by Jim Dickson
Side view of the Ohio Ordnance semi-auto version of the BAR M1918M3.
Many semi-auto versions of select fire weapons are available and Ohio Ordnance is making a civilian-legal version of the World War II M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) with quality standards the same as the WWII and Korea War full auto version.
This is an iconic gun that began its military career in the first World War as a machine rifle. A machine rifle is a rifle meant to be used in full auto assault fire much like the later reduced-power assault rifles of the 1940s and since. It is not a true light machinegun as it lacks a quick change barrel and sustained fire capability. That didn’t stop the US military from using it in place of a light machinegun though. When they finally got around to replacing it with a true light machinegun, the M60, they found that the new M60 was such a jam-o-matic that the troops wanted the BAR back.
Disassembled view of the Ohio Ordnance M1918M semi-auto chambered for .30-o6 Srpngfield.
Many veterans wanted a BAR like they had in the military, but the National Firearms Act of 1934 and various state and local laws made that impractical. Aside from being a brazen violation of the Second Amendment by denying the citizen access to modern military weapons, all of which are full auto today, the law has cost thousands of servicemen’s lives. The military has never expended the time and ammo to teach the troops how to control a machinegun in full auto fire. Issuing a machinegun to a man who has not mastered controlling fully automatic fire is just issuing him a noisemaker. Not only is he likely to get killed in combat but also the men depending on him to provide accurate full auto fire are being killed because he can’t do it. It takes time and ammo to learn this skill. Much more than the military will ever invest. Since most of the troops have never seen, let alone fired a machinegun, they have no idea about which ones are controllable and reliable and which ones are not, so anything the government wants to adopt gets a free pass whether it works or not.
The Founding Fathers said everyone had a God-given right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In the 20th Century millions of people lost their lives and liberty for the lack of a machinegun to defend themselves against murderous, enslaving governments. As for the pursuit of happiness, shooting machineguns is the most fun that you can have with your clothes on. The Second Amendment refers to current military weapons.
The main parts and accessories for the semi-auto BAR shown in an optional hard case.
When I first opened the box with the Ohio Ordnance semi-auto M1918A3 SLR in it at David’s Gun Room in Norcross, GA, one of the customer’s eyes nearly popped out of his head at the unaccustomed sight of what was to all appearances a machinegun. I told him that the local deer were getting fierce and that’s why this gun was necessary. Everyone was taken with the high quality of the gun. It looked just like it came from an army arsenal and it was lubed with the highly aromatic Firepower gun oil. The BAR came in a fine Pelican gun case with accessories. There were spare magazines, a flash hider, a bolt hold-open bar that went in a magazine like the last round, a bipod, carrying handle, sling, oiler, cleaning kit, manual, and video on the BAR. Price of this package was $4,897.97, but you are getting what you pay for. Base rifle MSRP is $4,300.
When time came to test fire the BAR it ran like a sewing machine. I had 1,040 rounds of .30-06 to play with consisting of: 640 rounds of Armscor 165-grain AccuBond; 80 rounds of Winchester 150-grain Extreme Point Deer load; 200 rounds of Federal 150-grain BT FMJ American Eagle , 100 rounds of Black Hills 168-grain Match BTHP, and 20 rounds of Georgia Arms 180-grain Ballistic Tip.
This is a fun gun to shoot. At 20 pounds there is virtually no felt recoil although when shooting offhand it does begin to get a little heavy after 100 rounds. As for accuracy the BAR was famous in its service days for being as accurate as the Springfield rifle. These current semi-auto BARs will deliver minute of angle accuracy, or close to it, with the test gun proving capable of less than 1” groups. If you want to try this I suggest you use both the bipod and a Champion Enhanced Shooting Rest along with Black Hills 168-grain Match BTHP. However, I caution you that shooting tight groups at long range with iron sights can be grueling hard work.
I like shooting offhand, preferably at moving targets. Most of the ammunition was expended this way. The firing of the rifle is accompanied by the clang of the bolt mass hitting the recoil buffer in the stock so that you hear a bang-clang with each shot. This clang noise is a bit louder than the full auto version’s because they fire from an open bolt which reduces the recoil by 50%. Since ATF insists that semi-auto rifles fire from a closed bolt, this means 50% more recoil. The clang is not objectionable and it’s part of the fun of shooting an exotic design.
Firing from the bipod gave extreme steadiness and accuracy. The bipod legs can be adjusted for height readily to suit the conditions where you are shooting.
Since this version fires from a closed bolt it can be hard to load a full magazine in the gun and for best reliability the manufacturer recommends only loading 17 or 18 rounds in a magazine. That still is enough to get that heavy barrel quite hot after just one magazine and you need to treat this semi-auto’s hot barrel with the same respect that you would treat a full auto BAR that has been firing a long time.
After shooting the gun was cleaned with Shooters Choice bore cleaner and FPI0 gun oil.
The M1918A3 SLR bundle as a package reviewed here. The package Includes: walnut 1918A3-SLR, two 20-round magazines*, web sling, bipod, carrying handle, flash hider, bolt hold open device, cleaning kit, manual, custom cut Pelican case, maintainance kit, membership site access for video tutorials, certificate for inspections. Ten-round and 15-round magazines are available where mandated by law.
In terms of effectiveness in its semi-auto configuration it should be noted that the highest scores on the old Army BAR course were always fired with the gun set on semi-auto. Still, aimed rapid-fire cannot lay down the blanket of suppressive fire a full auto can deliver and it cannot draw a straight line of bullets across a group of running infantrymen like a true machinegun can. That’s why you need full auto fire to survive when other people are trying to kill you.
The BAR had its problems in its day but this new version has successfully dealt with all of them.
The original BAR was prone to firing pin breakage and gunners often resorted to putting heavy grease on the firing pins to ward off breakage. The Ohio Ordnance guns have a firing pin that has been carefully designed to prevent breakage and does not need the heavy grease treatment.
Military BARs did not have stainless steel in their gas systems and this would cause them to rust shut with the corrosive ammo issued to them, if they were not kept scrupulously clean. The new BAR’s 3 position gas regulator head and regulator body are 416 stainless steel. The gas tube and the gas piston assembly are carbon steel, but the gas piston is chrome plated for increased corrosion and wear resistance.
The WWII M1918A2 BAR high/low rate of fire buffer had an actuator, actuator spring (dainty spring), and sear release. These parts required absolute freedom of movement to properly work the low rate of fire. When fouled in any way (such as gun oil and powder fouling from cleaning with the muzzle up) the sear release would not function, turning the low rate of fire into a semi-auto. The high rate of fire setting was unaffected. The semi-auto M1918A3 uses the M1918A2 style buffer but without the small low rate of fire parts so it is not affected by gun oil anymore.
It’s a pity that the Ohio Ordnance improvements weren’t made back in WWI and WWII when the problems first appeared. At least these defects have finally been solved.
Today the semi-auto M1918A3 BAR offers everyone a chance to own an example of this historic American icon. For hunting from a stand that is adapted to let you use its bipod it would make a splendid hunting rifle. For hunting chamois in the Alps, I don’t see much future for it though. They like five or six-pound rifles for that. If you want a gun to defend yourself with, this gun is instantly recognizable as a BAR with all the inherent intimidation value therein and it still can lay down a barrage of super accurate semi-auto fire just like it has been doing in wars all over the world. After all, most versions were selective fire and even the variable cyclic rate version could be fired one shot at a time by quickly releasing the trigger when the gun was set on the low cyclic rate.
If you have always wanted your own BAR (and who hasn’t), this is your chance. Contact: Ohio Ordnance, 310 Park Dr., Dept. TGM, Chardon, OH 44024. Phone: 440-285-3481; online: ohioordnanceworks.com. They make a lot of other parts and complete products and offer financing.
