BAR piston and bolt cleaning

[Pheroze]

I have a stainless BAR in 7mm RM (actually my father's but he doesn't shoot it anymore) that I am about to reload for. I downloaded the manual and there does not appear to be any direction to clean that gas piston and bolt. Is that something one does not mess with?

I am luke warm at best on a semi-auto as opposed to a bolt action, but it's in the safe and my son likes it. So, I thought I would try and become familiar with it. Any general advice on this rifle would be greatly appreciated too. It will primarily be used for moose.

 

[375 Ruger Fan]

Realguns did a good 2 part article on the BAR:
Browning's BAR LongTrac
http://www.realguns.com/articles/439.htm
http://www.realguns.com/articles/440.htm

I have a BAR in 338 WM that was my dad's. It too is a bit of a safe queen. I noticed one time at the range that it was making a strange noise as the action cycled. I took it apart and the plastic or nylon "buffer" piece had dried out over time, got brittle and broke. Part of it was missing. Inexpensive part and easy to replace. If the gun is older that 20 years, you might consider replacing it. It's item 10 on the Brownell's diagram.

 

[greyfox]

There's a book on disassembly of rifles that covers the BAR - I got mine through the NRA - CAUTION about BARs, they can be tricky,
I swear I've taken at least 20 apart and seems like no two were the same, You remove the stock and there's a plate at the rear of the receiver to remove the bolt, (#84 in the diagram above) after you mange to get the handle off. Some plates are easy, some are almost impossible, it seems. The piston is pretty simple. Unscrew it and clean it with alcohol or a good cleaner and get the carbon out. The slide arms are pretty simple usually BUT some have spacers, some do not, (#112) go slow and easy.
On the forearm, GO SLOW AND EASY, you unscrew it and pull it down until it stops, may take a little UUUMMMPPPGGHHH to get her loose, and getting it back on go super easy or you'll crack the forearm and they are not cheap to replace.

If you remove the spring in the magazine release, it can be a bear to get it seated correctly, My advice is to drop the trigger assembly (2 pins) and flush it from the bottom - alcohol, oil, and compressed air -

For reassembly, align and index the piston, don't be in a hurry.

The recoil spring is a lot easier to reassembly than a Remington Automatic,

 

[Pheroze]

There's a book on disassembly of rifles that covers the BAR - I got mine through the NRA - CAUTION about BARs, they can be tricky,
I swear I've taken at least 20 apart and seems like no two were the same, You remove the stock and there's a plate at the rear of the receiver to remove the bolt, (#84 in the diagram above) after you mange to get the handle off. Some plates are easy, some are almost impossible, it seems. The piston is pretty simple. Unscrew it and clean it with alcohol or a good cleaner and get the carbon out. The slide arms are pretty simple usually BUT some have spacers, some do not, (#112) go slow and easy.
On the forearm, GO SLOW AND EASY, you unscrew it and pull it down until it stops, may take a little UUUMMMPPPGGHHH to get her loose, and getting it back on go super easy or you'll crack the forearm and they are not cheap to replace.

If you remove the spring in the magazine release, it can be a bear to get it seated correctly, My advice is to drop the trigger assembly (2 pins) and flush it from the bottom - alcohol, oil, and compressed air -

For reassembly, align and index the piston, don't be in a hurry.

The recoil spring is a lot easier to reassembly than a Remington Automatic,

Oh boy. Not sure how I feel about this endeavour. Thanks for the info! I will study this a bit and think it through. Does it require specialized tools?

 

[greyfox]

No, Patience and no hammer within reach!!! Seems like no two are the same and it's always an adventure, It can be done,

 

[lcq]

I have a stainless BAR in 7mm RM (actually my father's but he doesn't shoot it anymore) that I am about to reload for. I downloaded the manual and there does not appear to be any direction to clean that gas piston and bolt. Is that something one does not mess with?

I am luke warm at best on a semi-auto as opposed to a bolt action, but it's in the safe and my son likes it. So, I thought I would try and become familiar with it. Any general advice on this rifle would be greatly appreciated too. It will primarily be used for moose.

Nice thing about autoloaders is the preceived recoil is way less, that is why I shoot an auto shotgun when using 3 1/2" magnums