7.62 in a .308

[4orty5ive]

Can anyone here with a winchester model 70 or remington 700 tell me if their rifles are capable of firing 7.62 NATO?

I have read that some guns are strong enough to safely do so even though they are designated as .308.

[Kreyzhorse]

A 7.62x51 and .308 are virtually the same round. I do believe there is a small difference between the two (maybe in the case thickness?) but a rifle chambered for one can fire the other.

I have fired NATO rounds in my .308 with zero issues.

Of course - I'm sure there are better experts than me on the slight difference between the two.

[E Rob]

You can use A NATO round in A winchester but should not use A winchester 308 in A nato rifle

[T.A.Sharps]

You could look it up on google, but I think it might be the bullet seating is longer in one than the other. Like if you want a AR-15 there are 3 different chamers for essentially the same bullet. .223, 5.56mm, 223Wylde

There is a regulation about max seatting length in commercial ammo becasue of a "risk" of increased pressure if it is too close, really the longer seating makes it more accurate and I think most who hand load 308 load it so the bullet is seated so it is closer to the bore, less travel from the chamber until it engages the rifling.

I'm not sure if it is why though.

[4orty5ive]

same shape yes, but the pressure is greater on the NATO, so it isn't a question of will it fire, its more of a question of can the weapon endure prolongued use of that extra pressure safely

[keebo52]

but the pressure is greater on the NATO
Actually the 7.62 NATO is loaded at lower pressure than .308 Win. For this reason, 308 Win should not be used in older milsurp rifles chambered for 7.62 NATO but 7.62 NATO is ok for rifles chambered for 308 Win. Read this article;

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

7.62 NATO is loaded to 50,000 psi while 308 Win is loaded up to 62,000 psi.

[precision_shooter]

I shot one round of NATO 7.62 ball in my Savage 12FV and the Case nearly got stuck in the chamber. I didn't have any problems feeding the round, but once fired It was hard to get out. I think the case is a little thicker than the .308. I have never fired another NATO round in any of my .308's.

[jrothWA]

7.62NATO is okay, not a steady diet.

The 7.62 uses a heavier case for cycling through the forceful feeding and unloading action of full auto firearms. The NATO chamber is made to larger dimensions than the SAMMI chamber.

I rebarreld a M1 Garand to 7.62 and was asked by Bruce of DCM (1996) as to what chamber to use, when I replied it was for NMC shooting with Mil ammo. He said going NATO specs.

[Unregistered]

When people start talking about differences in case dimensions between 308 and 7.62 NATO, I usually ask them why, if there are differences, are the same dies used to reload 308 as load 7.62, and why is the same load data used. That usually ends the discussion.

There are slight differences in the chamber size in the respective rifles, but the brass is dimensionally the same, to the point that they are completely interchangeable.

308 Win is loaded hotter than 7.62 NATO, though, and the general wisdom is to not use 308 in a gun designed for 7.62.

[thallub]

I've fired hundreds of thousands of rounds of 7.62mm MilSurp through my .308 rifles over the past 45 years. Had trouble with only one batch. That ammo was Venezulean(sp). The case of those rounds had some kind of coating that was used to retard extraction in the MG 42 machine gun.

The bolt handle lifted easily but I could not pull the bolt back. Placed the butt of the Remington 700 on the ground and kicked the bolt handle and it opened. The primer of that fired round looked normal and the case miked OK.

[CPTMurdoc30]

The German MG 42 never came in 308 it was a 7.92x57mm Mauser. Did you mean M-60 or M-240?

[thallub]

"The German MG 42 never came in 308 it was a 7.92x57mm Mauser. Did you mean M-60 or M-240?"

Nope. I am a weapons guy. Have seen the MG 42/58 in 8mm and .30-06. Unsure that the Venezuleans(sp) had a variation of the MG42 or the modern version, the MG 3. Spain uses a 7.62mm version that they call the MG42.

Spain produces a scaled down 5.56mm version of the MG 42 called the Ameli. I have used this gun and it is sweet: US Secret Service has it. Chartered Industries of Singapore makes a similar gun.

The latest version of the MG 42 is the Austrian Steyr MG 74 which has a much heavier bolt.

[lfmayor]

Weren't the M53 yug's in .308?

[lfmayor]

I think the Paki's use those...

[AK103K]

The MG42 was upgraded to 7.62x51 in the MG3 version.

http://world.guns.ru/machine/mg08-e.htm

As far as the .308 vs 7.72x51 issue, like thallub, I've used both interchangeably for about the same time, and never with an issue.

I've reloaded them both about the same time too, and the only issue there is, the military brass is a PITA to work, and is short lived. Commercial .308 brass is much nicer to work with and lasts about twice as long. I dont ever remember seeing any load data in any of the major load manuals for the 7.62x51.

[ISC]

After WWII the germans reverse engineered one of their MG42s and rechambered it in 7.62 nato. Accoeding to Guns of the 12th edition of "Guns of the World" They did this because the blue prints were destroyed in the war. This new gun is the MG 3 and they still use it. Great gun.


7.63 NATO and .308 are interchangeable. Not all .308 is loaded hotter than mil spec, but some is.

[mrraley]

http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc90/mrraley/308headspacechart.jpg