308 Ammo Question

[enichols]

Hi All,
I was browsing ammoman.com and found this ammo advertised:

308 NATO U.S. MILITARY LAKE CITY 7.62x51
PACKED LOOSE - BRAND NEW AMMO
MADE AT THE MILITARY ARSENAL
Part Number #308-NAT/500, /1000

Has anyone used this stuff before? Is this ammunition steel-jacketed or steel-cored? In other words, will the bullet attract a magnet?
Thanks for any help you can give me.
-Nic

 

[Father Knows Best]

I've got a bunch of that stuff. It's good plinking ammo. Keep in mind that it is the stuff that failed to meet the top two tiers of quality inspection at the arsenal, and that's why it is being sold off in the commercial market. The stuff that passes QC is boxed and shipped to the military. 99% of the rounds are probably fine, but if any one ride fails QC, the entire lot gets rejected by the inspectors.

The stuff I got is a mix of LC02, LC03 and LC04 headstamps. No obvious defects in brass or bullets, though the bullet seating depth isn't very consistent. I haven't attempted to measure groups with it, but it seems to do at least as well as my Argentine and South African surplus, and I have had no functioning problems at all. I shoot it out of a FAL and a G3 clone (SA58 and PTR-91).

I have no idea whether it is steel-cored, but it certainly isn't steel-jacketed. They are brass cases with copper-jacketed bullets. It is standard spec U.S. military ball, though, if that helps.

 

[MM]

My PTR does not like enough of the third tier Lake City to warrant me buying more of it. The seating depth issue seems to run about 4 per cent and my particular rifle is intolerant of this for some reason. The Aussie, Port and SA all work very well and are quite affordable when purchased in bulk. (Hey can you have ENOUGH ammo cans?)
SatCong

 

[R.H. Lee]

I bought 1k awhile back and it's good. Just checked, yes, a magnet will attract the bullet. It's bulk packed (loose in plastic bags inside a box) and the brass is a little discolored. But it's Lake City Nato 7.62x51 of recent manufacture (mine is 03, 04, & 05) so it's boxer primed and reloadable. I'll post a photo if you like.

 

[enichols]

Thanks for the info, guys. R.H. Lee- don't worry about posting pics... if it's magnetic I don't want to buy it (can't shoot magnetic ammo at most of the ranges around here).
Is the South African stuff magnetic? Aimsurplus advertises it as non-magnetic, but they told me some of the korean .30-06 wouldn't attract a magnet and when I bought some and checked, it was definitely magnetic.
Thanks again,
Nic

 

[enichols]

A couple more questions-
Is there ANY 7.62x51 surplus ammunition that is not magnetic? (Oy, it's such a PITA that most ranges here don't allow steel-jacketed or steel-cored ANYTHING).

I also saw some of the Argentinian 7.62 NATO surplus stuff online... I intend to shoot either the SA or the Argie (or both) in my .308 M1. Is this stuff suitable for shooting in my rifle?
Thanks again guys,
Nic

 

[Reed1911]

We have lead core .308 built on once fired commercial brass for 5.78 per box if it helps. Everyone has been pleased with it so far reporting groups far better than most standard commercial out there. It's not quite as good as our Match (>.5" 5 shot) but it certainly gets close.

 

[chuckles]

enichols wrote:

Is there ANY 7.62x51 surplus ammunition that is not magnetic?

The Aussie surplus is pure copper jacketed. Lead core and non-magnetic. Doesn't seem to be a lot of it around any more. I bought bunches the last couple of years.

 

[Thin Black Line]

I've got a bunch of that stuff. It's good plinking ammo. Keep in mind that it is the stuff that failed to meet the top two tiers of quality inspection at the arsenal, and that's why it is being sold off in the commercial market. The stuff that passes QC is boxed and shipped to the military. 99% of the rounds are probably fine, but if any one ride fails QC, the entire lot gets rejected by the inspectors.

+1 on quality control.

The same is true for all that LC 5.56 "SS109" for sale right now. It's stuff
that was rejected, but <most> of it is still shootable. I've had about a
5% reject rate for the stuff I've picked up due to case corrosion and split
necks!

 

[ocabj]

+1 on quality control.

The same is true for all that LC 5.56 "SS109" for sale right now. It's stuff
that was rejected, but <most> of it is still shootable. I've had about a
5% reject rate for the stuff I've picked up due to case corrosion and split
necks!

I bought some of the 1000 loose packed M855 from Ammoman. I hand inspected every round when I sorted by headstamp date and loaded on stripper clips. Out of the 1000, maybe about 30 rounds had some sort of flaw. Mostly cracked necks. A few that severe dents in the necks. One where the bullet was excessively seated.