Will the BAR Meet the High Bar Set by Dtech? Time Will Tell

hm1996

Moderator
Staff member
Its been over three months since I’ve made it to the lease but finally got a chance to get the new battery up and installed in the jeep. Was pleasantly surprised at the ease with which it fired up and idled. Usually when battery goes dead the computer loses its mind and the engine has to run a while before it remembers how to idle. Anyway, @ 3:30 we were headed north on one of the many ranch two tracks with high hopes of squeezing in six short stands before dark.

This was to be the maiden voyage for the Browning .308 BAR which I hope to replaced my old favorite Dtech 243 WSSM with. Big shoes to fill and to date, I’m not sure if it will make the grade. It just doesn’t fit. Stock too long, scope too far forward making it very difficult to get into same position twice. Hoping a set of offset rings will resolve that problem and I can get better than 2.5” group out of it, but we’ll see.

Back to the ranch, first two stands were blanks, but partner did see a coyote cross his sendero about 400 yards out.

Stand three, I placed the call 30’ down and across the sendero at my 1 o’clock. Heavy brush on both sides and light breeze coming from my 3:30. Figured anything coming in would approach into the wind forcing it to cross the 30’ wide brecha.

WRONG! Exactly 90 seconds into Nutty Nuthatch, a large coyote stepped out, having been hidden behind my scope & lens covers, traveling straight downwind. He pulled up with the decoy only 3’ in front of him.

Didn’t take him but a split second to decide something was rotten in Denmark and he crossed the sendero, disappearing into the brush so fast I barely got a glimpse of fur in the scope as he melted into the underbrush.

Stand four set up at cross roads but apparently the call was behind enough brush and far enough away that remote signal would not reach, so had to get up and reposition the call. Once it was functional, didn’t take long for first coyote to step out in partner’s lane and he quickly put it down with little ceremony.

Due to the delay getting call up & running cutting into remaining daylight, we decided to set up at a cattle guard that regularly produces around sunset and we were not disappointed.

Parked the jeep on west side of the fence, just north of EW roadway and set up against fence facing east indicated by white X. Call about 40 yds east on south side of road(red dot).

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Fired up Nutty Nuthatch again and almost immediately a coyote (red arrow) ran between us and the jeep, crossed the north/south fence, & disappeared into the brush to our left, then, minutes later stuck a shoulder out of the edge of the brush peering across the road @ decoy. First blood for the BAR. He was down but flopping, so sealed the deal with quick follow-up shot just as another coyote (green arrow) poked out of the brush but quickly did a 180 before either of us could get on it. Right about same time a third coyote (white arrow) followed suite of first (red) coyote, meeting same fate as number 1; scoring the first double for the BAR.

Moments later #4 (blue arrow) streaked across the roadway close to 200 yards away, closely followed by #5 (yellow) trotted out and paused in roadway long enough for me to get on it for a quick shot. Don’t know if he tripped or I hit him? He went down but immediately was back up and running, we didn't have an exact spot where he crossed but covered 25 yard stretch of roadway in the quickly waning light and found no blood, so could have been a miss?? Darn, just that close to my first triple, and blew it.
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Found out my partner had shot at coyote #3 (white arrow) at the same instant I did and upon inspection, we had both connected...fortunately fur no good down here anyway.

Now, if I can just squeeze another inch or a little more out of the rifle, I could become nearly as attached to it as I was to the Dtech.

Regards,
hm
 
I own a couple BAR rifles and know several guys that use them. Both of my rifles are very accurate with most any decent load. I have never had a malfunction with my rifles. For years I hand loaded for an old hillbilly that lived alone on top of an Ozark mountain. Once a year I loaded one hundred Hornady 100 gr. Interlock flatbase spitzers over a dose of IMR-4350 for the old guys silver worn and battered .243 BAR. He shot everything in the Ozark's that crawled, walked, ran, climbed, flew and swam with that rifle. His rifle was accurate and he claimed it had never jammed on him. The BAR is a pretty good rifle.
 

My brother-in-law years ago had an old BAR in .270 that was a very accurate rifle. It surprised me at just how good it shot, given that it was a semi- auto.
 
In all fairness to the rifle, I took it out before I was satisfied w/load development in order to take advantage of a window opening which made the quick trip possible, and what a trip it was. We called a total of 8 coyotes in 5 stands plus three that could have been seen twice.

Shot a number of 5 shot groups w/different loads that four shots would be right at moa but would have one flier opening group to 2-2.5"??? Even wider before I discovered I have to hold this rifle down on the bags rather than my usual "light" hold.

Also, poor rifle/shooter fit makes getting repeatable spot weld very difficult compounded by new progressive lens glasses are also contributing to larger groups. Several groups resulted in two shots grouping 2" or so from a
 
Not by choice, Sean. The Dtech was my absolute favorite predator/hog rifle for years but landowner where I hunt banned all "military" rifles from his property about a year ago. I've been trying to find a substitute ever since, but it's a high bar to reach.

Some slob or slobs shot up a sounder of hogs with an AR, leaving crippled hogs running around to be taken care of by landowner and he was rightfully PO'd! I don't blame him one bit but wish he had banned the shooter, not the rifle (He may have done that too, IDK.)

Nothing fits quite like an AR.

Regards,
hm
 
No, he's not, Gary; very conservative and extremely ethical old school hunter. I fully understand his being extremely upset over the total disregard for game animals exhibited by these slobs and just hope they have been banned as well.

Regards,
hm
 
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