Browning BAR - Opinions Sought

[Anthony]

Hello Everyone,

I'm considering buying a non-military semiautomatic rifle for a general purpose sort of weapon. As one of its missions will be as an antipersonnel tool, absolute reliability is a must. After hearing some mixed reviews of the Remington Model 7600 I have started considering Browning's B AR.

Is this rifle based on the same action as the famous Browning Automatic Rifle from World War II? If yes, does it share that weapon's reputation for reliability?

Does anyone on the list own the rifle? If yes, what has been your experiences with it? Which model and caliber do you own?

What kind of accuracy is it capable of?

Will it function with the full spectrum of ammunition?

Do you feel the BAR is a rugged kind of rifle?

Thanks for all of your input.

- Anthony

 

[Spectre]

Military rifles tend to have a degree of reliability hard to find in purely civilian arms.

Spartacus has one in .300 WinMag. His is extremely accurate, but I don't know about reliability...

 

[Johnny Guest]

The similarity is only in the name, I fear.

<<I'm considering buying a non-military semiautomatic rifle for a general purpose sort of weapon. As one of its missions will be as an antipersonnel tool, absolute reliability is a must. After hearing some mixed reviews of the Remington Model 7600 I have started considering Browning's B AR.

Anthony--I assume you're talking about the shiny, SPORTING BAR with a three to four shot magazine. (A semi-auto-only version of the M1918 BAR, was produced briefly in recent years, but an entirely different arm.)

<<Is this rifle based on the same action as the famous Browning Automatic Rifle from World War II?
No.

<<If yes, does it share that weapon's reputation for reliability?
Very well-made and reliable as a sporting arm. It would probably not stand up to sustained use anywhere near as well as the military squad automatic weapon.

I don't know of anyone offering increased capacity mags for the sporting rifle. At least with the Remington 740, 742 and 7400 rifles, there are SOME seven round mags available.

<<Does anyone on the list own the rifle? If yes, what has been your experiences with it? Which model and caliber do you own?
I don't own one. I've had a little experience with friends' rifles in .30-06 and .300 WinMag.

<<What kind of accuracy is it capable of?
They had no trouble shooting inch-and-a-half groups at 100 yards with 'em. I never did any real accuracy testing with those two rifles.

<<Will it function with the full spectrum of ammunition?
Sorry--no data.

<<Do you feel the BAR is a rugged kind of rifle?
Yes, for a sporting rifle. But nothing like as rugged as a real military weapon.

If you want something to function anything like a military rifle on a sustained basis, I fear you'll need to get a military style rifle.

The Springfield Armory M1-A is pretty much state of the art. It will use 20 round magazines and keep on working for a LONG time, even in rapid fire.

The new-production AR-10 is said to be very rugged, but I have zero experience with them.

The good old M1 Garand rifle is still available for reasonable prices. It is a military rifle but doesn't have the "Assault Rifle Look" about it, if this is a factor. It does not use big magazines, but, with a little practice, one can keep up quite a sustained fire with the en bloc eight round clips. This is a truly rugged item.

There are several foreign-made military style rifles which meet similar criteria---
FN-FAL, HK-91/STG-something or other, FN49, CETME, and others.

I'm afraid there's not much out there that meets your exact specs, but you ought to be able to find something that fits. I'm just afraid the current-production Browning sporting BAR is probably not it.

Best,
Johnny

 

[Byron Quick]

I've got a Browning BAR Safari II in .300 Win Mag with a BOSS. I can get sub MOA accuracy with non premium factory ammo. Reliability is fine for hunting most North American game. I had some broken springs the first year I used it but no problems since. I wouldn't use it on a grizzly hunt but that's just me Sounds like you need to look at a M1A or M1 Garand to me.