doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Blaser

This might be off topic as one rarely discusses O/U on this forum, so forgive me in advance.

I am a skeet shooter that is just starting to shoot sporting clays. I use a K-80 for skeet(very happy with it) and a SKB 85Tss for sporting (not quite as happy). I liked the weight and feel of the Blaser with some exceptions. I can get a Blaser for not much more than a set of K-80 bbls. I would like to keep my K-80 as is.I would get a 34" bbls, beavertail forarem(instead of schnabel), adjustable barrel weights, and adjustable comb. I am unsure of the adjustable stock weights.

Do any of you have one and what are your opinions?

First of all, I would get what you want, and I have a couple of friends who are very happy with their Blaser O/Us. While this is not meant as criticism, you did offer how you were planning to set up what you were intending to get, and I personally, can't imagine a more freakish clays gun.

With respect to barrel length, 34" is at the very the far end of the scale. Sort of like deciding your skeet or quail gun should carry 22's. I shoot a lot of box birds, which is the most demanding long range game of which I am aware, and 32's are about as long a set of tubes as you will ever see, and 30's are much, much more common.

I don't get all the other adjustable nonsense either. The very best clays shots I know (consistent mid 40's/low 90's) use none of that sort of gadgetry. Indeed, I find it hugely ammusing watching the occasional add to one of our groups, who is so equipped, playing with combs, butt angles, and choke tubes while target after target is dusted by well balanced, very simple (though not necessarily inexpensive) SxS's or OU's. I can't imagine adding weights to the mix.

One see's more of this, particularly since pre-mounted guns became acceptable. I presume this is a carry over from the skeet fields where such tweaking must help some in such a repetative game. Though there too, it seems more a desperate search for that last 1/8" that will magically elevate someone from average scores.

I am sure that is not the opinion for which you were looking, but you asked, and it is exactly what I would be thinking if you joined our group for a round of clays with such a beast.

I thank you for your opinion.....however caustic it may be. As I said before I come from a skeet and hunting background and really like longer barrels ie. 32" for skeet(I plan to experiment with some barrel weights for that this year). I also use 30" bbls for hunting quail. I doubt that I will change my mind on the longer barrels but I believe that all of us like the looks of a stock without an adjustable comb and the gun can be had with a 15.5 LOP at no extra charge. Being used to a skeet gun with tubes all of the guns I tried at the shot show seemed barrel light.

Obviously I will shoot some sporting this year and get a better idea of what I will like.

I usually shoot the second round with my SXS hunting gun with some light loads,from the low position, just for fun but my scores are not as high as with the O/U.

Regardless of what will be your choice, I would try those 34" barrels before buying.
And I mean trying them at a sporting clays, not just swinging in a gun shop.
I know some very good shots who are back to 32" and 30", after struggling for a while with the 34's.

HM

I've been shooting my Perazzi MX8 with 32" barrels for many years, but purchased a Blaser F3 wih 32" barrels and Teague chokes from Litt's in the U.K. as a backup gun a year ago.
1 - I really do like the F3 even though the stock is not a custom fit, just the lowest dimension they offer and just under 15" L.O.P.
2 - Blaser has been promoting the fact that ALL their barrels weigh the same whether 28", 30", 32" or 34" due to the precise contour they employ in manufacturing. So unlike a lot of other guns where a 32" barrel (like a Browning) may be very muzzle heavy weight forword compared to the same gun fitted with 30" barrels, the Blaser doesn't have that problem.
3 - The 32" barrels on my F3 actually weigh a few ounces less than my Perazzi 32's, but the difference is feel and quickness is that the Blaser feels much faster and lighter.
Although both the Perazzi and Blaser that I have weigh almost the same (with in 2 ounces), the Blaser feels a pound lighter.
The Perazzi has had a custom trigger job (Giacomo) that makes it crisp and clean. The Blaser mechanical triggers are excellent right out of the box!
Highly recommend the Blaser and I wouldn't be at all afraid of the 34" barrels as I might on another make of gun, especially since you have a rather long L.O.P at 15.5".
It will probably weigh around 8 1/2 lbs. or a bit less...so it will be a different feel than your K-80, but it will have great balance and move like a dream from a low gun mount, points well like a Perazzi and has the bells and whistles you'll like for a sporting clays gun. Just my opinion of course, but I like it.

Get 1 gun shoot it at all all shooting sports, don't change the gun (period).

I really can't see myself using one gun for all things ie. carrying a K-80 and running behind blue quail or using a SXS at the World Skeet event for 650 rnds. I don't think that I have ever seen a serious trap shooter use a regular gun.

I will admit that I, like most of us, am always looking for an excuse to purchase another shotgun.

I had a 28" Perazzi for many years I did not like the light barrels as it was way too light for me to use in Skeet.

I suppose that engeenering in the Blaser has a lot of appeal for me, but it does have a lot going for it at a reasonable price.

Have you considered a Kolar? A friend of mine recently bought one. They fitted him with a custom stock (he has really strange dimensions) Price not over the moon. Seems like a gun you might want to consider (particularly if you could make the trip to NY for the fitting)

I own the Blaser F3 and really like the way it handles. I'll avoid the barrel length debate, but remember that all Blaser barrel lengths will be the same weight, so handling won't be as much of an issue.

The Blaser trigger pulls feel like sidelock triggers at a crisp, no creep 3.3 lbs.

Get one and enjoy it. Also on the barrels, no fitting is required, so feel free to buy more than one set with all the k-80 money you;ll be savings!

I had an opportunity to shoot a few rounds with a 34" barreled Pgun and I was very impressed on how light a quick it was. They must have been pretty thin. I am not opposed to long barrels for target shooting or even some hunting situations. I know they sound outlandish, but I wouldn't have believed how 'conventional' they felt to shoot had I not shot the gun. The other part of this equation is the shooter himself. I suspect anyone that shoots a 15.5 LOP is a fair sized critter. I've seen some big guys shooting guns that looked like toys relative to their body size. I've also seen small people shooting monster Kguns or Pguns with tubes weighing well over 10lbs because "that's the setup" they're told works. Sometimes "the setup" doesn't apply or sometimes preconceived notions of handling qualities aren't true.