7.62x51 vs. 308 Win. question

[MR.T.]

I have a new Remington 700 in .308 Win., heavy contour bbl, and I have a question about ammo designations.

We all know about the .223 and 5.56x45 issue, that you are not supposed to shoot the 5.56x45 out of a gun designated for only .223, even though you can shoot .223 out of a gun designated for 5.56x45.
My question is, does this rule also apply to the .308 vs. 7.62x51? My Rem. 700 says .308 Win. on the barrel, and I have 2 boxes of ammo (Winchester brand that is designated 7.62 and has the NATO stamp on the head of the cartridge.) Is it safe to shoot this out of my gun?

I have had 2 people tell me that it would be alright, since it is a commercially sold ammo and not a higher pressure military round wich is used in the belt fed machine guns. ANd I have had one person say NO, do not shoot it in the gun, as per the same rule for the .223.

Thanks for any info.

 

[bink98xcab]

i'd like to know the answer to this also, i recenly got a 308 and have also heard mixed opinions

 

[CAR-AR-M16]

http://www.fulton-armory.com/308.htm

 

[skyydiver]

That site makes it seem it is kind of the reverse of the .223 issue, for different reasons. Although looks like it is also less likely to be an issue. Very interesting. Thanks for the link CAR.

 

[mr ed]

Shoot all you want. If you read the fulton armory articles. it says that the 7.62 nato ammo is held to better case dimension tolerances than commercial 308
Plus its thicker brass to hold up to case stretching in sloppy chambered M.G.s
I shoot LC match exclusively in my 700 very accurate stuff.

 

[dru]

Another site: http://www.303british.com/id36.html

I liked it cause it had pictures! lol

The one big no-no I heard about shooting .308 out of a 7.62 chamber was that commercial .308 was loaded to significantly higher pressures than a 7.62 round which could cause problems

 

[AKguy1985]

.308 is loaded to higher pressure than 7.62x51 that is correct

 

[Oklahoma Stronghold]

About halfway down on this article you will see a section that will talk briefly about 7.62 NATO vs. .308.


http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting/fr8/index.asp



.

 

[dlbleak]

Lots of info out there on this.Nato is fine in modern rifles.308 not so good in nato rifles.The shoulder angles are different and the brass is thicker in military rounds.Be careful in loading military rounds also.With the decreased interior size,dangerous pressures can be reached.

 

[sharkbait]

IIRC .308win has slightly larger exterior dimensions than 7.62x51 nato. I've been told that most commercial .308 will still chamber in nato spec rifles but I don't have any first hand experience even though I do play a sniper on the internet...