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In early 2013 one of my searches found the long range tutorial videos by Thomas Haugland from Norway. In many of these Thomas uses his Blaser R93, showcasing its capabilities in a very impressive demonstration, of his skills and Blaser's designs. For example, at 5:18 this video demonstrates the repeatability of the Blaser Saddle Mount. Thomas' comprehensive and beautiful videos were quite effective in pushing the scales in the Blaser direction. Our family had travelled around Norway a couple of years back and I called my wife and kids to sit and watch some of the videos with me, to remind us of the sights and to share in my excitement about how good a Blaser would be.
I learned that a few police forces and armies around the world had acquired Blaser LRS 2 and Tactical 2 rifle systems, which look like they're from another planet but are based on the R93 action. Hmmm, … persuasive. Once again I held myself back from going down the tactical path.
It was time to try coming up with a trial solution, so I made up a spreadsheet listing the Blaser R8 system components I'd start with. It went like this:
- an R8 Black Edition with Grade 6 walnut stock and a standard 270 Winchester barrel- a matching Africa fore-stock to take a match barrel (and later an Africa barrel?)- a standard barrel in 9.3x62- a match barrel in 243 Win or 6.5x55. Or maybe 6XC?
Blaser's exchangeable stock pieces were looking highly advantageous. This could not be done with the Mauser M03, but it didn't take long before I realised I'd only ever have one functioning rifle from these components. Further, needing to change the fore-stock each time to take the match or Africa barrels would be a pain. I didn't entertain the more convenient approach of leaving the Africa/match fore-stock with its wide barrel channel installed and letting the standard barrels hang loose. An aesthetic compromise too far. It would be better to buy two all-up rifles from the get go, with switch barrels for one or both as needed. This brought the Mauser with its one piece stock right back into the picture. I added a section to the spreadsheet and set out what my preferred M03 system would look like.
Then I noticed Blaser's news about its ATZL-Match-Hunt-Trigger, with selectable 650gm and 250gm trigger weights. I would have to get that! It would even things up with Mauser's wonderful Combi Trigger. Or would it? It's really a 'one or the other' approach, vs Mauser's 'choose either in an instant' solution, which is what I wanted to be able to do. "Just stay right where you are Mr Fox, while I pull this Fire Control Unit out of my Blaser R8 and activate 250gm mode. Hey, come back here!" And can it even be imported? Would Customs allow a rifle intended for hunting to be imported with a trigger that could be set to a default hair-trigger weight? I rang Customs and their answer was, "We know what we're looking at." Hmmm, … they know what they're looking at. And so do I. Fact is, upon reflection, I don't want a hunting rifle that can be readily and semi-permanently switched between hunting weight and 'I dare you to breathe on me' weight. Too easy to get mixed up. Too often switched to the wrong weight when I need the other. Too scary if handled by someone unfamiliar with it or someone not briefed on its current state. Which is? Also, it's not adjustable around the two weights. I'd rather have 900gm and 150gm. Mauser's Combi Trigger can do that. Mauser's trigger wins.
Two other influential videos came to light. In this one (embedded below) a gentleman called Ben-Andre Nilsen conducts a shoot-off between his Tikka and Mauser M03. Viewers' comments are correct in pointing out that the comparison is largely meaningless, however, the accuracy of the M03 is very impressive, the more so because of the rapid firing and the un-fussy shooting stand and aiming point.
Then, from 5:38 in this video (also embedded below, with M03 images throughout), Paul Hill, who runs the Corinium Rifle Range talks about his experiences with Blaser and the Mauser M03, of which he says, "Yes, they're heavier than the Blaser but they are more accurate and they're every bit as interchangeable".
Well that's good. The next thing I need to do is investigate the Blaser and Mauser scope mounts.
I am seriously thinking about a rifle system. I think the only way that I can describe the new rifles are that these are file systems. My choice is between Mauser M03, Sauer 404, Blaser R8, Merkel Helix and Steyr-Mannlicher. The Sauer 404 XTC is great because it's so lightweight, can use a muzzle break to reduce felt recoil and counteract muzzle jump, the thumbhole stock is fabulous, but the magazine can only hold 3 rounds and in magnum calibers only 2. Mauser M03 is great because of the many options one would have. I can't make my mind up between the 2. The Blaser has got the fastest action.
ReplyDeleteHello unknown. Thanks for posting your comment. It could be the start of an interesting discussion, over on the new Discussion Forum I've set up to accompany this M03 blog. Perhaps you would like to repost your thoughts over there? Here's the link:
ReplyDeletehttps://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en#!forum/mauser-m03-blog-discussion-forum
In the meantime, here are my current thoughts on the choices before you.
A lightweight rifle is nice for carrying but not so nice when shooting. I'm not particularly tall (to be more accurate - I'm short! And slim) yet I find the slightly heavier overall weight of a Mauser M03 to be easy to carry, sometimes for 12 kilometres in a morning or afternoon. It's my feet that are sore afterwards, which would be true even if I was carrying a very light rifle. My shoulder is fine with the Mauser. :-) However, the M03 is excellent at soaking up recoil, due to its weight and the straight stock design. Due to this, I shoot better with an M03 than a light rifle.
I think the Mauser M03 Combi Trigger is better than the adjustable trigger on the Sauer 404, because it can be set to the lighter weight instantly and be left on the heavier weight normally. I really like this feature on the M03.
I prefer the Mauser M03 turn bolt locking than the Blaser R8 straight pull bolt collet locking. I also prefer the way my M03 fires every time I pull the trigger. Blaser R8s and R93s come with Ammunition Saving Mode. That is, they don't always fire when you pull the trigger. :-( That's a deal-breaker for me. See this post for some interesting examples:
http://mauserm03blog.blogspot.com.au/2015/09/blaser-vs-mauser-click-vs-bang.html
There's more in the Blaser playlist at my Mauser M03 Blog YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVuUaT1xF03OR8Lx1QoKmW-gDZ6FQJS5O
The Blaser's fast reloading was not something that caught my attention, for two reasons. Firstly, I prefer to hit my target with the first shot, when it's standing still. They tend to be running very fast if I need to take a second shot and that's not very helpful. Secondly, there's not much point in quick reloading if the rifle doesn't fire when you pull the trigger, as per my thoughts above.
When I looked at the Merkel RX Helix system it didn't have the African calibres I was hoping to expand into one day. I also found the safety mechanism and the trigger to be heavy and imprecise. I've since seen tests showing that the Helix system doesn't have the return-to-zero accuracy upon barrel change that the Mauser M03 has.
Notwithstanding these comments of mine, my best suggestion is to travel to rifle shops that have the systems you are considering and spend some time admiring and handling them, as they are all excellent choices. By doing this, the factors that are most important to you will emerge, in much the same way as they did for me, as shown in the early posts in this blog.
Good luck and feel free to comment further here or take the discussion over to the forum.
Regards, Rick.