Semi-Auto BAR

This article appeared in the
1997 Surplus Firearms V5
by Garry James

The genius of John Browning is truly humbling, if I had to choose the greatest firearms inventor in history, it would have to be the man from Ogden, Utah. He is responsible for more practical military and sporting handgun, shotgun, rifle and machine gun designs than just about anyone I can bring to mind, including Christopher Spencer, Hiram Maxim, Paul Mauser, Ferdin and Mannlicher and James Paris Lee.

One of his crowning achievements is probably the best light machine gun ever devised,
the Browning Automatic Rifle, or "BAR". Of course, this 20 shot .30-06 was designed as a full-auto arm, and because of its Class III status is not open to ownership for many of us who live in the more unenlightened states of the Union.

Now, however, thanks to Bob Landies of Ohio Ordnance, we have a semi-automatic version of this famed arm that is purchasable by just about anyone who can legally own a firearm.

Attention to detail is top-notch, even down to the proper period style markings on top of the receiver.

Before we get into a discussion of this new "surplus" rifle, let's take a look at the gun's origins and history.

The Browning Automatic Rifle was designed and built during World War I in response to a need by U.S. forces for a light "machine rifle" for offensive work. In fact, it was hoped the BAR might help break the stalemate that existed when Pershing's troops arrived in France. The theory was for large numbers of doughboys armed with BARs to employ "walking fire" against the Hun trenches. This consisted of soldiers advancing toward the enemy, firing with each step of the right foot, producing a torrent of bullets, which would, theoretically, drastically intimidate German return fire.

Browning demonstrated his prototype BAR on February 27, 1917, about a year after he started work on the design. It was an immediate hit with ordnance authorities, and was enthusiastically adopted. The first BARs were manufactured by
Colt, Winchester, and Marlin Rockwell, and appeared in the supply line in February, 1918. The "Browning Automatic Rifle Model of 1918" was a hefty affair, weighing in at some 16 pounds. Chambered for the U.S. .30-06 service cartridge, it held 20 rounds in its removable box magazine. The gun measured 47 inches long, with a 24 inch barrel. The butt and forearm were of walnut, and the rifle was set up for sling carry and support. Sights involved a front blade and rear ladder style, adjustable to 1500 yards. BARs were gas operated and fired from an open bolt, the bolt being locked by a toggle link on the rear of the bolt, which lifted against a shoulder on the top, inside of the receiver. The cyclic rate of fire was 600 rounds per minute, but practically, the actual payload was between 80 and 100 rpm.

The Model 1918 had a selector switch that allowed the gun to be fired either full- or semi-auto. Because of the gun's weight, recoil was not prohibitive in either mode, and accuracy was found to be good. Some BARs were issued in time to see service at the front, the first occasion being when Lieutenant Val A. Browning of the U.S. 79th Division, John Browning's son fired the gun against German lines on September 13, 1918. Browning Automatic Rifles continued to be used by the 79th through the Meuse-Argonne offensive and in the capture of Montfaucon. The armistice of November, 1918 silenced all guns, though the BAR proved to be so popular, it was kept in service. Some 85,000 BARs had been produced under the original contract.

In 1920, Fabrique Nationale in Belgium obtained rights to produce a version of the BAR that they marketed as the Herstel light machine gun in several calibers. Though World War
had ended, the BAR continued to make a name for itself during the 1920s with law enforcement and desperados alike. Clyde Barrow, of Bonnie and Clyde fame, for instance, was particularly enamored of them, though, ironically, 5Deputy Ted Hinton used a BAR as a backup arm when the duo was fatally ambushed by Special Investigator Frank Hamer.

In June 1937 the BAR was modified by adding a folding bipod mounted on the gas cylinder and by fitting a hinged metal flap to the buttplate to help support the gun when it was fired from the shoulder. Designated the BAR Model 1918A1, the arm was now regarded more as a light machine gun than as a "machine rifle." Three years later the piece was again revamped, and retitled the BAR 1918A2. The semi-auto mode was eliminated, and the gun changed by altering the mechanism to allow two cyclic rates of fire - 550 and 350 rpm.
As well, the bipod was removed from the gas cylinder and repositioned to the muzzle, where it was held in place by a sturdy steel flash hider. A plastic buttstock was introduced in 1942, and in late 1944 a carrying handle was made available.

BARs continued to provide excellent service during World War II and the Korean conflict.
They were solidly used in the role of light machine gun as the designated squad level automatic. In the 1960s, the U.S. supplied BARs to the South Vietnamese, and this fine gun continued to be seen on the battlefield as late as the Vietnam War. For years a civilian ownable semi-auto BAR has been an elusive goal. Several have been tried, only to fall afoul of BATF requirements. Ohio Ordnance's new design, which they term the "Model 1918A3," made it through on the first go around, thanks to the innovative design of Bob Landies and his associates. Basically what they did was redo the gun so that it is impossible for full auto parts to be interchanged with semi-auto components. Several have been tried, only to fall afoul of BATF requirements. The slide dimension has been reduced to assure that a full-auto slide will not fit and to facilitate a new cocking sleeve in place of the old hammer. The trigger housing has been modified to accept a whole new trigger, sear and hammer with driving rod and spring. Additionally, the mods preclude the installation of a full-auto trigger group. The integral key to the entire mechanism is a patented system that involves changing the bolt link to a secondary firing mechanism containing an interim firing pin that is initiated by the hammer. Now, you may ask, what qualifies this as a "surplus" gun? Actually, aside from the receiver and firing mechanism, virtually all of the gun's parts are military issue—from the World War II plastic buttstock to the flash hider. In fact, some 90 percent of the semi-auto BAR is "surplus." Each one of the Ohio Ordnance BARs comes with a sling, a folding adjustable bipod, a flash hider, a magazine and an instruction manual. The piece has been completely gone over and re-parkerized, and it looks as though it just came out of a World War II armory. Attention to detail is top notch, even down to the proper period style markings on top of the receiver.

We took one of the new 1918A3s to the range, along with a selection of .30-06 ammunition. Included in the lineup were 185-grain Lapua Soft Points, 172-grain surplus military ball, 150 grain Samson SPs, 180 grain Remington Soft Point Core Lokts and PMC 180 grain SPs. The BAR is readied for firing by pressing 20 rounds into the removable box magazine and inserting the magazine in the well in front of the trigger guard. Pulling back and releasing the charging handle (located on the left side of the receiver) cocks the gun and strips around from the mag, chambering it.

The gun incorporates a gas regulator on the end of the gas cylinder.
This regulator incorporates three different sized holes to accommodate ammo variances and fouling.
The 1918A3 was first loaded with the PMC fodder. The trigger, which we later measured at around seven pounds, was a typical military two stager, though, when it was pulled, lock time appeared to be quite good. The new BAR functioned perfectly, tossing the expended cases about a foot from the gun. Recoil was virtually nil. Virtually all of the gun's parts are military issue—from the World War II plastic buttstock to the flash hider.

After fiddling around with the sights, we were able to bring the gun on target. Accuracy was excellent, with groups running in the 2/2-inch range, with some coming in sub minute of angle. We found the BAR worked best with the gas regulator positioned in the middle position. The safety lever is sited at the rear on the left side of the trigger guard—a spot that originally accommodated the full-auto's rmp adjustment. The 1918A3 has been designed so it is impossible to fire in any mode other than semi-auto.

The gun can be rapid fired as fast as one can pull the trigger, somewhat approximating full-auto fire—but not quite. The only glitch we experienced during the shooting session was the failure of the 150 grain Samson ammo to operate the action, even when the gun loosened up after a couple of hundred rounds. I can only assume this was because of a lighter bullet, coupled with a relatively mild powder charge. The Ohio Ordnance 1918A3 BAR already has an honored place in my collection. It would be a perfect arm for those interested in military history, World War II reenacting (the gun can be easily blanked up), semi-auto arms and Camp Perry style targeting. In fact, the gun has already been accepted by the DCM as appropriate for competition.