BLR Owners - A Question

[Blaine]

Do you find them to be as accurate as a decent quality bolt action? How's the trigger?

[2ndovc]

I had an older Belgian BLR in .308 Win.

Great little rifle. Deadly accurate. 1"-1 1/2" groups were pretty easy at 100 yds.
the trigger was on the heavy side but wasn't to bad.

I'd bought it for the Ice Queen and was one of the three she took when she split.

Miss that rifle!

jb

[Don McDowell]

We've got a Miroku made 308 in the original configuration, and a .243 in the steel frame 81. Both are deadly accurate for 3 shot groups (clover leaf at 100). But the slim barrels will heat up quick and groups start to open.
Trigger on both is decent, nothing like you can get on a good bolt gun, but fine for a hunting rifle.

[Triggernosis]

Oh, just get one Blaine! Then tell us all about it.
Do you need help picking out a caliber or specific model?

[Borregos]

I have an older one in 308Win, accuracy is great at around an inch at 100 yards, trigger is a bit heavy but crisp, got my first ever deer with this one and would not part with it

[Modoc ED]

I don't have one Blaine but I hear that the barrels of the newer ones are pretty rough.

Maybe Tycer will read this thread. He got one in .358 Winchester and has found that the barrel is very rough and I think he said he needs to lap it.

My neighbor has an older one in .30-06 and uses it exclusively now-a-days.

[Blaine]

Oh, just get one Blaine! Then tell us all about it.
Do you need help picking out a caliber or specific model?

I'd like to plug a hole between 218 Bee and 30-06. I'd prefer 6.5x55 Swede, but BLR does not have that option, but they do have a 7mm-08.....I'll prolly end up with a Tikka in the 6.5x55.

[Don McDowell]

Blaine find one in 257bob. that'll fill that hole quite nicely.

[CowboyTutt]

Interesting about the "rough barrel" thing. Keep us posted on that. My 358 is very accurate as well. The trigger was way heavy for my poor, anemic trigger finger but after a trigger job by McPherson it is the best trigger out of any of my rifles and they ALL have trigger jobs.

I think you should just go get one too!

-Tutt

[Old Savage]

Mine is very accurate and most others report the same thing.

[Triggernosis]

Blaine,
I was going to suggest the 7mm-08 anyway. It should be ballistically better than the 6.5 Swede anyway....

[Blaine]

Blaine,
I was going to suggest the 7mm-08 anyway. It should be ballistically better than the 6.5 Swede anyway....

I've always wanted one of the old Mauser calibers.....

[Barcelona Rick]

Have three friends that hunt using BLR's only.....243, 308 and 7MM-08....all with vari-able scopes. All of these shoot very well with the .243 being the most accurate. They left the triggers alone but did shoot them quite a bit to break the barrels in I guess....they shoot minute of whitetail every year....

jumbeaux

[awp101]

So far my .22-250 is a fine shooter. I haven't taken it to 100yds yet since I always seem to get caught up in my .22LRs at the 25 and 50yd ranges and I run out of time before taking it to the 100yd range. At 25yds though, it's a one holer!

[Doc Hudson]

I've yet to see a standard production firearm that could not have a better trigger, but my BLR's trigger is quite acceptable. I've never been tempted to have it slicked up.

As for accuracy, my .358 Win BLR is the most accurate rifle I've ever owned, and one of the most accurate rifles i've ever shot. In the FWIW Department, Paco has a very similar opinion of his .358 BLR.

My rifle is a 1978 Miroku vintage. Using a Hornady 200 grain spire point an a healthy dose of IMR 4198, it will make one hole, five-shot groups at 100 yards, when i do my part, and not a lot bigger at 200 meters.

[Leverdude]

I have one, an early steel Miroku model 81 in 7mm08. As mentioned, the barrel heats up quickly. You can put 3 shots in a quater with loads it likes, but by number 5 if you keep going it starts walking around.
The trigger is a little heavier than I might like but breaks clean. Inevitably the first time I shoot it I need to start over or I jerk the trigger.
Just yesterday I helped a friend sight in a Belgian 308 BLR for a hunt. After he was zero'd I took a few shots & found that his trigger was just like mine. Cant tell you where the first shot went, but it was not on the target I shot at. The next 3 were almost touching.

Mauser schmouser get the BLR Tubby.

[Lastmohecken]

I bought my first BLR in .308 win, about 17 yrs ago, and it has always been just about the most accurate gun I have owned, and I have owned several boltactions. I do have one boltaction Model 70 in 25-06 that will outshoot it, but that's about it.

I still kid my brother in law, for selling a model 70 featherweight in .270 win, which he did, because it would not group nearly as tight at 200yds as my BLR. He then went and purchased an older BLR and it shoots about the same as mine. We both swear by them, but sometimes still use other guns out of boredom, but the BLR's will usually do all that needs doing.

I can't vouch for the newer BLR's, as all of ours are the older steel framed guns.

[Lastmohecken]

The Triggers are not quite up to a fine Boltaction standard, but are often as good out of the box, as the typical factory trigger on the average boltaction. I usually have a gunsmith slick mine up a little, and you can't usually get quite as good a trigger as one can achieve on a fine boltaction, but the trigger can be made decent. Some of my longest shots have been made with BLR's.

[CowboyTutt]

My rifle is a 1878 Miroku vintage.

Thats quite some antique you got there Doc!

-Tutt

[RKrodle]

I have one of the newer Lightweights with the pistol grip stock in 358 Win.. Very accurate and the trigger has gotten better with use.

[Doc Hudson]

My rifle is a 1878 Miroku vintage.

Thats quite some antique you got there Doc!

-Tutt

i noticed that and fixed it before I saw your post Tutt.

just remember, I'm not called king of the Typoists without reason. :-{p>~~~

[Tycer]

I don't have one Blaine but I hear that the barrels of the newer ones are pretty rough.

Maybe Tycer will read this thread. He got one in .358 Winchester and has found that the barrel is very rough and I think he said he needs to lap it.

My neighbor has an older one in .30-06 and uses it exclusively now-a-days.

Mine is a .358 Win Takedown. New. The barrel had visible chatter marks and a sharp edge where the chamber meets the rifling. One shot and the bore looked like a shiny new penny. I firelapped it and it's fine.

The trigger is like all the BLRs (4) I've had. Heavy and just a hint of creep. Fine for a hunting rifle. I have yet to have three touching, but I'm at 1 MOA or so with basically no load development.

[CowboyTutt]

Hey Tycer, thanks for the info! Thanks for posting Brother. My BLR is the lightest and easiest-to-carry rifle I own. They really are a "hunters choice" of a rifle.

-Tutt

[geobru]

I have a 70's vintage Miroku in 308 that has shot a 1/2 inch group at 125 yards. I shot it tonight at 465 yards and had a 6" group with Federal blue box 150's. The trigger is a bit heavy and has a bunch of slack that you just pull through, but when it is time to line up on a furry critter, it is absolutely deadly. It is by far the most accurate rifle that I have owned, and has accounted for most of the deer and elk that I have shot. All of the hunting shots have been 250 yards or less. The longest shot was a 250 yard neck shot on a bedded deer, the next was a brain shot on a feeding bull elk at 225 yards. Most of the shots were less than 100 yards in the timber. They are a fine rifle if you like to hit what you are looking at!!

[Blaine]

Thanks, Brothers...

[Don McDowell]

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =142132147

This ought to scratch the itch quite nicely.

[tman]

[quote="Lastmohecken"]I bought my first BLR in .308 win, about 17 yrs ago, and it has always been just about the most accurate gun I have owned, and I have owned several boltactions. I do have one boltaction Model 70 in 25-06 that will outshoot it, but that's about it.

I still kid my brother in law, for selling a model 70 featherweight in .270 win, which he did, because it would not group nearly as tight at 200yds as my BLR. He then went and purchased an older BLR and it shoots about the same as mine. We both swear by them, but sometimes still use other guns out of boredom, but the BLR's will usually do all that needs doing.

I can't vouch for the newer BLR's, as all of ours are the older steel framed guns.[/quote
+1

[Marlin32]

Mirokou in .308. Shoots ok, at 100yd, not "bolt action" ok at 100yd. Good enough to shoot deer and elk etc ? Yep. Would'nt hesitate. I am using 180gr Fed soft points.

Trigger was way to harsh for me, had trigger worked on, better, much better, but still not as light and clean as I would like. Nothing like the old Marlin triggers.

[Wes]

I have a BLR in 358 and like it very much. I bought it from a guy named mtngun (I think that how he spelled it) on this forum. He had the trigger worked on by a gunsmith in Illinois and it's a very shootable trigger.
I've felt several triggers on BLR's that were very bad. One of which was my Belgian made 308.
The 358 I have will shoot in an inch or less mostly. Good shooting little rifle. It does seem to like 200 gr. Hornady's the best over H4198.
I like this rifle a bunch and will likely not part with it.

[Fiddler]

I have the Japanese steel-receiver model in 7mm-08 and love everything about it except the trigger.
What I'm about to describe has to just be my imagination, right? When I dry-fire it, the trigger feels a certain way. I get used to it and know what to expect. It feels the same when I fire my first shot at the range. However, every shot thereafter the trigger seems to get heavier and heavier. I squeeze and squeeze, wondering when the darned thing is finally going to fire. It is really noticeable!
Now, common sense dictates that there is nothing mechanical that could be causing this, right? Barrel or chamber fouling couldn't make a difference, could it?
It might be my imagination, or maybe I'm concentrating too hard on the next shot, but this phenomenon sure seems real to me!
I can't recall this happening with any other rifle I've ever owned.

[Pathfinder09]

I just picked up a pre-81 that is just beautiful. .308, Made by Miroku. Took it to the range yesterday first time out. Once I had it dialed in with the 3x9 Redfield scope, I was shooting cloverleafs. The trigger was very nice also not hard with very little creep. Who ever owned this gun took great care of it. I'm a happy camper. Been looking for a lever in .308 for a while.