Want! That is awesome Ian. Now if I could only get a lewis and a bren...
The long road of my Bren gun, which is nearly home...
- Thread starter Ian
- Start date
- Status
Andrew Leigh
Member
Hi Ian, I envy you 
, a Bren is a thing of beauty.
You must remember that we were 18/19 years old and had just been through the first 6 months of military training at Infantry School, our premier facilty for training NCO's and Officers. Most our training was done on the double and we were in the shape of our lives, we ran everywhere, in kit and with rifles. We could literally almost run all day, kinda Forrest Gump stuff. In those days we were conscripted to 24 months of complusory training.
Enjoy your Bren, can you legally buy tracers in the States?
, a Bren is a thing of beauty.You must remember that we were 18/19 years old and had just been through the first 6 months of military training at Infantry School, our premier facilty for training NCO's and Officers. Most our training was done on the double and we were in the shape of our lives, we ran everywhere, in kit and with rifles. We could literally almost run all day, kinda Forrest Gump stuff. In those days we were conscripted to 24 months of complusory training.
Enjoy your Bren, can you legally buy tracers in the States?
Sam1911
Moderator Emeritus
Sure can! Just have to be careful not to start brush fires with them.
chicharrones
needs more ammo
Great thread, y'all!
You are officially off kilter. LOVE IT!
Thanks for posting the youtube link Ian. As you said, she sure recoils straight back with the AK ammo. Nice to see someone competing for the fun of it and to experiment with new techniques.
Andrew, do you remember approx. how many 20rd mags your Bren would go through before you normally changed out the barrel?
Andrew, do you remember approx. how many 20rd mags your Bren would go through before you normally changed out the barrel?
BullfrogKen
Moderator Emeritus
Andrew Leigh said:
Ah, yes, the things we did when we were young.
Very awesome discussion going on here. I'm enjoying it very much.
Andrew Leigh
Member
There would have been a prescribed limit but I unfortunately cannot recall. If I was to hazzard a guess I would go for 20 mags but that is purely a guess.
What I can tell you is that we NEVER changed barrels, there is a large difference between the theory and the practice. What I did do was to alternate barrels after every occasion that they were fired, kind of to keep wear even.
There is a reason why the barrel has a handle and why the handle is so far from the barrel, the barrel get bloody hot.
bainter1212
Member
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2012
- Messages
- 1,175
Tagged. Great thread.
kBob
Member
Ian,
Check PMs
-kBob
Check PMs
-kBob
kBob
Member
Andrew Leigh
Member
Purely Bren time, ah to be that thin and that fit again .
.kBob
Member
Hey that fat balding guy in the photo comics I posted used to be a light weapons Infantryman himself ......and it would be nice to have the old body back.
Actually we had those pictures taken the first time I finally got to shoot a BREN. That one is as one can tell from the magazine a .303 and it was a dealer sample full auto gun. I did not know about the gas settings and they guy had it wide open and I only discovered what it was doing to my boxer primed reloadable brass after the first full magazine. The gun was hurling them down so hard that they were mostly bent up and some had bent rims from the force of the bolt going back.
It had been about 20 years before that day that I had last shot a BAR, but it was like riding a bicycle. To be honest I liked the BAR better and given your situation of having only 20 round magazines for that 7.62 NATO conversion SA used ( the brits were still using them in 1974 according to some REME troops we worked with) I would much rather have had the BAR.
I spent some time as an M-60 GPMG gunner and some time as an M67 90mm Recoilless Rifle Gunner so I know something of carrying entirely to much but fortunately never had to do so in a place as nasty as Namibia ( have I spelled it wrong?)
-kBob
Actually we had those pictures taken the first time I finally got to shoot a BREN. That one is as one can tell from the magazine a .303 and it was a dealer sample full auto gun. I did not know about the gas settings and they guy had it wide open and I only discovered what it was doing to my boxer primed reloadable brass after the first full magazine. The gun was hurling them down so hard that they were mostly bent up and some had bent rims from the force of the bolt going back.
It had been about 20 years before that day that I had last shot a BAR, but it was like riding a bicycle. To be honest I liked the BAR better and given your situation of having only 20 round magazines for that 7.62 NATO conversion SA used ( the brits were still using them in 1974 according to some REME troops we worked with) I would much rather have had the BAR.
I spent some time as an M-60 GPMG gunner and some time as an M67 90mm Recoilless Rifle Gunner so I know something of carrying entirely to much but fortunately never had to do so in a place as nasty as Namibia ( have I spelled it wrong?)
-kBob
Andrew Leigh
Member
Most our forces and the Rhodesians used the FN MAG, a belt fed beauty which was a real treat. How we ended up with the Bren was a mystery. I think that Infantry School had never updated their armoury in the machine gun department, the crossover was quick so it was probably percived not to be problem.
For many years we were under strict UN embargo's and the local goverment was forced to become very innovative with regards to acquiring and using arms. That is how the Bren get pressed into service again, and believe it or not the Vickers as a base protection weapon. I actually trained on a Vickers for a short while.
One of the nicest that I have shot however was the Russian DPM, it had an action like a Rolex.
@Ian
You have a pistol grip beneath the action, was that standard or a retro fit?
For many years we were under strict UN embargo's and the local goverment was forced to become very innovative with regards to acquiring and using arms. That is how the Bren get pressed into service again, and believe it or not the Vickers as a base protection weapon. I actually trained on a Vickers for a short while.
One of the nicest that I have shot however was the Russian DPM, it had an action like a Rolex.
@Ian
You have a pistol grip beneath the action, was that standard or a retro fit?
Sam1911
Moderator Emeritus
Ahhh, and basically still used by the US military today as the M240, replacing our M60 in most situations.
A machine gun dealer I used to know had an original MAG58, transferrable to US civilians and legal to own, for sale in his shop a few years back. Price tag then was $65,000. Should have bought two...!
Andrew, the forward pistol grip is a retrofit. It's a piece sold by IMA; apparently a reproduction of an experimental British idea.
I've seen some of the South African .308 Vickers gear...unfortunately it's really hard to find any quantity of the links, or else it would be a great conversion to keep using today.
I've seen some of the South African .308 Vickers gear...unfortunately it's really hard to find any quantity of the links, or else it would be a great conversion to keep using today.
Greetings Ian
The only part of the rebuild I don't like is that SMG converted it to a closed bolt, which makes for an awkward reload as the bolt is held on the magazine, not the sear, so you have to pull the bolt back slightly to release the mag. No FTF so far, great shooter. Mine is 303
The only part of the rebuild I don't like is that SMG converted it to a closed bolt, which makes for an awkward reload as the bolt is held on the magazine, not the sear, so you have to pull the bolt back slightly to release the mag. No FTF so far, great shooter. Mine is 303
shotgunjoel
Member
I think that it is odd that the Chinese converted it to 7.62x39 instead of 7.62x54r. A BREN is 23 pounds, a DP is 20, an RPD is 16 and an RPK is 10-11 pounds. It seems for the weight you'd have to lug you might as well get the better performance out of it. The action would obviously be long enough for the 54r, the bolt face would need to be changed though. With x39 they didn't have to design and produce a new magazine.
Andrew Leigh said:
Yep, I remember those days too. At one point I was down to 165, which was the lightest I've ever been in my life, and I was able to lift the rear end of a Jeep Cherokee by myself. I wish I had the self-discipline to train myself back up like that.
BTW Andrew, thank you for the stories and insight. You really did live in a different place and time and my generation is better for it when people like you share your experiences with us.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
