They had a really good reputation for reliability as most things John M Browning designed...yes they were heavy, most every thing was back then
but the firepower they put out made it the heavy artillery of the infantry squad...a lot of folks said the M1 rifle should have been made to use the BAR magazines as well. Many folks didnt like to carry it UNTIL the caca hit the fan
then it was the meanist issue small arm we had. The prohabition gansters loved the BAR far more than the tommy gun...because it could shoot through cars,walls, telephone poles etc that would stop the pistol bullets of the thompson. while in the small details, the Bren was better....but the BAR was
very respected by its foes (every times one fires, an axis soldier gets his wings) and if you ditched the A2 bipod it knocked 3 pounds off the gun...
it was never really made for a bipod anyway.