New to me Browning BBR - Any info?

CoryTheCowboy

CoryTheCowboy

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
108   0   0
Location
A decrepit duck blind in Atikokan, ON
Hey folks,

I took a look at a repair done to a BBR in .30/06 to a friend of my Dad's a while ago and thought it seemed like a well made (if not boring because it's an /06 ;)) rifle. A couple weeks ago I asked for his advice on a Citori and he asked if I wanted the rifle as he'd replaced it with a Tikka. I picked it up today and here it is.



Here's the repair



It was done by a local paddle maker, so I'm assuming it's done well. According the previous owner, this stock cracked, then the replacement "monstrosity" synthetic stock cracked so he had this one repaired. However, he doesn't like the cracked stock, so he didn't use it.

There's some honest bluing wear


And the finish is "cracking" all over


The bore is good though.

My plan is refinish the stock, mount a scope and then hunt it this fall and hopefully shoot a deer with it. Any suggestions for bases and rings? Any thoughts on the BBR in general?

Thanks folks, I'm more of a shotgun guy so I'm out of my element here.

Cory
 
BBR info

I've got a BBR in .270Win, best shootin' rifle I own, very tight groups at 100 yards+. It was the predecessor to the first A-Bolt, some of the BBR features carried over to that replacement model, others didn't (like the almost-one-inch wide bolt with 9 lugs). Solid rifle, some of the bigger calibers had some issues with stock cracks at the pistol grip, but mine is still in excellent/out-of-box condition. The NRA website has a very good write up on the BBR, it's worth noting that an early iteration of Miroku (the current Miroku still builds pretty much most of Browning and Winchester rifles and shotguns) built the BBR, replacing the FN source. But that early Miroku company went belly-up, and was reincarnated later under the same name (according to the NRA history), note the last sentence in the NRA history page for the BBR.

The BBR was made from '78 to '84. The later rifles (mine is a 1984, last year of production) had a rosewood cap on the fore end, I think they only did that in '83 & '84. I suspect the OP's is likely a 1979 to 1981 model, judging by the stock.

Here's the NRA link: http://www.nramuseum.org/the-museum...owning-bbr-bolt-action-w-bausch-and-lomb.aspx

O.N.G.
 
I had the exact same rifle. Hardest kicking 30-06 I ever had. It just may have been how the stock fit me but my M700 in 300 WM did not boot near as hard as that BBR.
As NWS said, "Strong, heavy, and accurate meat and potatoes rifle."
Very smooth bolt action. Tang safety. Magazine could be detached from the floor plate and spares are available.
Some had very nice figure in the wood. I did find the wood to be a bit soft and it dented easily. Never was too crazy about the high gloss finish.
 
I have one (mine) and an other (brothers) In .300 WM. as has been said a bit heavy but great shooter. If you want a new stock Boyds in the US are now making laminate stocks they look great and fit tight. I think all in it was $231.00 to my door for the last one. the other one I got last year and it was less then $200.00. at the door. There are a number of options you can select. so price can go up or down. I can tell you I have been looking for a replacement stock for mine for years. and they all would have cost like $500 +
so the Boyds was a great deal
 
I have a bbr in a 7mm. ive hunted with it my whole life, and my dad used it for 20 years before he passed it to me. its on its second barrel and new stock. I love the rifle. the way it carries, shoots, feels. The tang safety is one of my favorite features, it is fast for thick timber hunting. I have a leupy fixed 6x42 on it. it will always be one of my most carried rifles. It also helps that it is has put a lot of animals down over its life! only issue I'm having is the bolt release is wore out now. I need a gunsmith to put a new bolt stop in it, as right now if you try to cycle a bullet and hit it just right you end up with the bolt in your hand. not a very appealing feeling when hunting in grizz country. ours shot very good with the factory barrel. it is a heavy rifle, but I'm young and don't mind packing it for now!
 
SuperCub said:
I've never owned one, but they seem to be predisposed to broken stocks. Yes/No/Maybe?
Click to expand...

The broken stock situation was primarily on the larger and/or magnum calibers. Generally, the .270's, the 30.06's, etc. were not as affected. As one poster noted, although the stocks were/are walnut, they didn't seem to be a "hard" wood, and the stress of firing the larger/magnum rounds seemed to get focused on the pistol grip area. But the 30 cals and lower non-Magnums weren't as prone to stock issues.

O.N.G.
 
Last edited:
Apart from the stock crack repair, yours has fewer dings & scratches than mine - all of which were there when I bought it. Thought about restocking it, but I kind of like the character the dings give it. Besides, I'm a sucker for the angled forend both yours and mine has and not sure if the aftermarket ones would have that. You'll really like it, it's a nice rifle. I love shooting mine. Too bad Browning quit making them.
 
CoryTheCowboy;
Good evening to you sir, hopefully this finds you well and the weekend was a good one for you too.

My history with the BBR is based on having one that I bought new in '81 - an '06 - and restocking a similar vintage .300 Win Mag with a Boyd's laminated thumbhole stock that was actually built for an A Bolt. I used the '06 as my primary hunting rifle for a couple decades, finally selling it to a young hunter who I'd lent it to for a season and he just couldn't part with it. I was happy to see it go to a good home and he needed an "experienced" rifle too.

With mine, I reduced the pull on the trigger to a very manageable weight by simply changing out the spring with a lighter unit.

Somewhere in the middle of my owning it I epoxy bedded it and it's a tiny bit tricky with them as the trigger is not mounted underneath the action like most are, but slightly cantilevered off the rear. One needs to be really and truly careful that the trigger is dead level when it's bedded, as it's quite easy to have it push up in the rear and that has an affect on the sear/cocking piece and resulting trigger pull.

If you pull your's apart you can see what I'm saying and it'll make sense.

The barrels were hammer forged - some of the earliest hammer forged Japanese ones I can recall, and overall they were known to be good shooters. Mine shot a bit better when it was hot actually, but it did shoot quite well with a good number of loads.

During its stay with me I lopped 3" off the barrel and rust blued the barreled action too. I liked the resulting balance, but then I'm a short guy and like short rifles.

I ended up reshaping the fore end, removing the chisel shape and making it less square and more of a pear shape. Then I checkered the whole thing with wrap around checkering - something that my almost 54 year old eyes just start to water thinking about now.....

Anyway I can't seem to find any other photos right now except this scan from '93. It was a bit of a "lucky" rifle for me - I got my only California Bighorn with it, my first black bear and with one particular load using 180gr Hornady's I had a string of one shot kills on over 18 local bucks. Here's a much younger me holding one of them - sorry for the tailgate photo, but it was a solo hunt and I didn't carry a camera in those days.
1993.jpg


Hopefully that was somewhat useful information for you sir. If you've got questions on yours by all means fire away and I'll do my best to find an answer for you. Good luck with your new rifle whichever way you go.

Dwayne
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom