Hey Reinz, look what I'm "Coon Fingering"

[MRC]

Reinz  -  I fianlly scored a Bren Ten that has been eluding me for about ten years.  Picked up a real nice Omega while on the hunt also.

[tracker]

To borrow an aviation phrase: "that's the heavy iron."

[Reinz]

Heavy Iron that's for sure. 

Great score MRC!

I wanted an Omega for years, but finally decided against it due to the porting - it's a quirky thing about my ears.  They are exceptional guns, and definite shooters.

While some of the books state that between 1000-1100 Brens were made, I know a very close source of the factory that told me only 930 were made.  Thus, they are quite rare.  You have probably read about not shooting one until it is magnafluxed and x-rayed for defects in the slide and frame.  But then there is the chance of the parts......

I retired all of my Brens while I am ahead.

Congrats!  

[MRC]

Heavy Iron that's for sure. 

Great score MRC!

I wanted an Omega for years, but finally decided against it due to the porting - it's a quirky thing about my ears.  They are exceptional guns, and definite shooters.

While some of the books state that between 1000-1100 Brens were made, I know a very close source of the factory that told me only 930 were made.  Thus, they are quite rare.  You have probably read about not shooting one until it is magnafluxed and x-rayed for defects in the slide and frame.  But then there is the chance of the parts......

I retired all of my Brens while I am ahead.

Congrats!

I have read about  all the troubles with Brens.  The guy I bought this from has had over 30 of them and he says the stories are a bit overblown in his opinion, but they have had troubles with many of them.

There is a guy on the internet that has a real good buyers guide for Bren Tens and mine seems to check out OK.

By the way, I did have to go to the range when it arrived.

[Reinz]

I don't blame ya at all for going to the range.  I have put thousands of rounds downrange in my Brens.  And so has my brother with his.

It was not so much the internet stories that turned me, I was in a shop of a Bren gunsmith and saw a 5 gal bucket of cracked Bren slides.  And he said  that was just "one" bucket. 

[MRC]

Wow!  I never knew the problem was that wide spread.

Maybe Don Johnson had that chrome on his to hide the cracks.

[Reinz]

Maybe Don Johnson had that chrome on his to hide the cracks.

 

If you're going to shoot it regularly, I'd get it magnafluxed/x-rayed.

[tracker]

Was this a metallurgy issue, design problem, or something else?

[MRC]

The problem was bad castings as I understand it.  Here is a better explanation.

    http://nordicg3k.tripod.com/website/id22.html

I have talked to a large number of Bren owners and all call this the "chcken little" article.  I really have never intended to shoot this pistol very much.

Jack Abrams, CEO of Abrams Airborne/Vltor, says his "new Bren Ten" will hit the streets in November 2013.  I am not holding my breath.

[tracker]

"If only", two of the saddest words; this magnificent gun had been forged instead of cast this would, perhaps, be a very different story. 

[Reinz]

Forgings would have only takien care one of many problems.  Most parts were hand fitted with a bench sander, making each one nearly a prototype.  There were constant cycling issues. And of cource the Magazine fiasco.  Many Bren Tens were shipped without magazines and the customer never received any.  They were constantly behind the eight ball.

Doranus and Dixon were great designers, just not very good at business/implementation.

But - on the other hand, if you have ever shot one that works and works quite well- it makes a monkey out of any other ten on the market, even today.

[tracker]

Sounds like an unmitigated disaster and the beginning of a lengthy love/hate relationship.

[MRC]

Reinz  -  You got my interest up as you are the only person I have ever talked to that says to X-ray the slide, so I called up the guy I bought it from.  He has owned over 40 different Brens through the years and is down to about 25 now.  He says he has had more than a few bad Brens.  He has never broke a frame or slide in any of his but he know it has happened.  Most of his troubles were Brens he never could get to feed reliably. 

The early Norma load was a 200 gr bullet at 1300 fps out of a 5" barrel and it was hard on any pistol.  By the time he started shooting Brens, the normal pressure stuff was available,  I have read where the Noma  ammo has destoyed Delta Elites in less than 500 rounds.

As far as X-raying or Magna-fluxing slides, he has never done it.  He is a pipe fitter and they are X-raying welds right now and he thinks he might take a couple of the shooters he has down to the job sight on a Saturday when no one is around and get it done.

Reinz, have you or your brother ever had any of yours tested?

[Reinz]

MRC - I have not x-rayed or magna-fluxed any of my guns personally.  One Special Forces Light that I bought New unfired, was done by the gunsmith I bought it from because it was his policy to only sell only tested Brens.   I have not shot this one because I have another SFL that I was shooting.   

I have another Standard Model I bought from a guy which he had tested.    I just haven't gone to the trouble of testing the others because I have retired all of mine from shooting.

I have to say though, it is the only gun that comes close for me as being as natural as a true combat weapon as the 1911 is.