Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Which semi-auto

Thinking about buying a new rifle in semi-auto, looking at Browning BAR and the Benelli R1.
Anyone have any recommendations?
thanks

had a browning Bar 30-06 shot lots of crows with it. older Belgium made ., also hard on deer.

Either is a good choice, but my preference is toward the BAR styling.

I’m a fan of the BAR. The Mark 2 Safari .243 I have is really accurate. I’ve also had great accuracy with the BAR Aluminum receiver guns in .270 and .243.

The accuracy will surprise you.

Find them in the metal at a shop if you can. I have handled both, and I suspect one will appeal to you more than the other. Which one that will be, only you can say.

Also, talk about your intended use.

The R1 can be hunted with flush mags, then if you're in an area where bears may come and try to claim your kill while you are working on it, you can have the pregnant guppy 10-rd mags loaded. .30-06 is available.

The Browning flush mag versions don't have extended-capacity options.

The BAR DBM is only available in .308. It has 5-, 10- and 20-rd mags available (only10 in current production, and 20s are stupid expensive lately), but none of them are flush the way you'd want for carrying on the hunt. DBM barrel is also only 18 inches.

Can't speak for the benelli but I have several bar safari rifles. 243 308 25-06 270 30-06 270 weatherby 7mm mag 300 win and 338 win They all shoot very well for a semi auto the magnums are heavy but again mine all shoot very very well

I have an R1. Mine shoots well with the ammo I have tried. R1 is easy to take apart for cleaning. Most people prefer the Browning.

Both are good choices. I have not owned a R1 but they are typical Benelli quality, I own a Bar MK3 and it I beautifully made.

How difficult is it to field-strip a BAR; they've always intrigued me.

RLA

I don't own any semi auto rifle but I would choose the BAR also.

Jerry

I've not owned either, but I used to clean a friends BAR (Belgian) for him. If I remember correctly, on this version of BAR, to remove the bolt assembly, the barrel needs to be removed. To remove the barrel, a heavily torqued barrel nut (or bolt), has to be removed. when removing and replacing the BAR barrel. you need to check zero because the scope is mounted on the receiver proper. A lot of BAR owners just remove the trigger assembly and flush out the bolt/receiver with solvent.

I have several friends here in Romania that hunt with the Benelli semi-autos. The barrel is made to be removed when cleaning the rifle. the scope mounts are on a rear extension of the barrel which forms the upper part of the receiver. No zero check necessary after disassembly for cleaning. For this reason, If I was to buy a semi-auto it would be the benelli, since the already have a reputation for excellent accuracy. RJ

They are simple to field strip.

Belgian BAR's first generation you needed to remove the stock to get the bolt out. They also had a habit of shooting loose.


Safari II's and MK3 are very similar. Remove the foreend, remove the gas piston rod , remove the two action bars and punch out the trigger group and you are good to go. Piston is removed by taking off the front bolt on the assembly. if it is stubborn(carbon caked) drop some Kroil and let it sit and it should come out easily. I have owned a dozen or more BAR's and have never seen the barrel removed. Barrel on all BAR's are chrome lined and also cut rifled. They are accurate F....ing barrels.

If you get a early R1 your chances of getting a dog in the accuracy dept are increased. Benelli has updated their attachment system but I don[t think they will equal a BAR in the accuracy department. Gunshop I know of took in 3 R1's from the same guy a year ago, he was done screwing with them and could not get good accuracy and their duratouch finish on the stock was gummed up. 270 WSM 30-06 and a 338. They were offered at 849 each but I would have to restock them and that would be more then the price of one new. The dealer finally sold them all.

My MK3 is the best feeling auto I have handled in a long time. It is 7 lbs 2oz on the scale and points like a really good semi-auto shotgun. Challenge is finding a light scope with good twilight performance for it . I think some sort of Z3 or Z5 would be perfect on it.

Thanks guys.

Oldelkhunter, I am sure you must be correct. My limited experience with the BAR was a long time ago. I was probably thinking of the disassembly of the 742 Remington. RJ

The complete disassembly of a Remington 742 is a pain.

RJ no problem. I have zero experience with a 742 , the first one was owned by a Friend and it was a trouble free gun. I then bought a 7400 in 270 winchester and within a box of ammo broke the extractor. I bought it back to Walmart and exchanged it(Hard to Believe I know) and then sold the new gun to a guy that had to have it. I bought a BAR right after that .

My experience is with the Remington 740, the first of that series and the BAR in 7mm Remington Magnum. They both worked, but the Remington, after five rounds, slow fire, would shoot 5-7 inches higher at 100 yds. The Browning was very heavy, too heavy.
One of my current BG rifles is a Springfield M1A Squad Scout. Puts four 130 gr. TTSX handloads into under 1.5 MOA every time. Very reliable, tough rifle. Wears a Leupold Scout Scope. A little on the heavy side, but caries well with a 5 shot, flush magazine in place. Better trigger than either the Remington or the Browning. E

Bar Mark 3 7 lbs 2 ounces.

Springfield m1a squad scout 8.8 lbs, yeah I would say it is a little on the heavy side . I would like to see if it has a better trigger , really doubt it.

Browning is not worried about losing sales to Springfield.

Curious as to why no AR-10 type 308s mentioned. Life Below Zero Sue seems pretty handy with one, severe conditions and all.
Got a Saiga 308 that is heavy and poorly balanced while the M1 is heavy
but sweet. So sweet.

I've owned both, but only one of each. A BAR MKII in .270 Win. (used) and an R1 in .30-06 (new). I've also owned an LR308, Saiga .308 Win., and M1A Scout.

The BAR has a chrome-lined chamber. Someone mentioned a chrome lined bore earlier, but I don't think that is an accurate statement. The chambers are lined with chrome, but not the bore. And I think all of the barrels are hammer forged, and not cut rifled as claimed. Maybe earlier models had those features, but Browning isn't listing those today.

Personally, I think a chamber lined with chrome is a plus with a blued barrel for this type of action. Maybe I am an idiot, but I've seen corrosion in the chambers of blued barrels. To the point where you can feel the resistance of chambering a round on a bolt action. Granted, I am in the PNWet but corrosion can happen rapidly under the right conditions. And I have never had an issue with stainless or chrome-lined chambers under the same conditions.

I also haven't seen corrosion in the bore region of blued barrels with Bore Coat, but that product isn't ideal for chambers. But so far, Gun Shield has been doing well in the chamber of one rifle that I have which is prone to corrosion.