The other benefi t of radial locking lugs is that neither
the bolt nor the bolt handle need be turned. Just pull straight back to “un-cam” the radial lugs, push straight forward to pick up a fresh round and lock it into battery. A Blaser is ar- guably the fastest, smoothest cycling bolt-action in the world. It’s much easier keeping your eye in the scope and on target while cycling a Blaser than any turn-bolt. While shooting at running boar targets in Africa and Texas with R93s and R8s, we were able to pump three shots into the kill-zone with a Blaser, only two with a standard turn-bolt. Some say that the tiniest speck of sand on just one of
This shows the R93 system with a put-together rifl e on top wearing a 6.5-284 Norma barrel, a .22-250 Rem. barrel and magazine below, and a .17 HMR barrel, clip magazine, and extension block/rimfi re bolthead. Note the recesses milled into the ,17 HMR barrel where the scope quick mount will clamp in.
unfamiliar to U.S. shooters is its straight-pull bolt-action. Instead of turning locking lugs into receiver recesses, the Blaser system shoves an internal wedge forward through the hollow bolt to expand outward a complete circle of fl anges, each with a lug on its end. These then lock into a ring recess in the breech of the barrel itself. This does two welcomed things. First, it ensures the locking lugs will only be forced deeper and more securely into the radial recess under pres- sure from expanding gases. Second, it does away with the need for the kind of action/barrel squaring and lug lapping done to “blueprint” traditional turn-bolts. It’s a lot easier to cut precise, consistent lugs and recesses radially on a lathe. This enhances accuracy, of course, and Blasers typically show this on the range with barrel after barrel.
the radial lugs (there are 14 on the R8) will prevent the action from closing, whereas a turn-bolt lug will just smear it off and keep on fi ring. That may be. I haven’t seen it happen. But if it does, it wouldn’t take me but a few seconds to pull off the bolt, run my fi nger around the breech recess and wipe off the fully exposed lug fl anges to clean things up. Obviously, I wouldn’t want to have to perform this with a buffalo in full charge, but on the average prairie dog town, I think I’ll have enough time to pull it off. Oh, and if you worry those radial lugs aren’t strong
enough, R8s have been pressure tested to more than double the highest psi pressures allowed for our most potent, high pressure magnums. At 125,000 psi, the testing labs equip- ment was maxed out and the Blaser hadn’t broken a sweat. Maximum recommended pressures for the 7mm Rem. Mag., .300 Win. Mag., etc., are 65,000 psi. Here’s yet another benefi t to the Blaser bolt: Because
it doesn’t need to slide inside receiver rings, it is made to run on twin, outrider rails that glide in grooves milled into the upper rim of the receiver bottom. You don’t get the side-to-side wobble common to Mauser-style bolts. There is no tendency to bind, either, no matter how ham fi sted and rough you are during operation. Torque that bolt handle all you want, but the bolt will continue sliding smoothly. All of the bolt, fi ring pin, spring, striker, sear, and toggles for cam- ming the radial lugs travel with the bolt under a mantle that can best be described as the top of the receiver. Essentially, the entire top half of the receiver slides back and forth with the bolt, so once it is closed, all working parts are protected from debris and weather. This system also knocks about 3.25 inches off total ac-
The R8 partially disassembled. Note the bolt and gold bolthead lying apart from the sliding receiver top and the rails on the receiver top that slide along the top grooves in the lower receiver for that silky smooth action. Notice how the trigger/magazine box is out of the rifl e in one piece. The actual nylon clip on right has been removed, but normally it isn’t.
Page 24 July — September 2011
tion length because the bolt guide bars slide forward around either side of the barrel chamber. The receiver on my Savage in .300 Win. Mag. is eight inches long. That on my R8 in .300 Win. Mag. is 4.75 inches long. Don’t go looking for a short- action Blaser in hopes of saving weight or cycling time. All actions run the same length, suffi cient to accommodate those super magnum cartridges up to 3.65 inches OAL (the length of the magazine). But, thanks to that straight pull, the Blaser action will remain faster to manipulate than any turn bolt action, regardless how short. The Blaser’s short action means you can shoot a 24-inch barreled R8 with a shorter OAL than a traditional bolt-action using a 21-inch barrel. So precise and effective is the Blaser design that R93/
R8s routinely shoot MOA or better with factory ammunition. I’ve witnessed this time after time with numerous rifl es and barrels from .22-250 Rem. through .375 H&H. Upon getting a .22-250 Rem. barrel for my R93 in spring of 2009, I tested nine different factory loadings. The best, a Hornady 50-grain V-
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