Browning BAR vs. A-Bolt ?

N

NativeCraft

New member
How much accuracy, if any, would I be giving up going from an A-Bolt to a BAR?

I've been hunting with a Browning A-Bolt in .270 for the past 15 years and am considering getting another caliber (most likely .243) that I would enjoy shooting at the range a bit more than the .270 and I'm torn between getting another A-Bolt or going with a BAR. I would prefer the BAR, but don't want to give up a whole lot in the accuracy dept.. Would I be giving up much, if any?
Some of my hunting shots can occur at 300-350 yards, possibly.
Any discussion greatly appreciated.

Tom
 
You might want to consider going to the .223 instead of the .243. Cost, noise, recoil, accuracy, Guns avilible,etc. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Frank
 
Frank,
I should have mentioned that I would like to be able to deer hunt with the new caliber - I have posted a separate thread regarding choice of caliber. Plus, the BAR isn't available in .223, I don't believe.
 
Give up accuracy? In a word - NO. A steel frame BAR might very well solve your recoil problem. First, the rifle is heavier in actual weight and will soak up some of that recoil vs. a lighter weight firearm of the same chambering. Second, the gas mechanism will also sap a little of the recoil away. Third, the movement of the action slows the recoil impulse and this gives seemingly less recoil because the impulse is spread out over a longer time frame. More of a push instead of a sharp jab. My steel frame BAR .30-06 is absolutely the easiest and softest shooting 06' I've ever fired. Regarding accuracy, both of my BAR's, one the above mentioned 06', the other a lightweight .243 will break under 1 MOA with loads they like. The BAR can be very accurate and reliable. Run a search on this forum and you'll find lot's of discussion in the archives about BAR's.
 
nativecraft,
get the BAR you will not be disapointed. I have a 1969-70 belgium made BAR 30-06 and it shoots submoa and it has less felt recoil than my 243 bolt.

I wish that browning did make a BAR varmint model in 223...that would be a great gun
 
I just ordered a LEFT HAND SHORT TRAC BAR in 308 Win and it should be here tomorrow. I have owned a few right hand Bar's and they don't give up much if any to most bolt guns. The only thing i don't like is trying to find my brass since i load all my ammo. Buy the BAR i believe you will like it. The 243 will have almost no recoil. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif
 
inherited this one...
someday I will pass it on to my son.
wish they were are made "good" like this one.
30-06.jpg
 
bushy,
Isn't the Safari version still made "good"?

O.K. guys, it doesn't take much convincing to talk me into the BAR - it's now on my Christmas list. Now the question becomes, BOSS, or no BOSS? (I'm thinking the BOSS-CR, without the porting). I absolutely HATE the looks of those things hanging on the end of a barrel, but I understand that they do work. Opinions?
 
No BOSS for me personally. I handload and a little playing with loads is easy enough to find the sweet spot for the rifle.
 
I'm sorry let me clarify,
I know that Browning makes a great product, new or old...that being said, the quality of manufacture in a "good" rifle of yesteryear was, and is, generally higher than quality standards are today. The only reason that I can make this arguement, is that we have come so far in the last 30 yrs at understanding velocities and ballistics, let alone the great strides that we have made in metalurgy, yet if you buy a "quailty" firearm from the past, such as the Browning BAR's of belgiun descent, you get a fine, hand-crafted tool that is capable of the same, if not better, accuracy than a "new" one off the shelf. (this is why they also hold thier value).

you can never go wrong with a browning...
 
Sorry for not addressing the main question here but I have to reply to bushy.

I agree the hand crafted quality of the past was great and always pretty. However, modern CNC and EDS machining produces accuracy that no hand fitting can ever match, and at a fraction of the cost.

An average income person today can afford to buy a firearm more accurate than a millionare could have bought 75 years ago. That was back when being a millionare really meant something.

Jack
 
I personaly love the boss on my 30-06 A-bolt. I have duck loads that kick more the the 180's i push down the tube, but with the less recoil comes the sound. I never hear it when i am hunting but shooting at the range i get some funny looks from people when i put the soft plugs in and then the muffs over the top.
 
Quote:
when i put the soft plugs in and then the muffs over the top.



/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif I had a friend that has a 7RemMag in a M70 with the boss. He carried ear plugs & put them in before he'd shoot in the woods. It is now retired...
 
I never really notice it in the woods when my heart starts pumping and i get excited. but others in my group notice when it goes off on a quiet morning and they say they almost fell right out of the stand. My dad calls it the thunder stick!!
 
You will never regret owning a BAR, get it. I have both the BAR and several "A" Bolts. Quality!

There is accuracy, then there is Browning Accuracy!
 
A BAR in the "safari" model would be a good one. I guess the "boss" system works but I don't need a dang corn cob mounted on end of any rifle barrel. I would rather tune the load to match barrel harmonics if needed. Anyone who reloads can do that. Now what GC deserves is a 375 H&H in a 6 pound rifle with no recoil pad. That way when his wife wants to punish him,she can just send him out to do some bench rest shooting. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I have a BAR Stalker, in .308 Win. It shoots right with
my Savage Striker, also in .308 Win. Both guns shoot the
same 130 gr. Barnes XBT load into .5 MOA groups, on average.
I LOVE my BAR. I own 6 bolt action rifles, and one bolt
action pistol, and I do enjoy them very much...But that
BAR is just too much fun to shoot, and it shoots right
with most of those bolt guns. I hope Santa brings you one,
too.

As for the BOSS, I would not do it. If you hand load,
there is no need to put up with the muzzle blast, that
comes with the BOSS. You will be able to tune your
hand loads, to equal, or surpass, what a BOSS brings to
the table.

Squeeze
 
Squeeze/roosterslayer/coleridge,
Are you guys aware of the new BOSS-CR? It's basically the same as the regular BOSS, but without the muzzle brake feature.

Anyway, I don't like the looks of it either and even though I don't reload, I prefer to do without the BOSS as I can't stand the looks of it. Unless it would gain me close to .5 MOA I prefer not to bother with it.
 
NativeCraft,

With the way my BAR shoots, even if I was shooting
factory ammo, I would not get a BOSS. I had some
Winchester factory 150 gr. ammo, left over from an
episode with a T/C Encore, that I needed factory ammo
to prove it shot like...Well less than a Minute of
Angle accurate, like the T/C ad claimed, so I shot
up the Silver box Winchester ammo, in my BAR, and
I can't say it was .5 MOA, but it was just under 1 MOA.

I think if you found some "premium" ammo that the
BAR liked, you could get nice sub MOA groups, if the
rifle is capable(As with all rifles, some BARs are just
average shooters, like 1.5 MOA, or so).

I wasn't aware that there was a BOSS version that was
not a muzzle break. This might be worth a shot.

There is one other point to BAR's, that hasn't been
mentioned, and that is their triggers SUCK. So maybe
instead of spending money on a BOSS, where you may find
premium factory ammo, gives you excellent hunting accuracy,
spend the money on getting that trigger worked on. I hear
there are a couple of places that specialize in BAR
trigger work. That is where I am going to spend my
money, if I can't get mine better, this off season.
I have done a number of trigger jobs, with good results,
on several different brands of bolt action rifles, but
this BAR trigger is a different critter. I need to
take up about 4 feet of creep /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/crazy.gif, and if I can't
figure out how to do that, then the trigger group is
going to an expert. This trigger is almost a two stage,
that is how much creep in in it. Some lawyer should
be shot for this design, by a rifle with this trigger.

But that is my only complaint...Well actually I have one
more. The owner's manual has the audacity to call this
trigger "crisp". A 3 month old cracker, sitting out in
heavy dew is crisper than that trigger /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smiliesmack.gif Like
putting "Crisp" in the manual, is going to convince the
reader that the trigger is crisp. I guess maybe some
pork sausage fingered once a year deer blaster might
consider this trigger crisp, or some Browning lawyer,
but from a guy that has all of his other triggers in
the 1.5 to 2.5 lb pull force, with minimal travel, this
AIN'T CRISP. Rant off.

OK, I feel better now /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Squeeze
 
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