Browning BAR for... Deer?

T

Theron

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Location
Prince George, BC
Hey all,

Haven't posted much as of yet.. Been stalking the forum for a couple months tho. :ninja:

So about a month ago I picked up a nice .22 to get me started for my first rifle... Wanted to "celebrate" finally getting my PAL. LOL. I'm on the coast of BC and want to get into hunting though, and now obviously need something a lot bigger. I'm looking at going for deer and black bear mostly. No open plains or anything around here, just about all bush.

I'm set on getting a 30-06, mostly because I hear it'll blast away just about everything around here. I've got my eye on a couple used rifles in town:

The first is a basic, bolt-action, Remington 700. It's an older gun, a shorter barrel, single shot, (no mag??) beatiful Monte-Carlo type stock and buttery-smooth action. I'd be getting it from a very reputable retired gun-smith in town who's selling it for someone else..

The second is a Browning BAR. It's QUITE old, enough so that it was the model made in Belgium. It's (obviously) a semi-auto, making it kind of an opposite of the Remington.. It's being sold through the local outdoor shop in town.

The LAST option is going new. Apperently Savage is making some pretty nice rifles these days? I really want something I can fall in love with tho.. Without spending exorbitant amounts just yet.:D

The Remington is going for $325. Browning is up at $500... A new Savage would be more..

I guess my question was, what do you all think of Browning's BAR? would it's accuracy be up to par with a classic Remington 700, having a shorter barrel? If you were hunting which would you be carrying?? I think it would be fun to have a semi-auto hunting rifle to be able to line up a shot a lot faster than with a bolt, but if it can't shoot s**t and jams it wouldn't be awesome either... :rolleyes:

Thanks!
-Josh
 
sounds like you have the answers to all you're own questions in your last paragraph.
congrats your reading has paid off.
enjoy your very accurate smooth and dependable remington 700.
(30-06 gets the job done and is a great cartrige..."blast everything away"...ehhh not the way i would describe it)
 
Older 700 is the way to go. Probably the ADL model, not a single shot, just a blind magazine. A little slower to unload, you have to pick live rounds out of the mag or work them through the action. A little lighter than the hinged floorplate model though.
 
Yeah it's most likely a blind magazine as Mike Webb said. That being said, you should find out for sure. If it is indeed a single shot, I would look for something else, especially as your first/all around rifle that you may or may not need to kill a bear at close range with (either for hunting or self defense purposes). You'll want a second shot at least :)

How short is the barrel? 22 inches is probably just about perfect, 20 inches is still ok, but usually you're starting to noticeably lose performance going shorter than that for a long action cartridge like the 30-06

Red
 
I bought a Belgium BAR for moose hunting last year, probably with the same semi-auto dreams of quick follow up shots you may be having. Sold it the second I got back and just bought a bolt gun to replace it.

I managed to get some decent accuracy out it for a gas gun; 0.75-1MOA.

But here were the cons that sealed its fate.
a) Heavier than most guns I've played with.
b) The bizarre hinged door drop magazine was cumbersome to reload under while laying down fire
c) Relatively difficult to find parts for
d) When the hunt was on, I had trouble soft cycling the action to load. I don't like to carry hot and cocked. And gas guns generally like the action being slingshot shut with authority. This of course is loud and loud is generally not conducive to hunting.
e) When I was reloading heavier bullets I had a heck of a time figuring out the amount of crimp necessary to keep the semi-auto action from turning into a semi-auto bullet puller while maintaining accuracy.
f) I've fired a bolt gun so much that with a moose in my sights, after I struggled to get the action to soft close and feed properly and after I took my first shot my instincts and gross motor functions kicked in and I reached up and worked the action thus negating all the advantages of a gas gun.

Until I got a smokin' deal on a Tikka T3 Hunter (Thanks Reliable Gun) I was going to replace it with a Savage 11/111 FCNS Bolt Action Rifle w/ AccuTrigger & Accustock.

It would be approximately $250 more than the Remington your looking at. But then you get a new rifle, adjustable trigger, detachable magazine, and if you don't like the barrel, you can buy a pre-fit and some tools and spin it on yourself.

If you're willing to sacrifice some of those options, the price will go down.

Some other options that were recommended to me for no-frills / get the job done within budget / but don't ever dream of upgrading rifles were the new Savage Edge series and the Thompson Center Venture. They review well, but I haven't played with any enough to personally vouch for. I handled a Weatherby Vangaurd, but found the action and trigger a little too gritty for me.

If you're in no rush, just keep cruising the EE, you never know what comes up there.

Treat yourself; in the grand scheme it won't be much more money to get something that will truly be yours and that you won't have any questions about.
 
As others have said, get the Remington, except. You said it was older and a short barrel. The first Model 700s that came out in the 1960s had a 20 inch barrel. For me, that is too short of a barrel in a 30-06 and turned me off the Remington 700s. People will come in here and say a short barrel is just as accurate and won't lose enough power to matter.
That is not the point. The point is the noise. A twenty inch barrel on a 30-06 is a killer on the ears, even the few shots taken hunting, with no ear protection.
I admire your plan of going to the used market, but if I were you I would hold off from buying either of those two. There will be others coming along. I would just keep looking for a light weight, bolt action 30-06 with a 22 or 24 inch barrel.
A year ago I acquired a beautiful BSA Majestic, the lighter weight model, that I had no particular use for and I sold it for $350.
 
As much as I like semi's for hunting, I would chose the 700 over that BAR, but not if it was a single shot. Should be able to top load it like the other guys said.
 
My buddy hunts with a 30-06 BAR, and I have shot it many times. His is quite accurate for a semi, low recoil, a bit heavy, and NEEDS to be kept clean, or it turns into a single shot.

Your best bet is to go and shoulder as many different brands of rifles you can, to see which one fits you the best before you dive in and buy one.

If you decide to go new, and want to stay under $400, try a Marlin XL7, or a savage.
 
Your decision to seek a .30-06 is entirely sound. It is a great general purpose big game cartridge.

I think you won't go wrong with a new Savage. (Or lots of other rifles bought new, but Savage/Stevens is setting the standard for accuracy per $ spent on new guns.)

I don't care for Remingtons generally but the 700 has been the industry benchmark of a sporting bolt-action for decades and there is good reason for that. I am wondering why a used 700 is asking only $325. Either it is in not very good condition or the seller doesn't know the value. Are you able to judge which is the case when you see this one?

The Browning BAR is a very successful design for a semi-auto hunting rifle, as good of its kind as the 700 is a bolt-rifle. A classic, and if in good condition the asking price seems appropriate. GSoD's comments are worth considering, but may not apply to you, as they don't all apply to me - I'm used to carrying heavier rifles so if I wanted to hunt with a semi-auto that wouldn't put me off, and I am used to hunting with a loaded gun on safe.
 
I shoot a Browning Bar Safari in 270 and my wife shoots one in 243.
Any gun, won't work right, if you don't clean and maintain it. A little care and attention goes a long way toward success.
I have never had any issues with those 2 rifles. I have developed loads for both and they are very accurate.
my 2 cents
 
Thank you everyone for all the replies! A lot of stuff to consider now. I'm going to look at the Remington again this afternoon.. Ask a few more questions about the barrel length and clip and such. The fellow selling it is a friend of mine so I'm getting a deal. Maybe I'll end up bringing it home. :D

Going against the Browning then.. Bolt-action sounds just too solid for hunting vs. semi-auto. It's the one made in Belgium tho so I'm sure it WOULD have been nice.. :p
 
you can get the savage Edge with a serviceable scope, for not much more than the 700. The 700 is a great gun, especially if it's in good to excellent shape, but if it were me, I think I'd go with the Edge. that's just me, though.
 
I have a Belgian made BAR in .270 Win. It is plenty accurate out to 300 yards or better. I've shot deer out to about 225 yards with it and woodchucks probably a little farther.
I bought it new in 1973 and it has been reliable. It is heavier than most bolt actions, so if you are planning on doing a lot of walking and an 8-plus pound rifle is more than you want to cart around, you should consider something else.
Jerry
 
I'm going to pick up the Rem 700 tomorrow. :) I was going to get it yesterday.. But it turns out the feds in the registration office don't like working on the weekends. :rolleyes:

I'm so stoked! Thanks again for the input guys.

-Josh
 
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