7.62??

[MrDig]

Once again I will state that while 7.62 NATO ammunition is spec'd to lower pressure standards than Civilian .308, the weapons that use 7.62 NATO are spec'd out to handle the pressure of civilian rounds. This is to ensure the safety of a soldier who may need to scavange ammunition during battle.
Why do you never see the same warnings about 5.56 NATO/.223 Remington?
Do you know the pressure of a High Pressure Test Round used by military Armories? 62,000 psi that right 62,000 psi. if a weapon will handle that it will handle .308

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

7.62x39 (the Soviet round) uses a .311 inch diameter bullet, .308 Winchester (7.62x51 NATO) uses a .308 inch diameter bullet. .30-06 (7.62x63) uses a .308 caliber bullet, as does .300 Win Mag, but so does 7.5 Swiss... I ain't figured that one out, yet. So, yes, near as I can tell, 7.62 mm does equal .30 of an inch.

My head is spinning.

 

[JWarren]

Hi...

I am a long-time reader of THR, but haven't gotten around to registering. I have really enjoyed the information and discussion on this board, and find myself visiting practically daily.

I just wanted to point out that it isn't accurate to say that commercial ammunition is underpowered in relation to its military surplus counterpart typically.

I am speaking specifically regarding 7.62 x 51 NATO and .308 Win, as that is the only one that I've looked into in any depth. According to a number of posts on the FALfiles.com, we are repeatedly reminded that .308 Win creates much higher chamber pressures than surplus 7.62 NATO. I saw some numbers that indicated as much as a 25K PSI difference in the two rounds, generally speaking.

If anything, commercial ammunition is going to be significantly hotter than its surplus counterpart. Again, I am speaking specifically about 7.62 NATO and 308 Win (which it is my understanding that there are small differences in the rounds anyway.)

It may be also good to point out that typically commercial brasses are thinner than their military counterpart. That may mean something to reloaders (which I am soon to start learning.)

Anyway, thanks for all the discussion on this board.


John Warren

 

[Bazooka Joe71]

If anything, commercial ammunition is going to be significantly hotter than its surplus counterpart. Again, I am speaking specifically about 7.62 NATO and 308 Win (which it is my understanding that there are small differences in the rounds anyway.)

Who said otherwise in this post??

First of all, I don't know much at all, conserning different loads and how hot they are, but the only thing I've heard here is that commercial is hotter, and thats why 5.56 nato can be fired in a .223 rifle, but .223 can't be fired in a 5.56 nato rifle.

Like I said, I don't know a whole lot about rifle loads, but everything I do know I learned here, and I have never heard otherwise.

 

[Hoppy590]

im just going by things iv read on the internet. im no expert. but i was under the impression Mil. ammo is hotter.

 

[seeker_two]

7.62x39 (the Soviet round) uses a .311 inch diameter bullet, .308 Winchester (7.62x51 NATO) uses a .308 inch diameter bullet. .30-06 (7.62x63) uses a .308 caliber bullet, as does .300 Win Mag, but so does 7.5 Swiss... I ain't figured that one out, yet. So, yes, near as I can tell, 7.62 mm does equal .30 of an inch.

And let us not forget the .303Brit (7.7mmR/.311"), the 7.7 Arisaka (.311"), the 7.65 Argentine Mauser (.311"), and the 7.5 MAS (.308")....

My head is spinning.

...and now it's flown off your shoulders, right?...

 

[Eightball]

When discussing 7.62, don't forget the Tokarev bullet! 7.62x25, is it?

 

[Cosmoline]

Yeah, and isn't the Tok actually shooting .307" bullets in the ball ammo? And then there's the .30 Carbine, which IIRC was designed for .365" bullets but which can be loaded with .308" bullets.

 

[4fingermick]

The metric system is the only one with consistent rules, the English and American systems are as loose as a goose. It's pretty much up to the manafacturer to name the round. This is surprising, because th emetric system was developed in Euroupe, which contains many countries, but they have consistency and consensus.

The whole world is pretty much metric now, it's a shame American's cant do metric, it really does make a whole heap of sense.

 

[Cousin Mike]

The whole world is pretty much metric now, it's a shame American's cant do metric, it really does make a whole heap of sense.

Hey, as a carpenter by trade, I resent that.

And who said we can't do metric? Anyone who can count can do metric... It's all multiples of 10, and memorizing a buncha funny unit names. Just be glad cartridges are named using the metric system, even if the measurements tend to be a little off...

If we used our system, we'd measure them in xx/64".

 

[TX_Shooter]

Here is the way I been looking at it:

.223 = M16 ammo (USA)


7.62x39 = AK ammo (Russia/ in Vietnam, the Vietnamese guys used this)


.308 is another beast, which is more powerful then both mention above. I don't want that nato caliber, but I know it cost more @ the gun shelf, so I pass .

So, who won the Vietnam War? ok, ok , not fair. But I am looking hard to get another rifle which accepts the 7.62 cal. It seem to be little more potent then the .223 and is little less pricey then the .223 from my gather research. I am sure I am not right on, but I am comfortable w/ my decision/

Ok, time to go watch Platoon

 

[JWarren]

I was referring to a reference in Hoppy's earlier post...

I practically grew up with a gun in my hand, hunted for the last 25 or so years, but I never really got interested in reloading or such until recently.

Frankly, Hoppy, that kinda surprised me as well. I suppose I had always had the impression that military means hotter, or tougher, or whatever. I clearly underestimated the desire of the sporting market (including me) to push the envelope. It wasn't until I got a FAL before I started reading about 7.62.



John

 

[Clark]

Some sources refer to 7.62x25mm Tokarev as .307".

I have here some 1955 Polish Tokarev ammo and the the pulled bullets measure .307".


I have a 303 Brit Efield No4 mkI that the muzzle measures .318" across the grooves and key holes .308" bullets, but shoots .310" bullets ok.

 

[ithacalover]

Not the dreaded 7.62 NATO/.308 Winchester debate!
When I bought a surplus FR-8 in 7.62 I heeded some of the online "you're-all-going-to-die!" warnings about the interchangeability of these two cartriges and only shot 147-grain FMJ's in .308 out of the thing until I could find some surplus European NATO stuff. I don't think there was any difference, but I would hesitate to shoot 180-grain PowerPoints out of the thing.
As one of the most hotly-contested surplus guns out there, I've never come across a story of barrel failure with them. I think It's mostly an urban legend. Of course, I only stick to the 7.62 loads now.

 

[RioShooter]

38 Special

Okay, so why is the .38 really .357

The case is very close to .38 in. The bullet is .357.

 

[mljdeckard]

When I had an M1A, I tried 7.62 AND .308 through it. The warnings I saw were that as the rifle heats up, you will start to get failure to eject. Maybe I didn't do it long enough, but it never happened to me.

Shoot 7.62 through bolt-rifles in .308 all you want. Good cheap practice. (Sometimes. Not as cheap as it used to be, I guess.)