308, 30-06, 8mm mauser, or 7.62x54R

[d2wing]

The best and by far most accurate military rifles are in .308. The best widely available ammo is .308. The Russian is cheap now but But years back, British .303 was like that. Try and find ammo now. And the guns are not very accurate. But a lot people like that stuff for no good reason and you seem to be one so get what you want.

 

[PowerG]

06. The most versatile North American caliber and you can pick up ammo at most wide places in the road.

 

[ExAgoradzo]

.30-06 because it can do anything in a pinch.
8mm for 'cool' factor
.308 because it seems everyone is going that direction now adays and we don't want to be left behind, right?
7.62x54R only if the gun is outstanding and you fall in lust with it.

In that order. YMMV
Greg

 

[Robert]

If you have the money for an honest to goodness NFA LMG then get whatever you want. Heck even the semi auto LMGs are not cheap.

 

[justin22885]

the semi auto LMGs i can get in part kit form are the UK59 and the MG42, or one of its variants, i think the M1919 is the only 30-06 LMG out there and it pales in comparison to just about everything made since, as much as i love the garand, one of my favorite rifles of all time its really the only military semi in 30-06 so theres not really any diversity in rifles in that caliber, not like 8mm mauser and 308.. so i think i'll focus on 308 and 8mm mauser

im not concerned with the availability of different bullet types, the prvi partisan 197 grain FMJBT is only $60 more expensive per 1000 than the cheap .308 cal M80 ball projectile, in 8mm mauser thats realistically the only projectile you need.. i can duplicate a 197 grain FMJBT load with a 200 grain JSP load for hunting applications on a smaller scale, do i really need more when im trying to stock larger quantities of the stuff? no

so i think im going to turn away of 7.62x54R because like the 5.45x39, i dont trust the long term availability of the cheap stuff and at this point i know neither 308 or 8mm mauser is going to significantly increase in price any time soon and are both a safer long-term option

__

as a hobby, and with somewhat of a mechanical engineering background i also like designing my own guns.. so having a go-to cartridge i like also gives me an idea of what calibers i'd like to design around.. since 8mm mauser is lower pressure than .308 with the same case head it has less bolt thrust so the only thing preventing 308 rifles from being chambered in 308 is the length of the action

it looks like i will start developing an 8mm mauser load based around the WWII load of 197 grains @ 2,500fps and a 308 load

 

[justin22885]

i just priced out what it would cost me to make 8mm mauser ammo from scratch using reformed 30-06 once fired brass, in the end it comes out to the same price between the two at about $435 / 1000 vs the 308 costs of $400 per 1000

so actually a pretty marginal increase in cost vs reloading .308, so the only real benefit of 308 over 8mm mauser is you can carry more rounds per pound, and rifles that are on average about a pound lighter.. also the widespread availability being able to find 308 in any store

 

[Col. Plink]

I was recently foiled financially for what I believe would have been the answer to this question:

A VEPR and a boatload of 7.62x54r.

Consider the quality and reliability of a VEPR AK and what is still the cheapest and most available full-strength rifle cartridge on the planet and it becomes a very safe choice.
Even in the height of ammo scares and domestic shortages, boat-tailed 54r has always been available in sealed tins or as brand-new imports.

Cleaning is not an issue, just choose the right solvent and clean as you should and the wisdom of the decision will play out regardless of the circumstances.

 

[MistWolf]

im trying to consolidate calibers for the bigger class of rifles out there, i've narrowed it down to the four above.. 308, 7.62x54R, 8mm mauser and 30-06

I think you're doing it backwards. Select the rifle and use the caliber that come with it.

For example, do you a Hakim? Then you want an 8mm. Do you want a Garand? Then you want a 30-06 or maybe a 308. Do you want a Mosin-Nagant? Then you should have your head examined- I mean, you want the 7.62 R

 

[barnbwt]

"i think the M1919 is the only 30-06 LMG out there"

Madsen LMG came in 30-06, 8mm (and I think even 308 in modern usage). Even had a belt-fed variant. There's also the M1918 BAR. "LMGs" tended to be box-fed prior to WWII; the concept of a belt fed light machine gun (aka "Universal Machine Gun") wasn't really developed until the MG42 (which itself has a moronically high rate of fire from a tactical perspective). Worth mentioning, many 8mm guns (and belts!) are 308 compatible, but cannot do the extra length needed for 30-06. Obviously, all 30-06 guns can go to 308. Finally, most 7.62x54r guns can accommodate 308 with attendant magazine mods/replacements. You can get 308 to feed in a BREN with FAL magazines (those 30rounders were specifically meant for this), but doing 7.62x54r in a BREN is often tricky business.

Be sure to pick up a ZB37 kit from Centerfire if you pick anything but x54r, and be sure to get the UK59 from Centerfire if you do go for x54r.

"I think you're doing it backwards. Select the rifle and use the caliber that come with it."
Very few of these options can be store bought. Since he'll likely be building his LMG (and other designs of his own to follow) he has a lot more leeway and capability than the typical owner. He can rechamber and modify things into commonality, for instance.

TCB

 

[justin22885]

i have no problem building guns from parts kits, i'm even working on designing a couple rifles of my own from scratch

as for the hakim, i'm not all that familiar with it, i like the FN49, i love the M1 garand and in fact im a big fan of enbloc clips as they can often be reloaded faster than box magazines and are pretty cheap and lightweight to carry.. i've already determined for certain i'll go with 8mm mauser over 30-06 for the fact that 30-06 rifles can be converted to 8mm mauser but often the opposite cannot be done and im also a big fan of the early 20th century german stuff.. the FG42 being one of my favorites of all time and by extension that makes the M60 my favorite LMG of all time so theres a lot of reason for my to go 8mm mauser.. so i will definitely be stocking up on 8mm ammo at least to some extent

but.. would this be the cartridge i grab in any situation?.. i dont know, its ballistics are really not all that much better than .308, not when you consider how much lighter and more compact 308 cartridges are and how much more efficient is in smaller.. the mauser shines in some of its hotter loadings, you know, the more modern ones that far exceed the early 20th century cartridges but then youre looking at a ton of recoil, bigger, heavier magazines, longer actions, and longer barrels

so to me it doesnt seem like an intelligent idea to make 8mm mauser my #1.. it will have to be #2 or #3 but i will be collecting guns chambered for it and stocking up on ammo

__

this leaves .308 and 7.62x54R as my #1.. the VEPRs and PSLs are OK and realistically my only option for 7.62x54R.. i was thinking of designing a lighter, more compact 16 or 18 inch barreled carbine that took 47rd DP28 pan magazines loaded from the side underneath a top rail but again, im not sure how long x54R will remain cheap, if new EOs or arms treaties will end that source of ammo or not..

i have a mosin nagant but to be perfectly honest i dont like it, its ergonomics suck, its very uncomfortable to hold, because of the rims the stripper clips are never able to hold the cartridges tightly together like they do with the rimless stuff, so loading from stripper clips is unreliable, barrels on most MNs sucked and were 2 MOA capable at best with decent ammo with no good source for replacements.. i'm not a fan of the mosin nagant, im not a fan of rimmed cartridges, the ONLY thing i like about x54R is being able to get dirt cheap, high powered, steel core ammunition in large supply

 

[BCRider]

If accuracy matters to you then ditch the 7.62x59R. At least as far as milsurp ammo. It varies all over the board with some batches having OK consistency and others, like the one I apparently got, being lucky to be "minute of barn" even at 100 yards. Sure it's cheap. But because there's no significant quality control over it in terms of loading consistency I won't be buying any more of it. Sure it's cheap. And it's reliable enough to go BANG! each time. But it's just as likely to be crap ammo for accuracy as it is to be at all decent.

Case in point. A buddy and I were shooting my Mosin with the milsurp stuff and getting something like 10 inch groupings with it at 100 yards. And there were a generous number of fliers that didn't even hit the paper. We chalked it up to the rifle being a surplus rifle and being a Russian military rifle.

For giggles we switched to Privi Partizan ammo and immediately the group size shrunk to 3 inches at 100.

So if you're simply looking to make noise then fine. Buy the milsurp ammo. But if you're looking for accuracy then you need to load your own or at least buy good name factory ammo.

 

[justin22885]

well thats another thing, reloading my own i can get the power, the accuracy, and be fairly inexpensive, i get the best of all of them, unfortunately no steel core stuff for that added penetration

i've determined the feeling i have in the back of my mind to not trust the longevity of the low cost of the 7.62x54R stuff.. the same feeling i had about 5.45 which lead me to build my AK-74 kit as a 5.56 rifle before a year later the 7n6 ban happening, to be too great for me to ignore, so i will not trust the 7.62x54R stuff

i will focus on 8mm mauser and .308 winchester, i can further save costs by converting the 8mm mauser brass to 308 brass when the case mouth tears.. then cut it down again to 45acp brass when that tears, this will bring costs down

so 8mm mauser and .308 winchester, i will begin buying rifles and manufacturing ammo in both.. i wonder though, how much more does the 8mm ammunition weigh per round compared to the 308 of say both 150 grain bullet weights?

 

[stubbicatt]

As you see, everyone has his preferences. I will say that I am quite content with my plinking round being the 7.62x54r. I shoot either a Mosin Nagant bolt actioned rifle, which is a blast, or a SVT40.

For a general purpose round, I have chosen 308. I have chosen a bolt actioned rifle which shoots the lights out, and a semi auto military style sporting rifle. The round is really versatile, and both rifles shoot it well. I handload for the 308, and have a set up for the x54r, but as long as the surplus ammo is available I will shoot it for fun.

I hope you make a choice that suits you. One nice thing, however, is if you change your mind, you will most likely be able to acquire a good setup in a different chambering.

 

[justin22885]

i'll still have my mosin nagant for cheap plinking.. may still get my AK-100 clone based on a PSL kit at some point, but i will not be relying on it as my go-to caliber