Standard M1A Rifle.

[turbotype87]

Just bought a new springfield armory standard M1A Rifle, The question i have is, Where can i buy nato 7.62x51 ammo in bulk. I don't really want to use commercial ammunition due to many different negative reviews buy those who have tried commercial ammo. Any feedback will be appreciated.

[FALPhil]

I don't really want to use commercial ammunition due to many different negative reviews buy those who have tried commercial ammo. Any feedback will be appreciated.

Huh?!? What in the wide, wide world of sports are you talking about? There is virtually no difference in 308 Win and 7.62 NATO except the brass is a little thicker in the head area of the military stuff, and commercial ammo is, in most cases, higher quality.

[bfoosh006]

http://www.ammoman.com/index.htm

http://www.rifle-company.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?t=431...that one shows all sorts of links..

And I've been tempted by this... (reloadable brass)..http://www.hkparts.net/shop/pc/viewP...1&idcategory=9

[FALPhil]

bfoosh006, that hkparts link was one I had never seen. I got a real kick out of one of the statements on the page, to wit:

Surplus ammunition marked with NATO cross is desirable due to its consistency and quality.

Obviously, they must know nothing of some of the "NATO" spec ammo that came out of South America in the '90s. There are many reasons why countries surplus some of their ammo stocks. One reason is lack of consistency...

[horseman308]

Perhaps he is referring to issues with using commercial ammo in M1 Garands and the pressure curve being too much for the op-rod. Does that issue apply to M1A's and M14's? I've never shot one, so I wouldn't know, but that's what first occurred to me when I read the post.

[pvt.Long]

You can get mil surp pretty much anywhere and there is nothing rong with useing .308 I use the russian steel cased with no problems at all. Whatever you have herd thats negative about commercial ammo is a bunch of bull in my opnion. And im shooting an m1 that has been handed down to me and survived combat in nam.

[FALPhil]

Does that issue apply to M1A's and M14's?

No. M1As pretty much eat anything that will fit in the chamber.

You make a good point. The thought concerning Garands did not enter my mind.

[Flatbush Harry]

Write (or e-mail) Springfield Armory Inc. to determine what's usable. I get my best results with my reloads using IMR 4064, 168gr Hornady A-MAX bullets and CCI BR2 primers but have also gotten good results from Federal Gold Medal Match with 168 Sierra MatchKings.

SAI is the authority as they will be the folks that honor your warranty if you have a problem.

Please take interweb stuff with a bag of salt.

FH

[geetarman]

I have been shooting white box Winchester through mine and had no problems. Accuracy not so good. Have run about 300 rounds of Lithuanian surplus through it and it works fine with good accuracy. I heard all the war stories about "slam fires" and was reluctant to use commercial ammo. I tried some Federal Premium through the rifle and accuracy is good and no problems with failures of any sort.

There is a bunch of ammo available and the SAAMI tested .308 is just as good and probably better than most military surplus.

[azredhawk44]

turbotype:

You can shoot any 150 grain retail .308 Winchester fodder in your M1A.
You can shoot any 165 grain retail .308 Winchester fodder in your M1A.
You can shoot any 168 grain retail .308 Winchester fodder in your M1A.
You can shoot any 175 grain retail .308 Winchester fodder in your M1A.

Do not exceed 180 grains.

I had an exchange with SAI's customer service while preparing for an elk hunt several years ago, and I was going to use my M1A for that. They told me I "could" use 180 grain projectiles, but to simply sight them in with as few shots as possible and only use the load for the hunt, then return back to lighter weight ammunition. Extended sessions of 180 grain ammo will stress the op rod.

That being said... the retail ammo I tend to favor:

.308 Magtech 150gr FMJ, 50 round box
.308 Federal American Eagle 150gr FMJBT, 20 round box
.308 Prvi Partizan 145gr FMJ, 200 round battle pack
.308 Lithuanian GGG 147gr FMJ, 200 round battle pack

I got the Prvi from Wideners. http://www.wideners.com.
I got the GGG from Ammoman.

I don't buy expensive retail match ammo... I reload my own.

ETA: Until you know more, stay away from anything surplus that comes from South Africa or India. Especially if it's cheaper by a considerable margin than other options. The indian ammo out there is well known for having wildly varying bullet weights (some "bullets" are copper jackets only and are missing the lead core entirely), mismatched powder types, and drastically different powder charges. This ammo is unsafe and was surplussed for a reason.

[madcratebuilder]

What azredhawk44 said, don't use a steady diet 180 gr or heavier and you are fine.

[turbotype87]

First thanks to all who have replied to my post. The reason i asked about nato ammo only was that according to springfield armory they suggest using nato ammunition only. Somsthing to do with commercial ammunitions primers, which is not as thick as nato ammo primers and can cause the weapon to fire when chambering. And they didn't recommend using reloadable ammo as well. So to the gentlemen asking what in the wide wide world are you talking about now knows. thanks to all for there help

[Quentin2]

Sounds like a typical case of CYA by Springfield Armory. No handloads and no .308 or the warranty is void. I wouldn't worry much about it as long as you use quality ammo, even reloads as long as they aren't too wild.

[jrothWA]

NATO spec chamber, the Mil-spec cartridges are best for it.
You CAN use commercial, BUT expect to have case failures.

If you reload, then SA, INC. does not like that as too many variable come into the picture.

The warnings of some poor quality "NATO" is valid. is best to stick with:

any LC you can get, Winchester white box, Radway (RD) or Hirtenberger.

[ejhc11]

See this article - http://www.303british.com/id36.html

Also, .223 and 5.56x45mm NATO is not the same either.

[7jinxed7]

I called SA as well. I was told 147 grain to 168 grain 7.62 nato or .308. It must depend on who you talk to out there. You think they would give everyone the same answer.
Winchester sells 7.62 nato Q3130 .

[Kmar40]

Perhaps he is referring to issues with using commercial ammo in M1 Garands and the pressure curve being too much for the op-rod. Does that issue apply to M1A's and M14's?

It doesn't apply to an M14 but the M1a's cast op rod (and cast receiver... and cast internal bits like ejector) is definitely questionable.

[10-96]

And im shooting an m1 that has been handed down to me and survived combat in nam.

Now how did that come about? Garand? Carbine?

Sometime back, I had a runaway buying deal at Academy Sports. They had Win 7.62 White Box come in and the kid left in charge of putting it out and pricing it priced it with some kind of 7.62x39. And there I was running willy-nilly buying that stuff at $12.96 a box. On a whim, I started reading reviews on different sites that post product reviews. J&G Sales really confused me on that note. Several of their reviews said the stuff wasn't fit for garden fertilizer. Makes one wonder what all they got going on for review posters over there. Anyway, I haven't found it to be match grade- but it ain't all that bad either for General Bangology 101. Read product reviews, and I guess weed out the top and bottom thirds.

[Mannlicher]

Turbo, go to samcoglobal.com, and stock up on good, inexpensive Portuguese milsurp 7.62 NATO.

There has been more disinformation, than information in this thread. Find an online source, such as http://www.m14tfl.com/upload/, and join in the discussions there, with folks that know what they are talking about.

[SR420]

More than double what I paid per case, but not bad considering today's market.

http://www.samcoglobal.com/Ammo-nato.html