I just shot and cleaned mine today. It was a gift and I've had it for about ten years. It has never missed a beat. The recoil is negligible and it's a pleasure to shoot. I use a Burris Compact scope and I've only used factory rounds through it. The gun shoots MOA with, of all things, Remington Corelockt right off the shelf. I've taken elk, black bear, and deer with it. I haven't used it in really extreme weather, but it functions at -20F.
Dr. John, I have a Browning Bar in a 338 mag. I is a little heavy considering the other hunting rifles I have, but it is a pleasure to shoot and very accurate also. This rifle is new to my stable of guns and I have not shot a lot of loads out of it as yet compared to the others. It is shooting 1.4 inch groups with factory ammo. It will get better with some handloads I am sure. I once owned a 300 Win mag and a 270 Win in a Bar also, both these rifles shot under an inch at 100 yards of the bench. The .270 shot 1/2 groups. They are a quality gun!
I took it out this winter in freezing weather and it had no problems firing the entire magazine with out a hiccup. I used Federal factory ammo for this cold weather trail. The temperature was a -16 degrees.
I had one. Once while hunting in light rain/sleet the gun messed up and cost me a nice deer. I think the action spring got sluggish, barely even dented the primer. One thing I noticed is that these do not have near as much reliability as a bolt action. I never had problems with the action feeding the next round, it was just a matter of getting the first round to fire. I disassembled and cleaned regularly as well, so it wasn't a problem with dirt.
Posts: 2851 | Location: Michigan | Registered: 02 September 2001
It's not fair to compare the BAR to bolt action rifles -- it's just not a bolt. What it is, however, is absolutely the most accurate and dependable sporting big game auto ever produced.
Very few of them will fail to group under 2", and they are often much better (compare that to a Remington 742 with it's "shotgun" patterns). I have never experienced a function problem in my .270, which is a pre-Safari II, (and does much better than 2" groups), and it's trigger, while not benchrest quality, is actually very good.
I have sometimes wondered if the two-piece stock arrangement will dependably hold up to the recoil of a .338, but I suppose that if the same type stock takes 12 gauge magnum recoil in much higher volume and for years on end, then it must be stout enough for a .338 also.
Posts: 13236 | Location: Henly, TX, USA | Registered: 04 April 2001
I own a BAR in 300 WM since 1996. With it I killed 38 boars and 5 roe deers; it shot over 600 rounds 99% reloaded, without any problem. I believe that it is a reliable rifle, with good cartridges and often cleaning. May be in 2003, I will sell it and buy..... another BAR, same caliber, but "light". No better semiauto hunting rifles available!
I have a BAR Lightweight 338 and much prefer it to my bolt actions. It is accurate(at least as accurate as the bolt actions I've used which include Browning, Ruger, and Winchester) and so far has worked fine. Use brake cleaner to clean it for cold weather and then a bit of synthetic lube.) I got it a couple of years after getting scared by 3 grizzlies at very close range. They survived and so did I, but the autoloader is much more comforting to carry in grizzly country(which is just about everywhere I go) than my bolt actions.
Daryl that is the reason I got this Browning Bar I own now, the bear problem that one can run into while hunting in there living room up North.
I plan on using the Swift A Frames in a 250 grain bullet for this rifle. I will do a lot more shooting with it before taking it on a hunt. I want to find out the pro's & con's of this particular gone and what it will or won't do in all kinds of weather.
The beautiful wood stock will be taken off and a McMillan stock will be fitted and put back on the rifle. I haven't as yet decided which Leupold scope will adorn the barrel of the Browning or if I will put one on at all.
