What to get?

[marauder]

Hello!

I'm in the process of adding some more barrels to my Blaser R8 which should cover most of my hunting needs. The plan is to end up with 22 LR, 223, 6XC, 7x64, and 9.3x62 barrels for the R8.

However, being greedy, I'd like to get something nice and a bit different. I've been thinking of a Blaser K95 Stutzen in 7x57R (or maybe 6.5x57R). A nice light elegant single shot just seems like it would be a great gun to own.

However, thanks to this forum, the BBF97 has also caught my interest... Perhaps a 22 Hornet & 12G, or 7x57R & 12G, and/or maybe a dual 8x57R or 9.3x74R barrel set? Curious about what sighting arrangements would make sense with the shotgun/rifle combo - thinking either the iron sights, a red dot, or a compact low power scope (e.g. 1-6x, 2-7x).

Help me decide. Which one to get if you could only get one, or which to get first? Which one might be more useful? If I intended to purchase a nice side-by-side 12G shotgun at some point, would that change things?

What is the ideal use case for the K95 and the BBF97, and perhaps the other options too (BD14, D99, etc)?

I don't want to end up with a big collection of a whole lot of different guns. I want a small functional collection of quality guns where I am proficient with each one.

Would love to hear your thoughts & suggestions.

[SPEEDY]

Someone got bitten by the bug.

Well my recommendation is a K95 in 22 hornet and 7x65R with a BBC in 9.3x74R over 12ga.

[Wsm hunter]

Watching with interest, in the same boat but will def be the k95 its just the cal that I’m not 100% on but 7x65r is the leader

[SPEEDY]

If I did it over again I'd have gotten a 7x65R over the 30-06.
Break actions are really at their best with a rimmed calibre.

[mchughcb]

Well I got the following but I'm still missing a D99 308W/20G/20G. Although I have a Sauer 3000 7x65R/12G/12G.

K95 30-06
BBF97 7x57R/12G and 9.3x74R/9.3x74R
BD14, 222,308W,20G

Each are slightly different uses. If I had to choose only one then it would be the BBF97 in 308/12G for Victoria. The ammo is the cheapest and most accessible for everything and the recoil is not too bad.

Having said that I have grown to like the BD14 but because I don't do much fox hunting at night with rifles I have used the 222 much at all. The BBF is much lighter. Maybe if I lived in NSW where you want the 222 for foxes, wallabies, roos, longer range rabbits and crows then I might choose the BD14.

However why choose when you have both

[secondtry]

Rimmed beats rimless, but if you want a stutzen, 308 is king in the short barrel. The only other cal that would offer a little versatility in the 50cm barrel MAY be 7x57R. Anything hotter is going to be noisy and lose a lot of velocity.

Full length barrel - 7x65R for deer etc. and 22 Hornet for little stuff.

Realistically, unless your hunting offers sufficient variety of targets in one outing, I see no point in the BD14 in Australia. The BBF makes more sense here and is cheaper. One point in favour of rimless in a BBF is that if your rifle cal in a BBF is rimless, the shot shell can be "ejected" simply by tipping the gun, and the rimless rifle load should stay in place. Rimmed, and they both drop out.

The rimmed/rimless thing has been discussed on other threads. Break action Blasers for rimmed cartridges have three less parts and I can get empties out with gloves on. I cannot get rounds out of my 308 Stutzen with even thin gloves on, whereas the 7x65R simply tips out no matter what I am wearing. Availability of brass, dies, and ammo is another matter, but a variety of quality brass is available in Aus. for 7x65R. IMO for a hunting round in a 50cm barrel, nothing matches the 308 (even though it is rimless ) 308 Stutzen is really sweet, effective thing.

Unless you want a short barrel, forget the 7x57R. It is rapidly being displaced by the 7x65R in both variety of factory ammo and variety of brass.
Even in a 50cm barrel, I would prefer 308 to 7x57R.

[marauder]

Thanks for the info!

mchughcb: how do you like the Sauer 3000 7x65R/12G/12G? How does it compare to the Blasers? I may be able to get my hands on one in 7x57R/12G/12G.

secondtry: other than the 308, would the 8x57R not also be a good choice for short barrels?

[Vaughan]

Thanks for the info!

mchughcb: how do you like the Sauer 3000 7x65R/12G/12G? How does it compare to the Blasers? I may be able to get my hands on one in 7x57R/12G/12G.

secondtry: other than the 308, would the 8x57R not also be a good choice for short barrels?

the new 8.5x55 works in a short bbl according to Blaser and I think they chamber it in the K95.... It will be a handloaders cal in Oz I guess but just a thought..... should monster sambar right proper

[mchughcb]

Thanks for the info!

mchughcb: how do you like the Sauer 3000 7x65R/12G/12G? How does it compare to the Blasers? I may be able to get my hands on one in 7x57R/12G/12G.

secondtry: other than the 308, would the 8x57R not also be a good choice for short barrels?

I don't mind it but my major gripes are the comb is too low for a scope and the mounting system is not easy for multiple sight options. However I can overcome all of the above but its not as neat as a D99. Blaser got their comb height right for scope and open sights for my build.

[stokesrj]

This is a subject I have spent five decades pursuing. Of course it always depends upon your personal circumstances such as the game you intend to pursue and the local terrain such as wooded, agricultural, mountain, desert, etc.

I've hunted throughout most of the world and setteled on a set of calibers that cover my needs, they are 22LR, the most useful of all calibers, 22 Hornet, 223 Remington, 308 Winchester, and 300 Winchester magnum. With these I can and have killed most game animals in the US, Europe, and Africa. As to the action, I find the R8 most useful, but the K95 most delightful.

I think if you hunted a hochsitz in Germany, you might find a BD14, of BBF97 to your liking, but in the US, most hunts are game species specific, not mixed bag so I find I use my R8 or K95 as appropriate for the hunt I'm going on and forget about any attempts at mixed bag. however if you mostly hunt driven game, an R8 with an aimpoint red dot is really hard to beat.

[mchughcb]

This is a subject I have spent five decades pursuing. Of course it always depends upon your personal circumstances such as the game you intend to pursue and the local terrain such as wooded, agricultural, mountain, desert, etc.

I've hunted throughout most of the world and setteled on a set of calibers that cover my needs, they are 22LR, the most useful of all calibers, 22 Hornet, 223 Remington, 308 Winchester, and 300 Winchester magnum. With these I can and have killed most game animals in the US, Europe, and Africa. As to the action, I find the R8 most useful, but the K95 most delightful.

I think if you hunted a hochsitz in Germany, you might find a BD14, of BBF97 to your liking, but in the US, most hunts are game species specific, not mixed bag so I find I use my R8 or K95 as appropriate for the hunt I'm going on and forget about any attempts at mixed bag. however if you mostly hunt driven game, an R8 with an aimpoint red dot is really hard to beat.

Are you ever going to buy a D99 Bob?

[secondtry]

Thanks for the info!

secondtry: other than the 308, would the 8x57R not also be a good choice for short barrels?

As regards ballistic efficiency, 8x57JRS would be a good choice in a short barrel. I have that cal. in a 52 cm barrel for my K95 and like it.

BUT, and it a big BUT, it is nowhere near as versatile as the 308. Choice of projectile weights is very limited, with nothing much either side of 200gn, unless you want RN Woodies or WSM Woodies. I regard the working range of the 308 as 125g to 165g which provides more versatility than the one or two sub 200 8mm loads up to the 220/250RN Woodies.In Aus we can get 8x57jrs brass and I think (not sure) that Redding still make dies, so it is a bit more workable than trying to run such a cal in the US.

I have shot a couple of handfuls of Sambar with it, so not a large sample, but I am uncertain as to whether or not it results in any quicker kills than the 308 when used with similar projectiles (NPs). Certainly with the heavy RN Woodies, and perhaps to lesser extent with the 200NPs, it seems to have more smackdown at short to moderate ranges than the 308, but my sample size is too small to be sure.

Certainly if one wishes to hunt animals other than, and smaller than, sambar, the 308 is far more useful.(even if the 308 is rimless )

[marauder]

Thanks for the responses so far.

Since it's been raised here, what about the D99? Is the D99 available with 2x 12G shotgun barrels and a rifle barrel? And in this configuration, how well does it serve as a shotgun (with a bonus rifle barrel) compared to a dedicated side by side shotgun (such as a Fabarm Beta, or Beretta 471 or 486)?

[9.3M03]

My current collection and will stop here unless a bargain presents. .22lr, 6.5 Swede match barrel, 30-06, 7mm rem mag, 8 x68s, 375 h&h, 416 rem mag. Covers all bases.

[Vaughan]

My current collection and will stop here unless a bargain presents. .22lr, 6.5 Swede match barrel, 30-06, 7mm rem mag, 8 x68s, 375 h&h, 416 rem mag. Covers all bases.

and then some......