Have had my R8 Professional since before xmas. I have only one barrel at this point in 6.5x55 which I chopped to 18" and put an A-Tec Can on....
R8's are a couple of inches shorter than more conventionally built bolt actions for the same length. The standard barrel length for the R8 is 580mm but on the R8 the overall length ends up being about the same as a Sako Finnlight in non magnum calibre's.. for a longer barrel.
I chopped 100mm off mine and then added the can which brings it back up to about the same length. If I was running a genuine bush pig in 308, I would have chopped it to 16"..... was hedging my bets with the 6.5x55 a bit..This barrel is intended as a multi purpose until I get more specific calibres sorted...
I got mine through Quentin at 45 South, who dealt with the agent Stagers. I tried to talk to them years ago about a 93 and was put off by the attitude. Quentin takes away the need to deal direct and he gives a fair deal. This time I also made enquiries with Europtic, but the landed price for what I was after ended up being at least as dear as what I was quoted through Quentin....
My understanding and observations of the R8 are as follows....
Its a little heavier than the 93...it feels heavier than the Sako Finnlight (but only about 300grams on a finnlight in 708) but the mass is central and it points extremely well... It weighs 3.7kgs all up with 18" barrel, Z3 Swarovski 3x9 and saddlemeount, and attached sling. Atec can adds another 270 grams so all up just over 4 kgs loaded..
The stock is the best fitting stock I have come across as a general purpose hunting stock, drop at heel is very close to drop at comb, almost level in the american style of being designed for scope shooting. No cut away, or cheekpiece as the professional stock is designed for left or right handers, with a modified palm swell being the only change to achieve this. This is in keeping with the modular nature of the firearm. The palm swell and grip about perfect for me. While I thought the 93 was OK, I felt that the balance was more forward than I preferred, the fore-end was less than satisfactory for me, and the general fit was no-where near as nice as my Sako 75's.
I took a punt when ordering the R8, cause I had never seen one.. the descriptions I had read of the stock fit seemed to indicate that the R8 would be more "Sako" like in fit than the 93 had been... I was lucky cause I would consider it to be an even nicer fit..
Obviously a switch barrel, and QD scope mounts as per the 93.
Its a stronger action than the 93, which is a stronger action than most other commercially produced conventional bolt actions...
Some say the action is not a smooth as the 93, I wouldn't know, but I suspect that well used 93s are going to be smoother than newish R8's.. Its certainly the smoothest cycling action I have had the pleasure to own... and its fast... as both are..
Fit and finnish... almost perfect....
The trigger thing... no real issues with losing it I believe if it is properly locked in.. It requires two fingers to squeeze both sides of the action to release the trigger group. The ability to insert another mag insert quickly if you carry a spare would increase your firing rate over the 93 if you need to fire more than the 4+1 from the first mag... Trigger itself is very nice... crisp let-off, fractional creep but better than most others..
Its very accurate... I am getting clover leaf groups with Norma practice ammo in factory 120gr. Not quite so good with the barnes 120 TTSX that I am sorting at the moment... 3 shot 3/4 MOA groups with H335 powder for 2900fps.. I have a feeling that I will be moving away from the H335 with the 120s, or maybe dropping down to the 100s for just a touch under 3100...
This is getting long winded.. but hopefully may be of use..
This isn't a cam locked piece of tube steel, with a permanent barrel attached to it and a dedicated stock for each calibre. This rifle is a precision piece of engineering, enabling a 60 sec switch from a 222 right up to a .500 Jefferey, with bolt heads, bolt assemblies, trigger groups barrels and stocks being able to be changed from one rifle to the next, without issue... to be able to detach and re-attach the scope without significantly affecting group size between rounds. Its about or close to the fastest manually operated reloading system and its smoothness is a delight to use.
Its just a rifle that goes bang and yes its pretentious bullshit for some, but it is also a very functional piece of kit. These days my remaining sakos hardly get out of the cupboard, and I had to sell a few to pay for it...
Money wise... should be able to get a Professional R8 in a standard cal with a saddle mount for around $5000... yep it's dear, but with Sako 85 finnlights being advertised at around $3500 its cheap and you don't have to spend another $3500 to get the nxt calibre... $1200 - $1500 for a factory barrel, other options are starting to come up maybe... and if you get really lucky the same scope and mounts may transfer across without issue as well..
You are not going to get any change out of $4000 bare rifle for putting together a custom cam lock tube either.....
Not for everyone, and I don't need it either... I just like it... :pacman: