cast loads for 30-06 in Rem 7400/ BAR?

[Wyatt1]

Somebody out there must shoot boolits in their deer rifles. Any hints? I've yet to try it but am dying to.

[Moonie]

My son has a 742 which is the predecessor to the 7400, we shoot the Lee 170gr with 35gr of H4895. It is a nice light shooting combination that is easy on those soft rails and cycles perfectly.

H4895 is a great powder for gas-semi's as it produces lots of gas volume to cycle them well, plus Hodgdon says it can be safely loaded down to 60% of max.

[Larry Gibson]

Any well designed cast bullet 170+ gr will work well in a gas operated '06. The trick is to get reliable functioning (requires sufficeint gas port pressure) while keeping the velocity down under 2000 fps (preferably under 1900 fps for best accuracy). I prefer a 311291 at 177 gr or a 200 gr 311299 (best choice). Other similar designs will work as well. +1 on the use of H4895 for such. With the heavier bullet AA4350 and H4831SC work as well. A 3/4 gr dacron filler will improve ignition if loading density is 80% or less.

Larry Gibson

[Wyatt1]

Thanks for the replies. I have a good supply of IMR 4350, sr 4759, and wc 867. Think those can be made to work without screwing up the gas system?

[Larry Gibson]

Yes on the 4350 and maybe on the 4759, don't know about the wc867.

Larry Gibson