Blaser vs Mauser? Part 1. First Look.

A few months after talking with the man I took an opportunity to visit John Miall's gun shop, to get my first look at the Blaser R8 and Mauser M03 rifles. After reading as much about these and other European brands as I could find online, as well as poring over the catalogues John had sent, it was good to be able to handle both systems at the same time.

A number of forum comments from shooters who had made similar visits left me expecting to find that the Blaser R8 was less robust and less solid feeling than the Mauser. This would be helpful, as on paper I really couldn't fault the Blasers. But it wasn't the case. I was impressed with the feel, balance, ergonomics and build quality of the Blaser R8. Yes, the straight pull action felt a bit odd, but the lightness and whippiness of the handling was easy to get used to. I will admit though that the look of the Blaser R8, with its two piece timber stock and central receiver and bolt carrier was less easy on my eye. They're very nicely made and can be had in increasingly fancy grades, but beautiful timber and engraved side plates can't hide the fact that this is an unconventional design, albeit innovative, that just doesn't have the lines of the classic rifles my eye is attuned to.

Seeing and then holding the Mauser M03 felt like coming home. It felt right. Opening the bolt felt like starting an adventure. Closing the bolt felt like closing a safe. The timber was one piece, well proportioned and held a long receiver and bolt. The sounds it made were of steel meeting steel. No doubt it was heavier than the Blaser, but not by that much. And heavy is good isn't it, when I'm setting off a small explosion near my face?

However, the M03 didn't win the contest, there and then. There were a few features with the Mauser that left the door well and truly open for the Blaser R8. I'd thought that the Mauser's steel magazine would fit more solidly than the Blaser's combo trigger/magazine with its compressible quick release tabs. But again, the Blasers I handled surprised me. Their magazines snapped tightly into place with a sharp click. The magazines are fitted with replaceable inserts for each caliber, which have a tab to stop rearward travel of the bolt carrier according to the cartridge length. The Mauser magazines were simpler but looked stronger. (More on the Mauser M03 magazines here). Blaser scored some points with the range of calibers offered, in three barrel profiles, against Mauser's lesser range, in two profiles.

That first visit to Miall's was very useful but I left knowing it wasn't going to be easy choosing between a Mauser M03 and Blaser R8. And that was before the Merkel RX Helix entered the competition.

Blaser's webpages for the R8

A good review of the Blaser R8, with good pictures. By Real Guns.