.308 = 762x39 x51?

[GeeJ]

Forgive me if this has already be covered, specifically. I couldn't find where it had.

Will a rifle chambered for .308Win shoot both 7.62x39 and 7.62x51 or just a certain one? Thanks!

 

[jnoble87]

Yes, but not 7.62x39. It is a shorter cartridge than the 7.62x51. .308 and 7.62x51 go hand in hand. 7.62x39 does not.

 

[Flashcube]

7.62x39? I dearly hope not....

 

[Kitchen_Duty]

a 308 will shoot 308 or 7.62x51 only

 

[-v-]

7.62x51 is the NATO/Metric designation of .308 Winchester. 7.62x39 has completely different case dimensions and will not fit in the a .308 chamber.

 

[jnoble87]

I could be wrong or just misinformed, but the 7.62x39 is an intermediate cartridge and the 7.62x51 is not, correct?

 

[rcmodel]

The 7.62x39 is the Russian AK-47 Assault Rifle cartridge.
Assault rifle = intermediate power with less range, and recoil then a battle rifle caliber.

The 7.62x51 NATO is the military version of the .308 Winchester.
Which is the modern equivalent of the WWII 30-06 M1 Garand battle rifle cartridge.

rc

 

[jnoble87]

.30-06 = 7.62x63

 

[rcmodel]

But it was never known as that except in Europe.

In the USA, a 30-06 has always been called a 30-06 by the military, and everybody.

rc

 

[Centurian22]

I enjoy a good gun talk as much as the next guy but I have to ask: would it not have been far easier and given a quicker response to run a google (or your preferred search engine) search for the answer?

In any 'case' (pun intended) as stated with my own slight edit .308 ALMOST = 7.62x51. There is a slight difference between the two in the shoulder IIR. The 7.62x51 being slightly more tapered to facilitate better feeding in fully automatic weapons. Don't know if it was this difference or something else or just pure coincidence but I have 4 rounds of 7.62x51 that were very difficult to extract from my new bolt action savage .308. Also could have been the fact that it was 18 degrees out. But the Federal GMM SMK BTHP 168gr ran flawlessly.

Sorry for the side tract. Just trying to add usefull info.

 

[allaroundhunter]

I sure am glad that you asked this question before trying it..... Does anyone know if a 7.62x39 round will fit into a 7.62x51 chamber? It has never occurred to me to check this, and I have never come across anyone else who has knowledge of it either. Rcmodel maybe?

Sent from my HTC One X

 

[firesky101]

It should also be noted for educational purposes that even though they are both 7.62 they have different bore diameters. Soviet 7.62= @.312 Nato 7.62= @ .308. There will be some slight variation from gun to gun and round to round.

 

[fatcat4620]

Would the x39 fit in a .308 bolt face and would the extractor claw hold it tight enough to set the primer off?

 

[303tom]

Can you shoot 7.62x39 in .308 or .30-06........................YES !

http://www.mcace.com/adapters.htm

 

[Walkalong]

But it is a very bad idea!

 

[mljdeckard]

Sure. Once.

 

[mljdeckard]

To answer the question, in my experience, you are more likely to have problems between the two in autoloaders. In bolt rifles, I have found that 7.62 works fine, but you probably won't get great accuracy.

 

[ThePenguinKnight]

Can you shoot 7.62x39 in .308 or .30-06........................YES !

http://www.mcace.com/adapters.htm

Oh my, that is interesting...

Anyone tried one of those?

 

[Jim Watson]

You read the most amazing stuff on the internet.

"The 7.62x51 being slightly more tapered to facilitate better feeding in fully automatic weapons."

No.
The only real difference is that those fully automatic (and semiautomatic) military weapons have somewhat roomy chambers for reliable operation while hot, dirty, and shooting military ammunition from various sources and doubtful wartime quality.
Savage rifles are rather known for tight chambers and I am not surprised that some indifferent milsurp didn't work.

"It should also be noted for educational purposes that even though they are both 7.62 they have different bore diameters. Soviet 7.62= @.312 Nato 7.62= @ .308."

Fuzzy math.
For real educational purposes, it should be noted that the BORE diameter, 7.62mm = .300", is the same within manufacturing tolerances and national approach to setting them. The MN was once widely known as the "Three Line" rifle, a line being the old term for 1/10".
If you know the difference between "clip" and "magazine", you should know the difference between "bore" and "groove" diameter of a barrel.

 

[firesky101]

Thanks Jim, next time someone talks about slugging their bore I will correct them

 

[Jim Watson]

Oh, you can slug the bore just fine. You just have to know that when you mike the high spots on the slug, you are reading the groove diameter of the barrel. It takes some care to get a reading on the actual bore diameter and it is not a whole lot of use when you do... unless you are loading paper patched bullets in your buffalo gun.

Slugging the grooves would just not sound right after long tradition.

 

[Walkalong]

Agh, missed the adapter link.

 

[Trent]

Those adapters look REAL interesting.

 

[HOOfan_1]

7.62x39 and 7.62x54R both use .311" bullets...so do the .303 British and the 7.7 Arisaka

7.62x51 and all .30 calibers of American origin use .308" bullets

DOH...I scanned the thread before posting, but missed that above..ok .312" bullets, but I think for reloading purposes most people buy .311"

 

[GeeJ]

Good stuff people. Appreciate the input. I did try to do a Google search but I could not find clearly definitive answer that wasn't contradicted somewhere else. Now I know that when a precision rifle says it's chambered for a .308win, it shoots a 762 x 51 and NOT a 762 x 39. I'm just researching overall fixed costs and recurring costs before I invest a great deal of time researching and shopping for a particular model and particular pieces of gear. Again, I appreciate everybody's input. Thanks!