This is a slick looking gun, much more polished than an war-time BAR.
Ohio Ordnance has been building the John Browning designed BAR for over 20 years. Colt originally marketed a semi-auto civilian version after The Great War called the SLR (Self Loading Rifle) . Fast forward almost 100 years and Ohio Ordnance and Colt have come together to make a really sexy looking BAR/SLR.
The BAR, and its derivatives, never really caught on with civilian shooters. Maybe .30-06 was too expensive. Or maybe the guns were just too big. There’s more steel in a BAR than there is in an F-150. But there are still shooters, like me, who want a BAR, and OOW is filling that demand.
This new BAR has the Colt prancing pony and looks like it stepped out of the past with the high gloss, deep black bluing and the electric niter blue accents. I am talking the quality of fit and finish you see on vintage Colts.This isn’t the finish you’d expect from a service rifle–it is well done and consistent (which is something, considering how big this thing is).
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Here you go! a Full-sized image. The best we could capture under the circumstances.
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Even though it is stamped COLT, this rifle is made entirely at the Ohio Ordinance Works facility in Chardon, Ohio. These are only available in a limited run of between 1,000 and 1,500 rifles. They are currently shipping and are OOW can produce about 75 a month. The MSRP is $8,799.
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The Colt insignia is prominent.
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The finish details are well executed, but not so ostentatious as to seem out of place.
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The sights are utilitarian, like the rifle itself.
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The whole package seems to be well thought out, and executed. The gun is well finished, without the pretentiousness common to some nostalgic re-issues.
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Their standard BAR, sans the Colt logo and old world fit & finish, sells for $4k. The whining about the $8k price tag reminds me of guys whining about the $65k sticker price on a King Ranch F-150. If the KR is out of your price range, there are plenty of XLTs on the lot for less than half that price. If $4k is still outside your budget, then maybe, it’s not the gun for you. We’d all like a Ferrari too, but you don’t hear tons of guys whining about the price. One accepts that level of performance and workmanship costs large sums of money. I wouldn’t doubt they sell all 1500 Colt branded BARs in less than 2 years. Then, you’ll have to part with $12k to buy one on the auction sites.
About the price, I can afford a hundred of them but what they’re asking for one is ridiculous. If it was worth that much I’d buy one tomorrow.
Yeah, sure you could, sport.
I joined the Marine Corps in 1964. Marines at the time were complaining how much they missed the old BAR. They were trying to replace it with an M-14 with a full auto selector switch, but the gun fired too rapidly and couldn’t lay down as deadly a field of fire as did the old BAR. In the article that I read in “The American Riflemen” about this new BAR there was also an article about a new Colt made BAR set up for the modern battlefield. It is buff colored, 7.62, fully auto with bipod, modern sights and would be appropriate for the modern fire team. We have needed a squad automatic weapon that can reach out there and touch someone for some time. Wouldn’t it be great to arm our troops with this new BAR. I am sure they would love it.
In my state, Oregon, one can go to a gun show and buy a fulling automatic weapon with a silencer. All you have to have is the Class III license. You can also buy a silencer for most pistols and many rifles. You just need the license. Before Clinton one could buy a Tommy Gun made by Auto Ordnance for around $400. Now $15,000. I asked a dealer how much a BAR would cost…not this new one, but an original. He replied “about 20 grand”. So this new rifle is cheap in comparison. It would be fun to have one of these, but I’ll never be able to buy one. When I want to go out and bang away with a WWII rifle, I take my Garand and you know what? That is just fine.
Bob Landies/Ohio Ordnance Works has an outstanding reputation. Had the opportunity to look at this sample BAR at Knob Creek gun show Oct 2014. If you know of Bobs reputation and put your eyes and hands on this sample, you will want one. A quality piece of history from a quality US Company. I have been a ‘firearms nut’ for 50 + years and this is my favorite
Nice looking BAR, from what I could see of it. It’s interesting and predictable the feedback a posting like this will produce. Seems like the time and energy put into all these negative, bordering on angry responses could be put to better use. But on 2nd thought, it gives those of us who can’t afford a rifle like this an opportunity to blow off a little steam. I’ll bet those who sent in gripes and complaints felt a lot better after sending in their responses, didn’t lose a nights sleep and probably forgot about it the next day. Can’t make everyone happy at the same time. My father, when he was alive used to say: one man did try to please everyone and see things in the same light and they thanked him by hanging him on a cross and crucifying him. Maybe if enough of us wrote in to the aftermarket people, someone would make a kit to retrofit a rifle like the 10/22 to look like a BAR. A 10/22 with the right barrel,stock,sights, etc. would look pretty sharp, and think of all the high priced .22 ammo you could justify spending your money on! I’ll buy one! Have a good day and keep those cards & letters coming!
When one consider’s a custom made rifle like this Colt 1918,the quality is what counts. If it’s your hearts desire to truly own one, then buy it.I wanted a full auto version in which I bought some years back made by Ermco and is a fine shooting weapon and I’m just an average person…not rich by no means. Consider it an investment that you’ll never regret.
Dave, OOW sells a 1918 A3 around $4300.
At around $3,250 OOW would sell thousands of them. Plenty of WW2 gun collectors out there who would love to have one of these. It seems he B.A.R. is the one rifle that is unobtainable at a reasonable price. Auto-Ordnance sells a M1 Thompson rerelease for under 2K so why is this one more than four times as much? People can do without the fancy cases and Colt logos. Hopefully after OOW sells off what they can of these will gear up for the mass market and make a lot of people happy.
The weapon looks good! Not gun! Price it at $2000.00 and most of us will buy one. I hate to date myself but I carried one of the originals until the M-60 came out. Actually my rank would not let me carry one until then. I would like to have one but the price is prohibitive and exorborbitant.
We get it, it’s expensive. OOW makes good stuff and I have zero doubt this BAR is no exception. Great looking rifle, I’d love to have one but this isn’t for me. We get it, it’s expensive. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it and move along.
I would really like it, and I’m sure other people would too, If you could make a BAR for around $3000. The average person who has an interest in military weapons are always priced out. You have to have very deep pockets to afford one!
Kirby would be proud!!
Didn’t Kirby walk away with $8000 (mostly IOU’s) from a poker game. If I remember correctly, $8k would change his life.
Beautiful looking rifle. No doubt it is quality through and through. But I agree with one of the other people, it isn’t what most of us can afford. I’ve always wanted one but the price puts me way out of the market.
Beautiful looking rifle. I bet it is quality through and through. I’ve always wanted one, but at that price I’ll certainly be continuing to want one. UFTA!
Very nice but at that price it’s unrealistic.
I really enjoy GA reviews. Please…. pick up your game.
This is not a review, clearly. This is a sneak peak from an industry show last week and it warranted a story because it is a big deal to some.
Let’s see. Say they make, and sell, 1,000 of these guns, at $8,000 each, “street price”.
That’s $8,000,000 ($8 Million, with an M). Not too bad a haul, even if they only make (and sell all) one thousand guns.
I guess maybe we’ll see if they all get made, and sell out, which would mean there are at least a thousand gun
enthusiasts who can afford to pay eight thousand bucks for a high priced rifle. I’m pretty sure there are. But I could be wrong.
If you’ve got the money, more power to you.
I know myself well enough to know that if I could, and did buy one, I’d look at it admiringly for several days, take it out and
shoot it, put it back in my safe, and hardly think about it most of the time after that.
But that’s just me.
Or is it not just me?
I think you have to consider also that they aren’t going to make 8k on the gun. Manufacturing costs as well as distributor mark ups will be a pretty big part of that price. My guess is they make 1k on the gun maybe a little more. It looks great!
Are you kidding me?!?!?!
What on earth justifies that price!?!?!?!
Price Elasticity: Has Ohio Ordance ever heard of price theory, supply & demand. At that price they will only sell one or two, but lower the price so it can be available to the masses (similar M1A/M14 = $2K), and they will make million$.
They may have to pay license fees to browning and volt. Building a high quality rifle probably ony 100 copies. There is so much you don’t know about building something like this. Go out and build one. I’ll buy it for a fair price
You. Are. A. Moron. You can’t buy the parts for that rifle for $2K.
Beautiful firearm but without the “A” part of the name included my M 1 Garand will probably outshoot this beast with a lot less work. The auto feature is what made this firearm such a successful squad weapon.
When I last fired one in 1961 it was Quite accurate at the 350 round per minute (RPM) setting, one or two rounds at a time. At the 550 RPM setting it’s a real ball buster at distance.
I’d love to have one! First thing I’d have to do, though, is figure out how to convert it to the 350 and 550 RPM settings. Oh, and find about 20 more of those 20 round magazines.
Beautiful firearm but without the “A” part of the name included (which we may need sooner than you might think) my M 1 Garand will probably outshoot this beast with a lot less work. The auto feature is what made this firearm such a successful squad weapon.
A full picture would have been nice. Carried one of these in Korea. The other side sure did’t like it.
After seeing the price of the new one , I should have striped it down, stuck it in my duffle bag and brought it home.
Shame it costs so much. I would Love 2 have one but WAY out of my Price Range!
We were equipped with 27 BAR’s in the USMC Rifle Company of the late 1950’s. More information and more detailed photo’s would help evaluate the Colt Weapon. Are the parts from the real BAR interchangeable with those of the Colt? Could I use my BAR Manual to maintain the Colt?
The ATF will not allow a non-NFA weapon(Semi auto) to fire from an open bolt, so while it looks like a BAR on the outside and is probably as close to one as they could get on the inside, it has to be very different on the inside in order to enable it to function completely differently than the true BAR. (not a Rant or complaint, simpy answering the question…)
Love to see your indepth review of their new take on the BAR called the HCAR. With plenty of pictures and rounds down range. As far as I know, its the only thing that’s slinging 30-06 down range in an AR type package.
Yeah, at least one full length photo would have been nice.
This seems to be a recurring problem with reviews here …
It’s also happening a lot here…
Too bad you couldn’t include a couple of pictures of what the gun really looks like not just you little partial views.
Same thought I had. A good overall picture would have been nice.
Too bad you couldn’t include a couple of pictures of what the gun really looks like not just you little partial views.
If you want that picture it will cost you $8799.
Not sure why the full picture doesn’t show up on this page. Here is a link to one: http://www.gunsamerica.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DSC_1263-400×267.jpg
I hope they don’t review one of those 1000 piece jigsaw puzzles. May be if the photographer tries taking a few steps backwards.
Too bad you couldn’t include a couple of pictures of what the gun really looks like not just you little partial views.
Clearly you can tell from the other photos it’s to big to fit in one picture.
Yes it’s not sold as a kit. Even if it was one would like to see the final version.
John–we do what we can. Sometimes, when we are getting these early looks, we are on the floors of convention centers with terrible lighting. The BAR is so damn long that we would have had to have been 16 feet tall to get a full on shot of it. And at the time this ran, there were no pics online of this gun. Take what you can get, huh?
Only $8799? I’ll take two.
ok, Ohio Gun Works–fine and dandy, but sure looks like you’ve targeted this beauty to your Wall Street 1% ‘ers.
At close to 5 figures, who but the VERY WEALTHY (or well-endowed with plastic credit cards) can afford this beast?
Like the reviewer mentioned, she’s got more steel than an F-150, BUT, everyone owns an F-150! How many Joe/Jane Six-packs owns a FERRARI? Think like Ford Motor Co., OGW. Produce a product we all can afford, not just drool over.
Rant out!
Why don’t you build them and sell them to us for 1800? Your brain I won’t even say. Build one I’ll send you a check
Brother if 5k is going move you towards bankruptcy i would take a long hard look at the career options you’ve chosen or your previous life choices. A gun that cost North of 5k isn’t that unheard of. Hell…….a quality scope sometimes cost more then the gun. I understand that everyone doesn’t have the intelligence or ability to make $100,000+ per year like some of us, but that’s your fault not the gun manufacture. Tired of listening to people whine about what things cost. Last time i checked America afforded everyone the opportunity to earn what they are worth. Only thing getting in the way of that is ourselves.
You have quite the condescending attitude. Keep it to yourself.
You’re an asshole Sean.
yeah this guys comment makes him sound like a real cocky ass whole. He must have plenty $$$$$$$$$
Well said Sean. This is America. If you want a beautifully machined BAR replica, but can’t afford it, then it’s time to work harder or get smarter. Don’t blame the manufacturer for charging a price they think people will pay