I just sold a Remington 740 and replaced it with a BAR, both are 30-06.

I found that the loads I used for my bolt rifles would not work in the Remington. Slow powders give best velocity, but in a semi auto like the Remington they play havoc with the timing of the cycle rate and are scary to say the least.

I settled on IMR 4064 to operate the Remington and it did a fine job as I am certain it will in the BAR.

My question is...

Will a slow powder like IMR 4350 work in the BAR? The action is different than the Remington, but it's still a semi auto. I hear that the BAR is good about shooting anything factory very well, but as a home loader I'd like to know if it's a fools errand to use my favorite load of 4350 in the BAR.

I'd sure be interested to know your thoughts or experience.

Thanks.

IMR 4350 is my favorite powder in my 30-06 BAR.

I have shot handloads with both IMR 4350 and IMR 4831 through my .30-06 BAR without issue. It's gas system seems to be quite different than the Remington's and substantially better. It has no ammo or propellant speed restriction as does the M1 or the various Remington offerings. The BAR is also chambered for rounds like 7mm Rem. Mag., .300 and .338 Win Mag. and slow burners are pretty much a fact of life with these rounds.

IMR 4350 is my favorite .30-06 powder and further, it has produced extremely accurate hunting ammo in any rifle I've tried it in.

Bruce

Thank you. That's just the kind of information I was after.

I had to back off and download to get the 4064 to work the bolt right in the Remington and felt that it was a compromise load.

The load I prefer is a 165g NBT or CorLokt over 57g IMR 4350.

Just for the heck of it, I'm going to try some of the 4064's to see where they print since I have quite a few laying about, but I will concentrate on the 4350's and dial them in.

I appreciate the help.

In my M70, I use a WW case, CCI Mag primer and 57.0 grains of IMR 4350. This is all below a Sierra 165 grain SPBT. Although I have seen higher maximum charges published with that bullet, it seems to be an absolute maximum load in my gun and should be approached with caution. It chronographs as honest 2825 fps from my 22" barreled rifle. I use a mag primer because it seemed to clean up fliers but a standard primer will probably be all that is necessary in most instances.

The BAR is a strong and, IMO, superior rifle to the Remington. That said, it is not indestructible. Follow handloaders rule #1, be safe and have fun shooting.

Bruce

Tried some of my stash of 30/06 HXP from the CMP in my BAR.......Wouldn't cycle the action.

__________________
S&W Accumulator

Could very well be. Surplus ammo, such as the Greek HXP is loaded to produce exactly the correct gas pressure for reliable cycling of the M1 action. It's widely accepted that slow burners such as IMR 4350 are not a good match for the M1. IMR 4895 is about optimal but it's substantially faster. You get excellent accuracy with it but leave a couple of hundred feet per second on the table, especially with heavier bullets. It's tough to achieve both maximum velocity and maximum accuracy with the same load but that's what good hunting ammo is all about IMO. IMR 4350 is really good at providing both in the '06.

Bruce