1045

EXTREMELY RARE FULLY TRANSFERABLE, CURIO, COLT

Currency:USD Category:Firearms & Military Start Price:62,500.00 USD Estimated At:125,000.00 - 200,000.00 USD
EXTREMELY RARE FULLY TRANSFERABLE, CURIO, COLT
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[?]Live Online Auction Starts In 2026 Aug 05 @ 10:00 (UTC-04:00 : AST/EDT)
MANUFACTURED MODEL 1919 30 CALIBER BROWNING AUTOMATIC RIFLE. Cal. 30-06. S# C101205. Bbl. 24". Of all of the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) variants ever produced, the 30 caliber Model 1919 may be the rarest of them all. The Model 1919 BAR was designed as the first commercial offering and only 1003 total were produced. Of those, 701 were chambered in 6.5mm and sold to Fabrique National (FN). The remaining 302 guns were divided, chambered in a mixture of 30-06, 7.92 Mauser, 7.65 Mauser, 7mm Mauser & even .303 British. This example is one of the rare 30-06 pieces and still remains in beautiful condition today. While the story of the Model 1918 BAR is fairly well known, the Model 1919 BAR is often overlooked, or confused w/ the heavily produced Browning belt feed machine gun, also sharing the model designation of 1919. In 1919 Colt announced the first commercial production of the BAR, designating it the "Colt Automatic Machine Rifle, Model 1919". Internally, at the Colt factory, it was often referred to as the "Model U". The first recorded commercial sale following WWI took place on April 11, 1919. They were largely made from military contract overruns, and had only a few differences from the earlier Model 1918. The external differences included a change of the early tubular flash hider, to a simple, blued thread protector. Internally, the recoil spring was relocated inside of a tube in the shoulder stock, rather than inside the gas piston. At a glance it would be easy to confuse it for the military Model 1918. The threaded muzzle sports the thread protector, just forward of the exposed, dovetailed blade front sight. 9.5" heavily checkered hardwood forend. It has a blued finish on all exterior steel components. The top of the receiver is marked: "COLT'S AUTOMATIC MACHINE RIFLE / MODEL, 1919 - CAL. 30 / BROWNING PAT. FEB 4, 1919 / COLT'S PAT. FIRE ARMS MFG. CO. / HARTFORD CONN. U.S.A. / NO. C-101205". Safety / selector located on the left side of the receiver, marked "F-A-S". Folding, ladder style rear sight marked to 1600 yards, w/ battle set peep, protected on sides. Hardwood shoulder stock w/ steel butt plate, retained w/ 2 screws. Rear sling swivel located below shoulder stock. MAGS: 16 steel 20 rd. UNATTACHED ACCESSORIES: Steel magazine carrier, complete w/ 15 magazines. Box measures approximately 3.75" x 6.25" x 16.75". Painted OD Green and stenciled "AMMUNITION CHEST CAL-30 M1A1" on front. Locking latch on front. Canvas carry handle on top. CONDITION: Blued finish coverage quite complete, showing some thinning under close inspection, most pronounced rear of receiver sides, and at the front, in the area of the ejection port as well as the typical areas of mechanical intervention. It's actually in very nice condition, especially considering it is almost 110 years old. Checkered wood forend has normal dings & impressions, though checkering is extremely clean, while retaining structural integrity. Shoulder stock possesses typical dings & impressions typically earned in vertical rack storage. Each side of it has a very tight hairline crack extending rearward from the receiver. Relatively bright bore, darkening in grooves between very well pronounced lands, retaining strong rifling. Fire control mechanism appears to function correctly when cycled by hand. PROVENANCE: Military Museum Collection of Shooters Outpost, Hooksett NH. NATIONAL FIREARMS ACT MG REQUIRING BATF TRANSFER BEFORE TAKING POSSESSION. FULLY TRANSFERABLE. (03-2231/JZ). CURIO CLASS III. $125,000-200,000.