Difference Between Group Ind And Other Bars

[duke266]

I'm watching, reading online and learning about the BAR in the hopes of eventually finding one to purchase for my collection. I'm a little confused about the Group Industries BAR. Was this an actual US Military issued weapon or a commercial version? There is a vast difference in prices which would lead me to believe Group is not a military issued version. Is this correct?

Thanks.

[bigbore]

I'm watching, reading online and learning about the BAR in the hopes of eventually finding one to purchase for my collection. I'm a little confused about the Group Industries BAR. Was this an actual US Military issued weapon or a commercial version? There is a vast difference in prices which would lead me to believe Group is not a military issued version. Is this correct?

Thanks.

 

correct, the Group Industries BARs are commercial BARs.

[duke266]

Bigbore,

Thanks for verifying this for me. I'll continue to watch and read. Maybe, someday, I'll be able to afford one.

I'm watching, reading online and learning about the BAR in the hopes of eventually finding one to purchase for my collection. I'm a little confused about the Group Industries BAR. Was this an actual US Military issued weapon or a commercial version? There is a vast difference in prices which would lead me to believe Group is not a military issued version. Is this correct?

Thanks.

 

correct, the Group Industries BARs are commercial BARs.

 

[emmagee1917]

And , also , group industries weapons have problems. The orig. owner produced good ones , I hear , but the story I heard is he died and the heirs that fell into this was only after the money to feed thier habits. The main problem is they cut the rectangular hole for the slide way off center. The slide will now bind on the mags and the piston is no longer centered in the gas tube. Several have been fixed ( patched) by a hand fitted out-of-spec slide to get them to work. If you think about getting one , check the thickness of the walls in the slide cuts , the difference is easily seen if you know were to look.

Chris

[Sarge]

That is news to me. I never heard that the original guy died for starts. If so it was after the 86 ban on new guns. I bought my last rec from him after the ban, but didn't buy anymore because he jacked his prices thru the roof. I've also never heard that there were any problems with his receivers. IF so perhaps they finished out some incomplete receivers?

I bought 4 or 5 receivers from him and built BARs. There was never a problem with any of them that I ever heard about. I still know where 2 of those are at.

Sarge

[emmagee1917]

Well , like I said , that's the story I heard. You only have to go to a certain point in building a reciever before you can apply for a serial number and have it classified as a registered machine gun. You can then leave it at that point till you have time to finish it. A lot of people did that in '86 to beat the deadline. They did not really run short of 1917/1919 and M2HB sideplates until around 2000 , so they were turning them out about 14 years after the last one had been registered. It's very likely this was built years after'86. I bought one and spent a long time trying to get it to run. I then sold it to a friend of mine for what I paid for it. He has it still , and he loves it , but it still won't run through a mag.

Chris

[bigbore]

Well , like I said , that's the story I heard. You only have to go to a certain point in building a reciever before you can apply for a serial number and have it classified as a registered machine gun. You can then leave it at that point till you have time to finish it. A lot of people did that in '86 to beat the deadline. They did not really run short of 1917/1919 and M2HB sideplates until around 2000 , so they were turning them out about 14 years after the last one had been registered. It's very likely this was built years after'86. I bought one and spent a long time trying to get it to run. I then sold it to a friend of mine for what I paid for it. He has it still , and he loves it , but it still won't run through a mag.

Chris

 

 

If you field strip a Group Ind. BAR, and look at it from the front you can see if the receiver was cut even or not. The bad ones are pretty obviously off center. Some are REALLY thin on one side where the op rod slides in.