7.62 x 51 military cases.

alwayspackin1 · November 4, 2009, 04:19 AM

I have roughly 100 rounds of Argentinian Surplus 7.62x51 that is brass cased, and cleaned up nice when tumbled.

I know that one can not resize 5.56x45 using .223 remington dies, but is the same true for the 7.62 stuff and .308 Win dies? in other words, are they a truly different cartridge? or just civilian/military nomenclature?

i don't have enough of the 7.62 stuff to warrant buying separate dies right now, if there is such a thing.

Sport45 · November 4, 2009, 04:43 AM

Quote:

I know that one can not resize 5.56x45 using .223 remington dies,

I've never heard you can't size 5.56 NATO with .223 Rem dies and I've done it often.

As far as I know you can use .308 dies on 7.62 brass as well. The caution with using NATO brass was to reduce the loads a bit to compensate for the lesser case volume.

**Unclenick** · November 4, 2009, 05:08 AM

That's correct. .223 and .308 dies are just fine for the NATO spec brass. There is a few thousandths difference in the length of NATO 7.62 chambers as compared to the civilian chambers, and both the 5.56 and 7.62 NATO spec chambers have more freebore to accept a wide variety of specialty rounds. But, otherwise, since the new NATO brass starts out with the same dimensions as their commercial counterparts, the sizing dies that work for one work for the other.

alwayspackin1 · November 4, 2009, 05:56 PM

thanks a ton guys. that is a load off of my mind now.

Mark whiz · November 4, 2009, 11:16 PM

As the others have said, regular .308Win dies are fine for military brass.

BUT, make sure those cases are boxer primed and are reloadable - as a great deal of foreign NATO brass is berdan primed and takes special dies, de-primers, and primers that are not commonly available.................and will destroy the de-priming pin on your standard sizing die.

Ivan · November 6, 2009, 04:31 PM

Hello Folks,

Instead of always assuming military cases are thicker than commercial, I suggest you just weigh them for a comparison. That is also the chance to discard any overly heavy or overly light cases. (I just use those for dummy rounds to use for setting up dies.)

With .223 / 5.56 mm, I generally find almost no difference between military and commercial cases. With .308 and 7.62 mm, There often is a significant difference.

- Ivan.

TargetTerror · November 6, 2009, 07:06 PM

Its not entirely clear from your post whether you fired these in your gun or not. Once-fired military brass can often be a pain to resize if it was shot in a machinegun or other military gun with a large chamber. If that is the case, I would recommend a small base die for at least your first loading to ensure easy chambering.

November 4, 2009, 04:19 AM	#1
alwayspackin1 Member Join Date: April 27, 2009 Location: Southeast Arkansas Posts: 99	7.62 x 51 military cases. I have roughly 100 rounds of Argentinian Surplus 7.62x51 that is brass cased, and cleaned up nice when tumbled. I know that one can not resize 5.56x45 using .223 remington dies, but is the same true for the 7.62 stuff and .308 Win dies? in other words, are they a truly different cartridge? or just civilian/military nomenclature? i don't have enough of the 7.62 stuff to warrant buying separate dies right now, if there is such a thing. __________________ *The glass is not half full, nor is it half empty. You simply have twice as much glass as you need.01/01/09*

November 4, 2009, 05:08 AM	#3
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,061	That's correct. .223 and .308 dies are just fine for the NATO spec brass. There is a few thousandths difference in the length of NATO 7.62 chambers as compared to the civilian chambers, and both the 5.56 and 7.62 NATO spec chambers have more freebore to accept a wide variety of specialty rounds. But, otherwise, since the new NATO brass starts out with the same dimensions as their commercial counterparts, the sizing dies that work for one work for the other. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle Last edited by Unclenick; November 4, 2009 at 06:44 PM. Reason: typos

November 4, 2009, 05:56 PM	#4
alwayspackin1 Member Join Date: April 27, 2009 Location: Southeast Arkansas Posts: 99	thanks a ton guys. that is a load off of my mind now. __________________ *The glass is not half full, nor is it half empty. You simply have twice as much glass as you need.01/01/09*

November 4, 2009, 11:16 PM	#5
Mark whiz Senior Member Join Date: May 19, 2004 Location: Wabash, IN Posts: 227	As the others have said, regular .308Win dies are fine for military brass. BUT, make sure those cases are boxer primed and are reloadable - as a great deal of foreign NATO brass is berdan primed and takes special dies, de-primers, and primers that are not commonly available.................and will destroy the de-priming pin on your standard sizing die. __________________ "Every moving thing that liveth, I give unto you as meat" (Gen 9:3) Aim small.........miss small. Trust God..........but keep your powder dry!

November 6, 2009, 07:06 PM	#7
TargetTerror Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2006 Posts: 424	Its not entirely clear from your post whether you fired these in your gun or not. Once-fired military brass can often be a pain to resize if it was shot in a machinegun or other military gun with a large chamber. If that is the case, I would recommend a small base die for at least your first loading to ensure easy chambering. __________________ Head shots are hard, but nut shots are twice as hard.

November 6, 2009, 04:31 PM	#6
Ivan Senior Member Join Date: October 14, 2009 Posts: 141	Hello Folks, Instead of always assuming military cases are thicker than commercial, I suggest you just weigh them for a comparison. That is also the chance to discard any overly heavy or overly light cases. (I just use those for dummy rounds to use for setting up dies.) With .223 / 5.56 mm, I generally find almost no difference between military and commercial cases. With .308 and 7.62 mm, There often is a significant difference. - Ivan.