Swampdog

Just aquired a Browning BAR in 30-06.Was wondering if any of you guy's use reloads in semi's.I have always heard (Old wife's tale ?) that you should not use them .Just curious beforeI invest in brass and dies and such.

bigcountry

Well, here is my take. You are going to shoot factory ammo. And most premium factory ammo uses midrange to slow burning powder. So why not. I shoot 4350 thru my 7400. The gun is pretty well, not the greatest thing, but it was my first deer rifle after using a borrowed 30-30 for years. Stalking bear on here suggests using the fastest burning powder that cycles correctly and you get good accuracy for max longevity of your rifle and I believe him. I know 4064 and Varget should have worked great in my 7400 270win, but didn't cycle correctly. And I have been shooting 4350 out of it for years. I realize it will decrease the life out of the rifle, but the thing has over 1500 rounds or more anyway and feel fortunate its worked great up to this time anyway.

I also have to shoot small base dies with this rifle.

I say reload for your BAR. I have an 06 BAR I also load IMR4350 and 165gr with. I use regular dies. I just wouldn't pick the slowest burning fastest velocity powder for it. Pick something fast burning for that gun.

Neil, (stalkingbear) should be on here to shed some more light on the subject.

redgreen

All that I ever shot through my BAR 300 mag were reloads. All that you will need is a set of RCBS full length dies, and some patience to figure out what it prefers. Keep the loads hot, and the action and piston clean, and you will have no problems whatsoever.

eldeguello

There's absolutely NO REASON not to use handloaded ammo in a BAR!!

I rarely use factory ammo in any gun, regardless of mechanism type, except from time to time when I need some empty brass to reload.

I once owned a Remington 740 and an M1, both in .30/'06. Also a .308 BAR. I mostly used handloads in all of them all the time.

There are essentially two "secrets" toloading ammo that will perform well in a semi-auto"

One. The brass has to freely chamber and extract from your rifle AT THE VERY BEGINNING! (natch!!).

Two. The pressure has to drop enoughon firing to let the case shrink away some from its' grip on the chamber walls to let the extractor pull the whole case out for ejection, instead of just ripping the case head off and leaving the rest still in the chamber (believe me, this has/can happen!! Usually to people who know better than to believe that you need to use relatively fast powders in semi-autos.).

So here's what you do. After have you've resized, trimmed, chamfered, and reprimed your cases, test each one by chambering it, leeting the bolt lock on it, then extracting it to make sure it will go back into your chamber and extract freely. Do this BEFORE you add the powder charge and seat the bullets. Use an adequate amount but not too much sizing lube when resizing, including INSIDE the case neck, so that when the expander button is dragged back out of the case, it will not be ableto stretch the case any (this is a pretty unlikely thing, but I hear it has actually happened if the inside of the case necks were too dry or corroded....)

After you have verified that the prepared cases will in fact chamber in your rifle, then add the powder charge and seat the bullets.

Use a medium-burning powder that will give a lower muzzle and gasport pressure than the slow powders. I would NOT use anything slower than IMR 4064 in a .30/'06 caliber semi-auto. (BTW, IMR 4064 is an excellent powder for loading the .30/'06 with all bullets of 180 grains or less. Acurate and consistent.) I see big coutry has good results with IMR 4350. Good forhim!

My favoritebullet for the '06 and the .308 for all North American game is the 165-grain Nosler Partition. If you have a loading manual that gives a powder charge using IMR 4064 with a MV of around 2800 FPS, that would be the load I would use in that BAR, plus or minus several grains for best accuracy.

Be sure to seat the bullets deep enough that the cartridgeswork well through your BAR's magazine, and also deep enough that theywill NOT jam into the origin of the rifling in your barrel. This is to permit the bolt to close and lock for sure when the recoil spring slams it closed.

I think if you do the above, your rifle will work OK with reloads. Without needing "small-base dies".

Now, up to this point, I've been talking about using brass that has already been fired IN YOUR RIFLE. IF you ever use brass fired in some other rifle, FL size it first, and make sure it will chamber freely in your rifle BEFORE you do anything else to it!

Swampdog

eldeguello,You Da Man.Thanks for the very detailed information.And thanks to everybody else also.Looks like another set of dies toadd tothe mess on my bench.That 4064 is kinda like Castor oil good for anything ain't it...LOL Now one more " To crimp or not to crimp that is the question" I will be using brand new un-fired brass.I almost always pick up new brass when I start loading for a new rifle or caliber unless I already load for that caliber.

CT-Hunter

I agree with the folks above. I shoot only reloads with my BAR .270. Shoots nice.

I suggest you use a slow burning powder. I use IMR 4831 with good results. I am also a bit more careful with my brass. I full length resize every time use RCBS small base dies. I don't know ho much difference this makes but I bought the dies on the advice of someone who knows more than I do and I have no reason to regret my descision.

Have fun and be safe ...

Mr. Longbeard

I crimp mine... slightly