[enichols]

My uncle recently gave me about 120 rounds of Nigerian (I think, from the headstamp) surplus 7.62x51mm NATO and I was all set to shoot it through my Savage 10FP when I got to thinking... do I really want to put milsurp ammo through my commercial bolt gun? I mean, the ammo's also been sitting for years in a basement and it's slightly dirty looking, so I'm really questioning whether or not to shoot it in my rifle. I figure I've got three things I can do...
1) Take them to the range and shoot them.
2) Pull all the bullets and reload them (they're probably 150 gr FMJs).
3) Sell 'em for cheap to get rid of them.

What do you all think?
Thanks,
Nic

[Dave R]

I've put a coupla hundred rounds of 7.62 surplus through my Rem700, with good results. Try a few, see how they work. If there are any concerns, the other options are good, too.

There are some big discussions on .308 vs. 7.62 in the Rifle forum. Check it out for more detail.

[enichols]

Thanks for the reply, Dave. I've been following the discussion over in the Rifle section which is why I was a bit concerned about shooting it in my Savage. I think trying out a couple (10, maybe?) next time I'm at the range is a good idea.
-Nic

[HSMITH]

Clean the holy heck out of it TWICE, once right after you shoot it and once 24 hours later. Clean it with Sweets or Windex WITH ammonia both times in addition to your normal regimen. Be sure you get the reciever ring and bolt head as well. Ammonia will nuetralize the corrosive residue if the ammo is corrosive primed.

There is not a lot of corrosive 7.62x51 out there but there is enough that a guy needs to be careful.

I shoot quite a bit of the surplus 7.62x51, Portuguese mainly and it works VERY well for the money.