British Surplus Radway Green .308 Ammo Question

[tpaw]

Is this ammo any good?

1990's Production British Surplus Radway Green NATO spec. .308 (7.62x51) ammunition. Features a NATO headstamp, 147grn full copper jacketed lead core (non-magnetic) bullet, brass case, and non-corrosive Berdan primer. Incredible packaging! Packed 5rds to a charger (stripper clip), 75rds (15-5rd chargers) to a military grade nylon bandolier with metal snaps,

 

[9mmepiphany]

i've never had any, but i seem to remember reading that what you have is the holy grail of surplus 7.62x51mm

 

[Zane]

What do you mean by "any good?"

I bought 400 round of the 1993 stuff from www.classicarms.us , and it shot fine. I can't really give a good MOA as I am not a sub MOA shooter, but it did as well as any other ammo I've purchased. I worked great when I used it in a 3-gun match a few weeks ago.

Mine came partially linked and the cartridges had a particular and unpleasant odor. I had to wipe down each round with a dry towel and get rid of the links to make them more pleasant. I bought another 400 as I figure that will last me for the 3 gun season.

 

[eddism]

you might consider the point of contention between .308win vs 7.62x51 nato ammo. If the ammo is clearly marked 7.62x51 nato it has a chamber pressure of 50K CUPS. Where .308's are rated at 62K. 308's through rifles that are built for the nato stuff my create damage to rifles designed for lighter chamber pressures. So you might want to consider this before the use of nato stuff in-lieu of 308's for safety reasons.

 

[Hatterasguy]

I have some early 90's German surplus thats really nice stuff. I think anything from a 1st world country with the NATO cross on it is good ammo. Any military rifle should shoot it well.

 

[Kurt_D]

Good stuff, if it was boxer primed I'd be buying it.

 

[Steve Marshall]

50K CUP and 60K PSI are birds of a feather.
I see Radway selling bfor around 50 cents each. I don't care if it's Berdan primed.

 

[iamkris]

British Radway Green and German Hirtenberg are considered to be the best surplus 308, followed closely by Portuguese. South African comes after that. All good stuff.

Dang, I remember when this was selling for $119 for a 1000 round case...I was so smug because I bought 5000 rounds...now I wish I'd bought 100,000 rounds.

 

[madcratebuilder]

you might consider the point of contention between .308win vs 7.62x51 nato ammo. If the ammo is clearly marked 7.62x51 nato it has a chamber pressure of 50K CUPS. Where .308's are rated at 62K. 308's through rifles that are built for the nato stuff my create damage to rifles designed for lighter chamber pressures. So you might want to consider this before the use of nato stuff in-lieu of 308's for safety reasons.

Not this again. There are many articles on line that explain the differences between .308 and 7.62 and pressure is not one of them.

Radway Green is good ammo, I buy all I see.

 

[TexasRifleman]

you might consider the point of contention between .308win vs 7.62x51 nato ammo. If the ammo is clearly marked 7.62x51 nato it has a chamber pressure of 50K CUPS. Where .308's are rated at 62K.

No, that's not correct. This has confused so many people it's not even funny. One is measured in CUP, one in PSI.

 

[AH-1]

I just shot some RG in my M1A.good stuff very accurate ammo buy it.

pete

 

[deadeye1122]

I just shot some RG in my M1A.good stuff very accurate ammo buy it.

Are the people posting on this thread using it milsurp arms only and would this ammo be OK for a Remy 700 TAC for just plinking,target,ect? Did a search on reloading, sounds like a PITA. thanks Deadeye

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

Outstanding surplus ammo for sure. Only downside is it's not reloadable which you probably know.

 

[Al Thompson]

Deadeye, yes, it may not give match accuracy (like Federal Match), but should shoot fine.

 

[M1key]

Bought lots back in the 90s when it was much cheaper. Shoots great out of my FALs...

As far as 308/7.62 ammo interchangebility, SAAMI says it is okay. Wikipedia:

"The 7.62x51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard for small arms among NATO countries.

It was introduced in U.S. service in the M14 rifle and M60 machine gun in the late 1950s. The M14 was superseded in U.S. service as the infantry adopted the 5.56x45mm NATO M16. However, the M14 and many other firearms that use the 7.62×51 round remain in service, especially in the case of sniper rifles and machine guns. The cartridge is used both by infantry and on mounted and crew-served weapons mounted to vehicles, aircraft and ships.

Although very similar to the commercial .308 Winchester, specifications for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge are not identical although their interchange is considered safe by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute (SAAMI)."

 

[wcwhitey]

Radway Green is the British contemporary to Lake City. Every bit as good and sometimes better. Usually can be had for 1/2 the price of LC. I buy every bit of RG M80 I can get. Bill

 

[deadeye1122]

Bought 160 rds after I posted. Figured I've spent 75.00 in worst ways. Have been shooting Federal power shok 150 from wally world @ .80 apiece. Even though its not realistically re loadable @ .40 apiece it gives you range time. Interesting to see if the groups improve or not. deadeye.

 

[jlott00]

i bought some a while back, im curious to see how it compares to the wally ammo...bc i have both.....let us know

 

[Maj Dad]

Bought a couple thousand some years back, as I have with Israeli TZZ & Venezuelan CAVIM - RG beats it & the GI have picked up hands down. Very consistent and very accurate. I am squirreling away the ~1500 or so left for the Big Bang...

 

[Wes Janson]

The RG I've shot tended to group 4-5 MOA. YMMV, and maybe it does better in other rifles, but in my estimation it was rather inaccurate.