tholder85

I am new here guys and enjoy reading all of the forums. My question is about the gun in the subject line. I have come across one of these guns in what I think is a good deal. I have been wanting a 300 mag or short mag, so I went with the 300 mag in the Browning BAR Safari. I have been a bolt action man for the past 15 years, but like I say, this seemed like a good deal. I have always heard that Browning makes one of the best auto rifles out there. Anybody have any experience with the BAR in a 300 mag. I just want to know what to expect in terms of accuracy and reliability.
Thanks!

stubblejumper

I owned a boss equippedBAR in 7mmremmag for a short time.Accuracy was very good with very mild recoil due to the heavy weight and the muzzle brake.My rifle was very well maintained and properly lubricated,but it did jam onceon me in very cold wet weather.It also jammed once under similar conditionsforthe friend that I sold it to.The jamming incident was a little upsetting but not nearly as much as the BOSS.It often came loose which caused the point of impact to change.Also you must never fire a boss equipped rifle even a single time without hearing protection.The muzzle brake increases the noise to such a level that a single shot caused my ears to ring for over an hour.Yet another disadvantage of the BOSS equipped rifles is that they come with shorter barrels to compensate for the length of the BOSS.Cartridges such as the 7mmremmag and 300win mag really aren't a great advantage with the short barrels.In fact a 280rem bolt rifle basically duplicated the velocities that my boss equipped 7mmremmag produced.I might possiblyconsider another BAR rifle if my hunting conditions were less severe,but I will never own another boss equipped rifle.

tholder85

Stubblejumper, I have never owned a BOSS equipped rifle either, but I have already ordered the piece that screws in inplace of the BOSS that is supposed to make it basically a regular barrel. I have no intention of using the BOSS for hunting purposes, anyway, it just so happens this gun has one on it. I could have got an A-Bolt Synthetic Stalker for the same price gun for gun (both used guns) but I felt the BAR Safari would hold its value more in the long run, not to mention the lighter recoil in the BAR.

stubblejumper

Installing the cr adapter will make the gun quieter but it will not produceany more velocity than with the brakeand it can still come loose.

340WBYMAG

Stubbs is right and has offered honest advice.

I have the Bar Safari with Boss in 300 Win Mag, hated the muzzlebreak and put on the CR version, never had either come loose but I probably didn't use it as much as Stubbes (I prefer bolt actions).Recoil with the CR is no big deal and is still very accurate, its no sniper rifle but more than sufficient for hunting. The rifle has to be well maintained and lubricatedto function properly and will not use hi-energy ammo of any kind. New out of the box, mine would not load a shell by pulling back on the action and releasing it, I would have to use the release lever which was loud and annoying. Aftermultiple aerosol sprays with a gun scrubber productthe problemwas corrected and now works very well with a very then oil placed sparingly. This is a back up gun for when I go moose hunting, like I said I prefer a bolt, but it wouldn't be an A-Bolt.

I also own a Bar Safari in 308 Win no Boss for deer hunting where I want the ability to take fast repeatable shots. I used to use a BLR but never came to like it, the Barworks very well with no Boss or CR version.

Overall they are very good rifles, do hold their value becauseits really the onlyproven semi-auto,but they have to be kept clean.

340

stubblejumper

340-I really didn't own my Bar for long but I did use it under harsh conditions.However since owning the Bar ,I now hunt only with bolt actions.

tholder85

Okay, I am beginning to have second thoughts. 340, you mentioned that you cannot shoot high-energy bullets in the BAR, can you be more specific? Which bullets? I certainly don't want a gun that is going to limit me on what bullets I can shoot. Here is the deal: I can get the A-Bolt, but when you set it up with the same scope as the BAR (Leupold VX-II 3-9-50) it costs about 50-60 bucks more that the BAR.

stubblejumper

The high energy loads are a line of ammunition made by federal.Hornady sells a similar line called the light magnum or heavy magnum depending on the cartridge.Both manufacturers recommend that these loads not be used in semi autos.

340WBYMAG

Thanks Stubbs, I should have clarified things a little better.

340

tholder85

:thumbsup1: Thanks for all the insight, guys. I went with the BAR and it is one smooth shooting gun! My father-in-law has a BAR Safari 7mag w/out the BOSS so I had shot one of these guns before. I adjusted the BOSS to the suggested setting on the Browning site for 165 grain bullets and shot. First shot was about 6 inches high(previous owner must have been shooting heavier bullets) so I moved it down and shot 3 more times. Dead on 3 inches high at 100 yds. and you can cover the three shot group with a nickel with two of the three holes almost touching. I had always heard that you could get bolt-action accuracy from a BAR, but I am definitely impressed. And the best thing, absolutely no recoil to speak of from a 300 win mag! The second best thing about it is that the price of the combo(BAR, scope, sling and chaps) was less than the new gun itself sells for wholesale!