Source: ATF P 5300.11 · Curios or Relics List · Jan 1972 – Apr 20253,573 entries · 4 sections
The C&R RegisterA finding aid to the ATF Curios or Relics List, for Type 03 collectors
C&R · IV · 052

FN Browning Automatic Rifle

Section IV: still an NFA firearm, also a curio or relic

Official wording

ATF P 5300.11 · APRIL 2025 EDITION · SECTION IV · VERBATIM · PDF P. 83 ↗

Fabrique Nationale, Model BAR, full automatic rifle, all cal.’s, as mfd. by Fabrique Nationale, Herstal, Belgium.

What this entry requires

  • ATF REQUIRESMade or imported as stated: “as mfd. by Fabrique Nationale”
  • INFOATF states no date; production was about 1920–1967.
  • INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).

Editorial facts · Our research

Country
Belgium³
Manufacturer
Fabrique Nationale, Herstal
Type
Machinegun
Action
Select-fire / auto
Caliber
All calibers
Made
c. 1920–1967production; ATF states no date¹²
Service
Military
Search listings ↗Check a specific gunReport an error ↗

Source

Official wording
ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 83 ↗ · ATF original ↗
Entries
1 line
Verbatim check
Checked against the PDF text before every release
Editorial facts
Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
References
  1. forgottenweapons.com ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it)
  2. Wikipedia, “M1918 Browning automatic rifle” ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): in 1920 FN acquired sales and production rights to the BAR in Europe from Colt; FN built the Mle 1930 and the Model D (1932); FN's first production year not stated
  3. Wikipedia, “M1918 Browning automatic rifle” ↗, country: Belgium: adopted in 1930, built under licence by Fabrique Nationale (Herstal)
Fact tags
  • ATF the ATF wording states it.
  • REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
  • ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
  • NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
Source checked
20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
Corrections
1 change · see below

Correction history

  1. Evidence passYears: 1920–1977 → 1920–1967. Forgotten Weapons (FN-DA1): FN BAR production ended in 1967

All corrections · How corrections work

Historical context

M1918 Browning automatic rifle (base model shown for FN Browning Automatic Rifle)
Shown: a U.S. M1918-pattern Browning Automatic Rifle, not this FN Herstal-made BAR.

Image: Wikimedia Commons, “Army Heritage Museum B.A.R..jpg” by United States Army, Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.

Summary: Wikipedia, “M1918 Browning automatic rifle”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

The Browning automatic rifle (BAR) is a family of American automatic rifle used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge and designed by John Browning in 1917 for the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe as a replacement for the French-made Chauchat and M1909 Benét–Mercié machine guns that U.S. forces had previously been issued.