BAR Goes Black Tie

Well, sort of...FNH has released their 7.62 X 51 FNAR semiauto, based loosely on the venerable Browning BAR line of sporter rifles (photograph below). Note the family resemblance; of course FN owns Browning, which explains a lot.

Here's the press release from FNH:

The new FNAR 7.62x51mm from FNH USA is now available for purchase. This time-proven design has been enhanced by a match grade fluted barrel, ergonomic tactical stock system and a steel detachable box magazine. The end result is a highly accurate, adaptable rifle that is equal to any law enforcement, security or tactical sport shooting application.

Key features:

• Every FNAR rifle ships from the factory with a one MOA, or better, accuracy specification.
• The FNAR receiver is built from 7075-T6 aircraft grade aluminum alloy with a hard coat black anodized finish.
• Its 20” match grade fluted barrel, with Mil Spec manganese phosphate finish, is available in light or heavy contours and features a hard chrome bore and chamber and recessed target crown for accuracy and long life.
• The FNAR’s ergonomic, adjustable tactical stock offers three interchangeable cheekpieces and recoil pads as well as five user replaceable shims to fine tune the fit of the rifle to the individual shooter.
• A MIL-STD 1913 accessory rail tops the receiver, and a trio of additional rails is mounted on the stock forearm.

“We have engineered this gun for maximum out-of-the-box accuracy,” says Barbara Sadowy Bailey, director of marketing for FNH USA. “The FNAR is built to the same exact specifications as our U.S. military and law enforcement products, and it is a great addition to our line of high precision long range rifles. The FNAR’s accuracy is unsurpassed.”

The FNAR is available in either standard or heavy barrel configurations with 10 or 20 round magazines.

I handled and shot the toolroom prototype a couple of years ago and liked the heck out of it then. Here's my reasoning...the recent explosive growth in interest in 7.62/.308 semiauto rifles I believe is based on the undeniable fact that, yes Virginia, there are some things you can't do with an AR platform 5.56/.223 rifle.

Now that ARs are in widespread law enforcement distribution, some of those shortcomings are coming to the fore. The primary one is that most teams utilize a sniper/precision rifleman with a bolt gun in 7.62 (or, in rural jurisdictions where longer shots might be called for, .300 Winchester Magnum). The big players are, of course, Remington with their venerable law enforcement series of 700s and FNH with their Special Police Rifles.

A semiauto that could serve double duty as a longer-range sniper rifle and back-up heavy firepower has a lot of appeal (which helps explain the huge growth of AR-10 style, such as the DPMS offerings and FAL heavy rifles). Secondly, FNH must be accutely aware that arch-rival Remington, now part of the Cerberus family that includes DPMS, Bushmaster and Cobb, will no doubt be rolling out their own version of a tactical heavy rifle in .308 based on their R-25 hunting rifles, below, which would be popular with agencies already using the Rem 700s for long-range duties.



You know, you could probably make an argument that the FNAR has one of the most impressive long gun pedigrees in Gun World...a direct line from the original John Browning-designed BAR — still the coolest assault rifle ever made and Clyde Barrow's personal favorite — to the law enforcement-oriented Colt Monitor, which Texas Ranger hardboy Frank Hamer used to slice, dice and otherwise kill the crap out of Clyde and the lovely Bonnie. Then Browning cribbed the name for their new sporting rifle, also a magazine-fed gas-operated semiauto, which wasn't that much like the real BAR, but I'm making a point here!

My little cherubs and seraphim tell me that commercial BARs in .300 Win Mag with lopped-off barrels and suppressors saw service in Afghanistan as a sort of a mid-way between an AR and a full-blown sniper rifle, engaging Taliban targets in the 500-yard range. At those ranges the .300 would be fiercely more effective than a 5.56.

The drawback to the BAR as a tactical gun was the absence of larger-capacity magazines, which the FNAR 10 and 20 round mags takes care of in spades. The light-barrel version clocks in at 9 pounds, about a quarter-pound heavier than the Remington hunting R-25 and consistent with an FAL.

MSRP is $1734.38.