The Bren Ten Curse

[BEEMER1]

As you can see I like Bren Tens and if they were available again, I would probably buy one.

That said, there is nothing magical about the design, they basically just upsized a CZ 9mm to handle a 45 acp which in turn would handle the new 10mm auto cartridge. I certainly would not put any money down on a pistol to be made in the future or invest any money in an upstart venture to manufacture them again.

Jeff Cooper never invested a dime in the Bren Ten venture either.

 

[LVSteve]

As to the Bren, I wonder how some would feel if the Glock had failed?

If it upped the supply of Steyr GB magazines I'd be OK with that.

 

[DWalt]

My feeling is that the BT has passed into the realm of non-shooting collectibles. If someone wants a 10mm to use, there are many other and better choices available on the market. Those who would be happy with a fairly close facsimile of a BT for shooting need look no further than finding an all-steel EAA Witness. In your choice of calibers (including 10mm, .45, .40, .38 Super and 9mm).

 

[surfgun]

I have been trying to find one of those for years too...

I had to have imported from Hong Kong when they first came out. The air soft Bren Ten 8mm will blow through both sides of an aluminum can.

 

[krtlesfd]

I had to have imported from Hong Kong when they first came out. The air soft Bren Ten 8mm will blow through both sides of an aluminum can.

They're almost harder to find than their namesake. It's a pity no one makes a proper pellet version - in full Sonny Crockett white metal, of course. There's plenty of supermarket-price-gun autos in .177, but no Bren Ten and no Browning Hi-Power.

 

[BigMuddy]

My feeling is that the BT has passed into the realm of non-shooting collectibles. If someone wants a 10mm to use, there are many other and better choices available on the market. Those who would be happy with a fairly close facsimile of a BT for shooting need look no further than finding an all-steel EAA Witness. In your choice of calibers (including 10mm, .45, .40, .38 Super and 9mm).

If I could find one exactly like that I think I buy it. Only thing better would be if it was two toned. Seems all that I see now have a rail on them which is a deal breaker for me. Very nice gun!!

Dan

 

[rosewood]

If I could find one exactly like that I think I buy it. Only thing better would be if it was two toned. Seems all that I see now have a rail on them which is a deal breaker for me. Very nice gun!!

Dan

I have that one's twin, they call it a Wonderfinish. Bought the first one I saw at a gun show maybe 15+ years ago. Paid $330 for it. No idea what they are going for these days. I was buying 10MMs when they weren't the cool thing.

edit:
Now that I think about it, when I bought mine, it was before the Clinton bill sunset, so had to be before 2004. Mine came with 10 round mags and I had to buy the 15 rounders after 2004.

Rosewood

 

[DWalt]

There is a long story about my Witness. I originally bought it out of my own pocket back in the mid-00s to use as a test bed for a USAF ammunition development and evaluation project for a potential new service handgun being considered at that time. I won’t go into details, but I had a barrel chambered in 9x23 Winchester made for it. I also got a 9mm barrel and the .45 ACP conversion components. I fired at least 2000 rounds of 9x23 Win through it during that project along with several thousand more through a M1911A1 set up with a 9x23 barrel and 9mm slide. Both guns handled all of those hot loads (124 gr FMJ bullets at around 1450 ft/sec) without any damage or malfunctions. Aside from its weight, I can say nothing bad about the Witness.

 

[gregintenn]

I have zero interest in either an original or a remake.

 

[krtlesfd]

I have zero interest in either an original or a remake.

So, we'll put you down as a "maybe", then?

 

[Jimmy4570]

My single experience shooting a full size Bren Ten with the Norma factory load in 2008, despite that piece's trigger cocking mode being inoperable, showed it to be a very comfortable, accurate piece. I didn't care for the crossbolt safety feature, same as I dislike it on certain lever guns, but the overall appearance of the thing was lovely, well machined and finished. That particular example had apparently been abused and despite that still functioned fine in self cocking mode and felt great.

 

[krtlesfd]

I've been following this thread for days and only just remembered as I was tidying up my gear, that I have my own contribution to Bren Ten memorabilia: About a year ago I picked up off the web a set of RCBS dies labeled "4 die set 40 caliber Bren Ten". They look to be BNIB, even the label looks new. Guy bought them years ago and never used them, and they'd been sitting in a drawer. I never found out for sure, but I suspect he'd gotten them for a Bren that never materialized. They'd been advertised on one of our Canadian sites but didn't sell, so I managed to contact the seller. He was a nice guy who'd seemingly forgotten about them, and we made a deal. I already have 10 mm dies, so I have no intention of using them. I just bought them for the cool factor. I tried to post a photo, but the forum only accepts URL's.

 

[Bill Lear]

CZ makes the CZ97 in .45 auto. The gun could EASILY be converted to 10mm with a simple slide mod, different mag...that's about it. THAT is about as close to how a Bren Ten looks as real money can buy REAL product, and CZ could bring it in for the same price as the .45 version.

Having said that, the .45 auto can EASILY be elevated to 600 fpe energy levels with very little strain on a properly set-up handgun.

 

[bigwheelzip]

CZ makes the CZ97 in .45 auto. The gun could EASILY be converted to 10mm .......

The 97 has been discontinued.


CZ97 discontinued


Sent from my motorola one 5G using Tapatalk

 

[stansdds]

I handled a couple of CZ-97's. To me, they felt larger and heavier than the large frame EAA Witness pistols. Was the CZ-97 a good candidate for being chambered in 10mm Auto? Yes, and many people begged CZ for such a thing, but CZ refused.

 

[BEEMER1]

I've been following this thread for days and only just remembered as I was tidying up my gear, that I have my own contribution to Bren Ten memorabilia: About a year ago I picked up off the web a set of RCBS dies labeled "4 die set 40 caliber Bren Ten". They look to be BNIB, even the label looks new. Guy bought them years ago and never used them, and they'd been sitting in a drawer. I never found out for sure, but I suspect he'd gotten them for a Bren that never materialized. They'd been advertised on one of our Canadian sites but didn't sell, so I managed to contact the seller. He was a nice guy who'd seemingly forgotten about them, and we made a deal. I already have 10 mm dies, so I have no intention of using them. I just bought them for the cool factor. I tried to post a photo, but the forum only accepts URL's.

The biggest problem is they are steel, not carbide, dies.

 

[ladder13]

My feeling is that the BT has passed into the realm of non-shooting collectibles. If someone wants a 10mm to use, there are many other and better choices available on the market. Those who would be happy with a fairly close facsimile of a BT for shooting need look no further than finding an all-steel EAA Witness. In your choice of calibers (including 10mm, .45, .40, .38 Super and 9mm).

EAA/Tanfoglio makes some fine guns.

 

[Ethang]

I do enjoy all of the responses but alternatives like the CZ or Witness are not Bren Tens...close but as Monica used to say....no cigar.

 

[krtlesfd]

The biggest problem is they are steel, not carbide, dies.

True, but I've been using the same set of .45 ACP steel dies for years. They still work fine. Besides, these are for looking, not using. The ground is littered with .40 S&W / 10 mm carbide die sets for reloading.

 

[krtlesfd]

The biggest problem is they are steel, not carbide, dies.

By the way, was the label on yours always white(ish), or was it originally yellow also?