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Can I use 7.62x51mm in my 308?


JML867

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You're GTG for 7.62 in a .308 and vice versa. The specification on the two cartridges are the same at the outside of the case, the 7.62 is thicker to the inside of the case.

Welcome to the forums!

 

Dimensionally the same on the outside but with issues on OAL and pressures.

 

Generally, don't shoot .308 Winchester in older 7.62x51mm surplus rifles.

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My understanding is if you have a .308 chamber it might be to tight to feed some brands of 7.62x51 but other than that you should be good.

So in this case you won't be able to load the round?

 

My DPMS has a barrel stamped 308 on it. I contacted them a while back with the same question as the op and was told not to shoot 7.62 in it. Is that strictly for warranty purposes or what?

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So in this case you won't be able to load the round?

 

My DPMS has a barrel stamped 308 on it. I contacted them a while back with the same question as the op and was told not to shoot 7.62 in it. Is that strictly for warranty purposes or what?

 

The 308 chamber is slightly "shorter" than the 7.62x51 chamber. A 7.62 round may not fully chamber in the .308 barrel as a result if the chamber is on the tight side.

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So in this case you won't be able to load the round?

 

My DPMS has a barrel stamped 308 on it. I contacted them a while back with the same question as the op and was told not to shoot 7.62 in it. Is that strictly for warranty purposes or what?

 

 

The 308 chamber is slightly "shorter" than the 7.62x51 chamber. A 7.62 round may not fully chamber in the .308 barrel as a result if the chamber is on the tight side.

 

Pretty much what he said, most of the problems people seem to complain about is 7.62 made from some less than reputable countries. I don't have first hand knowledge on this because my chamber is the 7.62. It just a year or two ago there were a lot of complaints about feed problems with some foreign ammo. You could always pick up a box of American Eagle and see how it feeds, its suppose to be good ammo.

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  The 7.62x51 & 308 loaded cartridge dimensions are all the same , the 7.62x51 chamber is, dimensionally , 0.013" longer & that is because they are for combat rifles which will see a possibility of not being able to cleaned like a safe Queen thats cleaned after every range session .

  There is ammo out there from foreign manufactures that may cause problems in commercial 308 chambers or there may be some ammo out there just made " bad " .

  For DPMS to say don't use Nato ammo in there chambered rifles , just like reloaded ammo , is for warranty  concerns . DPMS makes a good rifle , but they do have more than there share of chamber problems with there 308's . Some documented here & other forums , so just blaming the ammo , may not always be the problem .

 

 

 

 

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Manufacturers will only warranty ammo that they, themselves have tested in the gun. I'm guessing there are brands of .308 that are not warrantied.

 

 True or not, the common rule is that in the .308 chamber, it's safe to shoot 7.62 but not the other way around and in the smaller 5.56 chamber it's the reverse.

 

 I think the big issue here is surplus ammo. It doesn't matter if it's .308 or 7.62. Surplus ammo isn't sold cheap because foreign military forces want to be cheritable. In general, surplus ammo is on the market because some military had a problem with it that made them unwilling to trust it. So it's always a good idea to use surplus ammo with discression.

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Surplus ammo isn't gov't reject ammo. It's extra ammo by the manufacturer that isn't bought under contracts. Mil doesn't "return" ammo. If a unit is allotted "X" amount of ammo for training or deployment, none of it returns. Otherwise, if they did, They wouldn't get the same amount on the next go around. The surp ammo you buy in the store has the same QC as the Mil gets.

Mil surp ammo is the same stuff the guys in green are shooting all over the world. Unless the stuff is ancient or corroded, there's no worries about blasting the stuff.

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