I fired a BAR a few weeks back. It was at the .50 caliber & machine gun shoot in Cheynne Wells, Co.
Some guys dressed in colonial period attire had a bunch of muzzle loaders - a half scale of a 18th century cannon, a mortar, some rifles (including a Brown Bess replica) & a 1918 BAR. (still scratching my head over that one)
I mean 1918 BAR - not 1918A2 BAR. This one was made in Novermber of 1918 by Winchester. The main difference is the selector had three positions: safe, semi-auto & full auto, whereas the 1918A2 has safe, slow & rapid.
Anyway, I just bought 1 mag & used it on a 55 gallon barrel about 100 yards away. The first 3/4's or so of the mag I shot off hand. the last 3/4's was from kneeling. Once I got my kentucky windage together (no need in altering unfamiliar sights for one mag ) it was easy to stay on the barrel (granted, it wasn't the hardest of targets but this was my first time with a BAR) The recoil was nothing compared to what you'd think & the muzzle climb wasn't too bad. then again I didn't hold the trigger down until it was empty; I fired short bursts of two to four rounds.
I regret not getting another mag (or twelve) but funds & time wouldn't allow it. I wouldn't trade one for a good Garand, but I wouldn't feelinadequately armed with it either.
Here's a post I did on the machine gun shoot. At the end there's some pics of me firing the BAR & a Garand.
If you ever get the chance to fire a BAR do so. Just don't hold the trigger down till she's dry when you're firing it offhand. Use nice short bursts. You'll be surprised how contrallable it realy is.