BLR Magazines

[rickt300]

My BLR is a 1976 model in 358. I would like to have at least one more magazine for it so up to what year and models of the BLR magazines will fit my rifle. It came with the one that hangs under the reciever  which is fine with me but these seem hard to find. Where is the best place to look for a magazie that will fit my rifle? Does Browning still offer them?

[pagris]

rickt300:  BLRs with the protruding magazine were produced through 1980.  If you look at the receiver of your BLR, you will notice that the receiver is thicker (wider) at each end than it is at the middle - this design (a concave receiver) made it necessary to make the magazine longer in order to hold an acceptable number of cartridges and thus it protrudes.  BLRs manufactured from 1981 on (known as '81 BLRs) have a straight-sided receiver, which permits a wider magazine that is shorter and sits basically flush with the bottom of the receiver.

Extra magazines for the pre 81 models are difficult to find and are costly - there is one for sell on eBay right now that is up to $51 and still has several days to go:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Browning-BLR-Magazine-Pre-81-243-308-358_W0QQitemZ190119237844QQihZ009QQcategoryZ36257QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

There are also a couple for sale on gunbroker.com  - one for $70 and two others for $75 each. 

[The Gamemaster]

You can purchase them NEW at Grice Gun Shop.

www.gricewholesale.com

I believe the last time I bought one, it was $55!

That was tax and everything.

[pastorp]

gamemaster, is that for a pre-81 mag? They have been out of production for years. Byron

[The Gamemaster]

Once in a while they have items that were on stock and never sold and they didn't wholesale them - because no matter what it is, in time it will be unreplaceable.

Before you waited for my reply, you should have called them and asked them.

How many times have you gone to a store and asked for something and the clerk told you that they just sold their last one yesterday.

I was very good friends with Scoot Grice back in the day when I lived in Clearfield PA and it wouldn't suprise me if they had 4 of them.

When you see a truck from Browning or Remington or Winchester that has a trailer that is 54' long and loaded from top to bottom, front to back and they unloaded the whole truck at that place.

It's not a mom and pop gun store.  It is the largest privately owned gun shop on the East Coast and most of the other gun shops buy / bought or have bought in the past off Grice Wholesale.

I just bought a new Browning Pump Rifle .300 Winchester Magnum clip a couple of months ago with the money I got from a prize I won at one of their annual Anniversary Sales!

Browning Pump Rifle and Browning Automatic Rifle uses the same clip. only the Browning Pump Rifle was only made a couple of years.  I didn't know that, but they did and they had 5 of them on stock.

[Blackhawk44]

rickt300- there are three on Ebay at the moment and if Grice can't help you there is http://www.hoosiergunworks.com/catalog/magazine_rifle.html.  None are cheap, but they aren't making any more, either.  A good BLR is worth it. 

[rickt300]

Well I just called Grice and ordered a magazine. They were out of the ones marked 358 but had several for the 308 and I said I wanted one. The magazine I have at the moment has 243, 308 and 358 stamped on it so I suspect the one marked 308 will work and if it doesn't I bet I can make it work

[pastorp]

rick, the orginal browning BLR mags, now called pre81, will not say 358 if produced for the belgium made guns. That caliber was not chambered in the belgium guns. The japanese guns were produced in 358. In any case the mags are the same for all pre81 guns so the 308 mags will work in your 358 jap made gun. Byron