I was kinda blown away by these cases with their flawless styling and drop-dead locks...and their prices, in the Pelican/Storm Case ballpark. I looked at Negrinis a couple of years ago and decided that much like a really nice Italian suit or one of those high-zoot watches that includes the time zones on the moon, I'd admire them from afar.
However, I'm really liking the new line, especially the intermediate sizes. In fact, I ordered one for the non-permissive jurisdiction rifle project. I wanted to put together a rifle/handgun combination that would be legal in as many jurisdictions as possible. After several bouts of agonizing I settled on a Browning BLR Take-Down in .223 and a .357 Ruger SP101 snub. I picked the .223 because of ammunition availability...the 4 round magazines suck, but hey.
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9 comments:
I understand the choice of .223 in the BLR - I've got one in .308 - and am hopeful that 300BLK will become common (and plentiful) enough to make it a viable choice for a BLR.
I'll concur on the BLR magazine size, and wonder why no one on the mag business makes 10-rounders for it. I can find 10 round mags for my Rem 7600; cheap plastic, to be sure, but they exist. Given the cost of a factory BLR mag, I'd think there's room for a mag builder to produce a 10-rounder for a comparable price. (Or, talk Browning into redesigning the mag well to take Ruger Scout mags.....).
Why .223 vs .308 for the BLR? 4 rd mags in both cases.
RSR
.223 vs. .308 choice, 3 reasons:
• Ammo availability nationwide. .223/5.56 are on shelves everywhere. Should I need it, I can find it.
• Should I need to use the rifle, it will probably be in an urban, even a hotel, setting. Penetration issues come into play.
• Weight...part of the goal of this project is to lighten the load to such a point that carrying the package is a no-brainer (why I'm thinking of subbing the Ruger LCR for the twice-as-heavy SP101). I've also dropped a note to MPI fiberglass stocks to see if they'll build a BLR set...they floated the idea a couple of years ago, touting an half-pound savings in weight.
I agree with Larry that a .300BLK would be just about ideal in the BLR platform.
And hey, SOMEBODY should cough up a 10-round mag! That would really open up the BLR as an excellent self-defense option.
mb
During the ammo crisis, "tactical" ammo like .223/5.56 was the first to disappear from store shelves, wouldn't a "hunting" caliber like .243,7MM08 or even 30-06 make sense for this application? Those seemed to be everywhere then.I love the concept behind your kit idea and might copy it myself when I can spring for a $1200 rifle.
Takedowns are a bear when it comes to pricing...the BLR is actually at the low end! To your point, Winchester makes a 30-30 94 takedown in the $1500 range...30-30 never disappeared from the shelves. You can do a poor man's takedown with a 94 by just unscrewing the stock screw and removing the stock, which works well with the 16-inch Trapper versions.
mb
A large firearms company should not encounter any great difficulty modifying a rifle that already uses detachable mags in .223, to feed from AR mags. Mossberg did it with a bolt gun, after all. So come on, Browning, what's your excuse?
I'm a gray-haired vet with a Saiga .308, and a Savage 10FP in .308. But I sometimes think a 223 would be better for the common ammo, as has been pointed out. Money available I would like to have a .308 AR. Would it be possible to also have a 223 upper for such a gun? I might win the lottery.
There are others looking for 10 round magazines for the BLR too :-)
http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=418467
RSR
I'll second the .243 suggestion...it didn't suffer the shortage as bad as the "tactical" calibers...and the varmint loads will perform as well as the 5.56 loads.
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