Chris;

When I was a kid (think 10), I had an A-Bolt 30-06, and this was when the BOSS system first came out in the early 90s. The gun was BEYOND loud, which is why I ended up getting rid of it, BUT I was a small framed 10 y.o shooting a 30-06. It litterally felt like shooting my 1100 20ga with dove loads. But, it was just too dang loud, even with ear plugs.

The BOSS is good for young/small kids, and certainly anyone with back or shoulder injury issues, that is VERY sensitive to recoil. But, with the gas operation of a BAR....you don't need it.

I was looking into a gun for a customer who had just had some back surgury. He wanted a .243 BAR with a BOSS. Since it wasn't offered, and Browning wouldn't make him one (even though he offered up the custom shop price...which was foolish of him), an engineer I spoke with at Browning said that the BAR, being gas operated will kill recoil much more than the BOSS system would on an A-Bolt (which was our only option with a .243). So if you are recoil sensitive, you'll be fine with the BAR.