Remington 7400 Powder recommendation 30-06

[Rocky Raab]

4350 may well be the best powder for a BOLT-action .30-06. That's what I'd use.

But (again) a powder with that broad a pressure curve will overstress a gas-operated semi-auto. Or at least it will cause much faster wear if not damage. I'll explain.

In a gas-auto, the action is opened by the pressure of the burning gasses when the bullet passes and uncovers the gas port in the bore. If the powder is a slow one, the remaining gas pressure when that occurs is likely to be very high. If high enough, the impact of the pressure on the operating piston/rod/bolt carrier can be strong enough to bend or break something. Also, the cartridge case is still being held tightly to the chamber walls by the same pressure, so the extractor and other parts are stressed still more. The cartridge rim might even be torn through by the extractor claw.

Oddly, too high a port pressure can even reslut in a failure to extract/feed if the case is held tightly enough to the chamber walls that extraction is slowed.

Bottom line is that slow powders are a poor choice for gas-operated semi-autos.