First Shots, "Scout-In-A-Box"

We were filming for SHOOTING GALLERY yesterday, a special on lever action rifles for self-defense, so I natured took the almost-completed BLR .223 Scout project to the range to put some rounds through it. Here's the Scout-In-A-Box, in a box (a very nice Negrini box, to be sure)...

You can see here one of the reasons I opted for a forward "scout" mount in the BLR...the BLR's higher profile receiver would be a little tougher to get into the box of choice if I had gone with a traditional mount scope. I also like that the scope, a Burris 2-7X Scout, remains with the barrel. Yes, lock up should be the same every single time without effecting the point of aim, but hey, it's the real world. If I'm taking the gun apart, I'd rather the scope stay with the barrel. I also like how close to the bore line I can get the scope, an advantage of the forward mount.

Here's producer John Carter shooting the BLR...note the loooooooooooong bolt almost to his nose! I wanted the gun with the same length of pull as my cowboy lever actions. The long bolt isn't an issue with .223 recoil, but it does scare bystanders.

I would say the gun is working out well. It is fast to shoot — we were using Winchester White Box 55-gr ball — and fast to run. Since we were limited to pistol bays, we didn't get into accuracy tested and ran the scope at 2X. I'll get the gun properly sighted in after we get through SG and THE BEST DEFENSE filmings.

Recoil was negligible, of course. I'm just getting the Andy's Leather Rhodesian sling set up like I want it.

The only issue any of us had running the gun was with one magazine. I gotta say that considering BLR magazines are $125 MSRP, the DAMN THINGS OUGHT TO WORK 100%! That's a discussion I'll be having with Browning, you betcha!

Tim Wegner from Blade-Tech was with us for the filming, and he was really taken with the little carbine. He brought along a Wild West Guns Alaskan Co-Pilot based on a  45/70 Marlin, so we had both yin and yang on the range, not to mention Marshal Halloway with is Taylor's Alaskan 44 Magnum take-down. Here's me with Tim's Co-Pilot...that's Marshal Halloway's thumb in the upper lefthand corner of the picture...LOL!

I will say that hands-down the Negrini is the best gun case I have ever used. It's not just a little better...it's a WHOLE BUNCH better!

I have to say that the idea of a take-down lever action rifle in a reasonably small and light case was really intriguing to everyone, especially considering that BLR take-downs are available in such heavyweight calibers as .300 Win Mag and .450 Marlin (essentially a belted ballistic twin of the 45/70).

We'll be doing the complete story of the BLR Scout "legal in all jurisdictions" rifle on DRTV at the same time the level episode runs on SHOOTING GALLERY.