BLR or 7600

[Shootermick]

What are peoples thoughts on either a BLR versus a 7600 in 308?
Anyone owned both?
Which do you prefer and why?

[deye243]

Blr any day of the week a lot more accurate and reliable 7600 is a clunker

[Shootermick]

Blr any day of the week a lot more accurate and reliable 7600 is a clunker

Yeah. I’ve got a 7600 already and I’m thinking of selling it for a BLR. That’s where the question has come from. I’m with you on the clunker type action, I just haven’t warmed to the 7600 like I expected I would.

[CAVEMAN]

Ill raise you the henry. I've never seen one in the flesh but they look the goods.

https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/the-long-ranger/

[Shootermick]

Ill raise you the henry. I've never seen one in the flesh but they look the goods.

https://www.henryusa.com/rifles/the-long-ranger/

I’ve got a couple of Henry’s and really like them, but they’re thin on the ground at the moment.

[Blr243]

I have the blr in 243. Everything except for the trigger is fine. It’s capable of sub moa groups but I upgraded to a bolt action sauer to get a good trigger on my main hunting rifle .....afterwards I bought a 7600 in 308 It’s trigger was horrible too but it’s greatly improved with a cheap gunbloke light spring .......I have not used the 7600 in the field long enough to describe it better. I hope to give it a good run in the bush in a month when I take a break from work

[in2anity]

Trigger on the 7600 is more desirable, but the BLR will stretch out better.

[Shootermick]

I have the blr in 243. Everything except for the trigger is fine. It’s capable of sub moa groups but I upgraded to a bolt action sauer to get a good trigger on my main hunting rifle .....afterwards I bought a 7600 in 308 It’s trigger was horrible too but it’s greatly improved with a cheap gunbloke light spring .......I have not used the 7600 in the field long enough to describe it better. I hope to give it a good run in the bush in a month when I take a break from work

So do you have a preference between the BLR and the 7600 as a rifle? Even though you’ve got different calibers in the two.
I don’t really know if I’m achieving anything if I turn the 7600 into a BLR.? I’m not as precious about the 7600 as it’s pretty knock about, maybe I’m just inventing another way to blow some cash for no real advantage.

[Blr243]

The blr feels nicer in the hands , but the pistol gripped 7600 comes to the shoulder a bit faster ....others may disagree. Misght be a personal preference thing

[boingk]

What do you want from the rifle?

Both are aesthetic, ergonomic and emotional choices as far as I'm concerned.

If you're after something that shoots well, is reliable, cost efficient and weather resistant then get a synthetic Howa / Ruger / Tikka and go from there.

I'm partial to the Ruger American Compact in 308 with an 18" barrel. Compact, very light, standard flush-fit rotary mag with Lucky 13 offering a lovely and well priced 10 rounder, what more do you want? Oh yes, the tan stock with longer pull-length from the 'Ranch' variant... as I have mine fitted out, heh heh.

If levers and pumps are your jam then no issues, thats the way it is. Personally I like levers and bolts.

The real question is why not a 35 Whelen in the Remington, or 45-70 in a Marlin 1895 lever?

- boingk

[Shootermick]

What do you want from the rifle?

Both are aesthetic, ergonomic and emotional choices as far as I'm concerned.

If you're after something that shoots well, is reliable, cost efficient and weather resistant then get a synthetic Howa / Ruger / Tikka and go from there.

I'm partial to the Ruger American Compact in 308 with an 18" barrel. Compact, very light, standard flush-fit rotary mag with Lucky 13 offering a lovely and well priced 10 rounder, what more do you want? Oh yes, the tan stock with longer pull-length from the 'Ranch' variant... as I have mine fitted out, heh heh.

If levers and pumps are your jam then no issues, thats the way it is. Personally I like levers and bolts.

The real question is why not a 35 Whelen in the Remington, or 45-70 in a Marlin 1895 lever?

- boingk

I’ve got a Ruger American Compact in 243, and it’s an awesome rifle, punches well above its price bracket if you ask me. Does everything I need it to do, and I don’t really need anything bigger in a scoped bolt action than the 243,
The 308 would be more for quicker close range shots, and let’s be honest, just some fun too. I’ve already got a few levers and think I’ve convinced myself to offload the 7600 and replace it with a BLR.

I did wonder to myself about a 45-70 too, and put up a recent post on here looking for opinions. But I’ve got a 336 in 30-30 and so I thought something that still hits hard but shoots flatter might be a better proposition. So 308 in a lever with the box mag is ticking all the boxes.

[boingk]

See above.

Ah, very good. Fair choice for the 308 then.

Of course, you could go the 35 Whelen. Its a 30-06 necked up to 357 diameter, launching 180gn .357" projectiles about the 3000fps mark.

There are several in Remington 7600 on UsedGuns around the $1200 mark.

Good God, now I'm considering one...

- boingk

[Shootermick]

See above.

Ah, very good. Fair choice for the 308 then.

Of course, you could go the 35 Whelen. Its a 30-06 necked up to 357 diameter, launching 180gn .357" projectiles about the 3000fps mark.

There are several in Remington 7600 on UsedGuns around the $1200 mark.

Good God, now I'm considering one...

- boingk

Nothing wrong with a 7600 at all. It probably is just a matter of personal preference.
I just have a preference towards levers.
The 7600 has a certain industrial type strength about it and would no doubt takes the knocks better than the timber stocked BLR. But at the end of the day they are both just a fairly quick cycling 308.

[bigpete]

See above.

Ah, very good. Fair choice for the 308 then.

Of course, you could go the 35 Whelen. Its a 30-06 necked up to 357 diameter, launching 180gn .357" projectiles about the 3000fps mark.

There are several in Remington 7600 on UsedGuns around the $1200 mark.

Good God, now I'm considering one...

- boingk

Actually .358 diameter projectiles....

[wanneroo]

The BLR is a fine rifle and shoots very well. You can't really go wrong with it.

[Bugman]

Had a BLR many moons ago and I agree, it was a really good rifle. Well built and reliable.

[GQshayne]

In my view, with the BLR, the older the better. Mine was made by FN in Belgium in 1973. I paid $100 more for it than the cost of a new one. The new one was nicely balanced and nothing wrong with it really, but that old full steel action on the FN was better. And being a second hand item, it had a nice trigger job done on it.

Magazines are as rare as er, early BLR magazines.

[Wm.Traynor]

In my view, with the BLR, the older the better. Mine was made by FN in Belgium in 1973. I paid $100 more for it than the cost of a new one. The new one was nicely balanced and nothing wrong with it really, but that old full steel action on the FN was better. And being a second hand item, it had a nice trigger job done on it.

Magazines are as rare as er, early BLR magazines.

GQshayne might be on to something about the triggers. Triggers in both my Old BLRs were very good after 'smithing. Reports/rumours(?) about modern ones say they cannot be improved. They were both a bitch to clean, just like my present 7600, which has a very good trigger! Reports say the triggers are terrible. Like everything for sale, it is the luck of the draw.

[GQshayne]

In my view, with the BLR, the older the better. Mine was made by FN in Belgium in 1973. I paid $100 more for it than the cost of a new one. The new one was nicely balanced and nothing wrong with it really, but that old full steel action on the FN was better. And being a second hand item, it had a nice trigger job done on it.

Magazines are as rare as er, early BLR magazines.

GQshayne might be on to something about the triggers. Triggers in both my Old BLRs were very good after 'smithing. Reports/rumours(?) about modern ones say they cannot be improved. They were both a bitch to clean, just like my present 7600, which has a very good trigger! Reports say the triggers are terrible. Like everything for sale, it is the luck of the draw.

You may be right about the modern rifle triggers. Mine is good, and I had a job done on my cousins early 81 model, but I dunno about new ones.

[wrenchman]

you might have a hard time finding a 7600 right now they are not back in production i like them both.

[Shootermick]

So i found a BLR. It’s a Lightning model in 308,
Just have to play the waiting game now while my permit is approved.

[Bill]

I cant believe anyone would put the mighty BLR in the same sentence as a noisy clunky 7600......

had a lightning 81 358 and took heaps of pigs with it, upgrade to BLR 358 takedown 7 or 8 years ago and its just a good thing. Both guns were bloody accurate..

[in2anity]

I agree Bill - the BLR has way more potential for markmanship than the 7600. There are significantly less stresses coming from forend junk on the BLR, especially the variants without the barrel band.

[Shootermick]

I cant believe anyone would put the mighty BLR in the same sentence as a noisy clunky 7600......

had a lightning 81 358 and took heaps of pigs with it, upgrade to BLR 358 takedown 7 or 8 years ago and its just a good thing. Both guns were bloody accurate..

Sounds good. I’m looking forward to getting my BLR and pretty sure I’ll be happy with my new toy.

[Wm.Traynor]

I cant believe anyone would put the mighty BLR in the same sentence as a noisy clunky 7600......

had a lightning 81 358 and took heaps of pigs with it, upgrade to BLR 358 takedown 7 or 8 years ago and its just a good thing. Both guns were bloody accurate..

Sounds good. I’m looking forward to getting my BLR and pretty sure I’ll be happy with my new toy.

We will all be interested to hear what you think of it.

[Lawyer Daggett]

I have owned both. Both have lousy triggers that take considerable shooting to get used to. My BLR was a .308 and my 7600 a .35 Whelen. The 7600 has a loose feeling forend, but the rear stock fitted me better than the BLR. The 7600 is fractionally faster for a second shot once you get used to its 'clunky feel'. My father owned a Winchester 1200 pump-action shotgun before they were banned here, and it did not take me long to get back into the feel of using a pump action. I hunt quite a bit in N Victoria and either would serve you well as a woods rifle under Victorian conditions. They both carry well and are quite light and quick to get into action in the field. If faced with a choice I would take the 7600.

[MontyShooter]

I don't hate the trigger on my BLR 308 and it's certainly not a light one. Mine breaks at just over 7 pounds. It has a tiny bit of creep that you'd only ever notice at the range. As mentioned above, it takes some getting used to if like me, the rest of your rifles all break around 2 pounds.
With the lucky 13 mag, the BLR is a versatile rifle and one of my favourites. Everyone needs at least one lever.

[dnardy]

I'm in the same boat.

Considering trading in my 7600 30.06 for a BLR in 30.06, the main reason is I don't like how noisy it is to chamber a round.
I see the BLR has an external hammer where if you have a round chambered with the 7600 you have to rely on the safety - no thanks.

[GQshayne]

I'm in the same boat.

Considering trading in my 7600 30.06 for a BLR in 30.06, the main reason is I don't like how noisy it is to chamber a round.
I see the BLR has an external hammer where if you have a round chambered with the 7600 you have to rely on the safety - no thanks.

I am with you on the safety side of things. I do not like using one either, and on my bolt actions, always preferred to leave the bolt open. Using a safety I never felt comfortable. But the half cock position on the BLR I am happy to use. I feel safe with it, and it is very quick to bring into use.

On the BLR side of things, it has been noted many times over the years, that the short action BLR is a nicely balanced rifle. The long action has historically gathered a few complaints though. Something to consider. It may be worth looking at one and getting it in your hands to see what you think of it.

[AussieMadman]

What are peoples thoughts on either a BLR versus a 7600 in 308?
Anyone owned both?
Which do you prefer and why?

exactly the question i was going to ask