Ammo grain question?

JackieNeil · February 6, 2011, 03:46 PM

Gun newbie. I recently bought an AR-10 Armalite .308 and the spec. recommendations for ammo is 150 gr. to 175gr. I see a lot of .308 ammo in 147 gr. and 180gr. Would it damage my gun if I shoot these grain ammo?

pwrstrkd · February 6, 2011, 03:54 PM

Dont think they would do any damage since regardless of grain the bullet is the same diameter. They usually recomend bullets of certain weights that are optimal in that particular gun and usually shoot the best or more accuratly.

DiscoRacing · February 6, 2011, 03:56 PM

As long as they are the proper diameter for your bore... you can shoot whatever weight bullet you wish.. just some will perform better in your gun/load....they all like different ammo...

huntinaz · February 6, 2011, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Would it damage my gun if I shoot these grain ammo?

Nope. Also the difference between 147gr and 150gr is very small...they are effectively the same.

jhog1 · February 7, 2011, 11:32 AM

As mentioned your gun can shoot any .308 ammo safely. The rifling twist in your particular gun will best stabilize bullets between 150 to 175gr

silvercorvette · February 7, 2011, 03:24 PM

to put it in perspective 3 grains = 0.006857143 ounces

That works out to a little bit less than one tenth of a thousand of an ounce

Or if you want to take it with a grain of salt

3 grains weighs a lot less than one single grain of salt

The Earl o Sammich · February 7, 2011, 04:28 PM

Take some of the comments above with "a grain of salt". Gas guns are a little different animal than a standard bolt action. Can you chamber and will the gun go bang with any .308 ammo? Probably. Can you load a twenty round mag and let er’ rip? Maybe not. The rifle has to be able to function reliably and with military variants they were designed to operate with fairly narrow spectrum of specific types of ammunition.

wogpotter · February 7, 2011, 06:07 PM

You're just seeing the difference between military FMJ & sporting SP or HP ammo. Not a big deal.
As has been said +/-3Gr is minute & the manufacturer will have adjusted the load to match the bullet's characteristics.

February 6, 2011, 03:46 PM	#1
JackieNeil Junior member Join Date: September 11, 2010 Location: The Volunteer State Posts: 52	Ammo grain question? Gun newbie. I recently bought an AR-10 Armalite .308 and the spec. recommendations for ammo is 150 gr. to 175gr. I see a lot of .308 ammo in 147 gr. and 180gr. Would it damage my gun if I shoot these grain ammo?

February 7, 2011, 04:28 PM	#7
The Earl o Sammich Member Join Date: February 4, 2011 Posts: 26	Take some of the comments above with "a grain of salt". Gas guns are a little different animal than a standard bolt action. Can you chamber and will the gun go bang with any .308 ammo? Probably. Can you load a twenty round mag and let er’ rip? Maybe not. The rifle has to be able to function reliably and with military variants they were designed to operate with fairly narrow spectrum of specific types of ammunition. Last edited by The Earl o Sammich; February 7, 2011 at 06:09 PM.

February 6, 2011, 03:54 PM	#2
pwrstrkd Member Join Date: August 31, 2010 Posts: 85	Dont think they would do any damage since regardless of grain the bullet is the same diameter. They usually recomend bullets of certain weights that are optimal in that particular gun and usually shoot the best or more accuratly.

February 6, 2011, 03:56 PM	#3
DiscoRacing Senior Member Join Date: December 19, 2008 Location: milton, wv Posts: 3,640	As long as they are the proper diameter for your bore... you can shoot whatever weight bullet you wish.. just some will perform better in your gun/load....they all like different ammo...

February 7, 2011, 11:32 AM	#5
jhog1 Senior Member Join Date: April 11, 2010 Location: Rensselaer Co NY Posts: 221	As mentioned your gun can shoot any .308 ammo safely. The rifling twist in your particular gun will best stabilize bullets between 150 to 175gr

February 7, 2011, 03:24 PM	#6
silvercorvette Senior Member Join Date: October 26, 2010 Location: Anderson SC Posts: 466	to put it in perspective 3 grains = 0.006857143 ounces That works out to a little bit less than one tenth of a thousand of an ounce Or if you want to take it with a grain of salt 3 grains weighs a lot less than one single grain of salt

February 7, 2011, 06:07 PM	#8
wogpotter Senior Member Join Date: September 27, 2004 Posts: 4,811	You're just seeing the difference between military FMJ & sporting SP or HP ammo. Not a big deal. As has been said +/-3Gr is minute & the manufacturer will have adjusted the load to match the bullet's characteristics.