Browning BLR

[Nobody]

11111

[Tycer]

Great guns. Very accurate. Unique feel. Not all take town.

IMO, nay on the 30-06, yea! on the 308. The Long Action BLRs have a LONG lever throw. The new ones are as accurate and strong as the old ones.

http://shootingwithhobie.blogspot.com/2 ... lr-by.html

[Jayhawker]

I really like mine but it's a short action (358 Win). I used to think it was too pretty to take out in the field, but I realized I'm not getting better looking with age either, so it gets out frequently.

[Don McDowell]

Great little rifle, but don't care for it in the long action. 308 is a classic chambering for it.

[BenT]

I have a 308 and my hunting friend has one in 30-06 , neither one of us will part with them. The short action handles more like a 30-30 carbine while the long action feels more like a rifle. I've had them in variuos calibers and the 308 is what I've kept . It's too light of a gun for magnum calibers , they are not very fun to shoot. Deadly accurate.

[Borregos]

I have a pre '81 BLR in 308, it is very accurate and a delight to carry in the bush. I shot my first deer with it and would never part with it

[M. M. Wright]

I have bought, scoped, sighted in and given away ten or eleven of them to my Grandsons. Mostly Belgian .308s but there were a couple of .243s and even one 30-06. My first one is still one my "go to" guns when I want some meat. It is a very old and used Belgian made gun in .308 with maybe 30% of it's finish left. Had to replace the butt stock since the original had been mangled by riding in the floor of a pick-up with a high-lift jack. Every one of these BLRs was extremely accurate, had a decent trigger and hold their zeros from year to year. Great rifles.

I like the carbines best because they carry like a 94 carbine and shoot like a rifle. The barrel in my old one has a lot of wear but still delivers great accuracy, about 1.5" or better at 100 yards.

The early ones had oil finished stocks which I like best but lots of luck finding one of them. I think they are best with a fixed 2 1/2X scope in a Redfield Jr. or similar mount and I like a post reticle best. That's getting down to person taste though. A .308 with a receiver sight would be very nice to carry.

Get a set of sling swivels that have the extended screw at the end of the fore-arm. It really sucks to try dragging a deer without a sling for your rifle.

[getitdone1]

I really like mine but it's a short action (358 Win). I used to think it was too pretty to take out in the field, but I realized I'm not getting better looking with age either, so it gets out frequently.

Jayhawker,

"Well done IS better than well said"--but that was well said too.

Don

[Rusty]

Maybe Bruce will be along to help with this he knows more about BLRs than anybody I know.

[Bruce]

I finally made it here, been having puter troubles and have been chasing the deer around.

Bob,

I see someone has already posted my BLR article, so I hope it helps. I really like my takedown 30-06 and find the takedown feature makes for easy barrel cleaning. The differences between the various action sizes has already been pointed out. The short actions do have the carbine type feel and handling.

JFYI, if you happen to get the 30-06, please try the Federal 180 grain Fusion rounds - superb accuracy is an understatement. I find they work great in all my Browning 30-06's.

If you have any questions, I will try to help. Good luck w/ your choice.

[Old Savage]

Seemed to heavy when I handled one. Not the 30-06 I would want to carry.

[stinson]

Stainless takedown in .300 (or .325 WSM if you handload.) Perfect.

[madman4570]

Nice gun!
Just a matter of preference of which caliber choice.(might want to try working one in long action)actually shoot one.
For myself in that gun/long action-----------7MM Rem Mag. (not bad on the shoulder either)

[Triggernosis]

7mm-08 takedown is on my wish list.

[handirifle]

7mm-08 takedown is on my wish list.

Some years back, the local gunshop had one for $500, and I passed on it, cause I wanted a 308. Still am not sure if that was a good move or not. The 7-08, is probably every bit as capable as the 308, but ammo is not as easy to find. That was what held me off.

[tman]

Go with a .308 and a good 4x scope and you got a brush/long range biggame lever for 99% of the worlds game, 100% if u know what you are doing. cheap ammo can be found anywhere.

[348WCF]

I have a short action in .358 that was my first center fire rifle; wouldn't trade that rifle for anything!

[Lastmohecken]

My BLR is my favorite go to rifle. It's an older steel framed .308.

I have tried a few different scopes on them. The 1.5 x 5 Leupold is pretty good, but I have went back to the Leupold 2 x 7 as it's a better all arround scope and seems to be brighter when it gets dusty dark.

[hightime]

I've never shot mine. It's a MN Deerhunter Assn. commerative. 243 Win. It hasn't even had a shell in the mag. I have the box and papers. I thought I'd use it, but I had other guns to try. Anyone want it? $600. Not a mark on it. Made in '91 in Japan.
It's the third one up from the bottom, with the gold engraving.

levers.jpg

Owen

[Marlin32]

Have one in 308. Nice gun, likes the lighter weight bullets which is too bad as I like using heavier bullets, but with deer in my neck of woods, that performance difference is nil.
And if I did take it out to Sandhills or further west, I would probably use the Hornady light magnum loads I have in 165 grain anyway and it shoots them fine.

My only complaint was the trigger pull. I took it to Gunsmith and he took some out of it and that helped quite a bit, would still like it a bit lighter, but I would recommend the gun.

I think the 300's 325's 7mm Mag etc would be really harsh in these guns. But that is just me, the 308 is about all I want in this package.

[DunRanull]

I got one of the early BLR's in '73 because I wanted something as an all around game-getter from pig to bear. Mine came new with 3 boxes of WW 200gr Silvertips of which I still have 2 boxes. I chose .308 so I would have ammo commonality with mil-surp. Good idea but in practice much of the mil-spec was over-size for the tight chamber. Still, some of it would cycle.
As it happened I took my first deer, and since I had missed, all I had left was a mil round left in my pocket from some earlier target practice. And it near cut that deer's head off, guess it tumbled and hit the neck spine.
Still got that BLR but there are some nicks and scratches from carrying in rough country. It's been my basic hunting rifle for 40 years. I have some Mausers too but they arent nearly as easy to pack around...

[JD2]

I've got a BLR in 257 Roberts sitting in the safe for my sons to use when they get older. Neat rifle, light and fast, and a joy to shoot...... Not a caliber you often find in a BLR, but it makes a perfect deer rifle.