Shooting the British Bren MkII light machine gun

[Jamster9000]

Im british, and I think all our weapons look really strange :P

[TalonMercenary]

LOVE this gun

[TheAlexagius]

My grandad loved this on his national service

[PyjamaShark9]

Where the hell do you get a Bren gun?

[jkarmanovskiy]

awsome gun

[TRUExSIGHTS]

I'm interested to see that you fire the Bren gun when sitting down with your hand underneath the butt of the gun (or so it appears to show on the video, i may be seeing it wrongly though). Usually as I have been shown and taught, the correct method would be to steady it by gripping the top of the but to prevent it riding upwards due to recoil and lock it into the shoulder. Was just wondering how you find it using your style of grip (if I did view it correctly) and whether you have compared both.

[C2builder]

@TRUExSIGHTS Both methods work, the Bren recoil is fairly light.

[TRUExSIGHTS]

@C2builder Interesting. Was always told that the manual method was to do it on the top as that was the only way to fully steady it. Never fired one live personally but would love to one day. This isn't me saying your technique is wrong btw, I do accept that everyone adapts firing positions. I've just never seen the bren supported that way before. I've heard different opinions on the Bren Recoil, though I've put it down to properly braced will be light recoil ultimately.

[blackcountryme]

No left handed bren gunners :(

[T55Storm]

looks similar to a type 97

[BazilRat]

@T55Storm That's coz the 97 was a knock-off of the Bren

[aneep89]

the bigger the mag...the better!!

[henrique165]

british bren or japanese type 99?

[WachtAmWeb]

@henrique165 it's a Bren, although both guns were descended from the ZB-26, a Czech design.

[TalonMercenary]

wonderful gun <3

[UKNationalAirsoft]

if you have a look at the british armories thier are still a couple of l4 (7.62) brens knoking about and in reserve as with the l1a1 slr

[harryfaber]

My old instructor would have a few things to say about 'sustained firing'!

We were taught to fire single shots or bursts of two or three.

And we had piles of ammunition, it was to avoid overheating the barrel.

In sustained 'fire support', change the barrel after 500 rounds, let it cool off. (I never fired that many in one go, maybe six mags in a training session)

[cryhavoc999]

@RJDGGG86 The Brits probably invented Springs!

In 1676 British physicist Robert Hooke discovered the principle behind springs' action, that the force it exerts is proportional to its extension, now called Hooke's law.

So yes the Brits have definately heard of springs

I asume that you are refering to the vertical feed magazine? Error! This is not gravity feed and has a spring in it like other magazines and in any case is a Czeh Design (See ZB vz. 26) not a Brtish one

[Ashitaka255]

I've been reading a bit on WWI & II and it's quite sad to see so many of the manufacturers and designers that made British planes and weapons disappear or be bought by foreign companies, whilst at the same time those that built weapons for the Nazis, Japanese empire etc are thriving.

Not that I condone mass weapons manufacture in times of peace like the US is doing. In a hypothetical WW3 we'd get our asses kicked cos we buy our wepons from foreign companies.

[ampthilluk]

@Ashitaka255 the vast majority of our weapons are american, german or british and luckily we're all allies now so in a world war (most likely against china or some rogue arab country) we wouldnt have any problem with weapons. the vast majority of our vehicles and aircraft are also british or american.

[Factnotfictionpeople]

@Ashitaka255 Its called winning the war - but LOSING the peace.......

[GanzZulu]

@Ashitaka255 only you would be surprised how much of the kit we use is british. currently, in terms of small arms, the standard issue kit that is foreign made is our pistols, shotguns (which we have the infrastructure to make ourselves if need be), LMGs (minimis), some other weapons (e.g. barrett 50. cal, l129a1, UGLs, AGLs and SF weapons). the important stuff i.e. our main vehicles, ships, aircraft etc. are mostly built in britain and/ or designed (or partly designed) by the british.

[CottenCandyFckTart]

british bren?..........or czech bren?

[BrahnTheHandyMan]

OK, when aiming down the iron sights does the clip coming out of the top no piss you off? Like restrict your field of view, because on video games while using this gun (yea i know its just a game) it pisses me off..

[james257wby]

C2, which do you think is better the BREN or the BAR ?

[C2builder]

@james257wby The Bren. Even the Gunny (Lee Ermey) admits it. lol.

[duisteve]

@C2builder i saw that one the reloading on the BAR is just to long

[sysmoute]

I want to go and live in America,my dad was in the middlesex regt from 1938 onwards and I would love to fire one

[bweber2k]

Fookwah...you're right..they are not comparable....the MG34 and MG42 did what the creators of the Bren wanted to do...Notice the pistol grip and butt stock of the MG42. It could be shot from the hip or shoulder. It could be mounted. It didn't have the barrel overheating problem, as the barrel could be changed out in seconds. Design elements from the MG42 were incorporated into the American M60. The Bren is lost to history now as is the American B.A.R.

[Delogros]

@bweber2k I'm slightly perplexed... BREN, good grip and stock - check, Shot from the shoulder or hip - Check, Could be mounted - check, Barrel change - check (and far easier then the 34 or 42). the BREN did all you just said :S It's only real failing if you want to call it that is it's not belt fed but since this means 1 man can stay in a fight longer as he doesn't need a feeder/ammo carrier (though handy for a BREN operator) and it's rate of fire doesn't nom ammo at an insane rate.

[RunningWolf24]

I'd feel sorry for anyone that would try to invade America they'd be blasted down not by the Marines but by the civilians lol.

[Porah89]

Everyone use "british" Bren, but it is czech BREN :P British only use worse ammo than Czechs

[raghuscsa316]

How distracting is the top loaded cartridge when shoulder firing?

[PanHustej]

Will You get the Czechoslovakian original ZB 26 in 7.92..?

[Wills7729]

Immediate Actions .303 Bren. Gun stops, cock gun mag off. check mag for badly loaded rounds, if OK replace mag continue firing, guns stops again, cock gun apply safety catch, slide gun back slightly, lift barrel locking handle, slide barrel forward slightly until lug is clear of gas regulator block, using nose of round or combination tool turn regulator to next largest hole, slide barrel back, lock handle, cock gun, safety off continue firing.

[futsalfred2]

How accurate is that rifle when firing from the hip and from the shoulder?

[LYNCHIE1011]

that has a nice rate of fire.. didnt think the 'bren' had such a nice rate of fire.

[maomanny]

how can u aim?

[jjd705]

that thing looks like a jap gun.

[jinnwarior]

@jjd705

thats because in WW2 the japs stole alot of gun designs.

their aircraft MGs were german guns, they made a m1 garand copy, and they stole the bren for LMG.

[intercomsec]

They were also converted to 7.62mm NATO round, but they were never quite as good, it increased the number of jams. But still a great weapon, good stopping power, range and very easy to field strip. (ex armourer British TAVR)

[amit79ful]

controversy or no controversy this weapons works fantastic in my country india and we still manufacture it

[wind4watts]

The first time I fired one i was amazed that at how easy it was to reliably hit targets 300-400 meters away with the offset sights, that was a WW2 re barreled for the NATO 7.62-SLR round, superb weapon designed by Chech who escaped here from Advancing Germans (if memory serves).

[DNchap1417]

impressive gun! it may be somwehat bulky, but it has twice as much range as an AK, a Sten or an M16

[Jigaboo123456]

@DNchap1417 it has MUCH more than twice the range of a Sten.

They were pop-guns for trench or house clearing. I'd only choose a Sten to go against a Bren if the range was ten to 15 metres and we not not already aiming at each other!

[jonasldg]

why the hell did they choose to mount the magazine on top, when it could have just been mounted on side

[Pitcairn2]

@jonasldg

Look how easy it is to change mags, say compared with the BAR..

[Twirlyhead]

@jonasldg

Side mount mags can cause balance problems with heavier rounds like the Bren's .303 - particualarly with a 30 round box (as opposed to 9mm sten for example) - the German FG42 suffered a little from this with a smaller mag and, as someone's already pointed out - the Bren mag is really easy to change.

[juliano777pounds]

the police of rio de janeiroo.use this machine gun..every day.in patrul.of the morro...

[Xiolablu3]

This was the British BAR. A belt feed would make it troublesome during an advance.

The box mag was a design choice to allow the gunner to move easily. 30 rounds in an 'automatic, fire on the move rifle(with a sling)' in 1939-42 was impressive.

A belt feed OPTION would have been nice though. Still a great weapon.

[glennfs1954]

Whilst I`d like to collect these marvelous weapons I`m only glad it`s illegal in Britain. I`ts tragic enough when we get some loony tune deciding he`s pissed off with his wife and goes beserk with a shotgun. Just imagine if he went for a walk down a crowded market town high street firing off one of these at unsuspecting passers by.

[bangwallitt]

@glennfs1954

haha wouldn't you notice someone with a bren gun walking down the street!!

[Marlever357]

Bren gun, what a famous piece of British military history.Not talked about as much as the Lee Enfield over here but just as good in its own right.Shame that Brit shooters are not allowed to own and shoot their own old weapons which once helped save their country.Glad that the Americans still have some freedoms left.Enjoy your shooting C2builder.Regards fom over here.

[ngsy29]

this looks a bit like the japanese type 99, did the japanese copy it?

[stuart556]

@ngsy29 yes, they copied the sten aswell.

[terrabun]

We used to get to shoot Brens back in cadets all of 20 odd years ago, great guns and do remember them being very accurate. Best shot was a kid who was all of 5 foot tall, the thing was nearly as big as him.

[BwZTheTouch]

@engaurd Yeah, it is pretty easy to place well-aimed shots. A firing squad equipped with 2+ of those babies was actually able to pin down an MG-emplacement by focussing fire on the openings in the sandsack-walls, and once on gunner had to reload, the other one started firing.

[ballrub]

sweet!!! what round does it fire? I'm getting firm just watching you fire it,and can only imagine the rush one gets when firing it.

[C2builder]

@ballrub The bren fires the .303 British round.

[Firan25]

quick question...which came first? the bren or the type 99?

[TheMysticalBadger]

@Firan25 The bren gun did, in 1937, although it was a development of the ZB vz. 26, a late 1928 design. The Type 99 was fielded in 1939, and itself was a development of the earlier Type 96, designed in 1936. While the Type 99 borrows certain elements from the vz. 26, it is not very closely related.

[joscobo]

Does it fire from an open bolt?

[C2builder]

@joscobo Yes it does.

[kingbleah]

should have had a belt and tele sight

[7point62mmby51]

Absolutely great video

[sammyspitty]

Love the Bren gun, certainly has a kick from the 303 round.

[STICKMANGUY100]

that's not a ww2 british bren gun mkII. it's a ww2 type 100 look it up i play coc waw and i have an airsoft gun like that and it says type 100

[YTtheatre]

chek everyone ere they play cod 5 and they think there experts at guns

[Wills7729]

The Bren was never trialed as a belt fed weapon, but in the early part of its issue it was issued to some units with a 98 round drum magazine(very heavy) for anti aircraft or fixed line firing on a tripod. All .303 Brens had two barrels changed every ten mags at the rapid rate. Unlike moderm MGs it did not produce a good 'beaten zone' which is better for area suppression. It was designed as a light section weapon, the Vickers was used at platoon level in the medium MG role.

[jakebath]

may i ask do you find the brengun as accurate as people say it is :)

[C2builder]

It's very accurate. If it wasn't for the low magazine capacity it would have given the Brits a fighting chance against the MG34 or MG42. The Brits did experiment with a belt-fed Bren, that would have been perfect.

[TheRandomStickGuy]

@C2builder Which Mach. gun is your favorite? What i wouldnt give to get my hands on that MG42.....lol

[C2builder]

@TheRandomStickGuy Every weapon has it's own merits, pros and cons. Thats a hard choice.

[kjsh987]

great gun. i love it. BAR is nice but Bren is it too.

[gazzavc]

Excellent video, excellent gun.

Why people insist on comparing apples to oranges I have no clue.

Thanks for posting a very cool little clip.

[Fookwah]

The Bren and the MG-42 are not comparable. The Bren is a LMG, and teh MG-42 is a GPMG. Two totally different guns, for totally different purposes. The Bren was, and still is an extremely reliable, hard hitting, and the most accurate LMG ever produced. Given the chance, it would run circles around most modern LMG's. It's the way it's used that counts so much. Mounted on a tripod, it can even be used as a Medium MG in a pinch very well. Do not compare the Bren and MG-42; Totally different classes.

[verfugbarkite]

@Fookwah I agree, so did the SS, they used the CZ original.

[silver760]

That really brings home how pathetic the BREN is compared to the MG42,the rate of fire of the BREN is pitifully slow in comparison!

[cwjian90]

@silver760: They played completely different roles, the Bren was a squad support weapon, so it didn't actually need that rate of fire. In any case, 1300 round/min would have exhausted the magazine very quickly. The Bren was also VERY accurate for a machine gun, the only problem with it lay in the rimmed ammunition, which occasionally caused feed problems.

[shugo541]

not everything is about fire rate...

[laksemann]

Do not the magazine make it difficult to aim?

(Sorry for bad English, I'm from Norway)

[C2builder]

@laksemann, not at all as both front and rear sights are off-set to the left hand side of the centerlined magazine. You're English is better than most Americans. Thanks.

[shugo541]

haha now that is the truth :)

[SuperWeaves]

I remember on lock and load with gunney, they were comparing this with the B.A.R. This thing won

[petrwarry72]

BREN - changing barrel, 30 rounds mag

BAR - overheating barrel , 20 rounds mag , first version without bipod - am i right?

[anteracmacash]

my great grandfather carried a very similar machine gun each time when he pullled guard duty back in WW2 in Croatia...nice vide man  ;)

[darraghtank]

is it noticably awkward to fire from the shoulder aiming while standing i held a bren before and although im like 6'4 i was a girl about it

[WWIIOLgeorgh]

Magazines have their advangtages, specifically the lack of a need for the use of a belt loader or other specialized tool to load them. MP40 and Sten magazines notwithstanding, of course.

[lundholm4]

Lovely sound!

[analihilator]

i like guns but i also like living in a society with strict gun controls. lucky for me i am a US citizen and can zip over and shoot all the guns i like :D

[ericandamanda338]

That is a badass weapon.  I like British firearms. I've got 2 SMLE's and a Sterling so far. I would love to have that, but probably will never be able to afford it.

[TomaSkTemplar]

british weapon? Where Bren is? Brno? Enfield yes, but it is Czechoslovak, ZB.26 was the first one with 20 rds. magazine. Development continued ofc...

[petrwarry72]

TomaSkTemplar - well , they bought franchise , so BREN is british weapon, btw i think all these guys know where it came from , BRnoENfield

[Smeg6669]

@TomaSkTemplar Very true about it starting out as a Czech design but Enfield modified the mag feed and changed the callibre too .303 and this was used by the British army instead

[stebolicious008]

Would that be considered an advantage? having the magazine on top? i would say no.... but thats just me...

[C2builder]

I believe the Bren design just kept the mag on top because thats the way the Zb26 was, also at that time most designers thought that gravity would help assist cartridge feeding into the gun. Firing from the prone position is also a plus, however, it also gives your position away with the mag sticking up so high.

[stebolicious008]

All very true... thats why belt fed guns are a plus :D are you a fan of strictly old war rifles? have you fired the Barrett M82A1? or a dragonov?

[C2builder]

I have a few older WW2 bolt action rifles and also a PSL sniper rifle, it's kind of a spin-off from the Dragonov style rifles. All are fairly acurate and fun to shoot.

[stebolicious008]

Nice :D i have always wanted to get my hands on either a M1 Garand or a M1A1 carbine(not sure if thats the right name)

[314299]

Another great video! The sound of that weapon is perfect......

[WWIIOLgeorgh]

Magazines tend to not need a specialized tool for loading, MP40 and Sten magazines notwithstanding.

I will say that tools like the LULA series make it easier though.

[MadBadVoodo]

Five Stars!!

[splintercell275]

Do you prefer belt fed or cartridge fed machine guns?

[C2builder]

I'm difinitely for belt fed guns. The whole problem with a mag fed machine gun is the constant mag changes.

[urogallusNor]

@C2builder As a machinegunner when I served in the army with the modern version of the MG42, the MG3, I found it troublesome to be able to resume firing each time I changed position. For instance during fire and movement excercises. Because of the belt-feed. I would personally much prefer a Bren during a charge because of this. In a defensive role, however, the MG3 is superb.