7.62 x 51

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The main practical different is primer hardness. Military rifles often need a hard primer to prevent slam fires. Bolt guns can have trouble with hard primers if the spring are weak.
 
Hi.
Can I safely use this surplus 7.62x51 on my Savage 10FP heavy barrel .308 Win on the shooting range as I read somewhere that military ammo has higher pressure and can damage non military barrels .
Thx Peter
 
They are the same round, and any factory ammo is perfectly interchangeable. The only issue is for reloaders, since military (7.62) brass is sometimes thicker and can't be loaded the same as commercial (308) cases. Shoot your .308 or 7.62 ammo happily in any gun you want.
 
Saberek said:
Hi.
Can I safely use this surplus 7.62x51 on my Savage 10FP heavy barrel .308 Win on the shooting range as I read somewhere that military ammo has higher pressure and can damage non military barrels .
Thx Peter
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Im not 100% sure but I think its the other way around .308 has a higher pressure then 7,62x51.
 
It was interchangeable before the internet came along. People shot whatever they could get their hands on in whatever guns they had on hand.
 
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.308 Win is loaded to higher pressure than 7.62x51 (but the opposite is true with 5.56x45, as it's higher pressure than 223).

This gives good explanation (just scroll down), I've taken an excerpt: http://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/308win/

.308 Win vs. 7.62×51–The Straight Scoop
Before we go much further, we want to address the oft-posed question “Are the .308 Winchester and 7.62×51 NATO one and the same?” The simple answer is no. There are differences in chamber specs and maximum pressures. The SAMMI/CIP maximum pressure for the .308 Win cartridge is 62,000 psi, while the 7.62×51 max is 50,000 psi. Also, the headspace is slightly different. The .308 Win “Go Gauge” is 1.630″ vs. 1.635″ for the 7.62×51. The .308′s “No-Go” dimension is 1.634″ vs. 1.6405″ for a 7.62×51 “No Go” gauge. That said, it is normally fine to shoot quality 7.62×51 NATO ammo in a gun chambered for the .308 Winchester (though not all NATO ammo is identical). Clint McKee of Fulton Armory notes: “[N]obody makes 7.62mm (NATO) ammo that isn’t to the .308 ‘headspace’ dimension spec. So 7.62mm ammo fits nicely into .308 chambers, as a rule.” You CAN encounter problems going the other way, however. A commercial .308 Win round can exceed the max rated pressure for the 7.62×51. So, you should avoid putting full-power .308 Win rounds into military surplus rifles that have been designed for 50,000 psi max. For more information on this interesting topic, read the following articles: Gun Zone’s 30 Caliber FAQ; Cruffler.com Technical Trivia, June 2001; and last, but not least, Steve Redgwell’s .308 vs 7.62×51 Analysis, which really provides a definitive explanation. Reloaders should also note that military ammo often is made with a thicker web. Consequently the case capacity of 7.62×51 brass is usually less than that of commercial .308 brass. You may need to reduce recommended .308 Winchester loads by as much as 2 full grains, if you reload with military 7.62×51 brass, such as Lake City or IMI.

M118 LR and the MilSurp Ammo Option
One reason the .308 Win is so popular is the availability of very inexpensive 7.62×51 military surplus ammo. As explained in more detail above, a 7.62×51 chamber is NOT the same as a SAMMI-spec .308 Win chamber. Nonetheless it is normally safe to shoot 7.62×51 NATO-class ammo in your .308 Win because current .308 Winchester rifles are designed for higher maximum pressures.
 
miykael said:
.308 Win is loaded to higher pressure than 7.62x51 (but the opposite is true with 5.56x45, as it's higher pressure than 223).

This gives good explanation (just scroll down), I've taken an excerpt: http://www.accurateshooter.com/cartridge-guides/308win/

.308 Win vs. 7.62×51–The Straight Scoop
Before we go much further, we want to address the oft-posed question “Are the .308 Winchester and 7.62×51 NATO one and the same?” The simple answer is no. There are differences in chamber specs and maximum pressures. The SAMMI/CIP maximum pressure for the .308 Win cartridge is 62,000 psi, while the 7.62×51 max is 50,000 psi. Also, the headspace is slightly different. The .308 Win “Go Gauge” is 1.630″ vs. 1.635″ for the 7.62×51. The .308′s “No-Go” dimension is 1.634″ vs. 1.6405″ for a 7.62×51 “No Go” gauge. That said, it is normally fine to shoot quality 7.62×51 NATO ammo in a gun chambered for the .308 Winchester (though not all NATO ammo is identical). Clint McKee of Fulton Armory notes: “[N]obody makes 7.62mm (NATO) ammo that isn’t to the .308 ‘headspace’ dimension spec. So 7.62mm ammo fits nicely into .308 chambers, as a rule.” You CAN encounter problems going the other way, however. A commercial .308 Win round can exceed the max rated pressure for the 7.62×51. So, you should avoid putting full-power .308 Win rounds into military surplus rifles that have been designed for 50,000 psi max. For more information on this interesting topic, read the following articles: Gun Zone’s 30 Caliber FAQ; Cruffler.com Technical Trivia, June 2001; and last, but not least, Steve Redgwell’s .308 vs 7.62×51 Analysis, which really provides a definitive explanation. Reloaders should also note that military ammo often is made with a thicker web. Consequently the case capacity of 7.62×51 brass is usually less than that of commercial .308 brass. You may need to reduce recommended .308 Winchester loads by as much as 2 full grains, if you reload with military 7.62×51 brass, such as Lake City or IMI.

M118 LR and the MilSurp Ammo Option
One reason the .308 Win is so popular is the availability of very inexpensive 7.62×51 military surplus ammo. As explained in more detail above, a 7.62×51 chamber is NOT the same as a SAMMI-spec .308 Win chamber. Nonetheless it is normally safe to shoot 7.62×51 NATO-class ammo in your .308 Win because current .308 Winchester rifles are designed for higher maximum pressures.
Click to expand...

If you read http://230grain.com/showthread.php?6...7-62x51mm-NATO there is a pretty compelling argument that the standard pressures for both 308 Win and 7.62x51mm are essentially the same.
 
They are the same. Nutshell explanation on the 50,000/62,000 pressure difference is that THEY ARE MEASURED ON TWO DIFFERENT SCALES!!!

I don't want 2.24lbs. of bologna, that's too much! I only want 1 kilo.
 
The big issue is that mil spec chambers are generally longer to accommodate for crap.

Softer civilian 308 brass may stretch to the point of rupture if the mil spec chamber is worn out.

Mil brass is thicker so it usually is not an issue with mil issue 7.62


Or so I have heard....YMMV
 
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