Which .308 semiautos are nice to brass?

I bought a M1 Garand rebuilt by CMP for the 308 cartridge. Contrary to what some Garand owners say, the 308 version is easy on brass as are the standard 30-06. I have some cases that have been reloaded 20+ times and are still going strong.

Based on both personal experience and reputation, I would rate these common semiautos from most damaging to least damaging:

HK91 / G3 / PTR91 (most damaging)
AK-style (VEPR .308)
FAL with gas regulator adjusted harsh
M1A
FAL with gas regulator adjusted soft
AR-10 platform, specifically DPMS .308 and Colt 901
FN FNAR rifle (version of BAR hunting rifle) (least damaging)

I don't have experience with the Garand, and the M1A is a somewhat different animal. By reputation you can reload a .308 case that's used in an M1A maybe 3 or 4 times before it's worn out.

my evaluation and experience, YMMV etc.

SX-AR ( same as FNAR) is very easy on brass.

Neither my SA M1A or my Armalite AR10 are what I would call "hard" on the brass. I inspect every case before loading and for both rifles discard the brass after 4 hand loadings of factory ammunition and 5 loadings starting with just unloaded factory brass. I do keep the semi-auto brass segregated from my .308 bolt gun brass.

Ron

FN FNAR rifle (version of BAR hunting rifle) (least damaging)

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I second (no wait, I third)

I was astonished to find no marks aside from scratches from feeding on the brass the first time I took the FNAR out. For a gun that ejects as strongly as it does (it's not a G3, but it's not like the brass barely slides out like an RFB, either) the gentleness on brass is suprising (yet another reason it's better than an AR10 )

My FN49 in 30-06 is quite gentle on brass, believe it or not. Also suprising seeing as it functions very similarly to a FAL. There is a 308 variant with a detachable magazine (if you can find it). I'd say these are the prettiest 308 surplus guns ever made (yes, that includes the re-jiggered CMP Garands and Beretta BM59s, too )

I'll bet that most true lock-breech guns properly tuned to the load, or loaded in tune with the rifle, do not tear up brass badly. Well made guns do not typically have overly-generous chambers, and well-designed guns don't ricochet brass of the receiver for no reason. I'm curious to hear what 308 Garand and BM59 owners' experiences are on the question, though.

TCB

I have owned two M1As that were brutal on brass, one that wasn't bad, and one that was very easy on it.

Without first hand knowledge it is difficult to say, but I'd suspect a full size AR type rifle would be pretty gentle on brass, and if it weren't one could always trim the ejector spring a coil or two, and the brass would drop right at your feet. This assumes it is similar to the AR15's I've owned.

This might not be related to the topic, but my Arsenal 106fr chambered in 5.56 dings up brass pretty good and ejects brass hard and far.

I havent really found any that were really hard on brass. The brass out of my HK's were usually the shortest lived, count wise, but if you use a port buffer, the case really isnt damaged.

One thing that seems to have been left out here, is where you shoot, and what the cases impact after they have left the gun. I generally loose more brass because the case neck/mouth have been damaged from impacting things, than I do from the gun itself damaging it. Concrete benches, walls, floors and walks seem to be the biggest offenders here.

but if you use a port buffer, the case really isnt damaged.

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It may not appear damaged, but blowback actions stretch the brass much more than true locked breech setups, so reusing brass from them makes case-head separations more likely. However, if you have experience reloading for your particular rifle, you can predict when the brass is nearly played out, of course. I've always heard that thin/soft brass is a bad idea in blowbacks, though, and that brass has been known to fracture along the flute lines as well.

I'll be working to build a SIG PE57 soon (similar function to the G3) so I've been looking into this, and I've decided I'll not be reloading for that rifle (even though it shoots 7.5x55 Swiss). That gun has not only flutes but a funky shoulder cut that improves extraction and lockup consistency at the expense of the brass:

:yuk: won't be putting that back into the tumbler! Non-reloadable Berdan surplus GP11 ammunition only, thank you!

As far as bouncing brass off stuff; if it's ejecting the brass hard enough to dent it on anything but the receiver, it's being ejected very hard (G3's are probably most well known for this), and the action could probably stand a bit less energetic extraction or ammunition without impeding function. The easiest rifle on brass is probably the Keltec RFB, which poops them out the front of the gun (when it isn't choking on them )

TCB

My Rem. modle 742 treats them nice,I've owned it 40 years and have shot it thousands of times.This is the rifle that got me into reloading.hdbiker

It may not appear damaged, but blowback actions stretch the brass much more than true locked breech setups, so reusing brass from them makes case-head separations more likely.

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While I agree with what youre saying here, I didnt find it to be to bad with my 91's. While I never usually got the 10+ reloads out of brass shot out of them like I do with my M1's, M1A's, I did usually get 6-8 reloads before I noticed the "ring", and chucked the brass.

As far as bouncing brass off stuff; if it's ejecting the brass hard enough to dent it on anything but the receiver, it's being ejected very hard (G3's are probably most well known for this), and the action could probably stand a bit less energetic extraction or ammunition without impeding function.

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Most of the brass Ive had this issue with, have been shot out of M1's and M14/M1A's, shooting standard loads for those guns. Nothing hot, or to energetic. I even get it with my .223's on occasion. And again, Im refering to the case mouths here, not the case itself. As long as it isnt something major, a dent in the case isnt usually a big deal, even some of the heavier ones. If the case mouth gets tore up, it becomes more of one. Many times the brass is no longer reloadable, even on the first firing.

I want to get into reloading eventually, when the prices go down. I was wondering, if this is a problem, could you get around this by reloading the steel russian casings, and using it in these guns, or is that never a good idea?

Never bought a firearm with that in mind, however, my RRA LAR-8 is very easy on brass. Other than dirty, looks just like it did when it went in. Save all mine for reloading, and haven't tossed one yet.

could you get around this by reloading the steel russian casings

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Ive never done it myself, but Ive talked to a couple of people who say they have.

Mostly it was done to see if it could be, and they said it could (not a whole lot of details there beyond that), but I dont know if it would be a one time thing, or if there would be any kind of longevity there. Im thinking not.

Ive never seen anything that shows any historical data to want to try it myself right now either. Maybe if things got really bad, and there was nothing else.

Based on both personal experience and reputation, I would rate these common semiautos from most damaging to least damaging:

HK91 / G3 / PTR91 (most damaging)
AK-style (VEPR .308)
FAL with gas regulator adjusted harsh
M1A
FAL with gas regulator adjusted soft
AR-10 platform, specifically DPMS .308 and Colt 901
FN FNAR rifle (version of BAR hunting rifle) (least damaging)

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I'd add Kel-Tec RFB to the bottom of the list as it just piles the brass up at your feet. Too bad its nowhere near as reliable or robust as the others

I have a DPMS LR-308 with a Lilja 20" inch barrel and with an adjustable gas block. Very easy on brass and puts it in a nice pile.