7.62 FMJ surplus in .308 Rifle
- Thread starter arizona
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I have done it.
I have also shot .308 handloads (although they were not max pressure loads) and .308 factory loads in Ishapore 7.62 Enfields and in Savage bolt actions without any incidents.
This is not to say that manufacturers would support it though.
BTW - 7.62x51 is the round I am referring to. Any other 7.62 rounds should not fit. If they do manage to go off I wouldn't want to be around you when they do.
I have also shot .308 handloads (although they were not max pressure loads) and .308 factory loads in Ishapore 7.62 Enfields and in Savage bolt actions without any incidents.
This is not to say that manufacturers would support it though.
BTW - 7.62x51 is the round I am referring to. Any other 7.62 rounds should not fit. If they do manage to go off I wouldn't want to be around you when they do.
Carl N. Brown
Member
7.62x51 or 7.62 NATO and the .308 Winchester are sometimes
identified as being the same cartridge.
There are some differences in ammo and it is risky to generalize.
7.62 Nato military brass can be harder; .308 Win brass can be softer.
Most 7.62 NATO caliber rifles will shot both.
Most .308 Win rifles will shot both.
Some 7.62 rifles will not feed some .308 Win softnose ammo.
Some 7.62 rifles have problems with soft civilian brass.
Military bullets, powders and primers may be hard on a fine
target bore, or may simply require frequent thorough cleaning.
This is from a few hundred rounds experience with a
Savage 110 in .308 Win, and FAL and CETME in 7.62 NATO.
Test samples of ammo, buy lots of what works best in your gun.
identified as being the same cartridge.
There are some differences in ammo and it is risky to generalize.
7.62 Nato military brass can be harder; .308 Win brass can be softer.
Most 7.62 NATO caliber rifles will shot both.
Most .308 Win rifles will shot both.
Some 7.62 rifles will not feed some .308 Win softnose ammo.
Some 7.62 rifles have problems with soft civilian brass.
Military bullets, powders and primers may be hard on a fine
target bore, or may simply require frequent thorough cleaning.
This is from a few hundred rounds experience with a
Savage 110 in .308 Win, and FAL and CETME in 7.62 NATO.
Test samples of ammo, buy lots of what works best in your gun.
Flatfender
Member
Perfectly fine to shoot 7.62 X 51 out of a .308 chamber. Military / Surplus 7.62 X 51 is underpowered compared to a commercial .308 cartridge and will be perhaps less accurate.
Almost all other military / surplus ammo is loaded hotter than the commercial versions (.223 & .30-06) but not the 7.62 nato
It is not safe to shoot commercial .308 out of a 7.62 X 51 gun. The commercial .308 approaches proof levels for the 7.62 X 51 chambers.
Almost all other military / surplus ammo is loaded hotter than the commercial versions (.223 & .30-06) but not the 7.62 nato
It is not safe to shoot commercial .308 out of a 7.62 X 51 gun. The commercial .308 approaches proof levels for the 7.62 X 51 chambers.
Daniel T
Member
kfranz said:
You forgot 7.62x45.
Sistema1927
Member
No, no, no, no, NO!
You do not want to shoot 7.62x51 surplus out of YOUR .308.
(That is because there will be less for me to shoot!
)
You do not want to shoot 7.62x51 surplus out of YOUR .308.
(That is because there will be less for me to shoot!
)HankB
Member
Many 7.62 x 51 rifles are gasguns, designed to work with gasport (not chamber!) pressures falling within a specific range; commercial ammo will probably not meet these requirements, and may beat the heck out of your rifle.
Also note that not all 7.62x51 surplus is good.
USGI milsurp is good.
South African milsurp is good.
Portuguese milsurp is good.
Australian milsurp is good.
Some South American milsurp is no good.
Indian surplus ought not be fired in anything.
If pressure is that critical.....
then 90 percent of every custom rifle made on a Mauser or Springfield receiver should have blown up years ago............I knew a guy that rechambered an Enfield No1 Mk3 to 300 win mag and shot it many times trying to blow it up. It never did, just froze the bolt............I have been shooting both calibers in both rifles for 40 years and never experienced any pressure problems, zero.......and, I have shot many cans of Indian 308 with zero problems.................chris3
then 90 percent of every custom rifle made on a Mauser or Springfield receiver should have blown up years ago............I knew a guy that rechambered an Enfield No1 Mk3 to 300 win mag and shot it many times trying to blow it up. It never did, just froze the bolt............I have been shooting both calibers in both rifles for 40 years and never experienced any pressure problems, zero.......and, I have shot many cans of Indian 308 with zero problems.................chris3
Flatfender
Member
USGI 7.62X51 NATO is loaded to around 50,000 CUP (NATO max)
A proof load for a NATO rifle is 76,000 CUP
Some commercial .308 reaches 72,000 CUP. Getting too damn close to the NATO proof for me.
A proof load for a NATO rifle is 76,000 CUP
Some commercial .308 reaches 72,000 CUP. Getting too damn close to the NATO proof for me.
While not having an extraordinary ammount of experience with it, I have shot Lake City surplus 7.62NATO in my Savage 12BVSS with decent luck. Because it's "war" ammo designed for rat-a-tat-tat accuracy, I bought it for plinking and I shoot match ammo and XM118LR (175gr at 2580fps) for target shooting.
I've noticed that the NATO crap prints about 4 inches higher at 109 yards and won't hold under maybe 2MOA, whereas the slower M118LR is much more consistent and can do 1MOA easily.
I got LC 7.62, XM118LR and Federal Gold Medal Match from AmmoMan for a good price.
I've noticed that the NATO crap prints about 4 inches higher at 109 yards and won't hold under maybe 2MOA, whereas the slower M118LR is much more consistent and can do 1MOA easily.
I got LC 7.62, XM118LR and Federal Gold Medal Match from AmmoMan for a good price.
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