Browning BBR questions

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fishingfreak77

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Hi there everyone,
I recently inherited a bunch of rifles from my uncle and in the collection are a couple Browning BBR’s one in 257 Roberts and one in 7mm-08, from what I read they are a pretty unique 9-lug bolt, stout and accurate rifle. So my question is there anything I should know about these old girls? And second what would they be worth for value as I will probably be selling them as I already have enough of an arsenal of my own. I’ve looked and can’t seem to find many that have sold recently on the Canadian sites and the American ones too only seem to find collector grade mint ones, there are hunted and definitely not mint!!! They are well cared for and in good condition.

Thanks for reading and any input on the would be appreciated
 
Great well built rifles, I’ve heard about tang cracks but never experienced them. Reliable gun in BC has had a few for sale lately iirc.
No scope in very good condition you might get 7-800$ considering the two calibres you list are desirable. Condition is everything. The wood can be quite nice on these old bbrs as well.
 
Heavy, prone to stock breaking (used to be a real PITA finding a replacement), and sometimes corrosion under the wood.
 
They are a bit heavy. I had an accurate .257 Roberts I sold on the EE a couple years back for $795 shipped, IIRC.

I've never heard of them having a corrosion problem, but perhaps Dosing was referring to the old "salt wood" Browning Hi-Power.
 
The flat shiny stocks stand out like a mirror when you are hunting...

I don't know why some stocks broke... operator error I suspect... I converted one into a .338-378 Weatherby and as hard as it kicked the stock is still fine... rust was not a problem either... again that would be operator error...
 
Neighbour of mine had one in 300 Win. The stock had very poor grain and cracked. We repaired it. Cracked again and I started looking for a replacement. It took almost a year, found one in the USA. Don’t remember the price, but it was a lot of US dollars in the early 2000s.

Ted
 
Kilo Charlie said:
I've never heard of them having a corrosion problem, but perhaps Dosing was referring to the old "salt wood" Browning Hi-Power.
Click to expand...

Never heard of that with the Hi Powers. But the Superposed shotguns... oh yeah; many tears have been shed over that over the years.

guntech said:
The flat shiny stocks stand out like a mirror when you are hunting...
Click to expand...

Not familiar with this particular rifle or its finish. But my Browning B2000 I bought sometime around 1975 or so came with some kind of glossy finish on the butt and fore-end. A liberal buffing with rottenstone and a rag quickly converted it to what looked like a pleasing satin sheen to me. Didn't look too much different than my Superposed. I don't know how dull it would have gotten if I'd kept going at it with the rottenstone, but if rottenstone hadn't made it dull enough, some other abrasive powder would have. That B2000 has sure served me well over the past 40+ years, despite my preference for over and unders.

I'm assuming that if the intention is to sell them instead of having a finish that pleases the owner, leaving the original finish alone is probably going to get a better price - unless the finish is well scratched and dinged up and a rottenstone buffing might make it look better.
 
I have one in 7mm rem mag. Very accurate rifle. The bolt and action are heavy duty and very strong. My stock did crack on the tang and I had a gunsmith fix it and it still shoots with the same accuracy. I also got a nice laminate spare Gunstock from Boyd’s for it. This rifle is a bit heavy but is a pleasure to shoot. Don’t think you can get this kind of quality for the price any more.
 
Kilo Charlie said:
I've never heard of them having a corrosion problem, but perhaps Dosing was referring to the old "salt wood" Browning Hi-Power.
Click to expand...

I dont think they were saltwood issues, but i dealt with a number of them that had corrosion under the woodline, as though the wood held moisture. As others have aluded to, original stocks could be a little funky. The wood on some of them reminded me of chinese made furniture.
I loved the stoutness, but 20 years ago finding replacement stocks was like pulling teeth.
 
fishingfreak77 said:
Hi there everyone,
I recently inherited a bunch of rifles from my uncle and in the collection are a couple Browning BBR’s one in 257 Roberts and one in 7mm-08, from what I read they are a pretty unique 9-lug bolt, stout and accurate rifle. So my question is there anything I should know about these old girls? And second what would they be worth for value as I will probably be selling them as I already have enough of an arsenal of my own. I’ve looked and can’t seem to find many that have sold recently on the Canadian sites and the American ones too only seem to find collector grade mint ones, there are hunted and definitely not mint!!! They are well cared for and in good condition.

Thanks for reading and any input on the would be appreciated
Click to expand...


When you are ready to sell the 257 Roberts let me know.

Allan
 
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