Author Topic: reloading for BAR (Read 966 times)

mcrae555 · « **on:** February 08, 2004, 05:50:34 PM »

Hello Gentlemen

I am strongly considering purchasing a used Browning BAR in 7mm Rem. Mag for bear hunting this spring. It is one of the older BAR's produced in 1981. I will admit that I am a bolt action guy but I would like something diffrent this year for bear hunting. It is also a very attractive rifle and fits me better than any bolt gun I own! I guess I am wondering about reloading for it. Is there any diffrent procedure or routine when loading for an autoloader? I have heard from some sources that they can't handle higher pressures so they always have to be loaded on the light end or they jam often. Is this fact or fiction? I load my guns to whatever shoots the best but I would like to know for safety reasons. I am also wondering about cleaning. Do they have to be completly taken apart all the time or is this a once a year routine? I tend to shoot my rifles at least twice a week in the off season to stay sharp for hunting season so I am curious how much cleaning is involved. There also seems to be allot of complaints about the accuracy of autoloaders, are they in general less accurate? This would be primarily a black bear rifle and I have a self imposed limit of 200 yards for those critters so accuracy is a less important but I am curious if there is any fact to the theory that autoloaders are not accurate. Anyway any info,tips,hints,theories, and or opinions would greatly be appreciated!

Thanks a bunch

McRae

targshooter · « **Reply #1 on:** February 09, 2004, 11:39:56 AM »

Hello,
I have plenty of military type autoloader experience, and somewhat limited hunting autolader rifle experience. I will chance offering some hunting autoloader observations. There are others in this forum that appear to have very extensive hunting autoloader experience, and in time they will probably offer more in depth observations. My sole rifle cartridge hunting autoloader experience is based on having owned 1 Remington 742 in .30-06 (sold) and 2 Remington 7400 rifles, a .308 (sold), and a presently owned 7400 Carbine in .30-06. Like you, I shoot at targets quite a lot, hence the appellation "targshooter". I have not had to do any special reloading processes for the semi-automatic Remingtons, using full length sizing dies as I do for all my rifle cartridges. I also place a slight crimp on all semi-auto ammunition. The accuracy of the three Remington semiauto rifles has been very good. The durability of the Remington semitautos rifles is not on a par with the military types, at least based on the 742, as it could not take a season of military match shooting. That said, I have found that they will provide at least 3 thousand trouble free firing cycles. Thoroughly cleaning the hunting semiauto Remingtons and Brownings is not easy, with some tool assisted disassembly being required. A good source for disassembly instructions are the Gun Digest Firearms Disassembly Guides. I believe the Browning BAR is in the same volume as the Remington 7400. This guide is my basis for the above disassembly comparison, where the BAR looks a little more readily disassembled. From experience I can inform you that for a thorough cleaning (bolt removal and complete gas assembly removal and cleaning) the Remington required extensive disassembly. If I may suggest an alternative, take a look at the Benelli R1. This disassembles without tools and appears to be quite accurate and functionally sound, as its gas system is already combat proven in the Benelli military shotgun in service with various military organizations, including the US Marines. However, the R1 is a thousand dollar gun. Well, good luck.

old06 · « **Reply #2 on:** February 09, 2004, 03:00:17 PM »

Hi mcrae555 we have a BAR of about the same vintage as yours in 7 mag great gun, what we had to do was get small base dies, our likes only heaver bullets 175 in a inch group and 162 about the same, hate's 150 and 145.

DES · « **Reply #3 on:** February 13, 2004, 08:35:26 PM »

I've owned and reloaded for 3 different BAR's, a .270 Win and 2 in .30-06. About the only thing I do different for the BAR that I don't do for bolt guns is apply crimp. The BAR is a fine firearm, you won't be disappointed. I don't "hot" load for mine but there's no problem loading them to factory velocities. I shoot mine fairly often and only clean the gas piston once a year, never had any problems.

old06 · « **Reply #4 on:** February 14, 2004, 08:15:53 AM »

Something I would like to add I had 7 mag dies stanard type and try to useing them with no luck we had to use the small base type and we use 4350 or 4831 both from IMR

FURocious · « **Reply #5 on:** March 18, 2004, 05:15:26 PM »

I've only had my BAR .338 for a little while, but I don't find it hard to clean if I use "Gun Scrubber" spray for the solvent and and breakfree/CLP for the lubricant. I won't break down the BAR as I would a military gun, I also don't think the BAR was designed to need the amount of cleaning a military semi-auto gun needs. The "Gun Scrubber" can get into all the cracks one would need for a routine "after the range" cleaning. After I spray I will wipe all the areas I can with my fingers with a VIVA paper towel. (They are the best type for cleaning firearms) I apply Breakfree for lube, and the gun functions slick as new.

FURocious · « **Reply #6 on:** March 18, 2004, 05:23:42 PM »

I've just started reloading for my BAR and I found that the biggest headache is trying to find the right amount of shoulder setback to allow the cartridges to fully seat into the chamber when using only the bolt release to send them home. I called Redding about this and they said to turn the die towards the shell holder by 10 degrees until the brass rides home fully into the chamber. Well, most will work, but others will hang up on me. This only presents a problem when sending home the first round. The cycling process during firing has enough momentum to feed the rest. Still, it is a concern of mine.