Hello, everyone. I'm Steven Rademacher, the General Manager of Target Shotguns, Inc. As one of the leading American Blaser dealers, we have encountered much confusion and partial information regarding the two different generations of Blaser F3 barrels and receivers. In the interst of clarifiying this topic for everyone, here is a distilled cheat sheet for F3 owners to determine what they have and what they can do with it:
The old style is 7 degrees. If your receiver’s serial number starts with prefix J, it left the factory with a 7-degree locking bolt; however, it may or may not have been updated with the new style 12-degree locking bolt during the intervening years. Old receivers generally left the factory in a concrete gray color, but many have been refinished in black. 7-degree barrels and locking bolts lack any markings indicating them as such.
Note: while receivers can be updated to the new 12-degree standard, 7-degree barrels cannot be updated.
The new style is 12 degrees. If your receiver’s serial number starts with prefix FR, it left the factory with a 12-degree locking bolt. All 12-degree locking bolts and barrels are marked as such; the former on its front-facing edge (photo attached), and the latter with a mark on the side, immediately adjacent to the locking surface (other photo attached).
Note: although not recommended, 7-degree barrels are generally considered safe to shoot on receivers with 12-degree bolts. However, receivers with a 7-degree bolt cannot lockup with a 12-degree barrel.
That pretty much covers it. If any of you have additional questions, fell free to email me directly at steven@targetshotguns.com. Thanks a bunch!
—Steven Rademacher
