Thread: R93 vs R8 -want the real info.

Have an option on an R93 at really good money compared to the money I usually see on stuff like this, have previously looked at and briefly handled an R8, but know nothing about the differences or advantages/disadvantages of either.

for a hunting set up i would go with the r93

I have owned neither but shot both and found the r8 was very thick handling, not overly heavy just very uncomfortable

r93 is quite a lot slimmer and much easier to maneuver with on the hill side

R93 was released in 1993. It’s old.
R8 2008. It’s new(er).
R93 is basically discontinued. Unless you can get it for a great price or have access to more barrels etc it’s going to be tough to move into more calibers which is the advantage of the system.
R8 does not interchange with R93 other than scope mounts.
R93 is considerably lighter than R8 and R93 is borderline heavy in the big picture. I don’t think the R8 platform is conducive to NZ hunting styles.
Both systems are extremely easy to use and have great ergonomics. I’ve not yet had a Blaser that won’t shoot better than me (or most others).
The straight pull gives a advantage not only in speed but it removes the receiver so a 20” Blaser will also be equivalent length to a 18” turn bolt.
There are some offshore options for carbon fibre stocks. I have a Stug one that is OK. It functions fine but is not a Christiansen (nor was it in the same eye watering price range).
I have just had my 7-08Rem barrel turned into a 284Win with some kiwi ingenuity so they’re still not stuffed by obsolescence. I’ve yet to shoot it but am not anticipating dramas.
Would I buy another? Probably, but I’ve made a bunch of changes that make it as bad as a Rem700 for being a bastardised rifle and I wouldn’t buy an R8 if I was hunting kiwi style.

Biggest difference is the R8 has the detachable magazine/trigger I think , but I’m not sure .
I owned a R93 for about 9 or 10 years and have only just sold it recently.
I loved the thing, but it wasn’t getting used as much as it deserved and I had a bit of money tied up in it .
The biggest problem I found was magazine capacity and it not being a detachable mag .
For the shooting I do in Australia like in and out of vehicles and if I’m lucky mobs of Pigs it wasn’t the right tool for the job .
If I was Deer shooting I’d probably still have it .
I had a few different caliber barrels for it over the years but the last few years I just had two a .223 and a 6.5x55 .
They are way more popular down south in Victoria and NSW because they have Deer to shoot, up north here in QLD I’ve never seen another one .
For a quarter of what I got for it I purchased a brand new Tikka and I’m setting that up to match my NZ Tikka so that I can get the same feel / handling no matter which one I’m using.
Blaser makes good gear , and I’ll never sell the F3 shotgun I have for competition clays .

Thanks guys, didn't want to go looking on the general net and get fifty couch sitting opinions, just from kiwis that actually hunt and carry rifles. Can get one (R93) in 6.5x55 with mount and rings, dies, cases and ammo thrown in for 3k - a bigger day on the hill for me might be 19hrs carrying it, weight and how it sits in the hand is a consideration, nearly went this route once before, but cost got in the way (comparative to other rifles) Not in any way committed, but the price is interesting and the cartridge appeals.

R93 for NZ is the best

R8 is better for Europe style hunting in larger groups. Take out the trigger / magazine and put it in the rack and start eating sausage and drinking beer
Weight is just not an issue for their situation

Also the R8 was good for USA hunters who wanted to be able to get bigger rounds like 338 Lapua and 416s in the one platform

R93 is obviously old and past it's best @kiwijames. But he may disagree.

I have the same R93 I bought in the late 90s.
Would never part with it.
Every barrel I have or had for it shoots better than me.
Practical, fast and reliable. Especially the mounting system for scopes.
I alway carry 2 scopes. One on the rifle and one in my pack. Using same load you can go from bush shooting to open tops in a as long as it takes to swap the optic over.

Mine with bush scope and supp weighs 3.2kgs with my main hunting barrel on it.
Don't have much experience with an R8 to compare them other than weight.
I have 2 crank bolt rifles in my safe and only use 1 of them regularly. I get muddled up if I ever need a follow up shot as I am so used to the straight pull



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As an R93 owner but with far more non Blaser kit I would hesitate getting into R93 as previous comments bear out. Advantages - compact length, take down for travel, amazing tolerances (disassemble, scope off, reassemble absolutely no loss of zero). During R93 production span quite a bit of gossip about bolts destroying faces (R8 bolt ‘lugs’ beefed up to counter safety criticisms). But also one of the best ‘safeties’, can carry a round in chamber in ‘decocked’ condition. My barrels accurate but seem to corrode more rapidly than orher CM ones, no idea why. The detachable trigger mag group on the R8 may or may not be an advantage. Overall despite acknowledging the engineering excellence and versatility there isn’t value for NZ conditions in comparison to a T3, Remchester, Howa etc. Just one humble opinion.

Originally Posted by 257weatherby

Have an option on an R93 at really good money compared to the money I usually see on stuff like this, have previously looked at and briefly handled an R8, but know nothing about the differences or advantages/disadvantages of either.

Might have to self isolate for 2 weeks admitting you own a blaser

Originally Posted by R93

I have the same R93 I bought in the late 90s.
Would never part with it.
Every barrel I have or had for it shoots better than me.
Practical, fast and reliable. Especially the mounting system for scopes.
I alway carry 2 scopes. One on the rifle and one in my pack. Using same load you can go from bush shooting to open tops in a as long as it takes to swap the optic over.

Mine with bush scope and supp weighs 3.2kgs with my main hunting barrel on it.
Don't have much experience with an R8 to compare them other than weight.
I have 2 crank bolt rifles in my safe and only use 1 of them regularly. I get muddled up if I ever need a follow up shot as I am so used to the straight pull



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Do you still have the F3 ?
I think they are one of the best Shotguns out there .
Blaser’s modular system and interchangeable barrels etc are not just confined to their rifles , the F3’s ability to swap everything around is very underrated and not mentioned much .

Originally Posted by 6mm ackley

Might have to self isolate for 2 weeks admitting you own a blaser

Cheeky sod, not in the Blaser club yet, check book already isolating itself from me just in case I do try to join - lost a couple of maintenance contracts today cause stupid pointy headed accountants believe the world is ending. Might be unemployed bum through till spring, better go hunting I guess.

Originally Posted by Ground Control

Do you still have the F3 ?
I think they are one of the best Shotguns out there .
Blaser’s modular system and interchangeable barrels etc are not just confined to their rifles , the F3’s ability to swap everything around is very underrated and not mentioned much .

No mate sold it to a mate when I gave up sporting clays and took up shooting 3 gun and stuff.
I would like one in the safe but it was a fair bit of coin sitting there doing nothing.
If I ever get rich I will buy another for the sake of it.

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I bought an Off-road R93 in 300WM in 01 and followed up with a 223 match barrel and then a 416RM safari barrel. Over the next few years, added a basic grade stock, and a second action so I had two complete rifles and all barrels were scoped. Great system, all very accurate. Only drawback was mag capacity, 3+1 in the magnums, 5+1 in the 223. Was tempted to buy the LRS-2 stock which gives you detachable mags with proper capacity but in the end never did. Sold the 223 complete in 2010 to buy a JP15 SuperMatch and the 416 barrel to buy a NF scope. Just had the JP15 crushed and could not find another R93 223 barrel so decided to switch to R8’s. Sold the R93 300WM to my bestie.

Best feature of the system is the cocking decocking. Safe, positive and quiet. The R8 is a little heavier and beefier, but the action is smooth and fast. Plenty of R93 bits popping up now and then, a unused 308 semiweight barrel sold on tardme last week for 1600 I think, quality gear still well worth the investment.

Hey there I have an R8. I went from a T3 in 6.5x55 to an R8 in .308. I've had it for - er dunno, quite a few years now. I love it for being so German, ie over engineered but amazingly well made and just so cool and not like anything else out there. I love the modularity (also have a 3006 barrel which is basically the same cal, should really have a 7mm of some kind or a 6.5) I love the ability to mount different scopes repeatably. It's incredibly accurate, super reliable and I love the decocker as it can go from completely safe, ie inert, a lump of metal, to ready to fire in less than a second and once you have the knack it can do that silently. It's much much better than a safety. The removeable trigger group and mag combined is just so cool and it certainly gives you multiple options for making the firearm secure in transit and storage. I also have the AZTL trigger which (literally) switches between target and hunting weight. I love the trigger, it's really really good. Some say it feels too much like an electric button rather than a trigger - there's no overtravel and no takeup - but I love it.

What I don't like too much is, as a couple of others have already pointed out, it's quite heavy, and I would have to agree that it's not really designed for NZ hunting conditions. It's the ideal wander around an oak forest then back for some Jagermeister type rifle for sure! I have no problem with the way it handles, and to be fair, I can carry it all day, I'm just keenly aware that there are much lighter rifles out there which are, well, a bit nicer to carry all day. Especially as the years pass. I recently acquired a carbon light and it's got me thinking quite hard about what I want in a rifle. I too have a Stug stock for the R8 and that brings it down to a much more manageable weight. With the Stug stock, a Z3, an Atec suppressor and the 20" .308 barrel it's just under 3.8 kg which is perfectly fine and of course a bit of weight makes it easier to shoot. A VX5 pushes it up to over 4.0. There's some weight in the sling and so on too of course. The composite factory stock is at least 400 g heavier. It's a thing of beauty - so solid, so grippable, so pointable, so unbreakable. I don't love the Stug stock - but to be fair it is just as accurate and handles well enough. I've put some tape on it to make it grippier. (@Kiwijames are there really offshore carbon stocks for R8s? I would love to hear more about that. I found a company in Austria who make extremely amazing looking carbon stocks for the R8 but they wouldn't take the tax off for an export sale which was a deal breaker for me. If you have anything else you know about please enlighten me!)

The only other drawback I can think of is that, as with any switch barrel I guess, there are a lot of bits you have to remember - depending on what calibre you are switching to you may need to swap out the barrel, the bolt head, and the mag insert. The thing I absolutely love about the single shot Bergara .44 mag I have, is that there are no bits to forget at all! Not even a bolt! Bloody brilliant. Well, ok, you could forget the ammo.

So, I guess my summation is that the R8 is not perhaps the most practical choice for NZ hunting but it sure is a hell of a rifle and I know I would miss it like hell, if I ever parted with it. Mind you, I still miss the Tikka. I love buying rifles but I hate selling them.

I have never handled an R93 so can't compare, there, sorry. Whatever you do, good luck and remember to enjoy the journey!