My brother bought a Belgium made BAR, in .30-06 Sprg, back around
1980, I think. It was new, and he shot it a ton. He handloaded, and
did a bunch of load development with it, and hunted it from Wisconsin
to Nevada. He passed away last summer, and my younger brother
ended up with it. The gun shows plenty of wear, but it still cycles
very reliably, and is still 1 MOA accurate with it's favorite loads.
I am thinking that unless one shoots 1000 rounds a year through
one, a BAR should last at least one life time, and maybe a couple
more.
I know that my BAR LW Stalker, in .308 Win, will not be sold by me,
and likely will not be worn out by me, either.
Squeeze