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Browning BLR

24 Jul 2014
@ 01:24 pm (GMT)

Joshua Mayfield

In The Practical Guide To Long Range Hunting Rifles Nathan mentions a rifle that I've long been fascinated with but was surprised to see discussed there - the Browning BLR. I don't have my copy of the book here with me but I believe Nathan says something to the effect that he'd like to see Browning explore the full potential of the BLR design.

The BLR design has always seemed to me that it could be a fantastic stalk and carry rifle. Does anyone have extensive experience with this rifle who could speak to its quality? Nathan, if you don't mind, could you discuss what you see as the potential of the BLR? Thanks to all.

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24 Jul 2014 @ 01:37 pm (GMT)	Quote this Craig Henard Re: Browning BLR Another rifle you might want to consider is the Remington 7600. It is a rifle which can be shot as fast as an Automatic,Has an action that is supposedly stiffer than a Rem 700,Free floated barrel ,is relatively light and normally shoots under an inch for 3 shots at a Hundred. Calibers,243,270,308,30-06 currently. Can be had with wood or synthetic(nice and light,under 7.5 pounds) 22 inch barrel or 18.5 inch carbine. 4 in magazine I know this was not your question ,just wanted to throw out another option for you. Craig
24 Jul 2014 @ 07:06 pm (GMT)	Quote this Nathan Foster Re: Browning BLR Hi Joshua, my concern was relative to handicapped shooters or those suffering paralysis. The Browning lever action has merit as it can be operated one handed (prone with bipod) without a great deal of fuss. Bolt guns tend to rotate when exctracting a shell. The AR platform has merit for handicapped shooters but not everyone wants to tote an AR and in some countries, the AR is a restricted item. I have found that the machining of the Browning is generally excellent, barrels included. Yet for all of this wonderful machining, the design is flawed which limits accuracy potential. The trigger is also a monster. Changes that could be made include: Mount the forend from an ali bracket glued and screwed to the ali side walls of the action. A tube forend could be employed, or wood could be mated to a fore arm bracket assembly. Plenty of room for creative interpretation here. The triggers need altering. These are not so easy to work with but it can be done, the original is a pig. I have not yet looked into aftermarket parts. The butt stock pitch is wrong. The stock is pitched for low mounted open sights. This increases felt recoil with potent cartridges and also makes scope use very awkward. Browning would do well to utilize a picatinny rail and aperture sight like the Marlin guide gun, enabling the stock to be pitched slightly higher for both scope and open sight use. A DIY operator could plane off the under side of the stock and add wood to the top side providing it does not interfere with the bolt operation. A fresh recoil pad could then be fitted to suit the new shape. Some folk may prefer to ignore this last complaint and simply fit a cheek wallet to raise the comb. This is not such a bad idea if recoil is acceptable. These jobs may sound a bit overwhelming but I would encourage anyone who owns a BLR and has access to a fab shop, to experiment with modifications.
25 Jul 2014 @ 01:56 am (GMT)	Quote this Mike Davis Re: Browning BLR for a bush shooting deer gun they are hard to beat in .308 mount a very low power scope...1-5 leupold etc in the lowest rings you can get away with, fit a hammer spur and learn to shoot it. Big brother has had one for 30+ years and shot one heck of alot of animals with it..most under 50 yards...that said he used it as range rifle in NZDA compititions and didnt do too badly with it.all a matter of getting load right. the short barrel makes it a breeze to carry in tight scrub and having hammer set down makes it safe to carry with round up the spout and very quick n quiet to get ready to shoot from there. they may not be a show pony but make a great work horse.
25 Jul 2014 @ 11:19 am (GMT)	Quote this Joshua Mayfield Re: Browning BLR All very interesting - thanks. My experience with the BLR goes no further than shouldering one at the gun shop. It always seemed that it must be brutal to fire in some of the heavier chamberings. The chief advantage over the Marlins it would seem is the ability to shoot all the Spitzers from a lever gun. But I've always wondered if the design is really capable of taking advantage of those cartridges' potentials. I think I will keep the BLR on my "buy it if you find a steal on it" list. That list, admittedly, is getting pretty long. My brother is a bit of a savant with metal work and I'm betting between the two of us we could try out some of your ideas, Nathan. It would certainly be a fun little project. On Browning rifles as a whole Nathan said they often shoot great but are hard to correct once they start to wander. Is that true just of the recent generations or has that been the case going back a long time?
25 Jul 2014 @ 04:34 pm (GMT)	Quote this Nathan Foster Re: Browning BLR Hi Joshua, parts breakages on the A-Bolt during modifications / rebarreling was my major concern and the concern of peers. It does go back a long way. Mike, your brother was perhaps a bit lucky. Many of the BLR rifles are prone to wandering groups etc due to the forend assembly. Forend bedding can help but results depend on individual barrel harmonics. Wiithout major alterations, best results are sometimes obtained with down loads. It can go on and on. And yet- these problems could easily be avoided with design changes. On closer inspection, the BLR is a more of a show pony with its appealing lines and less of a workhorse, lacking in its most fundamental design. Having worked on these for frustrated hill country farmers who need a work rifle, I sometimes get annoyed by these basic design problems.
27 Jul 2014 @ 05:29 pm (GMT)	Quote this Jared Thibodaux Re: Browning BLR I have experience with exactly one BLR, an older 22-250 model (not mine but a friend's). It is surprisingly accurate, in one trip to the range I had two handloads that grouped well under an inch using H380 and RL15. My one gripe with that rifle is that the hammer would not strike the primer hard enough to reliably fire even with CCI primers, not sure if that is a common problem but it is annoying. I do like the feel of those rifles though.
27 Jul 2014 @ 08:02 pm (GMT)	Quote this John Smith Re: Browning BLR Years ago I had a new BLR in .243. It was handy to carry, but the machining of the receiver was so rough I could never get attached to the gun. I sold or traded it soon after buying it.
27 Jul 2014 @ 09:06 pm (GMT)	Quote this Nathan Foster Re: Browning BLR How odd John, the machining and finish are normally top notch. Just goes to show- there are always contradictions huh.
28 Jul 2014 @ 12:17 am (GMT)	Quote this Dan Keene Re: Browning BLR Yes the BLR is a great rifle. Not so much the 7600. Never mind Craig.
06 Aug 2014 @ 07:28 am (GMT)	Quote this Tony Marasco Re: Browning BLR Hi everybody, I purchased one of these rifles recently...270 win takedown and have been running it through the paces for a month now.Like Nathan says , the trigger keeps you guessing but I managed to rid most of the creep in it . Hopefully, it will be my go to saddle rifle..What can I do with the forearm bedding?, I have not addresed this yet.The takedown feature seems to work and hold p.o.i..So far it seems to like the Barnes 129 gr lrx approaching 3200 fps without much sign of pressure, my model 700 cannot do this.I like the handling of this straight gripped rifle .Any suggestions? (Both have 22"barrels)
06 Aug 2014 @ 02:54 pm (GMT)	Quote this Craig Henard Re: Browning BLR Quote: Yes the BLR is a great rifle. Not so much the 7600. Never mind Craig. Would you like to elaborate on that ?
06 Aug 2014 @ 05:13 pm (GMT)	Quote this Nathan Foster Re: Browning BLR I wonder Joshua, if it is important to take a few rides with the rifle in its scabbard, then when you have time, check the zero. This should help establish whether the rifle is at the very least holding its zero. Other than basic checks, you might want to investigate the glue and screw methods from book 3. Are you going to collapse the rifle when riding? Another thing- totally random and unrelated sorry. I have not tried side passes with a scabbard under the fender. Because I run the scabbard down the shoulder, I have not thought about this before. Its been so long for me too.
24 Sep 2014 @ 03:08 am (GMT)	Quote this Francis Saunders Re: Browning BLR Quote: I have experience with exactly one BLR, an older 22-250 model (not mine but a friend's). It is surprisingly accurate, in one trip to the range I had two handloads that grouped well under an inch using H380 and RL15. My one gripe with that rifle is that the hammer would not strike the primer hard enough to reliably fire even with CCI primers, not sure if that is a common problem but it is annoying. I do like the feel of those rifles though. Hi there guys. I've owned one of these in .243 for over 20 years. Shot it in NZ as well as here in Britain, so its taken just a few animals. But yes the triggers on them can be a bugger. Has the gun in question had any trigger work or been taken apart in any way. I had my trigger worked on by a gun-maker here in the UK. He got it down to 2lb which was a load better than the 5.5lb. But when I went to shot it it did the above. When he had another look at it he found that he had missed one spline on the lever assembly. Once this was rectified it was back to shooting its old self. If you want some history on BLR let me know. Cheers Francis
26 Sep 2014 @ 12:14 pm (GMT)	Quote this Timothy Knight Re: Browning BLR I have had a BLR in .243 Win for almost a year now. It is topped with a 6x Leupold FX. After much testing, it is a 1.5" gun normally. However it is very consistent. Unlike many serious hunters, I place equal importance on fit and finish as I do on shootability. Nothing, in my opinion, compares to the Browning X-Bolt and BLR when it comes to fit and finish. Too, this particular BLR's precision is just fine for the shooting I do. Since the .243 limits me to 275 yards or less on the ~165 pound deer I hunt, .03" groups are irrelevant. I really believe it is the trigger rather than the barrel/action/fore-end fit that makes this gun shoot 1.5". I had a gunsmithing instructor work on the trigger. He was able to get the poundage from the out-of-the-box 6.1 pounds to the 3 pounds I regular use. However, he could do nothing with the VERY EXCESSIVE creep-n-grind of the trigger.
19 Nov 2014 @ 12:14 pm (GMT)	Quote this Randal Graham Re: Browning BLR I had an old BLR for about 25 years in 30-06 that was my main and favorite rifle, however, it took literally years to get a trigger in it that didn't suck and blow at the same time. It was also a steel reciever model. It was old when I got it. It shot 180 and 200 grain really well, generally just under an inch consistantly when I put the glass on it. Shot better a bit with 160 range but rarely used anything besides 180 and 200s. I found the rifle had issues, all easy to address, except the trigger, that took a lot of tries to get reasonable. Wish I still had it. I love old brownings, i despise new aluminum ones, to me the quest for light weight has destroyed a lot of rifles that otherwise had great merit.
20 Nov 2014 @ 06:07 am (GMT)	Quote this Ben Law Re: Browning BLR Quote: I had an old BLR for about 25 years in 30-06 that was my main and favorite rifle, however, it took literally years to get a trigger in it that didn't suck and blow at the same time. It was also a steel reciever model. It was old when I got it. It shot 180 and 200 grain really well, generally just under an inch consistantly when I put the glass on it. Shot better a bit with 160 range but rarely used anything besides 180 and 200s. I found the rifle had issues, all easy to address, except the trigger, that took a lot of tries to get reasonable. Wish I still had it. I love old brownings, i despise new aluminum ones, to me the quest for light weight has destroyed a lot of rifles that otherwise had great merit. what did you do with the trigger? what other issues did you have?
20 Nov 2014 @ 09:27 am (GMT)	Quote this Randal Graham Re: Browning BLR Hi Ben I tried doing the trigger work myself, slight reshaping of the sear, polishing, changing springs, and ruined the trigger twice and had to replace the trigger group. Through a lot of friends I got directed to an old school gunsmith in Wisconsin who specialized in lever actions and he built a trigger for me that was great. Crisp clean 3 pounds...still not a full on target quality but very very good. Unfortunately he has been gone for 15 or 16 years now. I still am in contact with some of the other friends though and I'll put a feeler out. After I got a good trigger I never messed with it again out of fear. :0) All the other issues were basic. The forend mounting was a single screw and the forend sorta roughly contacted it's whole length, and could be slightly shifted by hand. It also had a barrel band. Removed the barrel band and made shims at the rear of the forend near the reciever and at the screw to tighten it up and have it not touching otherwise. As I mentioned it was well used when I got it, and had some rust in the action. There was a little slop in the whole assembly after it was cleaned up, I ended up building up the channels for the bolt and around the hinge pins for both the lever and cam with a tig welder and 4130 rod and re-machining and polishing to get those areas tightened up. The hammer had a little slop also, new pins cured that. The buttstock also was a touch sloppy so that was tightened up as well. I think the forened and buttstock tightening did quite a bit for accuracy on that old rifle, and of course the trigger. I'm not a gunsmith, but dabbled in it alot over the last 30 years, and one of my best friends was a great gunsmith, he was also frustrated by that particular trigger set-up. I think those tirggers need to go to a good gunsmith who is expirienced with the brownings particular for the least amount of mental stress. Otherwise, look at the forend mountings, check the buttstock to make positively sure it is tight and does not shift, and if nothing else in the action is particularly sloppy they should shoot moa with a good load without to much trouble, even the aluminum action models. And the action itsself needs to be kept very clean. It usually is not I would guess on most lever actions and that creates compounding problems as time goes on. With mine it went from 2" plus groups to sometimes 1", but inconsistantly after the forened and buttstock work and new pins in the hammer assembly. After the trigger was sorted out it was right at 1moa all the time. I think If I had another now I would look in the Cowboy action shooting scene in the U.S. To see if I could find a gunsmith specializing in lever action rifles, or search for somebody that specializes in Brownings for the trigger. There may he aftermarket triggers available, I've never looked.
20 Nov 2014 @ 10:52 am (GMT)	Quote this Randal Graham Re: Browning BLR I think I should mention that I am a Fabricator and Heat-treater by trade, and a knfe-maker and tool-maker presently by choice, I would not anyone to think one could just casually weld on a reciever at anytime without due consideration. The old blr was a project, and it was re-heat-treated after I built it up. I did a lot of blueing and heat-treating over the years for myself and gunsmiths I was friends with.
21 Nov 2014 @ 04:13 am (GMT)	Quote this Ben Law Re: Browning BLR thanks for that randal. i bought a 2nd hand blr (steel receiver) in 270win 7-8 yrs ago, carried it alot haven't fired it a whole lot. it was shooting 1" 3 shot groups with winchester and federal factory ammo. but i'm going to try some handloaded accubonds soon. the forend has some movement in it as you mentioned. and not long after i got it the buttstock felt a bit loose but its came good when i tightened up the screw. trigger is 6lb, verrry heavy. i read about someone in the u.s. being an expert on them, but i havent heard of anyone in australia. i've found it a nice rifle to carry around the vic high country.
21 Nov 2014 @ 08:03 am (GMT)	Quote this Randal Graham Re: Browning BLR Hi Ben Yeah, they do carry very nicely, I think it's why I really spent so much time and effort on a rifle that was really a basket case when I got it. My very first rifle as a kid was a marlin lever so the love of the exposed hammer was ingrained early too. In all honesty I think the aluminum reciever BLR's are likely just fine as well. I just have a personal dislike for aluminum :0)
29 Nov 2014 @ 11:00 pm (GMT)	Quote this Jim Dunbar Re: Browning BLR I have 2 BLR's one in 358 Win and the other is a 450 Marlin - i like them both . The one and only dislike of both of them is poor triggers- to hard a pull and not real smooth either - The actions are super slick though ! Cheers Jim
31 Oct 2015 @ 07:22 am (GMT)	Quote this Mike Davis Re: Browning BLR OK Father please forgive me for I have sinned...... saw a miroku BLR in .308 for sale that has tired barrel..supposedly still does just over inch(we will see) picked it up.looks machanically sound,stock looks awesome very nice piece of wood.barrel looks like a old SMLE that saw service...some numbnuts didnt know how to look after his rifle...... got her home and did hoppes #9 thing a couple of times and it looks a little better but muzzle not too flash either. I bought it thinking if she will do 2 1/2-3" its a better bush gun for our son than the x39mm (which I really like using..4 deer down on spot for 5 shots,one a finisher) 75yards is long shot in the bush and 200yards is our "lookout clearing" tomorrow I will try it out with a few federal factory and see if side of barn is in trouble. man it comes up plurry awesome with low mounted( MY weaver mounts off .270) 3x9x40mm olivon) will keep you posted.
31 Oct 2015 @ 09:16 am (GMT)	Quote this Ben Law Re: Browning BLR mike i reckon it should do under 3" unless the bore/muzzle's in real bad nick. if you don't have any luck with it you could dock the barrel back to 20", could make a difference if the crown is worse for wear. mine in 270 likes federal blue box and winchester grey box factory, not quite so much remington but its still ok for 150-200 yrd work.
01 Nov 2015 @ 01:11 am (GMT)	Quote this Mike Davis Re: Browning BLR hmmm yes trigger is "interesting" long first stage but nice from there, probably no more than 3lb. hot day with a small breeze put up some a4 targets and tried it out #1 I dont like non suppressed #2 she doesnt like my hastily chucked together load with 125grn seirra 30/30 pills and 50 grns win powder =4" #3 factory fed 150grn =2 under inch then one out 3" #4 factory 180grn winchester= 2 nearly touching and 3rd at just over inch,whole group nearly 5" low #5 I still flinch like a fool at times, caught myself with eyes closed and twice couldnt pull trigger but open and close lever again and went fine/either my partial length resize..case checked in chamber..wouldnt let bolt close completely blocking trigger???? or my head playing tricks..... will FL resize from here on in...take spoonfull of cement and harden up. #6 I think a recrown threading job will be along in not to distant future, then we can fit GW Spartan I guess and she be different beast looks like it be great bush rifle as it comes up to the eye like a good shotgun.
14 Nov 2015 @ 07:19 pm (GMT)	Quote this Jeff Auton Re: Browning BLR The older Belgium BLR was indeed a good rifle. In the 308 Win makes a great woods gun...........