are stripped mount holes on a regular basis. My best discovery for the 202s was the fact that Warne do (or at least 'did') 2 piece weaver bases for them; meant I was able to put proper rings on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJR Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 I use a Sauer 202 swede for most of my Deer Stalking. I never swap barrels as I currently only have the one barrel for it. However I have removed it, refitted it and it shot to within 1/4" of original poi at 100yds. It is a light rifle and you really don't notice you are carrying it. I looked at all three when I was buying and could not get on with the straight pull bolt of the Blaser but all the Blazers I've seen shoot have been accurate. The Sauer was available with l/h bolt so I bought that but would have been tempted with the Mauser also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike6.5 Posted November 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 The amount of knowledge and experience we have on tap is outstanding here on UKV. Thank you all for the replies A custom job sounds nice and always an option my only concerns with a custom rifle is the ease of barrel swapping and taking apart. Tackb - Having 2 rifles defeats what I’m trying to achieve, when I go stalking I’ll sometimes camp out and lugging 2 rifles and a rucksack would be hard graft as I don’t fancy leaving the spare rifle in the car. (Most of the times my rifles are worth more than my car ) What I’m after is a rifle that I can carry all day, take down, have barrel options and be able to throw in the rucksack. Camp setup – Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brown dog Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Camp setup – Great set-up! I'm always trying to talk my Highland stalker pal into wild-camping on the Hill; he just laughs! Here's a random thought; noticing that's a roe: Forget a switch-barrel; do everything with a 6.5x47 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tackb Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 The amount of knowledge and experience we have on tap is outstanding here on UKV. Thank you all for the replies A custom job sounds nice and always an option my only concerns with a custom rifle is the ease of barrel swapping and taking apart. Tackb - Having 2 rifles defeats what I’m trying to achieve, when I go stalking I’ll sometimes camp out and lugging 2 rifles and a rucksack would be hard graft as I don’t fancy leaving the spare rifle in the car. (Most of the times my rifles are worth more than my car ) What I’m after is a rifle that I can carry all day, take down, have barrel options and be able to throw in the rucksack. Camp setup – Cheers how about this, one rifle in some sort of 6.5 calibre (260rem/6.5x47) with a 20" barrel (portable) and just shoot everything with the same bullet? you could have a second zero with the 95vmax but frankly i would just shoot whatever you need to with the 130 accubond or similar and you could use the 140amax for targets ? get an eberlestock if you really want to carry your rifle in your rucksac, i prefer to keep it to hand when stalking personally as it's no use in a bag if an opertunity presents itself? brown dog, i also get 'looks' when i suggest we basha out?!?!? don't understand some people........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devilishdave Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 I have used the Blaser and the Mauser; when I was asking my self the same question as you I went for the Mauser. The reason was, I found the safety on the Blaser to be a bit of a PITA but the Mauser safety really simple and easy to use. I guess the big plus of the Blaser is how quick you can get a follow up shot probably as fast as any other rifle available for UK use. The Mauser is probably iro .2 of a second slower!! If the speed and ease of changing the barrel bolt mag and fitting the scope is important to you then the Mauser is v quick and I can build the whole lot up in les than 60 secs with ease. Whichever one of the three you choose, you wont be disappointed I am sure. Good luck. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJR Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Nice camp, never seen a trailer 'roof' tent before . Think i'd be settling with one calibre for what you're doing, anything in 6.5 would be more than adequate. As already suggested you could use lighter bullets for vermin and step up for stalking but to be blunt i've never noticed a fox be able to tell the difference in bullet weight......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wsm Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Slightly off topic but always worth a reminder at what pressures we're talking about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offroad Gary Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 so would a switch barrel custom return to zero repeatedly? and wouldnt the barrel vice be a bit heavy in the rucksack? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluegreen Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 so would a switch barrel custom return to zero repeatedly? and wouldnt the barrel vice be a bit heavy in the rucksack? Very good! Guess the answer's 'no'; but it would go 'bang' whenever the trigger's pulled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offroad Gary Posted November 29, 2011 Report Share Posted November 29, 2011 Very good! Guess the answer's 'no'; but it would go 'bang' whenever the trigger's pulled And perhaps sometimes go bang even when the trigger isn't pulled? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike6.5 Posted December 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 Its a damn shame they don’t make a DTA SRS 22-250Rem Conversion Kit!! That rifle is the dogs ######! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brown dog Posted December 3, 2011 Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 Its a damn shame they don’t make a DTA SRS 22-250Rem Conversion Kit!! That rifle is the dogs ######! Have you asked? I suspect they'd be able to do that for you without breaking sweat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike6.5 Posted December 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2011 Have you asked? I suspect they'd be able to do that for you without breaking sweat. I had a quote for the 308 from Tim Varrall at Bench Grade Brands Ltd..Ill have to ask the question and see!! Only options I could see was the 243 and 260 rem for the British hunter.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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