Another CETME question

[mr_blove]

Ok I thought that the CETME was a 7.62x51 nato round since it was a battle rifle in Europe built in Spain by German designers after WWII, but mine is stamped ".308 cal". What is the caliber of my CETME?

 

[nalioth]

It'll shoot both just fine.

You see a lot of Spanish military rifles that are chambered for 7.62x51 Nato marked .308

 

[cmidkiff]

7.62x51 Nato and .308 winchester are 'nearly' the same, though not quite. There have been a million articles on the subject. From what I have read, the military standard allows slightly higher chamber pressures than the civilian standard does.

I have a PTR91 that is stamped .308win, and have fired many 7.62 nato rounds through the rifle without problem.

If you really want to be sure, contact the manufacturer of your Cetme and ask!

 

[nalioth]

From what I have read, the military standard allows slightly higher chamber pressures than the civilian standard does.

You've got it backwards. The .308 Winchester produces higher pressures than the 7.62x51 Nato

If you really want to be sure, contact the manufacturer of your Cetme and ask!

The original military manufacturer in Spain or the monkeys at Century who horribly cobbled it back together?

 

[brian923]

7.62x51 is what is recommended to be shot through cetmes. the .308 cases are thinner, and seem to break in the chamber. this is what happened to me, and now my rifle is broke, and i cant figure out whats wrong with it. but i thinkit screwed up the chamber.

 

[nalioth]

7.62x51 is what is recommended to be shot through cetmes. the .308 cases are thinner, and seem to break in the chamber. this is what happened to me, and now my rifle is broke, and i cant figure out whats wrong with it. but i thinkit screwed up the chamber.

Do you have a partial case stuck in the chamber?

If you shoot commercial .308 in a Cetme or G3, it is highly advised to have a broken case extractor with you. These rifles have fluted chambers and a violent extraction cycle, and the thinner case walls of the .308 sometimes separate under the strain.

 

[mr_blove]

Well the reason I brought this up is 2 reasons. #1 the owner before me had a casing break in the chamber it was South African 7.62x51 the shop he took it to told him that South african brass it too soft for a semi auto and that was the reason for the malfunction. #2 My friend at work has had extraction problems in his .308 bolt action deer rifle shooting 7.62x51 South African(I think) and he took it to another guy at work whose second job is as a certified and trained gunsmith he told him that the 7.62x51 has higher chamber pressures than the .308 and he is pretty much pressure fitting the casing to the chamber. I am worried about damaging my firearm so I am trying to research it.

 

[nalioth]

Here ya go

http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting2006/308vs762nato/index.asp

 

[barnetmill]

I had read once that the german 7.62x51 used a lower pressure load than did the US military 7.62x51. Any truth to that statement?

 

[MudPuppy]

I've not heard that, but the original cetmes were designed to use a lower pressure.

From what I understand, the vast majority (all?) of the ones in the market are later series.

Mine shoots SA fine. And Rem 308 as well.

 

[nalioth]

I had read once that the german 7.62x51 used a lower pressure load than did the US military 7.62x51. Any truth to that statement?

You may be thinking of the experimental ammo the Spaniards came up with to run in their early generation Cetmes. It was the same dimensions as 7.62 Nato, but had an aluminum cored bullet and a lower powder charge. Their idea was to emulate the characteristics of the 7.92 Kurz used in the Stg44.

 

[Chipperman]

...the shop he took it to told him that South african brass it too soft for a semi auto and that was the reason for the malfunction.

That's utter nonsense. What does this guy think the South African ammo was made for? South African 7.62x51 is excellent ammo, and would be fine to use in your CETME.

 

[ktd]

The early Spanish combat rifles (Model A and I think B's) were chambered for a lower powered round, 7.62 CETME, which was dimensionally identical to 7.62 NATO. (The Japanese also used a similar lower powered round in their 7.62 MBR for a while). My understanding is that the 7.62 NATO has a slightly different taper than .308 Win to accomodate belt fed machine guns. Just different enough to almost matter. The NATO round also has a thicker case head, which probably also helps with case head seperation in military rifles as opposed to running commercial ammo in them.