[hawkeye680]

Hey guys, I have a question for you. I am looking for a new deer rifle, one that I would like to be able to get good range out of when needed. I am looking for something in 30 '06 or 7MM Mag. I haven't really decided on that yet. That I can probably do myself.

My question is this- I love levers and I came across the Browning BLR. I picked one up tonight in BPS and it was slick. I really liked the action and the feel. My only second thought on this particular rifle was that they now have aluminum receivers and the receiver and barrell didn't match in color as well as I want but the laminated stock was beautiful.

So has anybody ever had a BLR? How has it held up? Any problems with it? Any complaints?

One more thing- I know the old saying that nothing locks up as tight as a bolt, but what about this rotating bolt lever action? Should it be and stay pretty tight?

Thanks and I would appreciate any experience and hopefully some pictures.

 

[hawkeye680]

Hey mods can you move this to General Firearm discussion? I didn't mean to put it here. Thanks.

 

[P95Carry]

Moved :smile:

Well - zero experience with BLR but re rotating bolts - I have a Rem 760 ''Gamemaster'' - pump action. This has rotating bolt.

Main thing I find is, it is very fussy about ammo and so I use carefully made handloads or good factory. Poor ammo and either the round is a bear to get into battery with full bolt lock-up - and/or, extraction issues.

That may be a minor point but thought I'd throw it in.

Re cal - well my son has a nice 700 in 7mm mag - great round but IMHO overkill for whitetails - but brutal too. The 30-06 or .308 will do a fine job, especially with something like 165 ballistic tips, Nosler partitions etc.

My 2c - no more :wink:

 

[hawkeye680]

Re cal - well my son has a nice 700 in 7mm mag - great round but IMHO overkill for whitetails

Yeah, I kinda thought that too. Plus if I can't run into Walmart and get it I probably don't need to be shooting it anyway.

 

[earthworm]

Only thing I didn't like about the BLR I had (in .308) was the rear iron sight being too small for my old eyes.Wish I'd never sold it:slick action,mag reloading,super accuracy.

 

[Kompact9]

Hawkeye,

I had a BLR in .308...one of the best deer rifles I ever had. I never had any reliability problems with the BLR. The rotating bolt on the BLR does lock up solid and the rifle is quite accurate. With handloads I could shoot 1 inch or better groups at a hundred yards. Some of the factory ammo didn't work out that well as the overall length of the factory cartridge was a little short in my particular gun. The barrel on the BLR is not a heavy barrel and if you're looking for TIGHT groups after more than 5 shots, you probably won't get them. I think most folks take their game with 1 or 2 shots anyway and that's basically what the rifle is designed to do. If you want a bench gun, go get one, but the BLR is a real JOY to hunt with. The carbine length and at around 7 pounds loaded it fits most any hunting situation. I used a fixed 4 power scope on mine and felt comfortable taking game at ranges up to 200 yards (further than that, I need a rest for the rifle). The 30 '06 and 7mm Mag will be a little heavier as they're both long actions versus short action for the .308. If you really want a steel receiver, you may be able to find an older one in another caliber and purchase it (caveat emptor). The .308 cartridge is quite adequate up to medium size game and there is a wide range of bullets to choose from. Good luck and good hunting...