Ohio Ordnance BAR: A Modern Twist on a Timeless Classic—SHOT Show 2014

Authors Paul Helinski Rifles SHOT Show 2014 Uncategorized

ohio ord06Ohio Ordnance Works
https://www.ohioordnanceworks.com/

The Browning Automatic Rifle is a beast of a gun. I’m not talking about the svelte modern hunting rifle; I’m talking about the chunky BAR the US Marines lugged across the scraggly patchwork islands in the Pacific. That big son-of-a-bitch the Japanese hated. I don’t blame them. I sure wouldn’t want to face a Leatherneck with a shoulder fired full auto rifle throwing .30-06. The BAR, which was designed way back in 1917, was already dated in the 1940s, as heavy rifles were slowly replaced by lighter and lighter squad automatic rifles. Yet there’s still a mystique to the old gun. Ohio Ordinance has been making semi-automatic BARs for years, but they’re making news with an “updated” version that they showed off at the SHOT Show this year.

ohio ord01The first thing you notice about the new BAR is the emphasis on the updates. Ohio Ordinance has made a block that attaches to the back of the receiver that allows for use of a mil-spec AR stock. This and other changes take a good bit of weight off the rifle. A WWII era BAR weighed in around 19lbs. This one is closer to 14 pounds.
This new heavy rifle will shoot 1 MOA, and has an effective range out to 1,200 yards. While we haven’t shot it yet, the rifle does feel steady. The extra weight helps cut down on the shake that comes with some skinny plastic hunting guns.ohio ord07

They have also redesigned the BAR magazine to hold 30 rounds instead of 20. This keeps the rifles competitive in a world of standard capacity magazines, and gives the gun a bit of an edge over some other .30 cals. The new mags will work in original full and semi auto versions of the BAR, too, and are selling for $60.
Ohio Ordnance will be taking orders in March and hope to ship in May. The estimated price for the new BAR is $3,700.

ohio ord05ohio ord04ohio ord03ohio ord02

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Shaw January 31, 2014, 12:07 pm

    While I am a fan of historic battle rifles, can we please stop waisting time and money bastardizing them to sell in this new “tacticool” market?!?! The M14EBR is a piece of crap, yes Im sure they work and some are accurate but its big and heavy for no other reason then some guys think the M14/M1A is a better rifle then the AR10 or some of the other variants. Youll spend almost twice as much for a decent EBR then you would for a good AR10 platform. If you like the BAR, M1, M1A, M14, 1903 or any other historic gun then get one keep it nice and pretty and take it out on a nice day to the range and have fun shooting it. But if you want rails, attachments, quick mag changes, ect. then get a decent quality AR10 and run with it. This kind of market is nothing more than a niche and needs to go away. Either love the history of the rifle and its astetics, or get a new model that has what you want and usually functions better with all the crap your going to put on it. You dont see very many 50’s mercuries with rice rocket engines, stupid exhaust, and spinning rims do you? Ya think maybe theres a reason why?

  • rockyvnvmc January 26, 2014, 2:18 pm

    I surmise that it comes in the original 30-06 caliber…. Perhaps a switch to .308 would save a few more pounds…

  • wayne January 25, 2014, 10:01 pm

    I just wish someone would come up with decent 30+ rd mags at a decent price for the M1a …

  • Surculus January 25, 2014, 6:33 pm

    I wish OOW would do a revista of the Johnson LMG, a superior answer to the need for a SAW than the BAR was in WWII; too bad Ordnance had a stick up their backsides w/ “NIH” in WWII, more Big Johnsons in the hands of the troops might have saved some [U.S.] soldiers’ lives. 😉

    Just think, if Ordnance hadn’t sabotaged Johnson’s efforts to get an improved LMG into the field, they might have had a 14# LMG that used the existing stockpile of BAR mags in addition to all the BARs that already existed in inventory. And *that* might have made a material difference in the prosecution of the war in ALL theatres. Anyway, the Johnson was the spiritual ancestor of the AR-10, so it would be neat to have a repop available, even if it was only semi-auto.

  • Thor January 24, 2014, 10:44 pm

    Last one I saw was carried by one of the actors in Saving Private Ryan. Always wanted one. Seems like there was a SAW used in Nam (maybe an M-60) but I thought that piece of crap was replaced with something a lot more reliable. Anybody know what that might be? What does it take to legally have a full auto these day? Lots of bucks? I wish I could own a true M14 with selector switch. We trained with the M1 in 1963 but by deployment we were handed carbines (yeah I know we were Army Security Agency—probably part of the NSA now) niwenterprises at yahoo dot com

  • Ken del Valle January 24, 2014, 9:08 pm

    I used one reularly in Viet Nam and in a few other places after that. I have been wondering when someone would adopt the AR platform to 30/06.

    I think that a straight up AR-30/06 would be a great seller.

  • yodalegomaster January 24, 2014, 8:13 pm

    I was watching a clip of video of some one firing a BAR It appeared to fire from an open bolt, its that the case? I was hoping someone who fired them would know.

  • 2/3 marines January 24, 2014, 7:40 pm

    Whats with you guys? Everyones entitled to their opinion, but come on! It’s bad to the bone! I think its awesome to know the BAR is alive and well, and it hasn’t been a firearm that has been lost in the sand of time. To some it might be a waste of parts, but it’s not like their taking YOUR parts. God Bless this country.

  • sid helms January 24, 2014, 6:51 pm

    Old school that’s what i’m talking about one of the finest squad rifles ever I want one too.

  • atrox January 24, 2014, 4:35 pm

    Apk: why did you address the piece of “CHIT” in the previous post, 1/24/14, as SIR???

  • Davidio Flavio January 24, 2014, 2:39 pm

    What a great solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.

    I am a lifelong collector of US martial arms, and other countries as well, and I have endeavored to aquire a model of everything used since the civil war as small arms, but, I balked when it came to a Semi BAR.

    Don’t get me wrong, I think OOW’s guns are a sexy work of art, but, thats it, a work of art.

    With the cost and limited availability of 30/06 surplus ammo, and the cost for new, I just couldn’t justify building another system of rifle, mags, and ammo around one of these.

    Unfortunately, I watched these when they were sub 2000 dollars, years ago, and I can justify the cost of 4 grand plus, to get a super heavy, basically obsolete without the full auto option, hard to aquire mags for, rifle system.

    Frankly, If I wanted to spend this much, I’d probably put it towards a Barret 50 and have something that tosses real firepower down range, granted, more cost, for gun and ammo, but far more punch than the 7.62 systems I have now, IE, FAL, and MIA, etc.

  • william yager January 24, 2014, 1:02 pm

    there are also force re-con army rangers believe itr or not the seals are not the only point breaker, every branch ha their ground point recon, even the air force, now itt is drone aircraft but in the day no one went without there own forward observers

  • Leatherneck Bob January 24, 2014, 12:36 pm

    I was a Fire team Leader and the four of us took turns carrying the “BAR”. In combat it was a very needed weapon. Better to fire it than a light 30 machine gun. You lived longer. I would love to have one but now to old to get down and fire it.

  • Chuck Stansbury January 24, 2014, 12:32 pm

    Carried one in the 50,(Korea war times)” When on the range at Fort Lewis and had a sear break with first round fired. I will never forget the twenty rounds going all at once. Before I could get my finger on the magazine release, it was empty. Other than this one time experience it what a great weapon! Still love it, although it would like to break you back with a full pack, ammo belt and the weapon itself at 6’2″ I could feel the compression of my spine from time to time under the load. Would never trade this experience for anything , it served me and the country extremely well. Thank you Mr. Browning!

    • Rick January 25, 2014, 7:36 am

      Thank you Chuck for your service. My Dad was a soldier in the 19th Reg. 24th infantry Div. It was one of the first units deployed to Korea in 1950. He would often tell me about the harsh conditions and poor equipment the Military had. Bazookas that wouldn’t stop the North Korean tanks. But there were two weapons he spoke very highly of. The M1 Garand and the BAR.

  • MarkOwen January 24, 2014, 11:35 am

    Well if Obama and Biden have their way, they will systematically send all the SEAL Teams on suicide missions with no cover at all. Good way to get rid of any possible resistance to their regime!

  • JarHead January 24, 2014, 9:52 am

    “The Marines aren’t the only units in the United States Armed Forces……which seems a commonly misspoken thing nowadays.”

    You are correct. There are Navy SEALS too.

    • Jack January 24, 2014, 11:05 am

      Semper Fi !!

    • Evan January 24, 2014, 12:51 pm

      Yeah, but there’s only a few of them. It’s mainly just the Corps.

    • Dave January 24, 2014, 1:05 pm

      Why does it have to either? United States Troops and Allies?

      • Runamuck January 24, 2014, 5:39 pm

        They have different missions!

    • Joshua January 24, 2014, 10:43 pm

      Ha! Ranger up boys…or can you?

  • Mike January 24, 2014, 9:38 am

    My dad carried one around Germany. Said it worked no matter the snow or mud. He is a little guy 5’4 the gun looked bigger then him. Got him through the war .

    • Surculus January 25, 2014, 6:22 pm

      This was SOP. Your unit can only move as fast as the slowest man, so the little guy usually got stuck humping the BAR. The biggest guy usually got stuck as asst. gunner, since it was *his* duty to carry the BAR-belt [which weighed more than the gun; iirc, the gun was 19lbs, the belt w/ a full complement of loaded mags weighed 24lbs. This was per my dad, served w/ the Marines in Korea, ’51-’52.]

  • Walter Kuleck January 24, 2014, 9:05 am

    Hmm…Ohio Ordnance showed something like this at the ’13 show. I wonder if I can get the mags for my OOW M1918A3 SLR…

  • Sam January 24, 2014, 8:08 am

    I knew a vet that carried a BAR up Italy and then France. He loved it. But soon found the barrels so hard to come by he got effective with point and shoot from the hip. It did not take much to warp the barrel, either, in a combat situation. It was a great honor to have known this man. His claim to fame: Patton knew and called him by name and sat in a fox hole with him one dark night. “Don’t shot, Johnson. It’s me – Patton.”

  • brenboy January 24, 2014, 7:38 am

    Ugleeeeee! What a waste of perfectly good and getting harder to find BAR parts. Just cause you can make it doesn’t mean you should. 19 to 14 lbs c’mon who’s gonna notice a mere few pounds off what looks like a now very unbalanced rifle. Just like some cars were never made into hotrods… rule apples here too.

  • Rich January 24, 2014, 7:18 am

    I fired a BAR, on full auto back in 1968, while at Advanced Infantry Training. The Marines aren’t the only units in the United States Armed Forces……which seems a commonly misspoken thing nowadays.

    This is probably due to the fact that only about 2.5 percent of the general population know anything about the military firsthand, i.e., they served!

    • Mike January 24, 2014, 11:53 am

      Which makes sense, how many people would like to be Cannon Fodder? Not everyone loves dressing up in snappy uniforms and told to shoot other equally stupid idiots in snappy uniforms.

      • ApK January 24, 2014, 3:28 pm

        You sir are a top notch piece of CHIT! You as well as all American citizens owe our freedoms to those “stupid idiots in snappy uniforms”. @ss.

        • Chuck January 25, 2014, 12:45 am

          If you still think our armed forces are “protecting our freedom” you haven’t been paying attention for the last 50 years. Our armed forces protect the corporations that run our government and their interests and assests abroad. Period.

          • parabellum January 26, 2014, 9:43 pm

            You forgot to mention global warming, and spotted owls, and income redistribution, and the downtrodden proletariat…

      • chris January 24, 2014, 5:26 pm

        Mike, I will say people with your like thinking are why the US is a laughing stock. We produce worthless and self service douche’s such as yourself and the world knows it. Sadly I dressed up in several snappy uniforms (Army) as a combat medic and served honorably for over ten years. I was injured helping others and I still love my country. For your sake it would mean more to vets if you would just remain quiet and keep your notions of entitlement to yourself as obviously you are someone who enjoys what others give while giving little. I hope your children will grow to love more than themselves as obviously you are teaching them to be unpatriotic and unappreciative of what brave few have given. So if you consider your words more carefully then people would be less inclined to insult your sorry self. Don’t speak of what you do not know first hand.

        • parabellum January 26, 2014, 9:39 pm

          Thank you, Chris and the diminishing number of MEN like you.

          • DHConner February 8, 2014, 10:23 pm

            I’ll snap to like a good OLD Marine and salute that. We seem to be raising an effete generation of —– I don’t know what, but their ideas and education and mannerisms do bother me. Maybe I’m too old at 67 to run the hills like I did in my late teens and early twenty’s, but I can still squeeze a trigger. Never trust Old People-they have lots of experience few of the young ‘un’s don’t, and in any case, treachery will always defeat good intentions. Chris, calling Chuck a douche gives an unbearable stench to the very word “douche”. Yeah, America has it’s problems, and always will have. Law of nature: equilibrium is psychologically impossible. But with men like Chris and the men he served with, we will survive, come Hell or High Water. Thanks Chris-I’m certain there’s many a man who is much the better for your exemplary acts.

      • don January 24, 2014, 5:51 pm

        mike is part of the problem–if stupid ideas was every ones we would not be having this talk we.d be speaking another language an freedom would be long in the past. all so mike is a drinker of obamas cool aid

      • Joshua January 24, 2014, 10:41 pm

        That is a laugh. Have some respect you ungrateful sob.Best part of you ran down your mamas crack.

      • John II January 25, 2014, 8:37 am

        You are a complete a#@%$#e. These men and women put their lives on the line and the families lives on hold to protect your sorry ass. They stand on the line so you can sit back in your comfortable chair and say completely stupid things. You are the Idiot that you speak of. Sorry you lack the balls to stand up and be a man.

    • Houstin January 25, 2014, 8:32 am

      I have read all this sibling rivalry. My Queen and I birthed and raised 6 children(3 boys and 3 girls). Yes we would allow some verbal BUT we insisted that we were all the same family so let’s stick together.

      Message sent!
      Houstin

  • Victor January 24, 2014, 5:15 am

    AWESOME. I think I’m In Love. I might just have to sell something to get one of these BAR’s

    • Chris Sanford January 24, 2014, 9:17 am

      Nah, dont sell anything… Save ur money

Send this to a friend