GT,
Used BAR's can be a hit and miss proposition. My brother has a Belgian BAR, in .30-06 Sprg, that is about a 1.5 MOA gun, that works well until it gets around 20 degrees F. Then
it has an occasional failure to feed. I have helped a few friends, and acquaintances,
with problem BAR's, and most of the issues were tracked down to improper maintenance,
or worn/defective parts. A couple just did not feed, occasionally, even when cleaned
lubed, and inspected for problem parts. Usually an ammo changed helped, but not
always cleared up all instances of feeding problems. Most of these guns were
well used Belgian BARs. In general, I'd say the older Belgian BARs are good firearms,
but some may be a little quirky, and on average, may shoot a little larger groups,
than the new BARs being sold today.
As for buying a used gun, one really has to have it inspected by someone with
experience with these guns. If a used gun was taken care of, and doesn't have
a lot of rounds through it, it can be a good deal. It can also be a dog, that doesn't
shoot well, or was poorly maintained.
My new .308 Win, LW Stalker BAR can shoot 1 MOA, with tuned ammo, and I have yet
to have a failure to feed, or fire, in any conditions, that I have subjected this rifle to.
But to compare this BAR to my bolt guns, it does not match any of them in the
accuracy department, when I get done tuning ammo for each rifle. It is close to some
of them, and certainly plenty accurate, for the hunting purpose I have for this rifle(northern
forest whitetail hunting). I would not recommend a BAR for hunting, if shots beyond
200 yards are expected, for most shooters, and most BARs. As for dangerous
game, I think there was a story a few years back about some person using a
BAR, in 7mm Mag, to stop a charging brown bear. So a BAR, in one of the magnum
chamberings, might be a good choice, for large bears. Having spent some
time among brown bears, I'd opt for a magnum bolt action rifle, shooting deep
penetration bullets, and carrying a high capacity 12 ga. pump loaded with a mix of slugs,
and heavy buck. If they got past the bolt gun hits, I'd be looking to rip out big chunks with
shotgun!
My BAR Lightweight Stalker is stamped something to the effect of, "Made in Belgium
Assembled in Portugal". So this one is not made in Japan.
The BAR is a good blend of weight, accuracy, reliability, and follow up shot capability,
for some hunting situations. I wouldn't carry one out west, or even in the boreal
forests, and tundra, of Canada, or Alaska. I do like mine for crawling through the northern
forests of Wisconsin, for whitetail deer, or even for black bears, if that opportunity
ever happened.
Squeeze
