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I have 2 Portagual assembled BARs. I got a 7mm with a leupold for 600 and a LNIB 308 for 650. I feel good about those purchases.
I have a opportunity for a 69 belgium 270 grade 2 condition 90% plus, with the elk and antelope etching. Price 900. Trying to figure out what kind of a deal this is.
Gunbroker is kinda all over the place from 700 to 1200. I dont know yet the prices and worth of the old belgium ones. Any info would be great. Thanks for the time .

FWIW, my gauge on this stuff is what it's worth to me, not what I stand to make on it later on after I'm finished drooling on it. I like old Brownings and have a reliable supplier when I get the itch.

Maybe you should check with a collectors' group or forum instead of a bunch of shooters.

Hey there Nugget, firstly welcome to "The 'Fahr"
Your question is valid. Various regions price certain brands and styles of guns differently. When I traveled Utah and Michigan regularly to visit family...I could for example buy Auto 5 shotguns reasonably in Utah and sell one now and then in Michigan for a good bit more. While in Michigan I could buy Winchester 12s reasonably and my dealer friends in Utah were happy to take all I could bring in at a good profit... for both parties. There is a local and a regional best price for most used guns.
Of course high grade Brownings with box and papers "ANIB" are always in demand...90% 'ers...not so much, unless you see several at your local range on sight in day.

Both have good points. Thanks for the input.

$900 sounds maybe a touch high but not too far out of line. It comes down to how much do you want the gun. I know I've paid a bit more than market average on a few guns over the years because they were ones I really wanted. I like BARs. My wife had one of the older grade 2s in 30-06 that we traded off back in our gun swapping days. I recently bought her a replacement, though not a grade 2. I don't think you'll get hurt at $900 on it.

Dad bought one of the first Belgian made Grade 1 BAR's and we called it the one shot automatic. Those early ones only had one ejector pin in the bolt face to kick the case out and it wasn't enough in dad's .308. The thing stove piped the fired case most of the time. We sold it for what we bought it for which back in the late 60's they were going for $165.00 new. The later BAR rifles had two ejector pins and were better. I always thought that they were too heavy especially in the magnum versions.

love my '06 bar. made by FN, assembled in portugal.

had a 300 winchester. same thing.

sold it, kept the '06.

it's a meat gun.

Alright i like learning. When did the BAR go from a single pin to a double pin extractor. Was it when they are assembled in Portagual?

I knew one gent ( I was 16 then) who had one in 30-06 that only worked right with the 180gr. This was on Texas Hill country deer and he didn't like it that much, most ran a long way after the shot. He tried a Model 100 Winchester in .243, but it was a jammomatic with everything. When I got out of the Army in '73, I bought a new BAR in 7mm Rem Mag. It was too heavy, and jammed regularly. Traded it off. Tnrough the years I watched the hewer ones that friends used (still Beligum made) work swell in .243 and .270, plus one guy had a 300WM. In 2001 I bought an older Beligum model in .270, had it cleaned thoroughly, reblued, etc and it was a gem. I had it until last year when Obammacare Tax Man almost ruined me, sold everything. I did buy an even newer one (Japanese I think) years ago for a friend, in .338WM, that had the side bolt release. ( I ddn't care for that lever at all!) I had the rifle Magnaported, a Decelerator pad added and it works just fine. He wanted a bonafide elk rifle ( he had no money then, I did...then) is very recoil sensitive. Its a kitten. So, as mentioned, in some parts of the country, people revere them...in others they are just one step above a good boat anchor!

In my opinion there is a great difference in the two. The older made in Belgium is a much better rifle. I’ve owned both with the Belgium model being better made and more accurate. Hasbeen

A gunsmith friend told me that the old ones would shoot their buttstocks loose. I shot my buddies 7mm Rem mag and not only was it deadly accurate, the trigger was better then any other BAR I have shot or owned. It was an old entirely made in Belgium model. I like the Wood better on the old models.

I bought a 1969 year model all Belgian BAR Grade II here in 2011 for 750 bucks shipped, beautiful rifle, I let a bud talk me out of it, have been thinking about buying another, fine, fine rifle, accurate too with 225 gr TTSX's at 2800 fps.

I have Browning BARs:
1969 338WM
1980 300WM
1990 338WM


Here is a pic of some BAR gas regulators.
They are really a pipe plug with a little hole drilled in the end.
But the diameter of the hole is important.

One of the regulators is the old original one.
One is a new one from Brownells or Midwest gunworks.
One is a home made one that I made out of round steel stock on my lathe.

From my notes:
Quote:
The regulator is just a 9/16-24 ultra fine thread bolt with a hole in
it. If FALs have adjustable by pass gas, BARs have fixed jets.

a) 7mm Mag is .066" hole
b) 300 Mag is .077" hole [p/n B3176146]
c) 338 Mag is .059" hole
d) My home made is .078" hole
e) recoil buffer [p/n B3176065]


What does it all mean?
You want to load hotter, use a bigger hole.
You want to load wimpier, use a smaller hole

You want a custom regulator?
Buy one with a smaller hole and drill it out to match your loads.
Don't fabricate one from scratch like I did the first time.

The BAR rifle has never been made in Japan, not that there is anything wrong with that. The early ones were made in Belgium, and the newer ones since at least the 80's are made in Belgium assembled in Portugal.

This really makes me want to shoot mine and see what they are like. I have 4, 7mm Rem mag, .30-06, .243 and .338. I tried to sight in the .243 one time and found that it needed horizontal windage adjustment to zero, which I did not have at the range. They are neat guns, but heavier than I would want to carry in the hills, which is also where they would really shine with the barrel length and quick follow up shots. I need to work less, shoot more and have fun!

I didn't know that Pard, thanks for clearing that up. At any rate, that .338WM of my buddies has only shot the Winchester factory 200 NBT load. since my buddy is recoil sensitive, I saw not need to try anything heavier, and that 200 NBT ( coated Winchester) has a good rep here in Utah.

Well, Thanks to this thread, I done it yesterday, found and purchased a beautiful 1969 year model BAR Grade II in 338 WM, just like my old one, I have a cherry set of gloss Conetrol bases and rings for a BAR, I now need to find an equally clean gloss 1.75-6, 2-7 or 2.5-8 Leupold.

Loaded up some nice medium powered handloads for testing yesterday evening featuring the 210gr Partitions over H-4350, cant wait to get this put together, then on too the bench and woods!

Congrats! I think you will find it is a great killer and doesn't 'tear up" as much game as many high velocity smaller rounds! It "really shines" on hogs! Want to test "penetration"? shoot a big hog lengthwise! have a ball pard!

Thanks Jim, have had a couple buds that don't like BAR's and ask me why, I can hear and feel the BAR's and A-5 shotguns working while firing them, I think it's cool as hell, plus, it's a testament to the genius of John Moses Browning and FN.

I'll shoot up a couple boxes of the 210 NPT's then build a load with the 250 NPT's for everything else later. the 210's at an accurate and easy 2800-2850 should do fine for now.

I’ve got a Belgium .270 that I inherited about 10 years ago. Was my grandfathers only cf rifle since the late 60s and he would shoot probably 30-50 pigs, coyotes and deer a year with it. I’ve shot it probably 500 rounds since I’ve gotten it. Never had a jam and it’s as accurate as any bolt rifle I’ve ever owned. Other than a pre Garcia sako I think anyone is going to have a hard time finding more vintage rifle for the money they are selling for