I called Sierra this morning to ask about the proper powder to use in my BAR the guy said "you can use any powder approiate for the cartridge (30-06) that buring rate only applied to certain military rifles like the MI" I asked if I could use imr

4350 and he said no problem, just to work up loads carefully but the Bar can generally take the same loads as a boltaction.

Noe that is contrary to everything I've heard or read about reloading for semi-auto's. What do you guys think ?

I've used AA4350 in two '06 BAR's and a .270 Win BAR with no problems.

I've heard that the Garand and M1A gas systems can be damaged by using the wrong powder but I don't think that applies to the gas system in the BAR. Some of the older Hornady manuals list the two or three IMR powders best suited for the military gas systems.

My experience with Sierra's tech dept. is excellent, and they are likely correct. The M1 has the gas port and piston up near the muzzle. If you use a powder that is too slow, it will give very high port pressures. In addition, the M1 has a long, relatively floppy operating rod that is prone to bend if the port pressure is excessive. Other gas operated action do not suffer from this same design inadequacy. Most newer g/o semi-autos have the gas port about half way down the barrel and are designed to operate at higher pressure, even with ball powders which have a pressure peak much farther down the barrel than a stick powder. They also have shorter, stiffer op rods. Hope this helps.

While you can use powders too slow to work a BAR, those would not be the powders of choice for any thing the BAR is chambered in. IMR 4350 will work fine, something like AA8700 won't.

There is no reason not to use IMR 4350 in a '06 BAR. Granted, I don't own one, but it is chambered in calibres that run higher pressures than does the .30-06. -.270 and .338 are the first two that come to mind. Almost perfect to begin with, I love .30-06 calibre. It is easy to customize for a specific use, but hard to improve upon.

On the other hand, the .30-06 operates in the 50,000 cup range, not 54,000 like the two examples I listed. Given that some BARs require S/B dies to function properly, reducing the case volume will raise pressures, but we're talking a small amount here. It also has a gas system designed to function in that range. Changing powders shouldn't hurt, but altering the pressure curve could. I would also avoid the magnum type ammo now available. Why gamble?

I've never had a BAR apart, but I don't think it has a looong op-rod like the M-1. M-1s by the way, have taken large amounts of punishment on a regular basis for decades, and have lived to tell about it. Just shoot a string of rapid fire in hi-power, you'll find out how hot they get. The oil on my M1 cooks off in a cloud of smoke -now, that's what you call TOUGH!!

FWIW--I've used powders as slow as re22 in my bar 30-06 with no malfunctions whatsoever. I'm not a gunsmith so don't know if I've damaged something or not but it certainly function and "felt" just like any other shells. That being said I do try to stay with 4350 or faster powders from now on "just in case".

I experience indications of high port pressure when using Surplus 4831 (which is almost as slow as IMR 7828) in my BAR .270 WInchester. This may have been unique to this gun, but leads me to believe that powders on the slower side of the spectrum for a given caliber/bullet weight should be avoided in BAR's. I'm not saying that 4350 won't do fine with your '06 BAR, but I would tend toward using something like 4320, 4064, or 4895 just to be on the safe side.

I've loaded .270 with H-4831, and shot it in my friends BAR. Shot very well, accurate, and no problems with function. Didn't need sb dies either.