Springfield M1A Ammo Q? .308 or 7.62 nato?

[Click Click Boom]

Ok, My Question is are the Springfield Armory MA1's .308win or 7.62nato? I know that they are almost the same thing. What is the gun really chambered for? The website says 7.62 NATO (.308 win)

I guess what Im really gettin at is this: Will the Springfield Armory M1A's take the stroger Factory loads in .308win? The 7.62 nato is a little weaker than its US .308 win counterpart.

 

[Eat Beef]

All of the new Springfield barrels are marked 308 win. SAI suggests using Hornady or Black Hills or other commercial 168s.

That said, the pressure curve on a heavy (180+) bullet loaded over fast burning powder could bend an op rod. I've heard of it, but you know how those internet rumors are.

Why bother? Milsurp 7.62 is higher than a cat's back, but it's still less than half the price of commercial 308.

 

[Click Click Boom]

Do you know when they started marking them .308win?

 

[Sodbuster]

Don't use Federal High Energy or Hornady Light Magnum loads in an M1A. These stronger loads are not recommended. Standard factory loads are OK. I never shot a 180-gr bullet out of my M1As, although some shooters do. Only 150- and 165-gr went through mine, both .308 and 7.62. When Hirtenberger was more readily available, I shot that. I no longer have either M1A, too labor intensive for me.

 

[CypherNinja]

Huh, I'm a total noob when it comes to rifles, but I thought the M1A had an M14 style gas system which didn't have issues with the heavy loads? Am I wrong, or did the M14 style just have fewer issues with the increased pressures than the Garand system?

 

[lwrnc1963]

Neither the M1A/M14 nor the M1 Garand are made to use bullets heavier than about 165gr. 150's are what they function best with and they are headspaced to fire either .308 or 7.62 NATO. My M1A was made in 2003 and shoots both commercial .308 and surplus ammo with no problems.

 

[220_Swift]

This is from the owners manual for the M1A. Sounds to me like they are saying only shoot NATO ammo.


The M1A is designed and built to specifications to shoot standard factory military 7.62 NATO ammunition. The
specifications for standard military ammunition include harder primers to withstand the slight indentation from the
firing pin when the bolt chambers a cartridge. This slight indentation is normal. The use of civilian ammunition
with more sensitive primers or handloads with commercial primers and/or improperly seated primers increase the
risk of primer detonation when the bolt slams forward. This unexpected "slam fire" can occur even if the trigger
is not being pulled and if the safety is on. Use of military specification ammunition will help avoid this. Every shooter should use extreme caution when loading this or any other firearm. See page 15 for instructions on
proper loading to help avoid a "slam fire". Also see enclosed article on “Slam Fire” written by Wayne Faatz.

 

[Eat Beef]

Click click boom-

There is no definitive answer. The difference lies in whether you have a commercial barrel, or a USGI barrel. (BTW, the USGI is worth more.)

Drop the stock and look for yourself. Sometimes you can see the markings thru the gap left when you pull the op rod back.

Really, it's not a big deal. Just stick to 150-168 (although the standard for long range shooters is 175) and you'll be fine. The M14 is a very forgiving platform, designed to hold up to the rigors of battle. You're not going to mess it up without trying.

 

[Eat Beef]

The slam fire is an issue, but the M1A is not an M14 exactly and the commercial barrels are chambered for 308 win, not 7.62mm. I have spoken to Spingfield Armory Inc. on multiple occasions, and they suggest comm. 308, as indicated above.

That said, I shoot both, but mostly surp. It's cheaper. Check out www.m-14forum.com and look in the 7.62fmj subforum; XXIV Corps does a great job keeping up with the good, the bad, and the ugly of 7.62mm milsurp, and it's price.

BTW, whatever you do, don't buy the Indian. I have no idea whether it is as dangerous as they say, but when you're talking about saving a nickel per round in a 1200 frn rifle, do you really want to find out?

 

[30Cal]

Neither the M1A/M14 nor the M1 Garand are made to use bullets heavier than about 165gr. 150's are what they function best with and they are headspaced to fire either .308 or 7.62 NATO.

Both rifles have military match loads at 173grs. Stay below 180grs.

Ty

 

[Bwana John]

My M-1a came headspaced for .308 (1.632")

After firing ~8k rounds (all 7.62) the headspace has grown .005", which puts it into the relm of 7.62.

 

[Onmilo]

The biggest problem between shooting 7.62 NATO in a .308 Winchester headspace barrel or vice versa appears when you reload the brass.

Because the tolerence dimensions are different enough between the two chambers, you will have cartridge cases that will overstretch,(.308 in 7.62 NATO), or be overcompressed,(7.62 in a .308 chamber), which will cause the brass to work harden.
Neither is a major, super duper, big deal unless you reload the cartridge cases.
Because of excessive wear, the cartridge cases can and will begin to crack or even seperate the case head from the case body in as little as three loadings.

This can be alleviated somewhat by annealling the cases after each shooting and before running them through the reloading sizer die.

There is another way around it if you keep all the brass and only load it for that one particular semi automatic rifle.
Gather the brass, make sure all the brass is of the exact same brand and lot, anneal the brass and only neck size it.
This works especially well if you insist on firing commercial specification cartridge cases in a rifle with headspace of 1.634"-1.638" which is a NATO specification.
This doesn't work well at all if you are shooting NATO tolerence brass in a commercial chamber, in this case you will be better served by annealling the brass and full length sizing.

 

[Click Click Boom]

I dont reload so thats not an issue.

The rifle is a new M1A Socom 16. I looked at three reloading manuals Two said thre were no differences and the Lyman manual only noted that the NATO had thicker case walls and cant take quite as much powder. There were no external dimentional differences. So if I stick to comercial .308 and 7.62 NATO cartrides I shouldnt have a problem. What happens if you shoot 180 grain plus from our M1A's?

So the anwsew is that there is no difference other than case wall thickness for comercial loads. Abd that the M1A from Sppringfiled can handle the hot laods but its a litte hard on the gun.

Is this correct?

 

[Eat Beef]

Technically, no. Practically, yes.

The problem, as I stated earlier, is that a heavy bullet pushed hot may allow enough pressure into the gas cylinder that the piston hits the op rod too hard which bends the op rod. Especially with the cast op rod on your SOCOM.

I can guarantee that the barrel on your SOCOM is chambered for 308.

What are you trying to figure out? Are you planning on taking the thing bear hunting and you need 200 grain bullets? If not load up on some South African from AIM (147gr fmjbt) for plinking and try to find some Portugese (150gr fmjbt) or black hills 150s for accuracy work.

On second thought, forget about the accuracy, load up on the SA. It's cheaper and accurate enough for the close/fast/fun work where the SOCOM shines.

 

[Click Click Boom]

The gun is a multi purpose rifle. Its a plinker, defense and a brush rifle. Now that I have free time I plan on going Hiking, Camping, Trail riding in some areas that have "Dangerous" wild life. Im going to be spending some time in West Texas (Big Cats) and Nothern Wisconson (Almost Brown Bear sized Black Bear) and some deer and hog hunting. I know there are better rifles for what Im doing but I have this rifle so I want to be able to load it with the stong stuff form time to time. Im not going to be feeding it a helty Diet of the stuff.

I also want to thank everyone here on THR. Im a newbie to rifles and everyone has been helpful. even with my newbie Q's. Great bunch of people here.

 

[30Cal]

The M1A isn't as prone to bending the oprod as the M1. It's a shorter rod and the gas system is self-regulating to a certain degree. But there are still concerns with high pressure at the gas port. The oprod will batter against the receiver and you can crack the rod over time. You could also crack the heel of the receiver. The rod can dismount and become damaged and it may come off with enough force to shatter the stock.

Your headspace tag probably reads 1.631-1.633". I'd feel comfortable shooting surplus and commercial versions (150gr FMJ, 168 and 175gr Match).

Ty

 

[Eat Beef]

I wouldn't be afraid to carry SA surp in bear country. Well, at least not any more afraid than I would be with 200gr bullets.

Remember, if the first doesn't do the trick, you have 20 more on tap.