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View Full Version : Browning Bar .308 go or no go



scruffy_smith
04-15-11, 03:05
Looking to update my current deer rifle, the rifle i currently shoot is an old Remington 742 Woodsmaster in .308, looking to replace this as my everyday rifle and move up to something a little newer. I bought the gun 7 or so years ago, knew nothing of them, but I got it for like 175 bucks with a scope, and it a tack driver but after shooting it all these years, I want a new rifle. Looking around, I found a NIB Browning BAR .308 left handed rifle while looking for trade ins a few days ago. Liked the gun, great deal, asked the guy to hold it for me till next Tuesday, to get the money. Looked around and everyone wants like 1000 or better to order a regular Bar, I can take this out the door for 650 with taxes. Is there something wrong with this gun that I might need to know. It seems like a great deal, as I am left handed anyhow and was looking for a left handed bolt. My primary rifle is supposedly one of those guns that no gunsmith wants to work on, don't want to buy another gun that is supposedly problematic.

MistWolf
04-15-11, 07:02
What do you mean "update"? The Browning BAR rifle has been around a very long time, maybe as long as the Woodmaster

maximus83
04-15-11, 11:26
JMO but I wouldn't bother with the expense/hassle of buying a BAR semiauto for primarily deer hunting purposes. I'm LH as well, and I'd suggest just getting a LH bolt action rifle in .243, .308, or .30-06. It'll be cheaper, more reliable, and you won't have to mess with the expense and hassle of mags. Everybody who tries the BAR rifles at the range ends up being unhappy with their accuracy, eventually. And if you're thinking of using the commercial BAR as some kind of self-defense gun, don't. Bad idea.

carbinero
04-15-11, 11:38
As I like to do, I'll be devil's advocate. If you are hunting short range Georgia deer, like under 200 yards, I see no reason why accuracy would be a problem. Obviously it's not a benchrest gun. If you want to reduce recoil, the semiauto should be a great assist. And it's a lefty. And it's a Browning. For a decent price. And re-sale shouldn't be a big problem if you must. So add it all up, and I'd say go for it.

scruffy_smith
04-15-11, 13:56
i meant update in the sense that it is a new rifle, not thirty years old. my primary concern was the age of the woodsmaster, and the idea of having it break means that parts may be hard to find to repair it. The reason I asked about the deal on the Browning is that I have not seen a left handed bolt anywhere around here for sale, and I figured it wouldn't be as bad as trying to wait and order a new left handed bolt action. With what the prices are for a new Bar, I figure I can always get my money back, I don't mind that its last years gun, its 400 dollars cheaper than a new one. I have yet to shoot a deer from over 100 yards, so long range accuracy is not the greatest concern, just something that will function well in the field. Plus, if I don't shoot the gun well, it can be used for trading at the next gun show.

carbinero
04-15-11, 13:59
Yup, all that, except you should be able to have your FFL order you a Savage lefty bolt pretty easy: if you want to save $$, don't care about the other stuff (Browning, semiauto), and want better accuracy. But I would prefer the Browning purely based on the criteria you've mentioned as far.

MistWolf
04-15-11, 14:14
The 742 isn't going to start breaking down just because it's 30 years old. Not a good reason to replace it.

If you simply have the "Iwannagets" then by all means, get the Browning. If so, this thread shouldn't be about if you should buy the BAR, but how well it shoots with a Leupold 2x7

scruffy_smith
04-15-11, 14:19
the main reason I'm looking at an automatic is the fact that I hunt on my cousin and uncles farm, and if the gun stays there, it can be used by any of their guests if I'm not hunting at the time. This was the primary reason I saw to go to the semi-auto again. My current gun has been used by several friends to take someone hunting with them, can't be done with a bolt gun.

rsgard
04-15-11, 14:26
the main reason I'm looking at an automatic is the fact that I hunt on my cousin and uncles farm, and if the gun stays there, it can be used by any of their guests if I'm not hunting at the time. This was the primary reason I saw to go to the semi-auto again. My current gun has been used by several friends to take someone hunting with them, can't be done with a bolt gun.

I was under the impression that nfa weapons had to remain in your possession and could not be used by anyone else unless in your presence.

chadbag
04-15-11, 14:35
I was under the impression that nfa weapons had to remain in your possession and could not be used by anyone else unless in your presence.

It is not an NFA weapons. This is a commercial BAR.

rsgard
04-15-11, 14:44
the main reason I'm looking at an automatic is the fact that I hunt on my cousin and uncles farm, and if the gun stays there, it can be used by any of their guests if I'm not hunting at the time. This was the primary reason I saw to go to the semi-auto again. My current gun has been used by several friends to take someone hunting with them, can't be done with a bolt gun.


It is not an NFA weapons. This is a commercial BAR.

This.

After review he probably means SEMI-Auto. Big difference

chadbag
04-15-11, 14:46
automatic can also mean "auto loader" (sloppy phraseology though) though I think in normal use that is more with pistols

scruffy_smith
04-15-11, 15:05
I did mean semi-auto, i edited my reply earlier, reworded half the wording before I posted it , and must have deleted semi-auto from post. This rifle is a new commercial BAR that I have located locally, just haven't had any experience with any of Browning guns except for an auto-5 I've had since high school, dad gave to me when he won it in a contest along with two other shotguns. Really want to add a new gun to my safe, reserve my old 742 to spare rifle, not get rid of it.

13MPG
04-18-11, 00:51
A lot of the guys that I hunt with use a BAR of some sort. Not a one of them is unhappy with their rifles or how they shoot. Most of the shots that we take are 75yards - 250yards and the BARs do fine. I think that for $650 you should get it.

scruffy_smith
04-18-11, 04:54
picked it up yesterday, now scope and mounts are coming and then to go shoot it. really glad i jumped on it, now to see how it will shoot before deer season. I needed another rifle, and hope that this will do well for what i want. Got to watch out though, buddy of mine just offered me a FN FAL at a good price, trying it out to see if i buy it also. He offered it for sale, said he has no need for it, he bought it years ago, and has only shot about 50 rounds with it, so if this keeps up, I might have to buy another safe for the house.

meausoc
04-18-11, 21:07
At least with you new Browning BAR you have the capability for a second follow up shot. Especially if you are hunting wild hogs. Enjoy!

scruffy_smith
04-19-11, 00:07
kind of what i was thinking on a semi-auto when i saw it, i missed a 400 lb. sow when i jerked the trigger, hit her high and my remington did not seat the shell completely and I had to bump the bolt handle forward for the shell to seat correctly, missed the follow-up shot on her. Looked with a dog and never found her, found no blood to speak of, so i wouldn't mind that follow up shot as there are a large amount of hogs that travel within our farm and two or three others that butt up to ours.

DTHN2LGS
04-19-11, 22:17
The Browning Semi-auto BAR is a superior rifle to the Remington 742. Remington stopped making parts for the 742 years ago. The 742 was always a problem gun. If you have one that never malfunctioned, you should keep it in reserve, it is the exception. I, like a lot of other gunsmiths will no longer work on Remington 742's because when they go bad, they are not repairable to a reliable state again. There is no such stigma associated with the BAR. Enjoy your new rifle.

scruffy_smith
04-19-11, 22:27
I fixed the problem with the failure to reload by pulling part of the plastic bolt cover off and it appears to be fine now, but it will stick in the back of my mind that it may happen again, and I figured now was the best time to find a new rifle, instead of at the beginning of deer season. Down here, many deals can be found as people routinely sell rifles off after deer season to pay bills and buy new ones in the fall. I was originally looking for a used left-handed bolt but found this gun instead, only the second gun I have ever bought new, and I couldn't complain about price. I got my scope mounts in and mounted a scope today, now have to find time to sight it in and see how it shoots.

Suwannee Tim
04-23-11, 20:22
I don't think I have ever seen an accurate 742 jammamatic. If you have one you should cherish it. What the hell! Send it to the National Firearms Museum (http://www.nramuseum.com/) they could put it on display! Seriously, the only 742 I have ever been acquainted with and liked a lot was a 30-06 which was ruined by corrosive ammo, I had it bored out to .358 making it a 35 Whelen. I shot it quite a bit but like the man said, it went sour and it stayed sour. I have a BAR in 338 Winchester Magnum which I like a lot. It is a ferocious weapon, at both ends.

scruffy_smith
04-23-11, 23:12
I guess I've been real lucky with that gun, I've only had one situation where it failed to fully feed the shell and that was due to plastic bolt cover hanging, just broke it off at the truck and test fired it at our range the next day. I didn't know anything about that gun when I bought it and no one I knew had any experience with them. Today I was in a Pawn shop in Valdosta talking to the gun guru there, talking about several rifles, and asked him about the gun, he told me they won't even take them in as a trade and have several in the back that they won't even put on the shelf. Wish I had known this way back, as I have had several people shoot the gun and ask to buy it. I will not sell it to someone now that I know the deal, I wouldn't knowingly sell a gun that has the reputation I now know a 742 has to a friend of mine.

chadbag
04-23-11, 23:15
I guess I've been real lucky with that gun, I've only had one situation where it failed to fully feed the shell and that was due to plastic bolt cover hanging, just broke it off at the truck and test fired it at our range the next day. I didn't know anything about that gun when I bought it and no one I knew had any experience with them. Today I was in a Pawn shop in Valdosta talking to the gun guru there, talking about several rifles, and asked him about the gun, he told me they won't even take them in as a trade and have several in the back that they won't even put on the shelf. Wish I had known this way back, as I have had several people shoot the gun and ask to buy it. I will not sell it to someone now that I know the deal, I wouldn't knowingly sell a gun that has the reputation I now know a 742 has to a friend of mine.

There is nothing wrong with selling it to someone since you know it works. The problem is when you know it has a problem and sell it to offload the problem on to someone else.

Not every specimen of something with a bad reputation is a lemon.

scruffy_smith
04-23-11, 23:40
In the long talk today at the pawn shop he basically told me the bad history of the gun led to it being "fixed" and then became the 7400 Remington. Everyone I knew that had one had problems, some gave the guns away for free to others. My problem has been that everyone who has wanted it has been a good friend , and if the gun becomes problematic for one of them, I would rather keep it and loan it to them then to sell a gun to them. This way, if it messes up, there's no real problem. Now if I was somewhere shooting and an offer was made for it by someone I didn't know, I would consider it. I have always held onto the gun because I knew I would have to replace it, as it was my primary deer hunting rifle, only thing else I had was a black powder rifle, and that is used only to hunt a week earlier than everyone else that hunts at our farm. I know I have been sold a problematic vehicle by a buddy, everyone who found out what was wrong with the truck I got was mad that a friend sold me a lemon, but i knew the truck had problems when i bought it , that's why I got it cheap, still had to smooth some feathers when I called and needed someone to pull me back home when the truck would strand me.

Suwannee Tim
04-24-11, 11:54
Seriously, the 742 is not that bad for what it was designed for. I had several friends who used them with good success. They will not fire thousands and thousands of rounds and keep going, they will break. They usually string shots as they heat up. My buddies killed a lot of deer with them and a couple are still being used by children or grandchildren. One friend, the late Havard Hodges killed three deer with three shots in about six seconds at ranges from 150 to 215 yards with a 742 30-06. He thought he was shooting at and missing one deer.