Blaser R8

The Blaser R8 is a German straight-pull bolt-action rifle made by Blaser, a manufacturer of hunting and sporting firearms. It is known for a radially locking bolt, a modular construction and a scope mount that sits on the barrel rather than the receiver. The bolt locks with a fourteen-lug radial collet seated in a groove running all the way round the barrel, with two secondary lockups for added safety, and the design is intended to withstand pressures well above those of Mauser 98 type actions. The rifle is built around an aluminium alloy receiver frame, with a steel frame available as an option, and it accepts different stocks, barrels and bolt heads so that one rifle can be changed between calibres from .204 Ruger to .500 Jeffery. A .22 Long Rifle conversion kit is sold for inexpensive practice. The R8 is based on the earlier Blaser R93 series, which was discontinued in 2016, and by 2015 more than 100,000 complete rifles had been produced. It is a sporting and hunting arm rather than a military weapon.