Can .311 bullets be used in .308 bore?
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greyling22
Member
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=537956
if you google "Can .311 bullets be used in .308 bore" you will find many hits. no harm in asking though.
if you google "Can .311 bullets be used in .308 bore" you will find many hits. no harm in asking though.
TrickyDick
Member
It'd be tight, and I wouldn't personally recommend it. I reload for 7.62x54R, and use .311 bullets. The 2nd edition Lee reloading manual says the 7.62x54R uses a .310 bullet like the 7.62x39 but those bullets above 125gr are slim pickings. If you want to risk it, by all means go ahead. But since you asked, I'd say no.
ArchAngelCD
Member.
They "can" be used but they will possibly raise pressures too so I would drop back to starting powder charge weights and work up very carefully.
My suggestion would be to trade off the .311" bullets for .308" bullets since the .311" bullets are harder to find. Anyone loading for the 7.62X54R would be happy to trade you I'm sure...
My suggestion would be to trade off the .311" bullets for .308" bullets since the .311" bullets are harder to find. Anyone loading for the 7.62X54R would be happy to trade you I'm sure...
R.W.Dale
Member
I've done it a great deal in my shillen barreled 7.62x39 savage. It doesn't cause any issues.
HOWEVER.
I wouldn't be too keen to shoot mystery ????? Jacketed and cored Cold War era or older communist manufactured projectiles in ANY barrel I cared about. Proper diameter or not.
HOWEVER.
I wouldn't be too keen to shoot mystery ????? Jacketed and cored Cold War era or older communist manufactured projectiles in ANY barrel I cared about. Proper diameter or not.
You would raise pressure a lot. Also, you will not find manufacturer published load data for such a bullet in an 06 or 308. There is probably a good reason for that.
Post them in the sales area and sell or trade them for the right components.
Post them in the sales area and sell or trade them for the right components.
I have run some 7.62X39 .310 (Mine measure a hair over that) in 300 BLK. They take a little less powder, but not much. (Couple of tenths in the 16 to 19 Gr range). They were also very accurate in my barrel.
The bullet construction will make a difference on how much it increases pressures. I agree that if they have steel innards it probably isn't a good idea. I don't know though.
Start low, work up, and be careful if you try it.
The bullet construction will make a difference on how much it increases pressures. I agree that if they have steel innards it probably isn't a good idea. I don't know though.
Start low, work up, and be careful if you try it.
JLDickmon
Member
don't know anyone that has a .303 British, eh?
Icky The Great
Member
I would not use them. I am certain there are more calibers out there for them but here are a few other than the 7.62x54r:
7.65x53 Argentine, Belgium, Chili, etc.
.303 British
7.7x58 Arisaka
7.65x53 Argentine, Belgium, Chili, etc.
.303 British
7.7x58 Arisaka
Dthunter
Member
nope, I wouldn't do it! too much potential for pressure issues. Besides, those .311 bullets are junk.
I am sure some shooters do it, but not me. I see No advantage to doing it. YMMV
If you use .308 cal bullets in a .311 bore, there is little to be concerned about. I have been shooting .308, 150 grain bullets in my Ruger M77 hawk eye in 7.62x39 for years. They can shoot into 1- 1-1/8" at 100 yards consistently.
I am sure some shooters do it, but not me. I see No advantage to doing it. YMMV
If you use .308 cal bullets in a .311 bore, there is little to be concerned about. I have been shooting .308, 150 grain bullets in my Ruger M77 hawk eye in 7.62x39 for years. They can shoot into 1- 1-1/8" at 100 yards consistently.
45lcshooter
Member
I with most other people, i think your going to have pressure issues, that might not be too good for the firearm.
you might be able to get a way from the pressure issues, but im not just now. on this one im going to error on he side of caution.
you might be able to get a way from the pressure issues, but im not just now. on this one im going to error on he side of caution.
The Ruger 308 I have allows case mouths to expand to an enormous circumference, I assume this is a characteristic of Ruger barrels.
The greatest risk, in my opinion, is if the chamber pinches the bullet. You absolutely do not want to create a bore obstruction. Some chambers have a wide diameter case neck expansion area, others are very tight. It used to be that chambers with tight case necks were considered to give better accuracy. This is probably came from the same people who believe neck sizing provides better accuracy. This is something I do not believe and having shot sub MOA with my Ruger, large case neck expansion is not detrimental to accuracy either.
Creating a bore obstruction is very dangerous and there is plenty of history of the pressure problems created when a cartridge case does not freely release its bullet. Perhaps the most famous turns out to be an Army Ordnance coverup. Back in the days of copper nickel jackets, bore fouling due to the bullets was something awful. Shooters found that by dipping their bullets in grease they could fire thousands of rounds without any jacket fouling problems whatsoever. Greasing bullets was a common practice in the US from the earliest days, at least 1906, to the early twenties, due to jacket fouling, and other countries issued greased ammunition up to the 1980's.
However, this was the era of the single heat treat receivers and Army receivers were bursting with a high frequency. No one outside of the Ordnance Department knew exactly why rifles were bursting and the Ordnance Department was not admitting they had a quality control problem. At the time, in print, the Army denied that there was anything wrong with their rifles. Still, jacket fouling remained a real problem and the experienced competitor bought bullet greasing kits, Mobilube one of them, "Never Nickle" another.
Experiments were made to develop non fouling jackets. There were various attempts to reduce jacket fouling by changing jacket materials. The Army issued ammunition in the 1921 National Matches where the bullets were coated with tin. This was sold as a non fouling jacket modification. Bullet #4 is one of those "tin can" bullets.
However, what the Army did not understand, did not know, was something called cold welding. Cartridge brass is made from zinc and copper, and it turns out, tin and copper also form a lower energy compound called bronze, so the tin on the bullet migrated into the copper of the case necks, "cold welding" the bullet to the case. This created an awesome bore obstruction and rifles blew up at the Wakefield Matches prior to the National Matches, and rifles blew up at the 1921 National Matches with this ammunition. In print, the Army denied there was anything wrong with their ammunition, proclaimed the stuff "perfectly safe" and blamed all the pressure problems on greased bullets.
But, the lesson is, create a bore obstruction and pressures can spike. Therefore, check the case neck expansion of fired cases and if the larger bullets don't slide in, don't use them.
The greatest risk, in my opinion, is if the chamber pinches the bullet. You absolutely do not want to create a bore obstruction. Some chambers have a wide diameter case neck expansion area, others are very tight. It used to be that chambers with tight case necks were considered to give better accuracy. This is probably came from the same people who believe neck sizing provides better accuracy. This is something I do not believe and having shot sub MOA with my Ruger, large case neck expansion is not detrimental to accuracy either.
Creating a bore obstruction is very dangerous and there is plenty of history of the pressure problems created when a cartridge case does not freely release its bullet. Perhaps the most famous turns out to be an Army Ordnance coverup. Back in the days of copper nickel jackets, bore fouling due to the bullets was something awful. Shooters found that by dipping their bullets in grease they could fire thousands of rounds without any jacket fouling problems whatsoever. Greasing bullets was a common practice in the US from the earliest days, at least 1906, to the early twenties, due to jacket fouling, and other countries issued greased ammunition up to the 1980's.
However, this was the era of the single heat treat receivers and Army receivers were bursting with a high frequency. No one outside of the Ordnance Department knew exactly why rifles were bursting and the Ordnance Department was not admitting they had a quality control problem. At the time, in print, the Army denied that there was anything wrong with their rifles. Still, jacket fouling remained a real problem and the experienced competitor bought bullet greasing kits, Mobilube one of them, "Never Nickle" another.
Experiments were made to develop non fouling jackets. There were various attempts to reduce jacket fouling by changing jacket materials. The Army issued ammunition in the 1921 National Matches where the bullets were coated with tin. This was sold as a non fouling jacket modification. Bullet #4 is one of those "tin can" bullets.
However, what the Army did not understand, did not know, was something called cold welding. Cartridge brass is made from zinc and copper, and it turns out, tin and copper also form a lower energy compound called bronze, so the tin on the bullet migrated into the copper of the case necks, "cold welding" the bullet to the case. This created an awesome bore obstruction and rifles blew up at the Wakefield Matches prior to the National Matches, and rifles blew up at the 1921 National Matches with this ammunition. In print, the Army denied there was anything wrong with their ammunition, proclaimed the stuff "perfectly safe" and blamed all the pressure problems on greased bullets.
But, the lesson is, create a bore obstruction and pressures can spike. Therefore, check the case neck expansion of fired cases and if the larger bullets don't slide in, don't use them.
Kp321
Member
The problem could be in the chamber neck, not the bore. Some, not all, chambers are too tight to allow a .311 bullet to be seated with room for the neck to expand and release the bullet. That can cause higher pressures than the .003" oversize bullet going down the bore.
LAGS
Member
I pull apart the 7.62x54 surplus rounds, and then run the bullets thru my .308 Lee bullet sizing die that I use for my cast bullets.
Then load and shoot them in my 30 cal's
You can also make a sizing die and not have to buy one if you are only going to use them for Blasting ammo. But they still shoot good and accurate with the right load.
But most of the salvaged bullets get shot thru my .303 and SKS
But I would not recomend shooting them thru a .308 bore unless you resize the bullets first.
Then load and shoot them in my 30 cal's
You can also make a sizing die and not have to buy one if you are only going to use them for Blasting ammo. But they still shoot good and accurate with the right load.
But most of the salvaged bullets get shot thru my .303 and SKS
But I would not recomend shooting them thru a .308 bore unless you resize the bullets first.
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