browning troubles

[fishfinder]

hey guys,
Quick question. so this past weekend I was at the range shooting my old browning and 2 of the 10 shots resulted in a "click" and no "BOOM". After ejecting the clicked cartrige i noticed the primer had very small dent in it. Not nearly as large or deep as the shells the properly fired. Once I put the shell back in the chamber and tryed to reshoot it fired fine. Any Ideas what could be the cause of this and what I could do to remedy it. I sure would hate for this to happen while running in to big brown while deer hunting on admiralty.
The rifle is in pretty good shape. it is an old browning .338 auto loader. Cant remember what the model name is. But its the old "humpback" style.
Thanks and any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Doc]

Fishfinder,
I think you're talking about a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR)? I have one in .338 that I retired years ago due to feeding problems that persisted despite efforts to correct, but never had a failure to fire for a properly chambered cartridge. Sounds like there is something wrong with the firing mechansim, or ???. I'd take it to a competent gun smith who is familiar with your rifle model. Describe to him what's happening. Get a diagnosis and estimate to fix, then take it from there. Hope you have a back-up rifle for deer this fall...I'm with you in not trusting that rifle in the field. Good luck!
Doc

[jrfrmn]

BAR Troubles

Does this problem still exist on the new Browning rifles.
I'm looking at the Safari in 338 cal.

[Doc]

jrfrmn,
Not sure about the more recent production BAR's. You can check the forum archives...I think I recall it being discussed in the past. Another idea is to start a new thread and ask about feedback on BAR's. You will probably get some replies. IMHO I'd not buy one again. It was a pleasure to shoot, and mine was fairly accurate. However, for many reasons I prefer good old bolt actions.
Doc

[Darreld Walton]

You didn't mention...

How many times the brass had been loaded, whether you full length resize, use a small base die, or how long it's been since you did a detail strip/clean of the bolt assembly, what primers you were using....
I understand how having a malfunction of this sort on a trusted piece of gear casts doubt that is hard to get rid of, if possible. I'd take a hard look at the ammo, and if there's anything at all that might be causing the firing pin to strike shallow, such as crud in front of the shoulder, rust hanging the spring or firing pin up, or if the end of it has been peened from dry firing or actual use. Hard primers could also be the culprit, you mentioned that a second time through they functioned fine.
Hope it works out for you, I like the BAR's.

[alaska bush man]

Sell

If you need sell it I am looking for one.

[email protected]

490-0307
jeff