Raising the BAR

Developed by small arms genius John M. Browning in 1917, the infamous Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) was designed to meet the United States military requirements for an automatic rifle during World War I. Called the Model 1918, the BAR was made during the war by Colt, Winchester and Marlin-Rockwell Corporation. By the war’s armistice, these three companies had made some 85,000 Model 1918 BARs for our doughboys in Europe, and in their hands it became a legend not only in its own time, but also far beyond, as Colt went on to make five different models.

Capable of both semi- and full-automatic fire, the Model 1918 BAR is a gas operated rifle firing from an open bolt and a locked breech. This means that the bolt remains to the rear when cocked, and only moves forward into battery when the trigger is pulled, stripping
a cartridge from the detachable 20 round box magazine and feeding it into the chamber. There the bolt locks into an upper recess in the receiver via a pivoting bolt lock just before the slide portion of the operating rod causes its link-type hammer to hit the firing pin and fire the cartridge.

When the bullet has traveled about 14”, it passes a gas port in the barrel about 6” from the muzzle. Here gas passes through the port down into the gas cylinder where it acts against the gas piston, driving it, and the operating slide, to the rear to begin the cycle over again.

By the time the slide unlocks the bolt, the bullet has left the muzzle and pressure in the barrel has returned to zero. Containing three different size gas holes, the gas regulator can be instantly adjusted to keep the gun working even under the worst combat conditions.

Advanced in its day, the BAR has a cocking handle mounted on the left side of its receiver, so the right-handed user never has to remove the shooting hand to cock the rifle.
Of the non-reciprocating type, the cocking handle remains forward when the BAR is fired.

The 20 round box magazine is detachable via a plunger-type magazine release located inside the front of the trigger guard. On the left side of the receiver is the safety selector lever. Moving this lever all the way to the rear blocks the trigger and makes the weapon safe. Pushing the lever halfway forward allows full-auto fire, and pushing it all the way forward allows semi-auto fire.

A1 and A2 Models

Adopted in 1937, the Model 1918A1 BAR incorporated a bipod attached to the gas cylinder and a hinged support buttplate. Like the M1918, this BR is selective fire and has sights similar to the World War I Model 1917 Enfield rifle.

Shortly before World War II the M1918A2 BAR was adopted. Capable of full-automatic fire only, the 1918 A2’s selector has two firing positions, one providing 500 to 650 rounds per minute (RPM), and the other giving a 300 to 450 RPM rate of fire by using a rate reducer built into the buffer.

The improvement made to the 1918A2 BAR increased its weight to 19.4 lbs. During World War II, the gun continued to undergo improvements, including a finger grooved forend,
a plastic buttstock and a carrying handle. IBM and New England Small Arms Corp. made the 1918A2 BAR during this era.

Of superb manufacture, the BAR was made to last a lifetime, and has. However, the rifle has always been very expensive to make, a feature that eventually led to its being phased out of our military.

Nevertheless, it remains one of the world’s all-time great automatic rifles, and has been used by many of the world’s armies.

Semi-Auto Only

Being a selective fire rifle, the BAR is restricted to federally licensed machinegun owners. While many legal BARs are proudly owned and fired for recreation, they are almost worth their weight in gold.

Prompted by a life-long love for the BAR and a desire to see the rifle proliferate, Robert Landies of Ohio Ordnance Works undertook the development and production of a legal Browning Automatic Rifle copy capable of firing semi-automatic only. Called the Model 1918A3 Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), this BAR clone was years in development.

Having known Landies for 30 years, I am well acquainted with the outstanding work he does in restoring and repairing rare collectible military firearms, and I followed closely the development of his M1918A3 SLR.

Acquiring like-new surplus BAR parts from all over the world, Landies set the course for the production of one of the finest semi-automatic rifles ever available to American collectors and shooters. Starting literally from scratch, Landies and his staff designed a new BAR-style semi-automatic receiver. Nearly identical to its 1918A2 counterpart on the exterior, the new receiver, along with the trigger group and slide, has been extensively redesigned on the inside to prohibit full-auto fire.

Firing from a closed bolt, the 1918A3 SLR complies with ATF rules for a Title I rifle, and the ATF has also approved the 1918A3 SLR as not being an assault weapon under federal law. It is the only rifle of its kind in the world.

Conventionally hammer fired, the 1918A2 SLR uses a patented secondary firing mechanism consisting of an intermediate firing pin, which only comes into play when the bolt is fully locked. Differing from the original BAR, the SLR also uses lockwork with a hammer not unlike the type found in the M1 Carbine and FN-FAL, allowing it to achieve excellent accuracy.

Held in the receiver by two cross pins instead of only one as in selective fire BARs, the trigger housing of the 1918A3 SLR will not interchange with any original BAR trigger group.

Using Federal Gold Medal Match .30-06, a National Match version of the 1918A3 SLR proved to be superbly accurate in my tests, producing 100 yard three-shot groups of under 1”.
My tests proved Federal‘s High Energy .30-06 just as accurate as its match round.
The National Match 1918A3 SLR is currently being built on a custom basis.

Basic Model

Made using Ohio Ordnance’s basic SLR receiver, the Model A1918 SLR is fitted with the original trigger guard that has been permanently modified to provide only semi-automatic fire. The rear sight is also original World War I, as are all other parts including the barrel. Unlike later versions of the BAR, the 1918 used no bipod.

Going to lengths few others would, Ohio Ordnance has not only duplicated the rich deep blue of the original 1918 BAR on the Model A1918 SLR, but also the walnut stock and forend are indistinguishable from the originals, even to the large diamond checkering.

The Browning Automatic Rifle remained in use from World War I through Vietnam.
Those who carried the big Browning over the years have sworn by the BAR, and none ever swore at it. The same will undoubtedly prove true of Ohio Ordnance’s new semi-automatic family of SLRs.

If you’re a military collector, re-enactor or merely desire to own an outstanding piece of history, one of the new 1918 Self-Loading Rifles is for you. It’s not cheap at $2,850 for the base model ($4,000 for the National Match), but it’s an outstanding rifle in every way.
Oh yes, and it’s California-legal too.