I have a Belgium made BLR in 308 and rarely shoot it. Ohio is a shotgun only state for deer.
I liked the BLR enough that when I found a BLR 81 in 223 I jumped on it. I use the open sights on the 223 but find it a fun, accurate rifle that has taken woodchucks out to 100 yards.
The only drawback on the BLR is the 5.5lb trigger