Blaser R93 (Series)

History of Blaser R93 (Series)

Since 1957, Blaser Jagdwaffen GmbH from the then Federal Republic of Germany has been producing a wide range of hunting and military shotguns and rifles. The company was founded by Horst Blaser and was privately owned until it merged with SIGARMs in 1997.

Despite this, the Blaser brand was allowed to continue producing its long guns and expanded to include the "R93" series of tactical bolt-action sniper rifles.

As the name suggests, the R93 was developed and launched into the crowded bolt-action rifle market in 1993. The series eventually expanded to include the related Blaser rifles "LRS2" ("Long Range Sporter 2") and "Tactical 2", which have found numerous police and special forces units around the world - preferably in countries like Australia and Brazil to Ukraine and the UK.

In the days when traditional bolt handles were "turned bolts", one of the unique qualities of their design was the "straight-pull" bolt action mechanism - i.e. these handles had to be rotated up and towards the rear of the receiver in order to eject the used of cartridges (and then load new cartridges into the chamber). With a straight pull, the operator simply pulls the bolt back without having to move up - allowing the shooter to fire in quicker bursts.

The main disadvantage of this design is that the bolt handle is seen as a protrusion hanging off the right side of the rifle - hooking can become a problem. Straight-pull bolt-action rifles were widely used in the late 18th century, but have largely fallen out of favor over the last century.

All three Blaser models above use a straight-pull mechanism.

Depending on the model, this range of rifles accommodates a variety of popular cartridges for hunting and military use - available cartridges include 7.62x51mm NATO, .338 Magnum Lapua, . 300 Winchester and 6.5x55mm cartridges.

In terms of its overall design, it's fairly traditional - the shoulder rest is adjustable for user comfort, the optics are mounted on the receiver in the usual way, and the barrel is closed by a multi-slot muzzle brake. A foldable bipod mounts to the bottom of the forearm and folds up when transporting the rifle (the double hex break-off feature also allows the rifle to quickly fold into a more compact form that can be transported and reassembled just as quickly).

The straight-pull bolt handle is located on the right side of the receiver for easy second-hand operation. The iron sights are detachable and the feed system consists of a detachable 4-, 5- or 10-round magazine (depending on the rifling).

Special forces in Bulgaria, Malaysia (PASKAU) and Slovenia all rely on the R93 series of sniper rifles.

Specification

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Changes