Bleiker is a Swiss manufacturer of

bolt-action Bolt action is a type of manual Action (firearms), firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt (firearms), turn-bolt via a cocking handle, bolt handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm (a ...

rifle A rifle is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting and higher stopping power, with a gun barrel, barrel that has a helical or spiralling pattern of grooves (rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus o ...

s aimed solely for use in ISSF and CISM target shooting. Unlike their larger competitors (e.g. J. G. Anschütz or

Feinwerkbau Feinwerkbau , often abbreviated FWB, is a German manufacturer of firearms and air guns aimed mainly at competitive ISSF shooting events, including some contested at the Olympic Games as governed by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF ...

), Bleiker has a narrow product range with no hunting line, and no entry level or intermediate models in their target line. Their product line is designed to be competitive at

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

and Olympic Games level.

Production sites

Bleiker is based in

Bütschwil Bütschwil is a former municipality in the ''Wahlkreis'' (constituency) of Toggenburg in the canton of St. Gallen in Switzerland. On 1 January 2013 the former municipalities of Bütschwil and Ganterschwil merged to form the new municipality of ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. As a small firm, this is their only production site and houses manufacturing facilities for Bleiker actions and

stocks Stocks are feet and hand restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law de ...

, along with final assembly facilities. Bleiker use American-made Lilja barrels, and in April 2014 were appointed the sole European Distributor for Lilja.

Bleiker firearms

Smallbore rifles

Bleiker's Challenger range is used extensively on the ISSF world circuit, with the actions used both in Bleiker stocks as a complete Challenger system, and also in third party stocks. At the

2014 ISSF World Shooting Championships The 51st ISSF World Shooting Championships was held in Granada, Spain from September 6 to September 20, 2014. Medal table (senior and junior) * 53 gold medals in individual events + 49 gold medals in team events Senior Men's individual M ...

, Bleiker Challenger actions were used to win 10 individual medals in the 50metre

Prone Prone position () is a body position in which the person lies flat with the chest down and the back up. In anatomical terms of location, the dorsal side is up, and the ventral side is down. The supine position is the 180° contrast. Etymology T ...

and Three Position Rifle events. In January 2014 a Bleiker rifle set a new range record at Eley's

Fellbach Fellbach () is a town on the north-east edge of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of approximately 45.430 is the second largest town in the District Rems-Murr-Kreis. The area of the town is . Fellbach was first mention ...

Customer Test Range with a 40-shot group of 12.4 mm (0.248

mrad The Barrett MRAD (Multi-role Adaptive Design) is a bolt-action sniper rifle designed by Barrett to meet the requirements of the SOCOM PSR. The MRAD is based on the Barrett 98B and includes a number of modifications and improvements. The Barre ...

).12.4 mm for 40 Shots at 50m — New Record at Eley Test Center « Daily Bulletin
/ref> Aside from the build quality, the Bleiker Challenger action is notable for its extremely short bolt design. The use of a short bolt brings the breech face rearwards in the stock and closer to the shooter, allowing smaller and slightly-built shooters to load more easily. When properly set up, some users are able to load without raising their elbow off the ground, which over the course of an ISSF Prone match offers a competitive advantage when trying to maintain a consistent position compared with actions using longer bolts that require more movement to reload. * Challenger Sport * Challenger Worldcup * Challenger Metallic * Challenger LADY

300 m rifles

Bleiker 300 m

Centrefire Two rounds of .357 Magnum, a centerfire cartridge; notice the circular primer in the center A center-fire (or centerfire) is a type of metallic cartridge used in firearms, where the primer is located at the center of the base of its casing (i ...

Rifles are used extensively in ISSF 300metre

and Three Position shooting, being used to win 7 individual medals at the

. Bleiker provide complete rifles, as well as selling their action for gunsmiths to integrate into custom builds. They are available in a variety of 6 mm and 7 mm calibres.

References

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External links