Problems with my boys 308 BLR
 

Past few years I’ve been suspect of the rifle.

Shoots very well 1st 2-3 shots.... then shots start flying high and wide by 2-4 inches for the next group of three.

I thought maybe the scope is shot, but why would it shoot good for 1st shot?

Then I thought maybe the barrel expanding from heat is maybe touching the stock.....messing it up...

I can’t pass a dollar around the barrel like my other bolt rifles.... I should be able to do that with a BLR yes...?
I’ve never owned one till I got this one for the kids.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

As long as the first three shots count your good LOL

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Yea

No.

What vintage is the BLR ... does it have a barrel band? But, bottom line is that it starts throwing shots and you may have to deal with that reality. I have a 308 BLR made in ‘77. Benched, it groups about 1.25” @ 100M and that is as good as it gets which is plenty good for hunting. It harvested deer & moose over 20 years and none of them complained.
Given that BLR’s need to be cleaned from the muzzle, they sometimes don’t get cleaned as well as they should so it may be worth it to give the bore a thorough cleaning.

I’ll give it another wipeout cleaning this week. Maybe see how it does next Sat I guess.

It was built in the early ‘80s I believe. It does have a barrel band on it.


I’d like the boy to be able to do a lot more shooting with this rifle. Different positions... etc.

We have taken game with it...

Did it used to be consistent, then something changed a few years ago? If so, could it have gotten wet and possibly affected the wood in the forestock?

I don't believe the BLR has a free floating barrel. I know my early 80's 308 BLR did not.

Is it possible the barrel is shot out? My father managed to shoot out the barrel on his browning blr the gunsmith broke the bad news to him it had extensive wear on the inside of the barrel and it was not able to be fixed or have a simple barrel replacement.

If the first three are always Good the barrel is not shot out- if it was everything
Would be random.
Could be as it warms up things go awry because it needs cleaning.
Without having it in one’s hands though , everything is speculation :)
Cat

I did clean it with wipeout 2 seasons ago. Ran patches till no yuk.

It’s had less than 20 rounds through it since.

But just to remove that variable.... I’ll clean it again.

Mine has barrel band and is not free floated...and either of those factors could change POI’s as the barrel heats. And of course there is always the possibility that the barrel was not properly stress relieved. Nothing you can do about those things.
Best bet is the bore cleaning. I would also wash out the bolt and raceways with WD-40 to make sure there is no crud. The bolt rotates to lock which is not nearly as tight as bolt action so keep it clean.

It is definitely not a shot our barrel.... this rifle sat around in pretty much brand new condition until we got it.

I’ll give it a good cleaning and see what happens..... but I’m not very hopeful bout that.

I have owned a few BLRs. They are a decent shooting rifle for a hunting gun. They are not a good target rig. Would be far better off with a bolt gun for target practice. None of the ones I had liked to be shot hot, or even real warm. You can improve their behaviour by bedding the forearm, and butt stock but you do need to know what you are doing. Getting rid of the front barrel band helps a bunch too but unless you have the tools you will need a smith to accomplish this. (Two common methods, make an end cap like a Winchester 94 or tap the barrel for a screw that does through the end of the forearm to hold it on. To test if the barrel band is having an effect you can temporarily remove it snad shoot the gun to see what effect that has, the forearm is held on primarily by a long bolt that runs through it horizontally. If you don't want to take it to a smith you can reduce the effect of the Barrel band by coating the inside of it with paint on rubber coating.