Hello, I have a extremely lightly used Browning BAR 300 Winchester Magnum that was given to me from my Grandfather. The rifle is in immaculate condition inside and outside but I cannot get this rifle to cycle reliably. Since I have owned it I have put two boxes of Hornady Superformance 180 grain bullets through it and I have had 8+ Jams from those two boxes of bullets with multiple cleanings in between shooting. The rifle has been broken apart on numerous occasions and cleaned / oiled with no luck in reliability. It appears to be an ejection issue as the empty casing will get caught when the bolt is on the way forward to pick up the next round. It doesn't seem to matter if it is the 1st, 2nd or last round, no rhyme or reason it it. It could be the 1st shot of the day with a perfectly clean gun or the 15th shot. The last round that I shot though it was left sitting in the chamber when the bolt locked back. I have attached a few pictures of the problem I am experiencing. I love this rifle but so far it has not proven to be a reliable big game hunting rifle.
I would try non-superformance ammo. Hornady explicitly states that it may not work in all semi-autos, especially those with short stroke gas systems. I do not use it in my BAR or my Benelli R1 for this reason. Regular Hornady ammo, like interbond, interlock, and GMX cycle fine, but i have to admit I dont get great accuracy out of the BAR .308 using Hornady ammo. Federal is the most accurate for me. The Benelli R1 in .30-06 and .300win mag loves all Hornady ammo, though. Go figure. Also, go light on the oil in these semi-autos. They seem to function much more reliably when dry and clean.
I noted one thing. The photos you posted are not a .300 WSM. The one cartridge has a belt on it ? So is it a WSM or a .300 Winchester Magnum ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yes that was my error, it is 300 Winchester Magnum. I will give the gun a good clean and try a box of Winchester or federal and see what the result is. Thanks!
I have several BARs from 243 to 338, if they jam in my situation is a dirty chamber follow by dirty cases keep them shiny, check the gas port to see if fouling exist, if you are a reloader you need the resizing die they call small which in reality is what mfg ammo are sized to since they don't know what type of gun is shooting them. I only use dry lube or graphite
My Belgium made 300 win mag BAR has only ever jammed with cheap Winchester ammo. Stick with federal ammo and it’s jam free.
Another point of interest inspect your cases, I owned a 742 semi auto 30-06 which ripped the rim off under the extractor I can only suspect a dirty chamber or dirty case. Also make certain that you trim your casings to standard length or slightly shorter
I have an older 1982 BAR Mk1 that did the same thing but only in cold weather at first then gradually in all weather. I tried everything from cleaning to checking port holes. Last thing I did was change the buffer and action spring. Solved the problem. The bolt was moving too fast. If you try standard ammo and does not cycle, change out action spring. This started to occur after about 2k rounds. No problems since
Not a lot to really go wrong with these. Mine is an mk1 also. Ensure the gas piston is clean, ensure the action is clean, if your main recoil spring system is good, you should have no problems.
