308

 

.308 winchester , and btw the only stupid question is the unasked question .

 

Be aware that if you are firing an older rifle chambered for 7.62x51....aka 7.62NATO, that you may not be able to shoot modern .308Win. Especially old 7.62 Enfields, don't ever use modern loads with one of those, they are not made to withstand the higher pressures.

 

And if I'm not mistaken, 7.62 has a longer head space than .308 - so don't use 7.62 on a .308 chamber.

 

Cagueits unlike the .223/ 5.56 issue my understanding is that all .308 and 7.62 are interchangeable ammo . In fact the 7.62 is loaded to a higher pressure than the .308 . Never shoot any marginal condition or questionable metallurgy rifle , but any rifle chambered to the round and in good shape should handle it fine no matter the headstamp .

 

*******, I read this the other day, thats why I made the warning - maybe I understood it the wrong way? (it got awfully technical after a few paragraphs)

The US lobbied hard with its NATO allies to adopt the new 7.62 cartridge as standard. Ammunition standardization makes sense, and in the end; NATO nations adopted the 7.62 NATO round (Note.3).

Winchester, recognizing that any round adopted in mass by a group of countries would almost automatically become very popular, adopted the T65 / 7.62 NATO round and called their version the .308 Winchester. However, they are not identical twins.

There are headspace differences between the two rounds. The .308 go-gauge is 1.6300, the .308 no go-gauge is 1.6340. The 7.62 go-gauge is 1.6350, the 7.62 no go-gauge is 1.6405. Since NATO military ammunition can come from any NATO country, and the goal is the ability to interchange ammunition, the military chamber is larger.

Provided we use common sense, headspace differences shouldn’t cause us to quake in fear. If a person is using new, Mil-Surp ammunition; and not reloading it, then the headspace becomes a non-issue. The round is fired and expended.

However, what about reloaded ammunition?​

Extract from:

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

 

Bud hold on and look at this , your sourse said

If a person is using new, Mil-Surp ammunition; and not reloading it, then the headspace becomes a non-issue. The round is fired and expended.

Now think a second ... headspace is an issue or it isnt . I agree that some 7.62 brass has a shorter life due to resizing and brass stretch , but it has nothing to do with chamber dementions , it has to do with ( to us ) sub standard brass used to form the cases . No matter the status of reloads tho , you should never fire an out of spec ctg . and between .308 win and 7.62x51 chambers are identical . If they were not then its not " ok " to fire a round at all . In the .223 vs 5.56 thing there are differences where your 5.56 chamber will " fire form " .223 ammo , but if you stick a 5.56 into a .223 chamber you will see over pressure that may well ( among other damage ) perferate or blow out of the case a primer . 5.56 and the usa 223 are different by a fiew thousants . this is not the case with 7.62 and .308 . The rounds are identical , tho brass quality may preclude reloading some surplus cases .

 

*******, so you can safely use 7.62 ammo on a .308 chamber? (read, have you actually used 7.62 on a .308?)

 

I have and do. Lake City 7.62 and D&S Manufacturing .308 (same/same) out of my Steyr Tactical and HK 91. :wink:

 

Thanks Rob.