Which ammo for my Springfield Armory M1A

Joined
Apr 24, 2006
Messages
53,221
Likes
51,765
Location
Chelmsford MA
Feedback: 31 / 0 / 0
This is a 2 part question - first part is: which is the correct ammo for my Springfield Armory M1A?: 7.62x51 - or - .308Win. I know they are very similar - but according to Fulton Armory, they are not exactly the same:

http://www.fulton-armory.com/308.htm

The second part of the question - does anybody know any good places to get ammo - in whichever the recommended caliber is? I wouldn't mind buying a 1000 rounds - or two, if I can get a good deal.
 
The M1A will take any and all of it without a problem.

As for ammo, the surplus stuff is just about dried up. If you can find South African, UK, or Portuguese that is the best stuff available but it is hard to find and expensive.
 
The M1A will take any and all of it without a problem.

As for ammo, the surplus stuff is just about dried up. If you can find South African, UK, or Portuguese that is the best stuff available but it is hard to find and expensive.

The rifle does appear to take it - I have already shot some Federal and some Winchester .308 thru it - but the manual that comes with the rifle from Springfield Armory does specifically say:

" The M1A is designed and built to specifications to shoot standard factory military 7.62 NATO ammunition. The specifications for military ammunition include harder primers to withstand slight indentation from the firing pin when the bolt chambers a cartridge. 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."

And - as the Fulton Armory link I posted above points out - 7.62x51 - and .308Win are NOT quite the same thing (despite what about 90% of the web has to say). So it sure appears to me that I should NOT be shooting .308 thru the rifle.
 
If using current commercial ammo, DO NOT use bullets of 180gr or more. Stick to 150's. Gas impulse from heavy, hunting ammo is very hard on the M14-type system.
Exceptions are Fed Gold Medal, Black Hills Match in 168 and 175. Those loads are tailored to the M14-M1A.
 
calsdad, that is referring specifically to the use of harder primers found in military surplus ammo, NOT the longer chambers. If you buy good commercial ammo it will take it without a problem.
 
The primer thing is a different issue. To avoid slam-fires, make sure every round that goes into the chamber is one that you put in the magazine first. Don't just put a round in the chamber yourself and let the bolt fly home... the bolt needs to be slowed down by picking up the round out of the mag.

When loading your own, primer depth is very important and CCI #200 primers and military surplus primers (make sure they are not military magnum primers... there's a difference) are harder than other brands and should be able to take the dent without firing. But primer depth is most important.
 
M1As are too finickety about ammo, get a FAL instead/as well [wink]

r1a1fal.jpg
 
M1As are too finickety about ammo, get a FAL instead/as well [wink]

r1a1fal.jpg

HA! Nice rifle, but I'll disagree about M1A's being "finickety" about ammo. Match rifles tend to be, but Standard grade rifles will feed and fire just about anything. Older M1A's with GI barrels may have issues with non mil-surp, but newer M1A/M14 rifles do not. Stick to 150-168's - stay away from uber hot specialty ammo and you'll be GTG....
 
M1As are too finickety about ammo, get a FAL instead/as well
I've got an M1A and a FAL. M1As are not finicky about ammo. Not at all. My M1A is also very accurate and has excellent sites.

My M1A has never dumped all its ammo out the bottom of its magazine when the base plate came off. I've never had to kick the operating handle of the M1A to clear the gun when the empty cartridge case was not completely ejected and became stuck between the bolt carrier and the dust cover.

I will never understand why people hold the FAL in such high regard. The FAL trigger sucks. The sights are fair at best. The receiver is overly long, putting the handguards too far forward to easily shoot the gun offhand. The FAL is way too front heavy as well. I don't get it.
 
I've got an M1A and a FAL. M1As are not finicky about ammo. Not at all. My M1A is also very accurate and has excellent sites.

My M1A has never dumped all its ammo out the bottom of its magazine when the base plate came off. I've never had to kick the operating handle of the M1A to clear the gun when the empty cartridge case was not completely ejected and became stuck between the bolt carrier and the dust cover.

I will never understand why people hold the FAL in such high regard. The FAL trigger sucks. The sights are fair at best. The receiver is overly long, putting the handguards too far forward to easily shoot the gun offhand. The FAL is way too front heavy as well. I don't get it.

I was just kidding about getting a FAL instead [smile]

You have the perfect solution: get both.
 
Well, in the free world (or in MA, a preban) M1A + Sage stock = EBR. [smile]

-Mike

Yuppers - or one could try the new M1A EBR Flavor, (made right here in Massachusetts): Troy MCS I have seen one up close, (my gun was in it) and all I can say is: "I want I need"....Liked it better than the Sage and it goes just a wee bit further into transforming the M1A into a true weapons platform....Sorry for the trip to hijack-city.....

To the OP: I would shoot anything but post 1970's Indian for surplus and anything 168gr or lower for commercial. Try some 110gr TAP - it's really interesting....
 
7.62x51 vs. .308 in an M1A - I'm still confused

I know there are a few M1A shooters here - maybe somebody can answer give me a definitive answer to a question for me.

Is it ok to shoot .308 in my M1A?

I have done some extensive reading online looking for the answer - and I understand that there is an actual difference between real 7.62x51 and .308 (according to Fulton Armory and a few other sources I read) - and there was an article that came with the M1A when I bought it talking about slamfires and using the correct ammo etc. etc.

But there seems to be a lot of mistaken information out there too - for instance it is hard to find actual 7.62x51 advertised in many of the internet stores - most of them call it .308 - even if it is really 7.62x51.

I have a few battle packs of South African - and I found some Sellier and Bellot in 7.62x51 (the brass says 7.62x51 - the box it came in said .308)

- but I want to find a source of cheaper ammo because I would like to shoot the rifle more than I can afford to now, and I have found a couple of places that have decent prices for .308 in bulk (1000 rounds) (decent for today that is), but I am leery of buying something that is .308 and not having it be an appropriate load for the rifle.

I know about the issues around having a recessed primer - and using hard primers too.

Anybody have any info on this - or places where I might go to purchase the correct ammo at a decent price (PM if necessary)

thanks
 
YES! Any Surplus NATO spec. ammo is OK.
Anything that comes in a battle pack, box or can and says 7.62X51 or .308 Winchester on the can and it is manufactured to NATO spec is OK to use.
You can tell on most cases because there is a circle with a cross on the headstamp area. Some cases do not have this but if they are loaded to NATO you are good to go.

I shoot SA, PORT, Hirtenberger,Radway Green, Santa Barbra, POF and Israeli ammo without any failures in my HK91, my M-14 or my FAL's.

Most all my guns are chambered in .308 as I do not own a 22 caliber AR type mouse gun!
 
I knew the NATO headstamp stuff was all good - whether it was called .308 or 7.62x51. The grey area seems to come in when you start talking about some of the ammo marketed as .308 - for instance the Georgia Arms Canned Heat which they call .308 - but I have seen a number of people posting on M14 forums that they shoot it just fine.

All of the surplus ammo seems to be getting in short supply - plus nobody will ship into MA - so that cuts down on the options quite a bit unless I want to start taking long driving trips.
 
I hear you and agree! Surplus is like finding gold these days.

What I was trying to say is that anything loaded to NATO spec. (I used information from different sources) will be OK to use.
Bullet weight and powder load etc etc. as long as it is within that NATO spec area.
Black hills is good ammo and I have used it with no problems, but it's pricey!

There is still some shops that sell 308 surplus you just gotta look or ask. Zero Hour had Paki ammo (i've used it and it's good stuff) for 6.50 a box but I don't know how much is left. I usually only go there once a week on Sat.

Stricklands in Berkely had som Cavim from Venezuela which is good also.
 
Somebody mentioned to me that Zero Hour had some surplus - looks like I might have to take a trip down there. None of the shops around here that I frequent have any surplus
 
I know there are a few M1A shooters here - maybe somebody can answer give me a definitive answer to a question for me.

Is it ok to shoot .308 in my M1A?

I have done some extensive reading online looking for the answer - and I understand that there is an actual difference between real 7.62x51 and .308 (according to Fulton Armory and a few other sources I read) - and there was an article that came with the M1A when I bought it talking about slamfires and using the correct ammo etc. etc.

But there seems to be a lot of mistaken information out there too - for instance it is hard to find actual 7.62x51 advertised in many of the internet stores - most of them call it .308 - even if it is really 7.62x51.

I have a few battle packs of South African - and I found some Sellier and Bellot in 7.62x51 (the brass says 7.62x51 - the box it came in said .308)

- but I want to find a source of cheaper ammo because I would like to shoot the rifle more than I can afford to now, and I have found a couple of places that have decent prices for .308 in bulk (1000 rounds) (decent for today that is), but I am leery of buying something that is .308 and not having it be an appropriate load for the rifle.

I know about the issues around having a recessed primer - and using hard primers too.

Anybody have any info on this - or places where I might go to purchase the correct ammo at a decent price (PM if necessary)

thanks

Let me preface by saying I don't own an M1A (yet), but I've researched the heck out of it. The only time I've heard of consistent misfires is from the SOCOM version. The shortening of the blowback system gives gasses less time to expand and apparently that stops the cycling if rounds aren't powerful enough.
 
Let me preface by saying I don't own an M1A (yet), but I've researched the heck out of it. The only time I've heard of consistent misfires is from the SOCOM version. The shortening of the blowback system gives gasses less time to expand and apparently that stops the cycling if rounds aren't powerful enough.

The issue isn't misfires, it's potential damage to the rifle and potential slam-fires.

And this thread is a good 3+ years old.
 
Are the M1A gas systems the same as M1 Garand. If so do they have the same problems with gas system port preasure ? Do they bend opperating rods like the garands if a slow powder is used and increased port preasure slams the crap out of the rod? It seems the only "warning" given by the manufactures is about hard primers ?
 
M1As are too finickety about ammo, get a FAL instead/as well [wink]
A great case to be made for the off the shelf rack grade gun right there. My plain jane M1a will eat and spit out anything you can find to feed it every time.

The more accurate you make a gun, the more fussy about what you feed it it becomes.
 
Are the M1A gas systems the same as M1 Garand. If so do they have the same problems with gas system port preasure ? Do they bend opperating rods like the garands if a slow powder is used and increased port preasure slams the crap out of the rod? It seems the only "warning" given by the manufactures is about hard primers ?

Rule of thumb is no bullets of 180 grains or more, and no powder slower than IMR 4064.



I just read this whole thread and reallized I have replied three times in the past three years saying the same thing [thinking].
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom