Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Browning BAR can they be customized?

Not sure if this is the best place for this post, but it seems to attract the most 'free thinkers'.
My buddies and I were talking about ideal predator rifles. One of which had owned a BAR in .243 and said it was a sub 1" shooter and wished he had it back.... then the convo evolved to "why doesn't browning offer a predator specific version?!"
I think the market is prime for a 22" barrelled, good trigger version of a BAR in .22 nosler, .22-250, .243 etc. Maybe even with a carbon barrel option. It would be great for calling and calling these fast bandits!
It would be compliant to hunt with in Canada (ar rifles are restricted) and wouldn't be negatively affected by the ar hate in the USA.
Barring Browning ever releasing it, has anyone ever heard of or done a Browning BAR custom job ie:re-barel, trigger adjustment/swap, short action and small calibre chambering etc.?
Thanks for listening
Rob.

If you're familiar with the BAR's barrel you'll see that a re-barrel is impractical. I worked at Browning Arms Co. gunsmithing shop for several years during that time I worked on many BAR's, never saw one with any of the modifications you've mentioned.

I can recall an article written back in the early 1970s where Jack Lott converted one to .458 Win. Mag, with a lot of attendant issues, and another where a feller built a thumbhole stock for a one-armed man to use, but those were the earlier guns, not the current ones.

I had one around 1980, in .30/06, and it shot pretty well, but it was bone-stock. And heavy.

I modify the gas regulators to function smoothly with hot loads. It is kind of like the adjustment on FALs for how my gas to by pass.
I modify the recoil pads to spread the recoil out over more area and time with hot loads.