I have a BAr in 300 WSM. I am concerned about how well this action cycles in cold (0 F) weather. Any experience (good or bad) is appreciated.

I have only owned one bar and sold it after it jammed twice in cold wet weather despite proper lubrication and maintenance.

JLR ----- I owned two BAR's in .300 Win mag and loved both. When they work they are great, when they do not work it is kind of like when you were 14 years old, you have a mess on your hands. Good shooting.

mine froze up twice both my failt once to much
oil and dirt 2nd time about -15 below got in and out of warm truck about 6 time caused condensation and froze it up keep it clean and lite oil it will do fine
just my opinon.

Hello,
I lived in Alaska for some 5 years and knew of a few people who had the BAR and they were very careful to keep the snow, rain, etc. out of the action. Yes, they will freeze up in zero weather, but if hunting where it is not so damn cold, should have little problems. Big problem with them, at least the older models, was that it was a real chore to get into the action to clean and service. Think you had to take the butt stock off and have been told that the newer ones not that complicated. Favor Center!!
dsiteman

quote:

Originally posted by JLR:
I have a BAr in 300 WSM. I am concerned about how well this action cycles in cold (0 F) weather. Any experience (good or bad) is appreciated.

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If you will clean all of the mineral lubes out of it and off of it and get it completely "dry" and then relube the all of cycling/moving parts with graphite, you wont have any problems with a BAR.

I had a .338 WINMAG BAR Safari. Never jammed on me...in warm weather. Jammed on me three times during shooting sessions on two occassions while shooting in 5 degree weather, not including wind chill factor. That really destroyed my confidence in the gun and I sold it for a bolt action. I didn;t need a "fair weather" hunting rifle.

I like going to a bar in cold weather. Then again it's nice to go to them when warm too. In fair weather one should go to celebrate the fine day. Yes,bar in cold weather is a good idea.

I've had 3 of the older type and only once had a problem due to cold weather -- the lube that was used before I got it wasn't suitable for cold weather. As stated above, the newer models are a bit easier to maintain, but a friend of mine uses an older .300 Win BAR in cold weather without any problems. I'm always on the lookout for a new cold-weather lube that will actually WORK, but when I'm in doubt I use graphite.

I had one of the early BARS in .338 cal. Hunted with it successfully for several cold hunting seasons in Alaska without any "freezing up" problems, including a couple of sub zero winter trips on snowmachine with the rifle in a gun boot. One year I broke the stock in the field on the first day of a ten day hunt. My friends and I glued all the pieces back together with jb weld and tight wrapped the break with duct tape (you do what you can in the field!). After a nerve racking test shot, I shot a caribou with it the next day. It was always a real performer, but I kept her clean, wiped it down each night and used "gunsheath". I think your BAR will be ok if you take care of it.
As a final note, after the first couple of years I started having a few feeding problems at the range, which sadly turned me off to my BAR. Tried several different magazines and still had the same problem, so I retired it (but I couldn't bring myself to sell it).