My dad and I will both be shooting the 300 Win. Mag. this year with 180 grain Nosler BT's. The difference is that one will be a Browning Bar Mark 2 and the other will be a stainless stalker. With the semi-auto, the magazine forces you to keep the OAL to a certain length that I believe is shorter than the standard. With the other gun, I haven't reloaded anything for it yet so I'm not sure if the shortened magazine will be a factor or not. So, what I am asking is, will the difference in OAL have any bearing on how well Re22 performs for either of the guns?
I would be interested in what you have to say because Warren Jensen mentioned this in another post of mine that 4350 might be better when OAL is restricted and I'm not sure I understand why or how to determine if this is the case! Thanks
My guess is that he meant if you need to keep the COL shorter the bullet will take up case capacity. Therefore, a faster powder like 4350 might give you better velocity.
Posts: 12881 | Location: Mexico, MO | Registered: 02 April 2001
A slow powder is death on a closed system gas-operated semi-auto like an M1 or M1A. This is because the gas pressure as the bullet passes the port is much higher for the slow powder.
An open blow-back gas operated rifle like an M-16 (AR-15) is much more forgiving.
I do not know how the civilian BAR is operated, but I would get a trusted opinion before proceeding to load for it.
Don G. has a point, and I can bear it out. I have a BAR .270. Using the old standby load of surplus 4831, it exhibited symptoms of excessive gas port pressure. I have had no problems with factory loads in this gun.
The Browning is not as sensitive to this issue as perhaps the Garand, but I would be hesitant to use powder slower than IMR 4350 in the BAR.
Posts: 13242 | Location: Henly, TX, USA | Registered: 04 April 2001
Hello fellow BAR owner, I've been loading for mine for 30 years, a 3006.
First get yourself a set of RCBS Small Base Die Set. Use med. burning powder, too slow and action will work to fast. I use IMR 4064 in my 06', same as the M1 Palma shooters, burns cleaner than IMR 4895 my second powder of choice. The Browning BAR requires different loading tech. than the bolts, but provides the best accuracy from any of the Autos. I hope this helped, I have enjoyed mine for over 30 years, now.
[ 03-14-2003, 09:39: Message edited by: Alaska Bush Man ]
Posts: 523 | Location: North Pole, Alaska | Registered: 26 January 2003
Canaduck, I've not loaded for the .300 Win. Mag. in a semiauto so I can't give you real good info. This is the number for the ballistics service people at the Sierra factory. 800-223-8799. It's a good place to start with for information. Good luck.
Canaduck, I load for a 300w in Bel BAR also, I found I couldn't get the velocity I wanted with 4350 or RL22, I use 4831 & 7828 with 180 gn bullets loaded a short as I can crimp in the cannuler & have always had good results. I believe that with the crimp you get a much more even burn, without ever a hickup in cycling.
