Bren Mk.II in .30-06

[Promo]

Finally these surfaced and are to come to the market... Bren Mk.II in .30-06 caliber. They are all NOS still in grease, complete in transit chest with bipod and second spare barrel. Attached some quick mobile phone pics I did of the one I bought, better ones when I find time to pull out the camera!

Information

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[Lee Enfield]

Italian .30-06 Brens? Are they scratch built or conversions?

[Promo]

I have no idea upon who made this gun. It does not look like reused or rebuilt rifles, but I know not much on Bren MG.

[Lee Enfield]

Breda Meccanica Brecia

Here are some spare magazines for you

BREN Mk2 BMB 30-06 7.62 MAGAZINES BOX Genuine militaria

[Promo]

Thanks. I have one box of spare mags to it.

[browningautorifle]

Nice, seldom seen but spoken of...

[TactAdv]

Okay, this REALLY intrigues me. I’m fairly well versed on many things BREn, history-wise, and PARTICULARLY things regarding the industrial manufacturing aspect of the design.

Coincidentally I’m also fairly well versed in the Post-War Italian arms industry as regards the major players from, again, the industrial manufacturing aspect. So I know a bit about Breda and the programs they were involved with (particularly in league with Berretta), but I have never heard of them manufacturing BREn receivers, much less complete BREn guns, in any caliber.....till right here and now. This is big news to me as a student of the Post-War Italian arms industry.

And now I feel stupid for not ever having been aware of this fact.

So, would someone who well knows this story of the Italian manufacture of these specific BREn’s please educate me thoroughly on the Breda made BREn’s???

I’d be MOST grateful for as much specific detail as possible!
-TomH

[Flying10uk]

Could we see some more pics of the chest, please, because it differs from UK and Canadian versions. Thanks

[Promo]

The Italians basically copied the British transit chest design of the No. 4 T rifle also for their other sniper rifles. Among them also the chest design for the Garand M1D sniper rifle, which they later modified to the .308 caliber. I'm therefore not really surprised they invented their own design for a Bren MG chest as well.

Attached are better pictures I did with the camera. I digitally removed the last three digits of the serial number. The Italians switched from .30-06 to .308 somewhen around 1970. They reworked all guns to the .308 caliber if possible. Hence I assume these guns simply sat in storage and never were used since they were in an obsolete caliber, as well as could not be reworked to .308 Winchester.

PS: Italy got tons of guns post WWII of British and US manufacture. Among them Garands, Carbines and many Enfield bolt action rifles. The Enfield Rifles include SMLE from WWI and earlier, but the No. 4 rifles the Italians are exclusively Long Branch manufacture - and of those nearly all are post WWII made. Maybe therefore there is also an Canadian connection to these Bren Mk.II rifles in .30-06 ... ?

[desperatedan]

Promo - Wow, very interesting. Looks like the barrel is a bit longer than .303 versions and a longer gas piston set-up from the look of that extension between the bipod and gas port on the barrel. With the addition of those ports on the piston tube extension after the bipod mount I presume that the original gas vents on the receiver are redundant. I assume that was needed for the change to 30-06.

Is it fully live and you will be able to take it to the range?