Brown Bear .308 in an M1a

[migkillertwo]

Hi guys, I recently acquired an M1a and am looking for some good ammo. The cheapest deal going on right now seems to be Ammunitiontogo's deal on .308 FMJ from Brown bear.

At 36$ for 100 rounds, this seems too good to pass up.

My biggest concern right now is whether there is enough powder to cycle the action of an M1a. I know that some ammunition, specifically older wolf ammunition and Tula ammunition have serious problems in piston guns and perfectly mil-spec upper DI guns.

This never seemed to be a problem with Brown Bear .223 though. DOes anyone have experience with their 308 tho?

 

[Girodin]

I haven't shot it in an M1a but brown bear runs great in my Saiga 308. Coming out of the 16" barrel it was going 2600 FPS over my chronograph. Thus, I don't think there is much of an issue with it being underpowered (at least the lots I've bought).

 

[as37692]

I've personal shot about 200+ rounds of Brown Bear .308 though my LRB M14SA with no issues.

 

[Carter]

That's all my friends m1a gets and it runs great.

 

[SpeedAKL]

In general, is steel-cased ammo OK for 7.62x51 battle rifles as long as it meets proper dimensions and pressures?

 

[GCBurner]

Steel case 7.62x51mm works fine in the M1A/M14 rifles I've tried; I use Wolf 150gr. FMJ a lot for practice ammo.

 

[cyclopsshooter]

works great in my polytech m14

 

[fragout]

I have shot up some BB in the past. (Guessing here, but probably along the lines of 300 to 400 rds through 2 M14 types.)

It goes bang like it should, and also cycles the action just fine. Empty hulls get slung out to around the same spot as brass cased milsurp usually lands.

No issues with feeding either. (CMI/GI mags are all that I use in mine)

No signs of any abnormal wear and tear either....so far

Accuracy wasnt all that spectacular through my M1A-A1, but my M14S Norinco Tanker build shoots it fairly well.

I refer to BB as low cost fodder for shorter range shooting.

11B

 

[DBryant]

I haven't use Brown Bear, but I have shot a couple hundred rounds of Silver Bear through my M14 Carbine (SOCOM) with Taiwanese mags. It cycled and shot without issue and grouped on par with some portugese surplus that I was also using at the time.

This was several years ago and I've since taken up reloading so it has been a while since I've used either surplus or steel cased ammo in my rifle.

 

[bryank30]

Don't expect match grade accuracy. But its alot of fun for general shooting : ) I bought a 1000 rds of it at Cheaper than Dirt awhile back.

 

[Average Joe]

It will work fine, just keep the bullet weight down around 150 and your good to go.

 

[Onmilo]

I blew the extractors off both an M1A and a .308 converted M1 Garand with Chinese steel case ammunition.
Not saying it will happen with the Brown Bear because I no longer shoot any steel case ammunition in my M14 type or M1 rifles, all I'm saying is I blew the extractors off two rifles.

 

[M1Amen]

my m1a loves steel case.

 

[Kwanger]

Shots loads of it through my Cetme with no troubles. Brown Bear is hotter and more consistent than the Tula produced ammo. Not the most accurate in the world; you won't win any matches with it, but not terribly bad for general range use. For some reason though, I find the 308 Brown Bear absolutely STINKS! Really awful smell to it, I think amplified by my delayed blowback action, puts it right up my nose.

 

[Red October]

No problems firing Brown Bear or Wolf in mine.

I did have some South American stuff that was too weak to reliably cycle the weapon, though.

 

[Red State]

I shot some Silver Bear through my M1A. It was ok, but not great.

I did have one case that wouldn't eject (I had to tamp it out). And after shooting steel cased ammo, I had to really clean the chamber before switching back to brass cases.

After 200 or so rounds, I decided it wasn't worth it I have stuck with brass ever since.

 

[bryank30]

I bought a thousand rounds of this from cheaper than dirt, it works good, don't expect match accuracy

 

[henschman]

I tried some in my M1A and it cycled fine, even without a chrome-lined chamber. But for what NATO surplus costs, I don't even bother with the Russian stuff.