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Old April 1, 2000, 04:27 PM   #1
joegerardi
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Join Date: June 1, 1999
Location: Savannah, GA
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Hi Guys:
I finally got the Bren to the range today, and I thought I'd send a range report on it.

I brought 100 rounds of Remington UMC 180 gr., 50 rounds of Georgia Arms 180 gr., both JTC, and 50 rounds of Georgia Arms 180gr. hollow points. I wasn't really going to shoot the HPs, but more on that later.

Targets set up, pistol loaded, here we go:
First off, recoil. What recoil? my Glock 17 snaps quicker and harder than the Bren, but granted, the Bren does bounce a little higher. I found that by letting it have its head a little, in other words, limp wristing just a shade, it was much more controllable that keeping a real tight hold on it. Double taps were a breeze, and all the fears of the powerhouse round that I''ve heard about with these loads were quickly dispelled.

For such a tall pistol, it has a surprisingly low boreline in relation to the hand. It points more naturally than any other pistol I've ever held, and target reaquisition was a snap. I was really starting to enjoy myself when I ran into my first problem, and I'll need your help.

I was firing through a mag, and all of a sudden the mag fell out. No big deal, right? I had my thumb on the mag release, and was pressing the button. Wrong. It happened on many occasions, and only on one of the 2 mags I have. The second (first, actually) never hiccoughed once. So I need your help. Can anyone explain what could be causing this? It does appear that the mag follower on the offending mag sits a little higher than on the good one. Additionally, it doesn't happen on any particular round in the magazine. It happens on almost all of them. I'm not really familiar with how to work on mags, so any and all advice was appreciated.

Finally, Accuracy: Oh, my dear Lord! This thing is a friggin' TACK DRIVER!. It is far, far more accurate than I ever could be, and really makes me look good at the range. At 25 yards I was getting 1 3/4" groups consistently. and on one target - a washing machine box - I was actually able to shoot the cardboard handhold cutout out of it first try. It is amazing. But the best was yet to come.

Next to me was a gentleman that was ogling the Bren the whole time. We got to talking, and he was obviously knowledgable about them but had never seen one up close and personal. I let him shoot a magazine, and we have another convert. I now have his phone number, and when Fernando gets the new ones to market I have to call him. Anyway, we started really testing our accuracy He with his Delta Elite, me with the Bren. The short story is: We were finally shooting at an old antifreeze container and a top from a bucket of joint compound at 175 yards. I am NOT ****ting you! I could hit 4-6 times a magazine. He was better than I, he was hitting about 6-8 times. He did admit he knew his pistol better, and was able to compensate for the drop at that level, and when he took the Bren at that range, he hit 8 straight times after putting the first 2 high. Of my misses, they were close to the target, and I put it down to lack of experience. I was having so much fun, that I couldn't stop, and burned through my 50 rounds of hollow point ammo I bought for self-defense carry. After I was done, it was back to carrying the Hydra-Shoks, if I were to have any self-defense rounds at all.

Afterwards: I will admit that the Bren is a dirty gun, i.e.: there's a lot of powder residue that gets on the outside of the pistol, but it was a damn sight easier to clean that my 4006, which I brought along with 50 rounds of Win. white to compare recoil. At 175 yards, I had to aim about 1 foot above the target, and had terrible results. I put that down to a terrible trigger on the S&W, but really it's that the Bren is so accurate and has such an incredible trigger.

I bought this pistol having never shot one before. It was such a joy to find out that it is so accurate, comfortable and easy to shoot. Granted, we pay through the nose for these things, but I can honestly say it's worth it for that much fun. Now, if anyone can give me any tips on that mag problem, I'll definitely be in Bren Ten nirvana.

Cheers,
..Joe
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Old April 1, 2000, 06:13 PM   #2
George Hill
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Join Date: October 14, 1998
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Hmmm - not any Bren Ten time under my belt...
I'ld veture to ask that in Hanguns.
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Old April 2, 2000, 03:22 AM   #3
blades67
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Join Date: April 22, 1999
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I don't have any experience with the Bren, but I do recall reading that the guns were ready before the magazines were. It was also related to me that some Bren 10s were shipped without magazines because of these problems. The problem you had was one of the stories I was told about.

You might start out by marking the problem magazine with blue machinists dye to find where the catch and the magazine are making contact. Do the same with the good magazine for comparison. If the contact areas are nearly the same, but the problem magazine is making less contact, try shimming the spine of the bad magazine. (You could use a piece of Linoleum secured temporarily with rubber cement or pieces of masking tape trimmed with an Exacto-blade knife to give better contact) If shimming resolves the problem with the magazine falling out, range test it for reliability. If reliability remains, have a gunsmith build up the spine with J-B Weld, or whatever he deems prudent, to the same height. Problem solved! (If not time consuming and expensive.) Well, that's the best idea I could think of on short notice.

------------------
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Old April 2, 2000, 05:35 AM   #4
STRIDER
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There's a gunsmith with a column in one of the popular gun mags (Shooting?) named J.B. Wood. I recall he had some fix for your problem. He also had figured out some common magazine which could be retrofitted.
Find him and you might be OK. Also, Mike Larocca has an excellent reputation and is known for taking on problems, give him a call.
What were you sayning about Fernando? Were you refering to the Triton ammo guy (Coelho?)? Is the Bren going into new production or something? I am very interested in this, sorry if I missed a thread, send me there.
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Old April 2, 2000, 10:46 AM   #5
joegerardi
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Strider:
Yes, Fernando of Triton is planning on reintroducing the Bren sometime next year. He owns a .45 version. The new Bren should be in prototype at the SHOT Show, and we heard that it'll retail for approx. $900.00. E-mail him and let him know you're interested.

BTW: The mag catch on both mags is identical. I did check that.
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