What 7.62x51mm/.308 do you use/source??

vellnueve

vellnueve

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I've pretty much given up on the chances of any surplus .308 finding its way here. I'm sure it's all being bought up by the government for use where it's needed, and that's OK.

However, that's left me without much in the way of .308 besides some Indonesia and South African surplus. I recently acquired another mouth to feed in this deparment (used to just have my PSS which didn't eat that much), and need to find some ammo that will function well.

Any suggestions on good brands? I was thinking WWB or American Eagle, both of which seem to be available and are less than $20 a box usually (can't believe I think that's cheap)

Any distributors carrying that will ship? (PM's only, obviously)
 
I have had good luck with finding 7.62x51 at "decent" prices - well below local FFL. WWB is good stuff and I have found PMC, (Korean) to be reliable as well. I have not tried AE, but understand it's GTG. Probably the best bang for the buck in the sem-commercial market has been Privi-Partisan. Folks who shot my SOCOM at the Car Shoot toward the end, shot up 400 rounds of it - the first 200 were Lake City '69' vintage M-80. The Privi really is very consistent and fairly accurate and can be had for about 9-bucks a box. Also, look into Magtech - it's Brazilian Military 7.62x51 that comes in 50-round boxes. I ordered a case and it came out to $7.99 per 20. If you have an FFL who will make a deal, you might convince him to do a "good guy buy" and order you a case without a stratospheric mark-up. PM sent with more info on alternatives....
 
Adam_MA said:
Remember to keep in mind, that 7.62 NATO chambered guns should never be fed 308 WIN.
Click to expand...

I thought it was the other way around? Anyway, my SAI S-16 eats anything under 175gr, but I stick to 147-150 with 168gr maxumum. It has not got a USGI barrel, so I've had no issues with commercial fodder....

PS: Not doubting you Adam - I can never just keep it straight....Thanks for clearing it up.
 
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vellnueve said:
M1As won't eat .308?
Click to expand...

Yes they will...Here's my take on it - for what it's worth. Older M1A's with USGI barrels were chambered for 7.62x51 NATO. The new production barrels are as well, but are headspaced enough to accept commercial .308, but this is where bullet grain comes into play. Some say you should not go over 175gr - others 168. I just play it safe and stick to 147 and 150gr ball - no matter if it's commercial .308 or MilSurp. I have used 110gr TAP and just shot Qmmo's 168gr Sierra Match Kings, (AWESOME). All run without a hitch.....
 
Loginname, that was pretty good info. I was somewhat confused after reading these posts. I always thought they were the same. The awkward thing about my remmy 700p. It will take commercial .308 ammo but the milsurp wont chamber properly and the bolt wont lock down as easy causing rifling on the bullet itself. Sorry velnueve if I ruined your thread
 
Zero Hour has .308 in stock.

Federal XM762D Brass reloadable fed contract for 12.95 a box 150.gr
Wolf .308 steel case 150 gr. 7.95 a box
Winchester XM match ammo 29.95 a box

All boxes have 20 rounds.
 
MassMark said:
Yes they will...Here's my take on it - for what it's worth. Older M1A's with USGI barrels were chambered for 7.62x51 NATO. The new production barrels are as well, but are headspaced enough to accept commercial .308, but this is where bullet grain comes into play. Some say you should not go over 175gr - others 168. I just play it safe and stick to 147 and 150gr ball - no matter if it's commercial .308 or MilSurp. I have used 110gr TAP and just shot Qmmo's 168gr Sierra Match Kings, (AWESOME). All run without a hitch.....
Click to expand...

So SA barrels are OK for .308 then? I wasn't planning on going above 168 BTHPs, and more likely will stick to 145s and 147s.

mattyb said:
Loginname, that was pretty good info. I was somewhat confused after reading these posts. I always thought they were the same. The awkward thing about my remmy 700p. It will take commercial .308 ammo but the milsurp wont chamber properly and the bolt wont lock down as easy causing rifling on the bullet itself. Sorry velnueve if I ruined your thread
Click to expand...

Weird, my PSS loves the South African and Portuguese. I get very nice groups at 100 yards and I'm not a great rifle shooter.
 
From what I have read....

IANAL, nor super duper gun smith here....

Before NATO instituted their standard for for a good rifle round their 7.62x51 the pretty much said we want it to duplicate closely the characteristics of the .308 round. But we are all trendy and Euro like, and we got a buncha different guns to shoot this bullet in, so lets tweak it a little bit. Its shape is NEAR identical but not totally, some angles are a little off but not enough for feeding issues. The pressure limits on the BRASS of a 7.62x51 are in SAMMI specs are I believe, (from memory here) around 47,000CUP while the .308Win chambering is permissible to hold in its BRASS and Chambers up to 55,000CUP (maybe PSI sometimes I get em mixed up, and no , there's no great multilplier number to easily convert the two.) So there's something on the order of over 10K PSI or CUP difference between what the Brass/Chamber can take for these rifles. A .308 can handle .308 and 7.62x51 but a 7.62x51 can NOT take .308.
Not a hard and fast rule, but generally a very safe bet overall.
Slight Hijack but saw peoples talking about 7.62x51 guns and talkin bout the .308 ammo... be careful, yall know, use only the ammo the gun is designed for!
Some Links:
http://www3.sympatico.ca/shooters/7_62vs308.htm
http://www.fo.com/cr-files/cr-308.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.62×51_NATO
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.308_Winchester
http://www.6mmbr.com/308Win.html
 
Luckily I still have "a little" south african put aside [wink]

At current prices I am tempted to sell part of my stash to finance my AR uppers.
 
FWIW, I saw 200 round battle packs at NET yesterday. Two different makers; two different prices: $125/pack and $140/pack.

I saw no manufacturer or country of origin on either. Pay your money and take your choice.
 
Some of it is likely Prvi, the other type is probably Igman.

I went with the Prvi but haven't tried it out yet.
 
Scrivener said:
FWIW, I saw 200 round battle packs at NET yesterday. Two different makers; two different prices: $125/pack and $140/pack.

I saw no manufacturer or country of origin on either. Pay your money and take your choice.
Click to expand...

The cheaper stuff is PPU 145 gr FMJ which I think is Serbian. Don't know about the higher priced stuff. And so far it's been excellent. it is stamped 308 Win not 7.62 and there is no Nato stamp either but it has functioned thru My M1A without a hitch so far. Reloadable too.
 
Well, if you read the first page someone said that the M1As with the newer SA barrels are spec'ed to take both .308 and 7.62x51. The older ones with GI barrels are more of a question.

Get yourself a field gauge for .308 and test your rifle.
 
Private party on Indianna Gun Owners forum selling South African 308 for $75/ 140 round battle pack if anyone is interested.
 
For what it’s worth, Hansen Cartridge in Southport CT. is getting a load of Prvi Partizan 7.62 and 5.56 M193 in on 3/18. Jay Hansen told me that the M193 cash price would be $395 per thousand. He also said that supplies are limited and that they are taking reservations for orders. I believe that this is only for in store pick-up.
 
JuergenG said:
MEN, DAG & Swedish 7.62x51 Surplus for the SL7.
Luckily I've bought ample supplies for "in case of" while they were cheap.
Click to expand...

I like the MEN and DAG very much. Last batch they imported here had some minor exterior corrosion issues. Swedish 7.62x51 surplus? Would be nice to get here...they do have 6.5x55 Surplus at not too bad prices.

For FAL's M1a's etc., if I go with WWB I try to stick with Q3130 which is 147gr NATO Spec circle cross headstamped.

There is some Portuguese FNM 7.62 surplus currently in now at some places.
 
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The MEN batch (......94) is said to have been issued to (German) troops in an internatiol mission and returned after said mission. That's the explanation I have read about the corroded cases.
There was a small batch of Swedish on the market for little money (said to be made by Norma) and I'm trying to bite my backside for not buying any more.
The ones I've bought were roughly $ .26/rd at current exchange rate, same what I've paid for the DAG many moons ago.

Interesting to hear of Swedish 6.5x55 surplus.
We haven't seen any on the market for several years now.
Back in the day they were about $.40/rd, now you have to spend at least $ .50 - $ .60 when someone sells his extras.
Batches 86 & 87 with the maker code 070 are extremely good stuff !
 
JuergenG said:
The MEN batch (......94) is said to have been issued to (German) troops in an internatiol mission and returned after said mission. That's the explanation I have read about the corroded cases.
Click to expand...

They are using some excuse of a composition of the cardboard boxes its packed in. I dunno. My BP's did have a slight smell of mildew, but so far corrosion I have seen personally has been minor.


Interesting to hear of Swedish 6.5x55 surplus.
We haven't seen any on the market for several years now.
Back in the day they were about $.40/rd, now you have to spend at least $ .50 - $ .60 when someone sells his extras.
Batches 86 & 87 with the maker code 070 are extremely good stuff !
Click to expand...

They have it at $.36 a round. Didnt see the date but comes in green battle packs and yellow boxes.

Never thought I would see the day that ammo like 6.5x55 and 7.5 Swiss would be cheaper than 7.62 NATO.
 

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