Anyone own one of the new BARs? (Shorttrac, Longtrac)

manbearpig

manbearpig

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i dont mind the Euro styling at all, but I hear they are really bad: cheap-feeling, plastic triggerguard, plastic floorplate, aluminum receiver, etc. normally just the plastic triggerguard and floorplate would make me put down the gun and move on, but i figured i would ask first to see what people here think.

do these rifles have any redeeming qualities? or should one just stick to the old BAR Safari model, which seems unchanged, and hope the new ones go away?
 
I waited well over 2 years and finally got my ShortTrac 308. I love the Euro style and I have developed a load with 165 gr that shoots well under an inch. The 308 is good for deer and moose in the open or in the woods.

What folks consider as plastics or pot metal doesn't bother me. It is reliability and accuracy that count.

The Safari is too bulky (2" longer) and heavy (almost a pound heavier). If you want an auto, you can go Short/Long Trac or R1 ($500 more - still longer and heavier). Of course, one can always go with Rem 750s.
 
the BLR lightweight stalker is based on the old BLR design.
Shorttrac/Longtrak look like this:
brown_34062.jpg


Chuck Hawks really rips on them, but id expect that he would based on the fact that he generally prefers classic styling/guns so hed probably see them as a 'degradation' of the Browning BAR line. was looking for a more unbiased review than ol' Chuck :)
 
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Chuck is a bit on the biased side for sure - he's very anti anything "Euro-looking". Looks are a matter of opinion period. Myself, I find the BLR an attractive firearm and would love a unbiased review about it's function and durability.
 
The Browning Short and Long Trac rifles are decent shooters for semis.... about 3 MOA is average for the five that I have sighted in for customers. The 300 WSM was the most accurate at 2 MOA with Winchester Factory Accubonds.
As far as comparing them to the other popular semis they are miles ahead of the Remington 750 Klingon Forehead... and light years behind the Benelli R-1.
The R-1's are actually lighter by two ounces Danny! And I have not shot an R-1 that would not shoot sub MOA.
That said the brownings are very nice rifles and function flawlessly.:cool:
 
BIGREDD said:
The Browning Short and Long Trac rifles are decent shooters for semis.... about 3 MOA is average for the five that I have sighted in for customers. The 300 WSM was the most accurate at 2 MOA with Winchester Factory Accubonds.
As far as comparing them to the other popular semis they are miles ahead of the Remington 750 Klingon Forehead... and light years behind the Benelli R-1.
The R-1's are actually lighter by two ounces Danny! And I have not shot an R-1 that would not shoot sub MOA.
That said the brownings are very nice rifles and function flawlessly.:cool:
Click to expand...


Thanks! I think I will put a .308 Short Tac in my gun cabinet.
 
BIGREDD said:
The Browning Short and Long Trac rifles are decent shooters for semis.... about 3 MOA is average for the five that I have sighted in for customers. The 300 WSM was the most accurate at 2 MOA with Winchester Factory Accubonds.
As far as comparing them to the other popular semis they are miles ahead of the Remington 750 Klingon Forehead... and light years behind the Benelli R-1.
The R-1's are actually lighter by two ounces Danny! And I have not shot an R-1 that would not shoot sub MOA.
That said the brownings are very nice rifles and function flawlessly.:cool:
Click to expand...

With your help, I am lucky to find a ShortTrac .308 that shoots under 1 MOA. If you recall it took me a while to find the correct bullet and powder for that.

I looked up both Benelli and Browning web sites:

R1 308 = 7.1 lb http://www.benelliusa.com/firearms/r1Rifle.tpl

ShortTrac .308 = 6 lb 10 oz. http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?value=002B&cat_id=031&type_id=219

Not much a difference but ShortTrac .308 is lighter. And more importantly, I love mine. ;)

Cheers!

Danny
 
Danny Boy said:
I waited well over 2 years and finally got my ShortTrac 308. I love the Euro style and I have developed a load with 165 gr that shoots well under an inch. The 308 is good for deer and moose in the open or in the woods.

What folks consider as plastics or pot metal doesn't bother me. It is reliability and accuracy that count.

The Safari is too bulky (2" longer) and heavy (almost a pound heavier). If you want an auto, you can go Short/Long Trac or R1 ($500 more - still longer and heavier). Of course, one can always go with Rem 750s.
Click to expand...

What folks consider as plastics or pot metal wouldn't bother me either. It would be interesting to hear any evidence that the new Short/LongTracs are more reliable and/or more accurate than the old BAR, which have a fine reputation in both those respects. Had you used the old types, too? (I haven't tried either, myself.)

If someone doesn't like the ShortTrac, the Safari isn't their only alternative. The Lightweight Stalker version of the old BAR uses a synthetic stock and 2" shorter barrel so it is only 8 oz. heavier than the ShortTrac, and actually a half inch shorter overall. (But the ShortTrac packs a 2" longer barrel into an overall length only a half inch longer, and can be had with synthetic or wood stock at the same weight.)
 
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Sorry Danny your right about the .308 Short trac being about 3 ounces lighter than the R-1 in short trac... the magnum version short tracs are heavier than the R1 by a couple of ounces!
 
TheTooner said:
What folks consider as plastics or pot metal wouldn't bother me either. It would be interesting to hear any evidence that the new Short/LongTracs are more reliable and/or more accurate than the old BAR, which have a fine reputation in both those respects. Had you used the old types, too? (I haven't tried either, myself.)
Click to expand...

I used my friend's Safari 30-06 once and will never again. It is too heavy for my liking. Don't know if the ShortTrac is more or less reliable. Mine's working well as I clean my firearms after every use. I suspect you will get the same reliability from the 7400 if you clean them regularly. The ShorTrac has a role in my kind of hunting. In other situations I hunt with bolt actions. That is how I justify buying different toys. :D
 
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Danny Boy said:
I used my friend's Safari 30-06 once and will never again. It is too heavy for my liking. Don't know if the ShortTrac is more or less reliable. Mine's working well as I lean my firearms after every use. I suspect you will get the same reliability from the 7400 if you clean them regularly. The ShorTrac has a role in my kind of hunting. In other situations I hunt with bolt actions. That is how I justify buying different toys. :D
Click to expand...

What??!!
Who said the naughty "J" word. :mad:
Don't need to do that about any toys.... :rolleyes:
 
I just picked one up in the .270 win. Black Synthetic stock. Wasn't too sure until I got it in my hands. They are fantastic little guns. 3 shots at 100 yards with cheap Federal factory ammo and I had a half inch group. I found that after the three rounds though the groups opened up. That may have been me and not the gun, although like the old ones once the barrel heats they tended to stray a little. As a cold shot tack driver, so far so good. I hope to get to the range tomorrow and try it some more. I'll know for sure about that wandering barrel after that. Definitely worth picking up though and I am very happy with mine!:dancingbanana:
 
Last fall I bought a ShortTrac in 308 and I didn't like it. Gun shot fine and was accurate, but the stock is a cheapened down version of the Lightweight Stalker, compare both and you will see. Browning is increasing their profit margin on these guns compared to the older Brownings. I also bought an R1 in the summer, and that gun has been very impressive, in every aspect. Mechanically the Short and Longtracs are the same as all BAR's but their stocks, and cosmetics are brutal and much cheaper. This winter I picked up a used Lightweight Stalker and I love it, I haven't taken it hunting yet, but I love the feel and the gun has a much better quality stock on it. If you are in the market for these BAR's do yourself a favour and compare the ShortTrac along side the Lightweight Stalker. If you can spend the money, the R1 eclipses anything in the BAR line. Cheers,

Patrick
 
My R1 .30-06 will shoot the same groups with a cold/warm or hot barrel sub MOA all day long. We were doing some field shooting last week and I put a clip "4shots" inside 2.5'' at nearly 300yds from a standing position with no shooting sticks. On the bench I can usually put 3shots in a nickle at 100yds and 3shots in a toonie at 200yds.

I have never shot a BAR so I cnat say which one is better but if your going to spend over $1,000 on a hunting rifle you might as well buy the best right?... ;)
 
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