Well Don,I`ll try.
Having shot one for over 30 years sussesfully:
totally unmodified,well maintained.
for a hunting gun in Wis. I accept a 1 MOA gun
check the shock absorber buffer that fits under the gas rod,they weather harden and crack,replacements are available.
check torque on front stud,I probably over tighten mine and note it is a 2 part threading stystem.
For actual hunting,I use little to no lubes.
I`ve never saw a belgian made bar (30-06-.308 ) that would`nt shoot around an inch with decent factory ammo...
good hunting.
Bill Larson
Hi Bill,
Thank you for the feedback.
Indeed, the several decade old buffer on this rifle completely disintegrated the last time I shot it, making me think that the Browning engineers over-gas restricted the .308 inter-changeable port at .050", causing an excessive rearward thrust of the heavy "cycle block", which in turn beats the heck out of the buffer. I know they do this, for those gun owners that never clean the gas system and to accompany the various weight powder charges and bullet weights that are used in this rifle, insuring that they will all cycle. I am sure my buffer being very old also greatly contributed its break up, also. I made a couple of new ones that work just fine.
Unfortunately, I dont think the buffer has anything to do with the inaccuracy problem, as the bullet has long left the barrel before the bolt cycles and the block reaches the buffer.
I have very carefully secured/torqued and fitted the forend so that it is as solidly attached as is possible with a forend that is only held to the rifle barrel gas block with a single screw/nut.
And the forend is probably not the accuracy problem either, in that the gun will shoot 3/4"moa with the same forend setup as it will shoot 3" moa. Its when the gas cycle system is turn on/off when the accuracy differences occur.
I can now understand why the M16/AR15/AR10 gas gunners are so proud of their "gas system cycle design", where the gas is pipe-routed back to the bolt block assembly, thereby doing away with all the various bars, blocks, slides, pistons, etc. that are used in other semi-auto systems, hanging way out on the barrels, causing all kinds of secondary vibration, resonance, and motion problems, that can play havack on a gun barrels already complex operation.
Unless someone comes up with an idea not yet thought of, I may just design/fab a variable gas port valve to turn on/off the "gas cycle system" so that I can have 3/4" moa accuracy and manual hand cycling when needed, or 3" moa accuracy and semi-auto cycling for other times...............Don
