Thinking about getting a Blaser R93

[PercyShelley]

Does anyone else here have one? Any pointers to a newbie?


Edit:

Jumpin' Jehosophet! I didn't realize they cost multiple amputations!

Well...

Would I be getting what I paid for?

 

[db_tanker]

simply the looks one would get at the range would be priceless...


heh....I have one centered on my desktop wallpaper at work...drool at it for a few minutes then go to work.



D

 

[boerseun]

Only if it is the Stutzen!!!

 

[3sixbits]

Probably the most blown-up action made today. The numbers are scary. I no longer have any desire for one after seeing pictures of more than one blown-up. And that safety has to be the ugliest hunk of metal hung on a rifle of that price. Good luck!

 

[PercyShelley]

Probably the most blown-up action made today. The numbers are scary. I no longer have any desire for one after seeing pictures of more than one blown-up.

Really? This is news to me, and probably a darned good thing you mention it. Do tell!

 

[nwilliams]

Check out gunbroker.com, seems to be the #1 source for R93's, and there's always at least one or two listed on the homepage showcase listings. If anything it may be a good place to price them out before you buy.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

I've shot one with a 7mm Mag barrel and then changed the same action out to .375 H&H and shot that. I was impressed with the accuracy and ease of use. With the recoil reducer option in the stock, the .375 was no trouble at all. Only thing I noticed is that the hunting weight barrel would start to shift point of impact from heat build up after about six rounds.

Didn't see any problems with the action or blowups; but you do need to smack the action pretty good to seat it. If you pussyfoot around, you can end up with the action not fully locked. I don't know if the design allows the firing pin to strike the primer in that position; but it might account for some problems if it did.

 

[H&Hhunter]

I had one in .300 Weatherby. It was accurate, smooth and fast to reload. I got rid of it after learning of the action blowback problem.

There have been at least 4 that have let loose. They problem with them is that when they blow they come straight back into your shooting eye at rapid velocity.

There has been at least one fatality and several severe maimings. I called Sigarms and the guy there confirmed that there had been some trouble but wanted to assure me that only the bolt shorud blew back and that the bolt collet held in place.

So I guess it's okay to loose an eye and a big chuck of skull as long as the bolt collet didn't fail.

Here is link to several incidents.

http://www.deportiro.com.ar/english_articles/al10_english_version.shtml

 

[db_tanker]

ugh...


I think the drool factor just went away...


I will stick with K31's for the straight pulls....


D

 

[PercyShelley]

Oh man, ditto on that buzzkill.

Realizing that this will almost certainly not happen...

That's still pretty unnerving.


Thank you all. I'm looking at K31s now, but I'll be sure to tell you all when I finalize and buy. There will be pictures!

 

[pjr1960]

Strange, maybe my R93 is different...

I own an "original" R93 (prior to SIG ownership) with three different calibers, and I can say I noticed a small decline in quality once ownership changed hands possibly due to the increase in production. However, I have nothing but praise for mine. You may also find that Jeff Cooper had nothing but great things to say about his as well. On the other hand, I think that the comment that "it's the most blown up action on any rifle today" is simply ridiculous. I've done some searching, and although there was a recall on some pins not being made with the correct steel and therefore rusting, I can't come up with any evidence that any R93 has actually blown up. Only guys on forums like this one saying that they "heard" about this problem. Surely if this was happening, it would be all over Google. Further, in this, sue everytime we drop hot coffee in our laps, world we live in, wouldn't you suppose that if there was even the hint that there was something wrong with this rifle that SIG would take it off the market so fast it would make your head spin? They have far too much to loose if word wot out that they were marketing guns with serious flaws. And doesn't every bolt action rifle have a bolt that, if it let go, would come straight back into the shooters eye? I will wager that every rifle in current production has had injuries, perhaps even fatalities, associated with it at one time or another. I know of several with the Model 70, Model 700 and Mauser. No firearm is "safe"! My best friend had the magazine from a 10/22 in .17 mach 2 blown out of the gun when a round slam fired. Destroyed the mag & just missed his forearm! Pieces of the case rebounded off his shooting glasses. This isn't just something I heard about, or "saw pictures of". After calling Ruger, they said they knew there were "issues" with that particular cartridge. He sold that gun, and won't buy another 10/22 in that caliber, but still owns and shoots many other 10/22's. My point is that the R93 is like every other firearm out there: some may have dangerous flaws, some may not be as accurate as others, and all need to be cleaned, handled properly, and used with appropriate ammunition and loads. Ever tried to "gently" ease a round into the slide of a PPK? It will not chamber properly unless the slide is allowed to "snap" into place. I tend work the bolt "smartly" on my R93, but even when working it slowly at the range, you can feel the lockup. Although it's not supposed to be possible to fire without proper lockup, I suspect that would be the source of any problem. Other rifles are not supposed to be able to fire without being completely in battery either, but it does happen from time to time. In case you were wondering, I don't shoot the "lighter" calibers either. I shoot .257wby, .300wby & .375 H&H in mine without a problem. And yes, I reload my own shells - some of which are hotter than factory loads. It's a fine rifle. Strange, maybe my R93 is just different, and I got the only "good" one out there.

 

[Wes Janson]

This is perhaps a stupid comment...but if you were shooting a scoped R93, and the bolt decided to depart from the rifle in a rapid rearward motion, wouldn't it be impacting into your cheek/jawbone? How many people shoot them with just iron sights?

 

[H&Hhunter]

pjr

Sig stopped importing Blaser rifles about two months ago.

As I mentioned when I called sig to confirm this they admitted that yes they did have several "serious" malfunctions with the R-93.

Maybe you should give them a call.

 

[ALS]

I have over 1000 rounds through my R-93 LRS2 in .300 Win Mag and have never had a malfunction. Love the gun.
I had mine recalled for the non stainless steel pin.

What is the Problem?
The R93 trigger assembly uses stainless steel pins for corrosion resistance. We have learned that a small number of non-stainless steel pins were inadvertently used in some R93's. Note: the UIT, CISM, and LRS/LRS2 are not affected by this recall.

What could happen?
An accidental discharge from the off safe position may occur if an R93 with non-stainless steel pins is used and the pins have corroded due to moisture. In this situation, once the firing pin has been cocked (into the off-safe position), the rifle may discharge.

BTW IT WAS ONLY ONE GUN THAT HAS BLOWN UP.

The DEVA report on the Austrian accident has been posted at www.waffen-online.de, go to "Diskussions-Forum", then "Jagd", thread "deva report zu r 93...".
Before our english-speaking friends come back and ask for a translation, I attempt a short summary:
A Blaser R93 in .300 Win.Mag. burst on the shooting range, after several shots with reloads. Parts of the lock were propelled rearward, causing serious injury below the eye of the shooter.

The reloaded ammo was tested at the Vienna proof house, and showed on average only a slight over-pressure (ca. 100 bar above the max. of 4300 bar, proof loads are 5590 bar).
The case causing the accident showed primer perforation and complete head separation in (to my opinion) untypical fashion: ca. one half of the separation occured directly at the bottom (or the belt) of the case, this of course caused significant gas escape to the rear.
The reloaded cases were not examined for any further flaws, like metal defects, or stretching due to improper headspace. It is also not mentioned, how often these cases were reloaded.

The destroyed R93 had a lock guide or rail system ("Verschlussführung") made of plastic.
DEVA attempted to simulate the accident with a similar rifle. The ammo used for this test was well inside max. pressure, but was prepared for case ruptures:
- primer perforation: no effect
- annealing: no effect
- a ring cut above the case bottom: still no effect, as the remaining case wall above the bottom still sealed the gas
- drilling a small hole in the case bottom, to direct gases backward: lock was instantly destroyed, lock parts were propelled backwards.

Conclusion: in case of gas escape the R93 with plastic lock rails is unsafe. Owners of such rifles should have replaced these parts by aluminum parts.

In a second test a R93 with such alu parts was used. Here the lock system held, no gas escape with cases prepared as above. Only when pressure was increased the almost 8000 bar, the barrel burst, leaving the lock intact.

The DEVA report did not include any further speculations on the possibility of similar accidents with the alu lock rail system (this is obviously standard since several years).
However it is stated that the R93 straight-pull lock has no back-up system to prevent bolt blow-back, in case of a gas escape or mechanical lock failure.

I copied this from HuntAmerica.com from Tue Sep 18 2001

 

[H&Hhunter]

No dooubt about it there is a lot to like about the Blaser platform. My decision to get rid of it was based on information I recieved from Sig Arms.

I don't know if there is a more dialed in, smooth, accurate, out of the box rifle being built anywhere for any price.