semi auto cast?

[XWrench3]

my brother recently acquired a used Browning B.A.R. (hunting rifle, not military machine gun) and i have it working up a couple of loads for it, because he recently had shoulder surgery. and tonight, it just poped into my head about maybe trying some cast boolits thu it. but other than 22lr semi autos, which are blow back, i have not shot, or even know if it is advisable to shoot cast thru a gas operated system. would shooting cast boolits be a problem in this gun? he is not big on tearing guns apart all the way to clean them. his idea of cleaning is at the end of a season, a few patches down the bore, and oil up the outside surfaces.

[jdgabbard]

I've seen guys run cast through AKs, SKSs, AR-15s, Mini-14s, etc.... While they HAVE had to perform a thorough job in cleaning afterwards, and it is critical to ensure that they properly clean the gas system, I've heard of no ill effects of doing so. As a matter of fact, if I remember correctly, there was a group buy for a .224-.225 cal mold for the ar-15 a while back.

Powder selection is going to be even more critical though, along with boolit and lube selection.

[warf73]

Not sure how the BAR is set up but there are several guys on the board that cast for there M1 Grands with great results.

[Doc Highwall]

With the M-1 Grands and M1A you can take the gas plug out and clean them.

I do not know about the Browning BAR.

[292]

Around here dog hunting for deer is very popular. The BAR is used for it's fast follow up shots on running game. They work well for hunters that are not big on gun cleaning; with factory ammo.

[XWrench3]

the B.A.R. has a removable gas plug,but unfortunatly, it is locatedmat the end of the gas syste,. i am not so worried about that, as i am about the hole in the barrel. that is not reachable with anything standard.

[Moonie]

I use cast in 4 AR uppers, one in 5.56, 2 in 300AAC and one in 6.8 SPC. I also load cast for my oldest sons Remington 742 in 30-06, it is gas operated, functions perfectly and there are no leading issues at all in any of these firearms.

In the 300AAC we use PB for subsonic loads and GC for supersonic, even with the plain base boolits there is no issue with the gas port.