BAR & Maral Reflex: a step ahead of the rest

Visitors to the IWA 2019 were unanimous in their opinion: Browning has made a great impact with the launch of the BAR and Maral Reflex ranges.  This ingenious system has provided a new shooting experience for all lovers of battue style hunting, putting you a step ahead of the rest.  Let’s explain.

Bar et Maral Reflex: the Kite Optics K1 red dot

Kite Optics, the scope brand partnering Browning, has this year brought out a red dot system known as the K1.  So what? – I hear you say – the market is flooded with them.  The K1 red dot stands out from the rest because of its Kite Optics DNA: extremely hard-wearing, easy to handle, reasonably priced and great design.  But the real revolution is its integration into two of the most popular rifles in Europe: the BAR and the Maral.

While red dots are usually located close to the shooter, Browning and Kite Optics have gambled by locating it further, on the barrel, where the rear sight or the battue rib are located.  And so, the BAR and Maral Reflex ranges have arrived.  The forward position, combined with the fact it is the lowest, offers many advantages.  A quick overview:

Bar et Maral Reflex: the highlights

Extremely versatile

When you arrive at the hunt, you never know what position you will be given: thick scrub, a wide-open plain, or a track lined by conifers, etc. Now, the ultra-low and forward position of the red dot enables you also to have a scope mounted on your rifle.

Once in position, if you feel the shooting distance necessitates a scope, no problem, you don’t need to touch anything.  The position of the red dot is so low that it doesn’t appear in the scope. 

If you want to use the K1 red dot, no problem either.  As long as your scope is mounted using the Browning NOMAD system!  In less than three seconds, you remove the scope and are ready to welcome the game the way it should be done.  There is no doubt that attempts will soon be made to emulate this system, unique to Browning.

Extremely ergonomic

When a red dot is a few centimetres from your face, you need an adjustable cheek-piece. It stands to reason, as it is much higher than a K1 of the Reflex range.  Without a cheek-piece, you risk losing precious time looking for the reticle. 

With the Reflex system, not only do you not need an adjustable cheek-piece, but your target acquisition is also much more instinctive.  As soon as you have shouldered the rifle, you only see two things: the K1 red dot and the game.  What’s more, when the red dot is close to your eye, its metallic structure may tend to reduce your field of view and thus hamper you.

Easy to operate

Do you want to change the illumination of the red dot? No problem, two small side buttons enable you to move around the 11-position illumination without taking your hand off the fore-end.

Do you want to change the battery?  Nothing is easier, a small side drawer gives easy access to the battery. 

Are you a complete scatterbrain, like the author of this article?  We have equipped the K1 red dot with an automatic system which shuts it down after three hours.

Currently, the Reflex range consists of three models:

• BAR Hunter Reflex, also available for left-handers
• BAR Composite Reflex, also available for left-handers
• Maral Composite Reflex

In a future article, I will tell you more about the K1 red dot.  Meanwhile, don’t hesitate to come and try out these rifles to our events!