Going the Blaser R93 way.......308 Winchester ?

[Jager66]

Hi Folks,
I have been thinking of buying a long range Hunting/Sniper/Target rifle and my choice is leading me towards an R93 Blaser with synthetic stock and 0,87" Muzzle OD Match barrel.

I intend to use this rifle mainly for target shooting and some occasional hunting.

I am almost set on the " 'ol betsy" .308 Winchester but I'd like to hear your thoughts on it.

For this kind of barrel (24,6" Heavy Match Fluted) choices are limited to basically the following calibers (excluding 222 and 223 Rem and 300 Win Mag) :

- 243 Winchester (1:10" Barrel twist rate)

- 308 Winchester (1:11" BTR)

- 6,5x55 Swedish (1:8.6" BTR)


Which one would YOU pick and why ?

Awaiting for your comments.

TY

 

[6XC]

Re: Going the Blaser R93 way.......308 Winchester ?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Joseph Z</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hi Folks,
- 6,5x55 Swedish (1:8.6" BTR)
</div></div>

Can be loaded as a modern cartridge with a Blaser rifle.
Large selection of bullets with high BC.
Excellent match ammunition from Norma and Lapua.

I have been thinking about selling my Sauer 200 STR, in 6.5x55, and buying a 6.5x55 match barrel for my R8 instead.

 

[ancientmariner]

Re: Going the Blaser R93 way.......308 Winchester ?

Go with 6.5x55. Outstanding external ballistics, very moderate recoil. Pretty good choice of match ammo. Reconsider blaser- I would rather go with sauer wolverine/jagdmatch. Blaser (previously Strasser) is not a safe construction. If you really want a direct pull kind of action, then go with heym precision. This is a new model and they give a 20mm/100m group guarantee for this.

 

[Muskox]

Re: Going the Blaser R93 way.......308 Winchester ?

Personally, I would buy the 6.5x55 and shoot match ammo out of it.

At one time I owned 5 R93 receivers including a 308 in Match configuration. I think I had 13 or 12 barrels.

I currently own 4 Sauer 200/202/3000 SSG rifles.

1 202 lightweight, 1 202 Magnum synthetic, 1 200 standard (we are upgrading to a 3000 SSG type rifle, and an original Sauer 3000 SSG. I only own 8 barrels for the 202 series rifles. 8x68S, 6mm BR, 22 LR, 9.3x62, 2x 308, 416 Remington, 6.5x58S.

I much prefer the Sauers over the Blaser R93 and R8 rifles, and while I like the Mauser M03 rifles, I still prefer the Sauer's over them.

The biggest down side to the Blaser is the chamber tolerances are very small, and you have to full length size every piece of brass you run through them. You can not just neck size.

If you don't reload then this isn't an issue.

Both the Sauer and Blaser are very accurate.

I have shot a lot of 7.62 ball out of both the Sauer 202 and the Blaser R93. And it worked as well.

I never liked the LRS2, but everyone's different.

 

[threetrees]

Re: Going the Blaser R93 way.......308 Winchester ?

6.5x55

 

[One-Eyed Jack]

Re: Going the Blaser R93 way.......308 Winchester ?

The 6.5mm has some excellent bullet choices and a 8.6" barrel twist might handle a ~140-grainer.

I had a 308Win Blaser R93 Tactical and recently sold it because it wasn't getting any use, I've gone over to custom-built rifles for 308, 260 and 243 cal. I still have an LRS-2 in 223Rem that I like for hunting because it's lightweight and shoots well.

 

[300ATT]

Re: Going the Blaser R93 way.......308 Winchester ?

I have both the .308 and 6.5x55 Match barrels in and LRS and sporter stock. Both barrels shoot phenomenally well and there is little difference on the accuracy side of the coin. If you reload I would go with the 6.5 if not you will have more options with the .308.

The 6.5x55 shoots 142 gr match bullets extremely well at 2,820 FPS (sub 1/2 MOA).

The .308 shoots Barnes X bullets 1/2 MOA and match ammo much much better than that.

I also have a .223 match barrel and agree with One-Eyed-Jack that this is great caliber to keep around (gets the most use).

Good shooting ...

 

[Jager66]

Re: Going the Blaser R93 way.......308 Winchester ?

Thanks to All,

I am no big fan of the "expanded rings" type bolt action, nor I need a straight pull, but I like the R93 for the following reasons :

- Possibility to carry the rifle with a chambered round and knowing there will be no chance the rifle could discharge, yet being able to cock the hammer in a split of a second.
Not many rifles allow this (Sauer does not, Mauser M03 does).
This is a strong plus, for me at least.

- Possibility to change/add barrels without any need for adjustment

- Possibility to use the same mount on different barrels, or to switch different scopes

- Well-know accuracy

Because of the above mentioned reasons, this rifle "fills my bill" pretty well.


Caliber - I have no preference between the 6,5x55 and the 308 win.

In my opinion, they have several (good) things in common, being :

- Wide availability of components for reloading (brass, bullets, dies etc.) at pretty much the same costs.

- Wide availability of loading data for the most widely used propellant (6,5x55) or for ALL of them (308 Win)

- Good barrel life (which one is the "easiest" ?)

- Quite cheap to run among "medium calibers"

- Very accurate


Now, after making a comparison on "paper", it seems the 6,5x55 outperforms the 308, probably due to the very good efficiency of .264" bullets (better ballistics), at least by using their typical bullet weights (140sh for 6,5 and 168 for 308).

Is this really the case ?

Additionally, it seems the .260 Remington is "catching up" lately.

Can the 6,5 swedish be considered almost this caliber's european counterpart ?

Everyone is talking about the 6,5-284.....is the 6,5 swedish so much far behind ? ....or not really ?

Your comments are very welcome, as I am still on a quest for which one's the best !