tc2506 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 looking for thoughts on the browning blr the good the bad n the ugly,,, whats the accuracy like? reliability, i,m thinking bout trying to trade off the weatherby 300win mag for a blr in a 308win or 7mm08rem i no both these rounds well, but havent had any experiance with the blr and no one i know has or has had 1, the blr will only be used for short to medium range whitetails n maybe the occasional muley, any thoughts would be appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 + They have a box magazine versus a tubular magazine. That's a major plus for the BLR because you can shoot standard pointed bullets in them. (The BLR 22 rimfire is the only exception. These have tubular magazines.) + They also don't require offset rings if you want to scope them. Quite a few lever actions are extremely challenging to mount a scope on. Many aren't accurate enough to justify scoping (some are though). + They are quite accurate and because of their ammo flexibility you can typically find a factory round it really likes. The only minuses I've experienced with them is some have a trigger that is really tough. I don't think these are adjustable. The trigger is part of the lever assembly. That's good because the trigger won't pinch your finger when working the action. The bad thing about it is if the lever is just a tiny bit away from being completely closed the trigger will not work. It's a safety thing and I don't want them to change that but it does take a little getting used to. You'll think it's closed and it won't be. I got in the habit of squeezing the lever down before every shot. It becomes an automatic thing very quickly. I personally think they are the very best lever gun ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tc2506 Posted December 14, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 thanks for the reply leo, anyone one else have any thoughts on them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun_300 Posted December 14, 2009 Report Share Posted December 14, 2009 I own one, along with my brother and dad. Dad has had his since probably the late 70s and it still will drive tacks, he has killed a lot of deer with that rifle. My brother and I got ours about 5 years ago, they are great rifles! They are nice and light, easy to carry, very accurate, quick to load and unload with the detachable magazines. Can't say I have any complaints about them! Here's mine along with a few of my other guns Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocMort Posted December 15, 2009 Report Share Posted December 15, 2009 I have one in 450 marlin, for such a big cartridge it really shoots. Trigger could be better but you can have that worked on. Thats the only down fall to it. I call mine thor because when it hits something it just drops. Enjoy it man, looking at getting one in 300 wsm myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooresville Rocket Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 A guy at camp had one and he shot a deer almost every year. It was in .308 Winchester. My other opinion is that a neighbor of mine just sold a 7mm08' because the price of the shells has gone through the roof. Another friend of mine is a clerk at a gun shop and he told me a story of a BLR that had a barrel that was improperly reamed. The head stamp of the shells was parting from the cartridge when you shot the shell. The owner had the gun less then 5 years before he brought it back. They sent it back to Browning and Browning said that due to the design of the rifle, it was not possible to re barrel the rifle or that they were unwilling to re barrel it. The sad part about the whole situation is that the owner of the rifle did not have a lot of money to spend on a new rifle - but could not use this one because it was a ticking time bomb. In the end, he bought another BLR rifle and put this one on the gun rack at home, never to be shot again, because in his opinion, it was unsafe and his conscience bothered him that if he was to trade his old rifle at a gun shop to someone else that it might hurt someone and he couldn't live with himself if that happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mooresville Rocket Posted December 19, 2009 Report Share Posted December 19, 2009 I will make one comment about Browning firearms and that will be it. I was a Remington man through and through. Most of the guns that I bought for the first 20 years were nothing but Remington. One day a gun shop had a sale on some Demo Browning shotguns and I bought a Gold Hunter 3 1/2 inch 12 gauge off the rack. I fell the first time I went hunting with it, because I was disabled at the time and had a hard time walking and fell while traveling over a rock pile and dropped the gun and ruined the stock. I sent a letter to Browning explaining the situation and asked them if there was anything that they could do to help me to put a new stock on the shotgun. They told me that they had to have $500 for a replacement stock. I only paid $650 for the whole shotgun. I spent 3 months and about $100 on furniture refinishing supplies and a Birchwood Casey kit to refinish the stock and forearm. It's not nice, but it will do. I bought a Browning pump rifle in .300 Winchester Magnum. They only made the pump action rifle a couple of years. I treated that rifle as if it was made of gold! One day I was out hunting and it was very cold outside, like -1 degree for the whole day. When I came in that night, the forearm on the rifle had cracked. I sent it back to Browning on the advice of Grice Gun Shop - where I bought the rifle, and Browning looked at it and replaced the original stock with a hand selected stock and matching forearm and it is the nicest rifle I own. To complete my gun collection, I bought a used .270 Winchester Short Magnum A Bolt Medallion on a trade and it is a very nice gun, very well crafted, and deadly accurate with a Bushnell Elite 3200 5 x 15 x 40 scope. So although I have two bad stories about Browning as a corporation, I also have some good stories also. The only complaint about the A Bolt is that it is very hard to put the clip on the trap door. It sometimes takes 5 minutes just to load the rifle. The Short Magnum is very big in diameter and it is hard to get the first shell to go in the chamber without the clip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunterbobb Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 One point I would like to add is that all Brownings are overpriced. You are paying extra for the name and prestige of owning one. That being said the BLR is an excellent rifle if you don't mind paying for it. I would go with the 7mm 08. Only because I like it better than the 308. No reason for the choice either one will do what you want it to do. :gun2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hunterbobb Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 A guy at camp had one and he shot a deer almost every year. It was in .308 Winchester. My other opinion is that a neighbor of mine just sold a 7mm08' because the price of the shells has gone through the roof. Another friend of mine is a clerk at a gun shop and he told me a story of a BLR that had a barrel that was improperly reamed. The head stamp of the shells was parting from the cartridge when you shot the shell. The owner had the gun less then 5 years before he brought it back. They sent it back to Browning and Browning said that due to the design of the rifle, it was not possible to re barrel the rifle or that they were unwilling to re barrel it. The sad part about the whole situation is that the owner of the rifle did not have a lot of money to spend on a new rifle - but could not use this one because it was a ticking time bomb. In the end, he bought another BLR rifle and put this one on the gun rack at home, never to be shot again, because in his opinion, it was unsafe and his conscience bothered him that if he was to trade his old rifle at a gun shop to someone else that it might hurt someone and he couldn't live with himself if that happened. Have your friend Check with E.R. Shaw Company. I'm pretty sure they can put a new barrel on his rifle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocMort Posted December 23, 2009 Report Share Posted December 23, 2009 MY 450 brand new I paid 600 for it, pistol grip take down lt wt. Shoots like a dream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grady269 Posted January 11, 2010 Report Share Posted January 11, 2010 I have always been a big Browning fan, but am a firm believer that the name "Browning" down not mean what it used too. I bought a BAR Short-trac in .308. sHOT 5-6" groups @ 100 yds. I had the barrel re-crowned, and as close to lapping as could be achieved on a semi-auto. now it shoots 1" groups $480 later. They really lost me when they cancelled the auto 5 still I think the worst move they ever made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RangerClay Posted January 12, 2010 Report Share Posted January 12, 2010 I have a BLR Lightning in .243 and it is an awesome rifle! A Browning although expensive is a great rifle and worth every penny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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