Thread: To optic or not?

I have just bought a new Browning BLR in .308 for thick bush work. My predicament is whether to turn it into a space cadet by mounting a red dot, holographic or traditional 2.5-6 (or so) scope. Not having done a lot of bush hunting I am thinking less to get caught up on is better, and electronics and West Coast rain don't mix well, or am I wrong? Not expecting to use it further than 100m at the max. If I silence it, I will lose the use of the fixed iron sights. Should I do anything at all or just go with the naked chassis and good earplugs? Whats your experience?

thick bush work to me means 20m-50m. leave it as open sights

Leave it as is and use it, if you find it needs to change do it after it's been on a few trips, rather hard to 'undo' a barrel chop and thread

Put one of those lucky 13 9rd mags on it and cull every deer in the area.

Originally Posted by Soutpiel

I have just bought a new Browning BLR in .308 for thick bush work. My predicament is whether to turn it into a space cadet by mounting a red dot, holographic or traditional 2.5-6 (or so) scope. Not having done a lot of bush hunting I am thinking less to get caught up on is better, and electronics and West Coast rain don't mix well, or am I wrong? Not expecting to use it further than 100m at the max. If I silence it, I will lose the use of the fixed iron sights. Should I do anything at all or just go with the naked chassis and good earplugs? Whats your experience?

Leave it open sights. Just practice with them. You may have to increase the height of the front and rear sights if you use a large diameter can.

Have a look at Skinner sights. He ships to NZ, and aperture is a major upgrade over v-notch.

My gut tells me to leave it alone, but is there any real advantage to putting on an over barrel silencer (a frontcan, can make it too long and unwieldy) on for bush work? Usually only get one shot don't you at close range, which is , yes, usually less than 40m.

Getting a BLR takedown going to put quick release rings on it so have options will not suppress

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Scopes and cans throw off the balance of a firearm intended for close encounters. At ranges within 60m, you will be able to cycle accurate followup shots a lot quicker than you would with an optic. Skiet hom in die hol.

308 with a ZA5 1.5x8x32 minox, more set up as an alrounder though.
Mate has a 308 takedown with a red dote on it as his bush set up and swears by it, this would be my pick for your application.

well I had one..loved it to bits...low mounted low power scope is ideal...and by low,lowest height weaver clip overs...no morethan 4x unless fitting a vari power..the 1.5-5 pig plex leupolds work well....IF you suppress,cut n thread barrel so can comes up snug against stock..snug as in 5mm gap,no more. did this with a gunworks spartan and it worked great ,still had good balance and sure was quieter to use. please dont take yours apart...getting the timing of cogs right is a nightmare.
180grnwinchester powerpoints and the BLR are match made in heaven.
funnily enough my old one lives not huge distance away from you,its in ikimatua.
as others have said ,you could try it open sights and as it is and see....once she cut ...too late to go back.

For me, a Low power scope. Open sights are a struggle in poor light and shadows.

Thanks, thats what I expected to hear, happy BLR shooters! I know the warnings about disassembly...DONT! There will be some machine dust from the new gears after a while. so how did you keep that clean? I know the firing pin and chamber must be very clean or soft misfires can happen. What do you recommend? Compressed air enough? I have some Winchester SuperX in 185 gn coming, and luck with those?

Yeh, mines a takedown, laminate in stainless, nothing as pretty as your, but thats all there was on offer... Love the pistol grip with Stainless look. its so classic! Strill, I am sure I will do cartwheels when it arrives. Any issues with the hammer find under that scope?

Those were my thoughts too, low light, in the shadows, a good deer but a questionable shot due to lack of definition. Scope would be useful in this conditions, or fit a set of Fibre sights...

Ja, tru Bru!