Reloading for the FAL

[walking arsenal]

I need some advice on reloading for my FAL rifle.

About a year ago I bought a case of Indian .308 ammo. The case looks like it was buried in some kids sandbox and the ammo shoots very badly out of my FAL.

I'm assuming some of the powder is bad because it doesn't cycle even with the gas system closed.

The rifle shoots fine with new commercial.

Instead of junking the ammo though, what i'd like to do is pull the bullets and primers then reload the cases with fresh powder and primers.

The thing is though is that up until now all i've reloaded for is bolt guns.

Can you guys provide me with some incite on reloading for auto loaders?

Specifically, what do i need to do different than i do with bolt guns?

Maybe some .308 reloading recipes?

Thanks

 

[rcmodel]

Reloading for an autoloader is no different then reloading for a bolt gun.

Without knowing what the weight of the pulled bullets might be, it would be hard to recommend a powder & load for them.

What you need to do is pull one down, weigh the bullet, then get back with us for a powder & charge.

And make sure the mil-sup ammo isn't Berdan primed.

rcmodel

 

[madkiwi]

IIRC the Indian stuff is all Berdan primed. You might have to bin it.

Bullets should be 147gn FMJBT, can be loaded with all sorts of powders.

Keep an eye on the classifieds on gunboards and thefiringline for people selling Lake City brass. You have to swage/ream the primer pockets but it can still be a good deal.

If you are reloading for a self-loading rifle you need to full-length resize every time. You will also have to keep an eye on your maximum OAL to make sure you can fit it in your magazines.

 

[USSR]

w_a,

The only thing I do differently is slightly increase the amount of neck tension. In milsurp brass: 43.0gr of IMR4895 with 144-147gr bullets; 41.0gr of IMR4895 with 168-175gr bullets.

Don

 

[walking arsenal]

My bad

They are 147 grn bullets.

And the cases I've fired thus far have all been boxer primed.

The head stamp reads OFV 75

 

[W.E.G.]

blasting ammo

shoot the ones that will go off - kill the tin cans

pull the bullets on the duds if you must

buy better ammo next time

Any moderate .308 load with bullets in the 150-grain range will do well in your FAL.

 

[evan price]

1975 Indian ammo in my FAL shoots well, better than Cavim and some South African; It's also Boxer primed, decent brass, and well worth reloading.

Some of it looks a little dull but it always has shot fine for me.

Should be the M80 spec 147-gr bullet.
Anything around the same weight will work fine in a FAL.

I've been loading the 168-gr Match projectiles in Indian OFV 75 brass for my FALs with 44 grains of Varget and a Win Large Rifle primer and they shoot quite well.

Gary's just upset because nobody will let him have their Port for $30/battlepack anymore...

 

[Slamfire]

Gas gun ammo requires that the case be smaller than the chamber. Do you not want an interference fit. You also want to be absolutely certain the primer is below the case head. The FN uses a spring loaded firing pin so your risk of a firing pin induced slamfire is less than if you were shooting a M1a or a M1 Garand. Still though, I do not recommend Federal primers in a gas gun. They are the most sensitive American made primer on the market.

One other thing, use quick powders. Nothing slower than IMR 4064. I have shot lots of 4895, AA2495 and AA2520 in my 308 gas guns.

Just this weekend shot some more of my IMR 3031 reloads in a M1a, functions just fine. Too bad that IMR 3031 is a little long for progressives.

I did some load development with AA2520 and 150 grain bullets. I have lots of AA2520 (remember the days when you could buy it a $64 for an eight pound keg?) and wanted to create some blasting ammo.

This load shot exceptionally well in my 26” Ruger (target below), and shot well in my M1a. And it is just at the velocity I want for a 150, that is 2700 fps.

IMR 3031 also shot exceptionally well, however since my 3031 is very old, I would cut the charge by at least a half to a grain.

M1a, 22” Douglas 1:10 six groove
150 gr Hornady FMJBT 43.5 grs AA2520 thrown Czech Lot 9595 Mixed LC WLR
OAL 2.785
18 May 2008 T = 70 °F

Ave Vel = 2700
Std Dev = 30
ES = 85
High = 2736
Low = 2651
N = 10