I have owned a Blaser Tactical 2 in .338 Lapua Magnum since late 2009 and can quite honestly say I absolutely love this rifle. The straight pull action on it is amazing. The only thing I found a little off with it when I bought it was the fact that it came with a 12 MOA rail from factory; $500 later, I had the genuine Blaser 40 MOA rail on its way to me to be installed here at home.

For quite a few years I was happy shooting the Blaser in its .338 Lapua format; I had other rifles in .308 Winchester and .300 Winchester Magnum to ease the burden on my bank account. I also reload which takes that sting down to somewhere a little south of shooting $5 bills down range. Still, I love it despite the expense of feeding it, let alone the initial purchase price of the rifle and optic (around $13K). I eventually got to the point where I wanted a caliber conversion kit for the rifle. From the factory they were available in: .223 Remington, .308 Winchester, .300 Winchester Magnum and .338 Lapua Magnum.

20180422_085653
Me out with a mate in a state forest in Victoria sometime in 2014 on a shooting trip.

Now here lies my problem. The German government has banned the sale of what they consider military arms to civilians. This leaves me and others like me in a bit of a bind. Not only is it now almost impossible to get new conversion kits for these rifles; it is now almost impossible to source parts to repair these rifles should something go wrong and need repair. About 3 years ago I called my Blaser dealer here in Australia where I initially purchased the rifle from to inquire about a conversion kit and spare parts. This is where I was given the story above about the German government. What do I do now? I guess I have to see if I can find any spare parts on the second hand market. There is not a lot of them coming up here in Australia.

I had another idea; I know the Australian Army now uses the Blaser Tactical 2 in .338 and .308 as their new sniper rifle system. Who imports them for the Army? Through my research I found that an Australian company called XTEK does. Not only do they import them for the Army they also have made a new chassis for them and larger capacity magazines. I get on the phone to XTEK and I’m basically told not a chance of getting any parts or help from them, despite it being completely legal in Australia to own this rifle on the civilian market. At the very least I only want a spare bolt head for what I already have. Back to the 2nd hand market I go. Through a bit more fishing around on the internet I came across the John1911Blog and got in touch with Marky from there. He offered a suggestion for a barrel maker; however, nothing has panned out since.

XTEK Blaser
Image taken from the XTEK TAC2 catalogue found here: http://www.xtek.net/assets/Uploads/Sectors/Weapons–Ancillaries/XTEK-Tac2.pdf

My next option is to find a manufacturer to make the parts for me or find someone willing to sell me a .308 Winchester conversion kit. If you know of anyone, anywhere across the world please let me know. I know a few US Police departments have used them over the years. I’m happy for second hand parts. Please reach out if you have any. I have no problem importing it as I have a mate in the industry who can help me. I can be reached at precisionrifleguy@bigpond.com

Cheers,

Craig