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The Blaser R93 is a straight-pull action
precision rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long range shooting, long-range rifle. Requirements include high accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment, and optics, for anti-personnel weapon, anti-personnel, anti-materiel rifle, anti-materiel and sur ...
offered in a multitude of calibers and barrel lengths manufactured by the German 
firearms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originated ...
manufacturer
Blaser Blaser Jagdwaffen GmbH (pronounced: Blah-zer) is a German firearms manufacturer of high-end shotguns and rifles both for the hunting and tactical market. It was founded in 1957 by Horst Blaser, developing the drilling Blaser Diplomat. In Se ...
. Designed by Blasers' designer Mr. Meinhard Zeh in 1993, it had a number of features rare on modern hunting rifles, including a manual cocking system and a proprietary Blaser saddle
scope mount Scope mounts are rigid implements used to attach (typically) a telescopic sight or other types of optical sights onto a firearm. The mount can be made integral to the scope body (such as the Zeiss rail) or, more commonly, an external fitting t ...
for mounting the optic directly to the
quick-change barrel Quick change, quick-change or Quick Change may refer to * ''Quick Change ''Quick Change'' is a 1990 American crime comedy film directed by Howard Franklin and Bill Murray (in their directorial debuts) and written by Franklin. Based on the n ...
. In 2002, more than 100,000 complete Blaser R93 rifles had been produced. By 2017, more than 200,000 R93 rifles had been produced, but it is not clear whether the R93 Tactical variant is included in these numbers.


History

The predecessor of the R93 was the 60 degree turn bolt action Blaser R84, which was discontinued after the introduction of the R93 in 1993. The successor of the R93, the
Blaser R8 The Blaser R8 is a German straight-pull rifle known for its radially locking bolt system, modularity and its barrel mounted scope mount manufactured by Blaser. The rifle also features a manual cocking system and a direct trigger. In 2015 the ...
, was introduced in 2008. Production of the R93 ended by 2017, though Blaser continued to offer spare parts as stock allowed.


Design features


Modularity

The Blaser R93 is a truly
modular system Module, modular and modularity may refer to the concept of modularity. They may also refer to: Computer science and engineering * Modular design, the engineering discipline of designing complex devices using separately designed sub-components ...
built around an aluminium alloy frame, offering differing stocks and barrels varying length and thickness available in chamberings from .22 LR to .375 H&H Magnum/ .416 Remington Magnum/ .458 Winchester Magnum size. It also came in caliber 28 (13.97 mm; 0.550 in) as a shotgun/slug barrel. The barrel has a quick-change design which lets the user switch barrels using two screws and a
hex key A hex key (also, hex wrench, Allen key and Allen wrench, Unbrako or Inbus) is a simple driver for Bolt (fastener), bolts or screws that have heads with ''internal'' hexagonal recesses (Socket wrench, sockets). Hex keys are formed from a sin ...
. Different bolt heads for different groups of calibers and magazine inserts are also user changeable, making the Blaser R93 a modular firearm capable of using a multitude of calibers in its chassis. A R93 Rimfire conversion kit was also available in .22 Long Rifle and .17 HMR consisting of a new magazine, barrel, bolt head and bolt catch insert. The rifle has a shorter overall length compare to more traditional designs due to the trigger being placed under the magazine. The rifle also has a reputation for being easy to disassemble and reassemble which can be an advantage when doing maintenance or during travelling, and has a reputation for having a repeatable zero upon reassembly.


Scope mounts

The Blaser is unique because the scope mounts on the barrel instead of the receiver. A Scope/barrel assembly can be removed and replaced with no change in zero. In 2009, Blaser and
Carl Zeiss AG Zeiss ( ; ) is a German manufacturer of optical systems and optoelectronics, founded in Jena, Germany, in 1846 by optician Carl Zeiss. Together with Ernst Abbe (joined 1866) and Otto Schott (joined 1884) he laid the foundation for today's ...
began offering a scope that switches on a red dot when the R93/R8 are cocked ("Zeiss Illumination Control/iC"). The iC system is based on the
Zeiss rail Zeiss inner rail,ZEISS ...
.


Trigger

To avoid accidents with set triggers, Blaser offers the R93 only with a direct trigger, also known as single-stage triggers. The manual cocking system, or "de-cocking safety", enables the shooter to securely carry the weapon, only cocking the rifle just before the shot. Per US importer armusa.com, http://armusa.com/SigarmsRifles6.htm "Also contributing to the Blaser's performance are its patented sear-free trigger mechanism and completely free-floated barrel." A free-floated barrel is a common modern accurizing technique, but searless triggers are quite novel.


Bolt design

The R93 straight-pull bolt action locks by a 14-lug radial
collet A collet is a segmented sleeve, band or ''collar''. One of the two radial surfaces of a collet is usually tapered (i.e a truncated cone) and the other is cylindrical. The term ''collet'' commonly refers to a type of chuck that uses collets ...
in a 360 degrees groove in the barrel and is designed to withstand pressures significantly exceeding the
Mauser 98 The Gewehr 98 (abbreviated ''G98'', Gew 98, or ''M98'') is a bolt-action rifle made by Mauser for the German Empire as its service rifle from 1898 to 1935. The Gewehr 98 action, using a 5-round stripper clip loaded with the 7.92×57mm Mauser ...
–type bolt-action rifles. The Blaser R93 displays a locking surface of compared to for the Mauser 98. The bolt is symmetric and self-centering, providing a basis for increased accuracy. The stressed parts are made out of hammer forged steel and plasma nitrided to provide corrosion resistance and mechanical strength. In addition to the primary lockup by the bolt head into the barrel, the R93 also features a secondary lockup for added safety. While secondary lockup on turn bolt rifles is achieved with the bolt handle, secondary lockup on the R93 this is achieved with a camplate which supports the locked action against a hardened steelplate in the rear part of the magazine-box. The bolt knob uses M6 threads, enabling the use of aftermarket bolt knobs.


Available chamberings

Below is a list of some of the available factory chamberings for the R93. Several different barrel profiles were also available, such as Standard, Octagonal, Semi Weight, "Stutzen", Match or Safari Letters in parentheses corresponding stamping on the bolt head. ;Hornet (HO): * .22 Hornet ;Mini (MI) caliber group: * .204 Ruger * .222 Rem * .223 Rem ;Standard (ST) caliber group: *
22-250 The .22-250 Remington / 5.7x48mm is a very high-velocity, short action, .22 caliber rifle cartridge primarily used for varmint hunting and small game hunting. It is capable of reaching over 4,000 feet per second. Some jurisdictions prohibit the ...
*
243 Win 43 may refer to: * 43 (number) * one of the years 43 BC, AD 43, 1943, 2043 * Licor 43, also known as "Cuarenta Y Tres" ("Forty-three" in Spanish) * George W. Bush, 43rd president of the United States, nicknamed "Bush 43" to distinguish from his fat ...
* 5.6×57mm * 6 mm Norma BR * 6mm Rem *
6×62mm Frères Six-wheel drive (6WD or 6×6) is an all-wheel drive drivetrain configuration of three axles with at least two wheels on each axle capable of being driven simultaneously by the vehicle's engine. Unlike four-wheel drive drivetrains, the configura ...
* .25-06 Rem * 6.5×55mm * 6.5×57 * 6.5×65 RWS * .270 Win * 7×57 *
7×64mm The 7×64mm (also unofficially known as the 7×64mm Brenneke, though its designer's name was never officially added as a part of the cartridge name) is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire cartridge developed for hunting. As is customary in Euro ...
* .308 Win *
.30-06 Springfield The .30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced "thirty- aught-six" ), 7.62×63mm in metric notation, and called the .30 Gov't '06 by Winchester, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and later standardized; it remained in military us ...
* 8×57mm *
9.3×62mm The 9.3×62mm (also known as 9.3×62mm Mauser) is a rimless, bottlenecked rifle cartridge designed in 1905 by German gunmaker Otto Bock. It is suitable for hunting medium to large game animals in Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. At ...
*
.45 Blaser This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the to caliber range. *''Length'' refers to the cartridge case Case or CASE may refer to: Instances * Instantiation (disambiguation), a realization of a concept, theme, or design * ...
;Medium (ME) caliber group: *
6.5×68mm The 6.5×68mm rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire rifle cartridge (also known as the 6.5×68mm RWS, 6.5×68mm Schüler, or the 6.5×68mm Von Hofe Express) and its sister cartridge the 8×68mm S were developed in the 1930s by August Schüler from ...
* 7.5×55mm *
8×68mm S The 8×68mm S Rim (firearms), rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire rifle Cartridge (firearms), cartridge was developed in the 1930s by August Schüler of the ''August Schüler Waffenfabrik, Suhl, Germany'' as a magnum hunting cartridge that would ...
*
9.3×64mm Brenneke The 9.3×64mm Brenneke (designated as the 9,3 x 64 Brenneke by the C.I.P.) is a rimless bottlenecked centerfire rifle cartridge designed in 1927 by German gunmaker Wilhelm Brenneke. It is suitable for hunting medium to large game animals in A ...
;Magnum (MA) caliber group: * .257 Weatherby Magnum * .264 Winchester Magnum * .270 Winchester Short Magnum * 7 mm Rem Mag * .300 Win MagR-93 LRS 2 - GA USA 2002
/ref> * .300 Weatherby Magnum * .300 WSM * .338 Win Mag * .375 H&H Magnum * .416 Rem Mag * .458 Lott ;Ultra Magnum (UM) caliber group: * 7 mm STW * .300 Rem Ultra Mag ;Jeffery (JE) caliber group: * .500 Jeffery ;Swiss (CH) caliber group: *
10.3×60R Swiss 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...
(single shot) ;Shot (28) caliber group: * Caliber 28 (13.97 mm; 0.550 in) shotgun/slug barrel.


Successors

The R93 was upgraded to the
Blaser R8 The Blaser R8 is a German straight-pull rifle known for its radially locking bolt system, modularity and its barrel mounted scope mount manufactured by Blaser. The rifle also features a manual cocking system and a direct trigger. In 2015 the ...
introduced in 2008, which has a detachable box magazine/trigger combination. Production of complete R93 rifles ceased in 2016. The Blaser R8 displays an enlarged locking surface of compared to of the R93. While the R93 collet has a locking angle of about 50 degrees, the angle of the R8 has been steepened to almost 90 degrees. Further the radial collet opens differently. This results in a less smooth operating bolt of the R8 when compared to the R93 series and some weight increase. Other differences are that the R8 is a little heavier and is offered in a wider range of chamberings. Parts for the R93 in general do not fit the R8 series rifles, except for scope mounts.


Recalls

In 2000, a recall was announced on R93 rifles delivered with plastic bolt carriers. According to Blaser, only 0.4% of all R93 rifles had been delivered with plastic bolt carriers, and only on the R93 Offroad model. Due to the increased risk of accidents, Blaser offered to replace all such plastic bolt carriers with a regular aluminum bolt carrier for free. In May 2003, Blaser issued a recall on all R93 rifles sold in the United States, except the UIT, CISM, and LRS/LRS2 models, because non-stainless steel pins inadvertently had been used in some trigger units. Owners were urged to have their rifles inspected by Blaser's US representative to see if their trigger unit was affected, and if so be changed from a non-stainless to a stainless one.


Incidents

In 1994, after a shooting accident near
Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...
in Germany, the R93 was criticised with claims that it could not withstand high pressures, and that the bolt would unlock when excessive pressures were generated. In August 2003, 41-year-old Norwegian Jan Sørlie had an accident where his R93 chambered for
8×68mm S The 8×68mm S Rim (firearms), rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire rifle Cartridge (firearms), cartridge was developed in the 1930s by August Schüler of the ''August Schüler Waffenfabrik, Suhl, Germany'' as a magnum hunting cartridge that would ...
exploded, resulting in loss of an eye and a skull fracture requiring titanium replacement.Villmarksliv Magazine, 2004 March EditionLutz Möller Geschoß - Blaser R93 Unfälle
/ref> Sørlie reported that had used handloaded ammunition loaded with Norma MRP powder and a projectile. In January 2004, 38-year-old German Albrecht Huf had an accident near
Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...
in Germany where his R93 chambered in .300 Weatherby Magnum exploded. Huf sustained injury to his thumb, jaw and
zygomatic bone In the human skull, the zygomatic bone (from ), also called cheekbone or malar bone, is a paired irregular bone, situated at the upper and lateral part of the face and forming part of the lateral wall and floor of the orbit, of the temporal fos ...
. He claimed to have used Weatherby factory ammunition only. An investigation by the German
DEVA Deva may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Deva, List of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd edition monsters, an ''Advanced Dungeons & Dragons'' 2nd edition monster * Deva, in the 2023 Indian film ''Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefir ...
institute concluded that
handloaded Handloading, or reloading, is the practice of making firearm cartridges by manually assembling the individual components (metallic cartridge, metallic/polymer-cased ammunition, polymer case, primer (firearms), primer, propellant and projectile) ...
.300 Weatherby Magnum ammunition had been used that greatly exceeded the maximum safe gas pressure for the round.Blaser R93 accident
, lawers cooperation (Rechtsanwaltsaktiengesellschaft) ''Nieding + Barth'' (German)
In July 2009, Spaniard Jesus Nieto had an accident near Madrid in Spain where his R93 rifle chambered for
7mm Remington Magnum The 7mm Remington Magnum rifle cartridge was introduced as a commercially available round in 1962, along with the new Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle. It is a member of the belted magnum family that is directly derived from the venerable . ...
exploded, causing the bolt carrier to hit and damage his maxilar bone. The accident was determined by the shooter to be due to faulty ammunition leaving a fired bullet stuck in the barrel, causing an explosion on the subsequent shot. The shooter stated that he had used Remington Safari Grade commercial ammunition. In July 2014, 69-year-old Christer Svensson experienced an accident where his R93 chambered for
.30-06 Springfield The .30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced "thirty- aught-six" ), 7.62×63mm in metric notation, and called the .30 Gov't '06 by Winchester, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and later standardized; it remained in military us ...
exploded while loading his rifle on a shooting range near
Bollnäs Bollnäs () is a Swedish locality and the seat of Bollnäs Municipality, in Gävleborg County, Sweden. It has about 14,000 inhabitants.https://bollnas.se/kommun-och-politik/kommunfakta History The first recording of Bollnäs in writing is fro ...
in Sweden, resulting in the bolt hitting his face.Vapenexplosion kostade honom nästan livet - Svensk Jakt
/ref> Svensson was using
Norma Norma may refer to: * Norma (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) ** Norma Lizbeth Ramos, a Mexican bullying victim Astronomy *Norma (constellation) * 555 Norma, a minor asteroid * Cygnus Arm or Norma Arm, a spiral ...
factory ammunition. He turned in the rifle to Blaser, but wanted the
Swedish National Forensic Centre The Swedish National Forensic Centre (, NFC) — previously known as the National Swedish Criminal Police Registry and Forensic Laboratories (1939–1964) (, SKA) and the National Swedish Laboratory of Forensic Science (1964–2015) (, SKL) — is ...
to investigate the matter. However, he later agreed to the wish of Blaser and its Swedish distributors that all technical investigation would be performed by the German DEVA institute. The DEVA report concluded that the damages to the firearm almost certainly came from a combination of an overpressure and a problem with the casing of the cartridge.Saknade delar och polisanmälan – Blaserhistorien fortsätter - Svensk Jakt
/ref> Svensson told the Swedish hunting and firearms magazine Svensk Jakt that he had difficulties getting his firearm back from the testing, and that it had been modified when he finally received it. He stated that the chamber and bolt head had been chopped off, and that the barrel did not have a stamped serial number anymore, and claimed the serial number appeared to have been reapplied by hand. He also claimed his rifle originally had a front sight mounted to it which was missing on the returned barrel. In August 2014, Svensk Jakt wrote that another Swede, Tony Kristoffersson, had experienced an explosion with his R93 while on a Beaver hunt the same year. He described that his rifle had made a clicking sound as if it had failed to fire, but exploded when he tried to pull the bolt back, which resulted in the bolt hitting his hand. The Swedish Blaser distributor later stated that while it is possible to pull the trigger without the bolt being fully locked into battery, the firing pin is designed such that it will not hit the primer with sufficient force to ignite the cartridge.


See also

*
Heym SR 30 The Heym SR 30 is a straight-pull rifle produced in Germany by Heym. The rifle is also available in a left hand version. Locking mechanism The mechanism uses 6 ball bearings symmetrically positioned around the circumference of the bol ...
*
Lynx 94 Lynx Rifles is a brand of high-end straight pull rifles manufactured by Finnish firearms manufacturer Pirkan ASE both for the hunting, sport and tactical market. All rifles are handmade in Finland and feature a biathlon style cross bolt straight ...
* Rößler Titan 16 * Ross rifle


References


External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110718203209/http://www.blaser.de/R93-Characteristics.119.0.html?&L=1 * https://web.archive.org/web/20110718203223/http://www.blaser.de/uploads/media/R93_modularsystem_en_07.pdf {{Blaser Firearms Hunting rifles Straight-pull rifles Rifles of Germany