I don't have any experience with the R8 but I did have an LRS2 (R93 based) in 308 a while back. It was a very accurate rifle and I liked it a lot. When I was looking for a rifle to take to Africa I almost bought an R93 in 375 but went with an HS Precsion instead, I just didn't want to pay the Blaser price. They do make good stuff though, I recently bought an F3 to shoot clays with.