Hi Folks

I'm in the process of getting my new-to-me pre-'81 BLR in .308 Win ready for the spring bear season. It feels like a great rifle but it has me wondering about the takedown versions that Browning is now producing.

Has anyone tried a takedown BLR? How well does it return to zero after assembly?

Best Regards

Kanuck

I know when the guy put this one togather he seemed to have some problems. All kidding aside I doubt that taking it down and putting it back together is going to effect accuracy much considering it's designed to do that.

http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q172/faucettb/Preditor%20masters/Browningwithupsidedownbuttstock-1.jpg

Maybe that stock reversal is an attempt to reduce recoil by directing the energy rearward in a straight line. It might even work if he cut the butt at a different angle (I really don't believe that).

The biggest sin is the condition of this weapon. What he really needs to do is remove the rust on the receiver and thoroughly clean and lubricate throughout.

This was one of a large bunch from an estate sale a friend bought. Most of the guns were in simular shape. The wife of the old fella that died didn't know why this rifles was assembled this way. We turned the stock the right way and it fit just fine.

I just bought a takedown pistol grip in .308. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to try it out yet with glass, because my rings from SWFA are on backorder. I'm planning on using a "scout" setup, which should completely eliminate any difference in POA because the scope's mounted to the barrel and not the receiver. If I don't like the setup, I'll buy another barrel for my encore pistol and put the 2.5-8x Monarch EER on it and buy a 4x Leupold for the receiver. After I've had a chance to zero the new rifle and work up some loads, I'll post a report.

Deck

DCAMM94

Thanks. I'm looking forward to your report.

Kanuck

Looks like I might be able to sight in with my irons this weekend. A friend has a few thousand FMJ surplus that he's offered to me for free, so I'm going to try to grab some and break in the barrel this weekend. I'll let you know how much my open sight skills have deteriorated.

Deck

Well, I had a chance to handle the new BLR takedown and it is a totally different beast than my old BLR! The locking lugs are much more substantial and the flutes in the bolt change the look and feel of the gun too.

The takedown is simple and slick but the fact that Browning puts a recess in the barrel to mate to a pin in a barrel mounted scope base tells me there may not be return-to-zero accuracy when using a receiver mounted scope. DCAMM94, how did things work out for you?

I'm still waiting on Browning to get their supply issue together for the scout scope mount. The last dealer I spoke to said that Browning hasn't even signed the master contract to get the scout mounts going yet. I don't plan to mount the scope on the receiver, so I can't report on whether the takedown has an effect on scoped accuracy with a standard mount. I broke in the barrel a couple of weeks ago with the irons at about 40 yds. Even with the factor sights I was shooting 3/4" groups - and that with Winchester power points. Haven't tried my handloads in it yet. Sorry I don't have more to report.

At the moment, I've got the wood off of the BLR to put an sanded-in oil-rubbed finish on it, so it will be a couple of weeks before I can report more.

Deck