(Continued from Part 1.)
The First Cleaning
About a week later, the muzzle guard arrived, and I settled down to clean the gun.
There was even more rust preventative compound in the barrel and on the other steel parts than I had initially noticed. The bore required extensive scrubbing using kerosene as a solvent before a patch finally came out clean. In the process I spilled my bottle of kerosene on the kitchen table, filling the room with fumes. This created a dramatic scene that disturbed the domestic tranquility for a time. Fortunately, the finish on the table was not harmed, and harmony was eventually restored.
During the cleaning, some details came to light that had previously escaped my notice. I noted that the lugs behind the chamber that engage the bolt are very sturdy looking, and suggest the likelihood of a solid and consistent lock-up.
The aluminum receiver has steel seats recessed into the inside of its top in order to anchor the screws for the optics. This was reassuring since I had previously stripped one of the optic mount holes in the aluminum receiver of my Ruger 10/22.
The receiver required less cleaning than the barrel, since there was no need to coat the aluminum with rust preventative compound. The bolt, on the other hand, required a fair amount of elbow grease with a kerosene rag and a brass dental pick.
The recessed crown of the barrel is more angular than I expected, but it looked like it would do a good job of protecting the rifling. The bluing on the barrel is satisfying to someone who grew up assuming that bluing was the only appropriate finish for the external metal parts of a firearm. The bluing on the BAR is attractive, but not quite the rich, lustrous, seemingly almost translucent blue/black of my Father’s A5.
I was interested to note that the magazine is made in Italy, since the rifle is manufactured in Belgium and assembled in Portugal.
About a week later the scope arrived. Upon opening the box, I was disappointed to discover that Leupold accidentally sent a quick release base rather than rings. So I ordered a set of rings from Amazon that would work with the Picatinny rail that I had previously ordered.
About another week later, the rings arrived from Amazon. Almost exactly three weeks to the day after I had picked up the rifle from my FFL, I finally had everything I needed to actually fire it.Continue reading“Range Report: Browning BAR Mk3 in .243 – Part 2, by The Novice”