Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Browning Bar

I have a browning bar in a 300 mag was just wonder how it would be to use elk hunting up in the mountains. I live in North Dakota and use it for deer hunting up here and don't have any problems.

I am just wondering about the action is all. I have had for several years and been in all kinds of weather. I know when you get snow up in the mountains you get snow. I was just hoping for a little input.

The gun is great but it is very heavy. I had one in Northern Alberta for years but when I moved to BC, I gave it away ,as it was just to heavy to carry up the mountain every morning. Where I hunt we do a lot of walking and bugling up high. After 1 or 2 days the weight of the BAR really slows you down. As I get older my pack it reduced by the same ammount of weight as my ass increases and it was easy to find a rifle alot lighter than a BAR. I have never had a BAR jam due to wheather. I hope this helps

I know a couple of guys use those, 1 is a 300 win, the other a 7mmrem mag. As far as I know its the only rifle either one has used for elk in many years.

Louden, told as it really is, great post. I saw many flatlanders come to the mountains and strap on a handgun, that lasted about one day when they were hunting high country. Some get very angry when you say something about their sidearm until thay pack it around in that thin air. After I passed 50 the viennas and sardines stayed in camp or I ate those suckers when they started getting heavy. I now hunt with very short, light rifles, they only recoil one time. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> -- no

I owned a bar markII in 7mmremmag.It was sold after it jamed twice during a moosehunt in very cold wet weather despite proper lubrication and maintenance.

Thanks for all the input guys it is very appreciated.

I have a Belgian GR 2 BAR in 30-06. I've put close to 200 rounds thru it and it has never jammed but the steel receiver guns are heavy. I shoot factory ammo out of it BTW. I take it with me when I'm going to a stand. Not a rifle I'd coose to carry all day.

Rick,

Pssst...North Dakota's weather sucks.

If you can run the BAR in ND there aren't many places that will give you trouble, and elk hunting in the mountains isn't one of them.

You must be doing everything right already.

A couple of the best pure elk hunters I have ever meet in Oregon used the BAR in 300 win mag. They never had a problem with them and they worked great in the lodgepole thickets. Into the season those elk are hitting race horse speed right now. The BAR guys I hunted with would pick out an open spot in the trees where the elk was heading and as soon as they saw fur in the scope they were shooting and not just once but hitting the elk as many times as possible till they took a dirt nap. I thought the BAR very effective in this role.

A high school friend of mine has shot a Belgium made BAR in 7RM for years, his father hunted with it also before handing it down to him. I've shot it off the bench many years ago and it was accurate with factory ammo, averaging 1MOA at 100yds. As far as I know its never jammed or given him any problems.

I met another hunter in a camp who used one in 300WM, don't know much about it except he complained it jammed while hunting in sub zero weather while hunting in Colorado.

MtnHtr

The spray and pray method sometimes works.It can also result in a lot of wounded animals being lost.

" The spray and pray method sometimes works.It can also result in a lot of wounded animals being lost."

It was more than spray and pray, they could instinct shoot with the best. They new what they were doing and I doubt you could hold a candlelight to them to even make this statement.

One of my cousins shoots only BAR's. One in 30.06 for deer and the other in .300 Win for elk. He's been to Alaska to hunted Moose and has hunted deer and elk for the last 45-50 years. He loves those rifles more then anything else he's ever had and he wouldn't give either of them up for any of the new bolt actions that are out. As far as I know he'a never had a problem with either.
On the comment about the spray and pray method, I don't think it was intended to offend anyone but just stating that most hunters don't feel it is the best thing to be doing. Even if you are an excellent instictive shooter. When a person talks about blasting away at patch of fur it doesn't sit very well with most hunters and especially with the Anti's that look for anything to make hunters look irresponsible, but that's just my thought on it.

My thought as well.When the rate of fire becomes the priority the shooters accuracy suffers as a result.

I think the BAR is about as good as you can get for close quarters hunting of anything. My father has a BAR in 7mmrem that he used a ways back for deer in high dense forest on Big Cimarron and he did very well with it. Keep in mind this is at 9,000ft. or so in dense pine with a few feet of snow. He never had any problems or malfunctions with the gun. Talk about a fun gun to shoot.... I love that thing. Think it was made in Belgium of all places.

jumper, just for your info, they dont spray and pray. They take well calculated shots and their follow up shots are easier with the
BAR. The rate of fire is never the priority. Like the 3rd baseman that handles a hot grounder they make it happen in a hurry. Something you obviously dont know anything about or have seen.

Your imagination is running wild on this one. Take a deep breath and put your nose back in joint. Your taking something out of context and running with it. You should ask more questions before you put your mouth in gear. Please stop presuming.
Thank you.

And personaly, I could care less what the anti's think. There going to think it anyways.

Which part of this was taken out of context? I don't think anyone has a problem with picking out a spot that the elk will come through and using it as a shooting lane but to say that as soon as they see fur they are shooting and unloading their guns doesn't paint a pretty picture of your buddies hunting methods even though they might be the greatest hunters in the state. Maybe you shoud have included something about them identifying thier target first. I hunt and live in Oregon so I know that picking a lane is important and sometimes it's the only way your going to get a shot, I think I know what your talking about.
Back to the topic: Browning Bars are in my opinion the best semi-auto hunting rifle around. If I were a real semi-auto fan I would have two.

If you saw my brother in law's game room, I think you all would stop this silly BAR bashing. It's a heck of a nice auto, period. If you dont like auto's fine, but you can stop peeing on it because it is a hell of alot better than "this" thread thinks it is.

I was taking things as you wrote them and it appears that other people feel the same way based on the quotes below.









Since you don't know me or my shooting abilities,perhaps you should takeyour own advice.