Final answer? .308/7.62x51mm in norc m14s

Darryl1928

Darryl1928

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Hi Guys

I'm new here and just in the process of getting my PAL. After reading these forums I decided to put in an order for a Norc m14s from marstar. I have looked all over and am getting conflicting answers.

Some say only 7.62 should be used in the m14. Some say .308 is the same as 7.62 and others say there is a difference but they shoot .308 without incident.

Are you guys shooting .308 in your norc m14s? Is it safe? Ever hear of something going wrong because of using .308?


Thank you for the mass of information here and for answering my question.
 
Some say that some .308 primers are susceptible to a phenomenon called a slam-fire, this is when a free-float firing pin strikes a primer with enough force to detonate the primer and fire the cartridge without the trigger being pulled. Does not seem like a very common issue.
 
Yeah, slam fires are a fact of life IF you tempt them by loading individual rounds into the chamber and letting the bolt slam home.... SLAM FIRE!! :eek:

Just load from the magazine.... that's all!

Yeah, I've shot commercial ammo for many years in my Norc M14's.... Reloading the fired brass ? Just neck size!! Keep that brass ONLY for that M14 chamber !! :D

Cheers,
Barney
 
...And don't buy one M14, buy two; or as Hungry is fond of saying (I'm paraphrasing here) an important belt-line body appendage may become weakened and more prone to gravitational forces, causing said appendage to become detached from said body and make contact with the ground, thus rendering it useless for further deployment in any future theater of operations, practical or impractical.:eek:
Read the "stickies" and then go to an M14 clinic to prevent any chance of the above happening to you. Welcome to the addiction...:wave:
 
Hungry said:
Yeah, slam fires are a fact of life IF you tempt them by loading individual rounds into the chamber and letting the bolt slam home.... SLAM FIRE!! :eek:

Just load from the magazine.... that's all!

Yeah, I've shot commercial ammo for many years in my Norc M14's.... Reloading the fired brass ? Just neck size!! Keep that brass ONLY for that M14 chamber !! :D

Cheers,
Barney
Click to expand...

Just neck size? Please explain. I have been told that full length sizing is the safest way to go. I have yet to reload, but will learn with my .270 empties before moving on to the stuff that'll feed my norc.
 
Major Commander said:
...And don't buy one M14, buy two; or as Hungry is fond of saying (I'm paraphrasing here) an important belt-line body appendage may become weakened and more prone to gravitational forces, causing said appendage to become detached from said body and make contact with the ground, thus rendering it useless for further deployment in any future theater of operations, practical or impractical.:eek:
Click to expand...

In other words, the dreaded M-14 Genital Disconnection Syndrome. Don't let it happen to you! Listen to Hungry and you will be safe.

Been shooting commercial; put several hundred through mine without a problem. I neck size my reloads, use CCI primers, and seat them deeply, and after several hundred rounds I've yet to have one blow up in my face, or worse, damage one of my beloved M-14's. Flesh heals, after all, but metal doesn't. :)
 
Thanks guys! I believe it's settled, .308 does shoot in the norc m14s but to be safe don't load through the chamber always through magazine. I can't wait to get my rifle and start shooting.
 
Hi all,

first let me say that I do NOT want to contradict Hungry (as he is the resident genius on the norc m14s).

I started handloading M852 (7.62mm 168grain HPBT) for the M14s, and everything I have read (about 4-5 publications published from 1950's all the way up to 2000's) says that to be absolutly safe, you should be full lengh resizing every time but only to a maximum of 4 times then toss the brass.

As you can imagine I have had arguments regarding the number of times you can FL resize .. but one thing has remained constant. Everyone i've spoken to seems to agree to FL resize every time.

This is the first time I've ever heard anyone saying they only neck size for the M14!!! While I'm not saying its wrong, I would LOVE to hear any success (and not so successful) stories about just neck sizing as brass gets pretty pricy when you only reload 4 times.
 
Hungry said:
Yeah, I've shot commercial ammo for many years in my Norc M14's.... Reloading the fired brass ? Just neck size!! Keep that brass ONLY for that M14 chamber !! :D

Cheers,
Barney
Click to expand...

So neck sizing brass for a semi auto won't make my #### fall off? Every manual I've seen says otherwise... but considering you're the M14 GURU, I'll run with it.
 
I use Small Base RCBS dies on commercial 308 brass, keep my brass trimmed to length, seat my primers deep, use Winchester (harder than most) primers, always feed from the mag, and toss the brass after five reloads and I've had no problems so far.
 
Every manual says not to neck (can you say: Lawyers?) size or else yer #### will :eek: fall off. Done this for over 25 years and we are still good to go. :D

Neck sizing for a specific M14 chamber was all I could afford to do since commercial (read: expensive $$) ammo was out of the question. :rolleyes:

Cheers,
Barney
 
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I thought Hungry was crazy when he mentioned neck sizing at last years clinic...


... Until I tried it. I neck sized a batch and fired them along with some full length sized rounds. At first I was single loading them from the mag and making damn sure the gun was in battery before squeezing the trigger. Eventually I worked my way up to full mags and have fired probably 500 without one hiccup.

The group size dropped about 1/4'' average to boot.

Desporteriser I haven't had to full length mine yet but I've only got 1-2 reloads out of the brass so far. I was getting 6-7 reloads on the brass before tossing them with full length resizing so I'm anxious to see if neck sizing increases that life.
 
I also neck size the brass used in my Norc, been doing it since I got my Norc 4 years ago.I've only had 1 slam fire and was because I did load a round in the chamber and let the bolt drop on it...believe me it's a scary experience:eek: other wise no problem. I usally use IVI and FN brass
Bob
 
I started out full length sizing found that the brass did not last as long as well you seem to be trimming every time which tells me I am stretching the brass. the beauty of neck sizing is the expanded brass that fits to our generous chambers stays for the next time so there is less stretch and trim
 
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