Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Browning BAR input ,???

Hi everyone,I've looked at the Browning BAR's looking for feedback on accuracy and dependability ,anyone with personal experience your inut would be appreciated ,also any real difference between the original Belgium made,japanese made and the current made in portugal ones ?

I had one with the BOSS in 270. Most accurate rifle I've ever shot. Would put 130gr Btips into 1/2". Heavy and not real handy in the woods, but for a shootinghouse kind of rifle it was awesome.

I have a Belgium made 30-06. Like 444Matt said, not the lightest gun in the woods but I love feel of the stock and it is a pleasure to shoot. I'd say as long as you stick with the real live BAR and not the new LongTrac or ShortTrac of a different design you are good to go.

Same here, Belgian 30-06 I've carried for over 25 years. Not light, but reliable and accurate. Always goes boom when the trigger is pulled, and has never failed to feed or eject. I don't know how the newer ones compare.

I have a Belgium made 30-06 bought in 1990 that has never had a problem with shooting anything under 1" at 100yds.

My father has a BAR II Safari 7mm Rem Mag bought in 1994 that has shot all kinds of factory ammo under 1.5" at 100yds. Most loads shoot around 1".

Most of the 30 guys in the hunting club we were in during the 90's had them in one chamber or another. The best I can remember, they all shot nice tiny groups. The only complaint I ever heard was from the guys with the BOSS's fussing about how loud they were. Boss's are like any other rifle with a muzzle break.

Both of our rifles have been hunted HARD, and have never given either of us any problems. They are heavier than most rifles, especially the 7mm. But to answer your question, they are accurate and dependable. I would rate them at the very top if a semi-auto is what your looking for.

I had a Belgium 280 and 338. Both shot pretty good. Did have a mechanical failure to fire with the 338 once. It was a sleety cold day, and the firing pin spring froze up or something and wouldn't fire.

I have three, an 06, 308 and 300 WM, all Belgium. They all shoot very good and I love hunting in NYS with them. On the other hand my father had a couple of 06's, 7mm RM and 338 all Belgium and they shot lousey! I have never had a FTF! good luck.

Just sold my buddy a BAR Safari in 270. It shot my 140gr NAB handloads under 1" at 100 yards. I thought it shot great until we took it out with 130gr and 150gr Core-Lokts. He got 1/2" groups with both, and impact was the same for both weights!

The trigger is a little heavy and mushy, like a cheap shotgun, but the grip puts my finger in the perfect spot for trigger control. I was going to have the trigger worked on, but the rifle shot great as-is so I cancelled that plan.

Hard not to like the BAR if you want a semi-auto, but they are a little heavy and the scope sits a touch higher than I like compared to my bolt actions.

I liked the BAR better than all the other semi-autos I owned and tried including the AR10, Mini-30, .308 AK, and M1A, but I went back to a bolt-action.

heavy and don't get it wet. If chamber rusts you get a single shot. Do they make one with a SS barrel yet?

I have been using them on and off since about 1970. I have used many of the standard calibers and all the magnums. All were Belgium made except for one Portuguese .338. The best shooting one I ever had was a .270 that consistently dis 3 for 1/2 to 5/8" at 100. Most shot around an inch to an inch and a quarter, all with some brand factory ammo. I got out of the business for a while in the eighties when I started hand loading. They can be hard on brass - dents and finding it after the shot. The only one I ever had that I had no confidence in as a hunter was a 7 mag that only did about 1 3/4.

I recently sold a Grade IV 7 mag. that shot 150 CoreLokts at around 1 1/8. Time to start thinning the herd and the money was right. My remaining one is a 1970 beautiful Grade III .30-06 that shoots factory Remingtons at just over an inch. I may load for it. One regret is selling a rebore job in .338-06.

They are heavy by today's standards for a walk about rifle, but I love them as a stand gun. I once got five for five on a herd of pigs. Jack.

5 for 5. Now you're talking! Try that with a turnbolt.

Chamber or piston/cylinder? Chamber is chrome-lined and seems to stay clean and rust free. Easy enough to clean it now and then too.

Have heard of people having corrosion in the piston/cylinder, and cleaning it mid-season means taking the fore-end off and possibly changing POI.

I Passed on a newer one in 308 back in February under 500 but nasty dig in stock,wish I had grabbed it now

Cousin's kid could tear up an anvil. He didn't clean his for a few years and the piston did carbon up and pit. I gave it a first class cleaning and it kept on working. The bolt assembly needs to be fairly clean to go to battery if you are easing a round into the chamber. Rack it back vigorously and let it fly ( noisey) and you have no problem. The only part I ever had break is a nylon recoil buffer, and it is easy to replace.

I never had one change POI when taken apart for cleaning, but I had a pretty good grasp of where to stop the forearm screw. I suppose it could happen....

jack

I had a Belgium-Portugal 300WinMag for a while. Beautiful tiger stripe wood but the thing kicked like a young mule. That rifle was responsible for ending my interest in anything above a 7RM. Traded it for an almost new Longtrac 30-06 since I wanted to stay with a semi-auto for hog hunting. I like the Longtrac. Reasonably light weight, low recoil, and shoots fine for my purposes. This one doesn't get used if shots are going to be much past 100-150yds, as I have plenty of other long range rigs. Have loaded up a few 150 SST's and they shoot 1"-1.5" at 100yds. Haven't really done any load work to speak of so I figure it could do better. I've got some 165 SST's and 180 NPT's I plan to try at some point.

A buddy has a Shortrac 243 that is extremely accurate.

Also, all variants of the BAR are either Belgium or Belgium-Portugal made. No BAR's were ever produced in Japan. Most other Browning rifles and shotguns were, but never the BAR's.

My co-worker loves BARs. He noticed that on many the barrel contacts the fore-end. The one I bought was that way. Shiny line along the barrel where the blue was gone. I removed some of the wood so the barrel would float.

I floated my 300WinMag and it started stringing vertically. Had to put some pressure back on the forearm.

I bought a used Belgian-made .30-06. Had several FTF until I cleaned the gunk. Then it fed but it went down the road. No trust.

P

BAR is my favourite rifle. No such thing as a Japanese BAR. Early ones were made in Belgium, later made in Belgium assembled in Portugal. All good. My latest is a ShortTrac stalker in 7mm-08. It is accurate, reliable and relatively light weight.

Thanks for the non Japanese info