Every once in a while we have the privilege of being proved resoundingly wrong. Like most gun nuts, I'm an opinionated sort. My father used to quote an old wise man who said, "The opinions of a man aren't worth the ashes of a rye straw." Where guns are concerned, it didn't take for me.

I like old guns with all-steel parts and good walnut. And the heavier a gun is and the more structural integrity it has, the more accuracy potential it has. Some of the old fellows I used to hang around glued their benchrest actions into the stocks with Acraglass.

When they got a rifle shooting the way they wanted, you didn't touch the screws. Allegedly there were shooters who, trying to find the perfect height to glass a pressure point into the end of the barrel channel, had struck on the perfect layer of electrical tape and--afraid to mess with it--left it there for decades.

So when I had the chance to test a Blaser R93 bolt action, I approached the project with the philosophy that as it was a modular design, it doubtless had characteristics other than great accuracy to recommend it. I was about to get an emphatic shock at the range.

Other than being skeptical about a rifle that arrived in a box that would barely hold a tennis racket, I was skeptical about the price. Rifle Shooter had requested a basic, matte-blued and synthetic stocked version. Even this base model retails at well over $2,000, which is a lot of money for a plain-Jane gun. I wanted to know what, if anything, made it worth that.

The rifle came to me without a manual. I guess Blaser figured a gun editor should be able to figure it out. The only thing that gave me pause was the little hinge-and-spring-in-plastic magazine box. After looking it over, I promptly managed to get it installed upside-down--and stuck. Feeling slightly foolish, I unjammed the darn thing, righted it, and the rifle went together beautifully.

The system really is a marvel in modern modular engineering. The action "bed" is precisely formed and incorporates steel orienting hubs, so it comes together exactly the same each time. The barrel bolts in with two Allen-head screws that are captive in the stock so you don't lose them. The aforementioned magazine fits in a mortise precision formed for it. Then, providing you have the magazine in correctly, the bolt slides in from the rear--but not like a conventional bolt.

BLASER R93 PROFESSIONAL
Manufacturer	Blaser, www.blaser-usa.com, 410-604-1495
Type	straight-pull bolt action
Caliber	.243 Winchester
Magazine Capacity	3 rounds
Barrel	22.7 -inch free floated
Overall Length	40 1/8
Weight	6 1/2 pounds
Sights	milled for Blaser scope mount
Sights	milled for Blaser scope mount
Trigger	3 1/2 -lb. crisp single-stage
Stock	synthetic with rubber inserts
Safety	manual cocking system

The Blaser is a straight-pull design, and when out of the rifle the bolt is squarish and slightly ungainly, with two long steel rails protruding forward from the bottom portion of the bolt.

Those two rails line up with and slide forward into two--for lack of a better description--raceways that are incorporated into the stock. As the bolt slams home, the bolt handle itself rotates slightly forward and locks, activating the multiple locking lugs around the bolt body.

To remove the bolt, depress the right side of the magazine, push in a little bolt catch located on the top right of the action and slide it out. Amazingly, bolts are available in right or left hand and may be easily swapped out.