7.62 reloading

[squid1230]

Hello all,
First post here, but seasoned lurker. I just bought an M1A off a member here and was wondering about reloading dies. I understand that one cannot get dies for the 7.62 nato. Do ya'll use the 308?

 

[canucklehead]

Yes. .308 dies work fine. Exterior dimensions of both cases are basically identical. However, military brass (7.62) is thicker, and will usually hold less powder than a commerical .308 case.

 

[colinjw]

7.62 Nato is the military name. .308 Winchester is the commercial name.

 

[aninchlow]

try using the search function. You will find a wealth of information. I have a M1a Supermatch that is marked 7.62mm and I've got a lot of rounds through it. I load with .308 dies and it works just fine. Again do a search and you will find a lot of info, but remember there are lots of fools out there that don't know squat and an equal amount that are on their game.

cheers,

 

[squid1230]

try using the search function. You will find a wealth of information. I have a M1a Supermatch that is marked 7.62mm and I've got a lot of rounds through it. I load with .308 dies and it works just fine. Again do a search and you will find a lot of info, but remember there are lots of fools out there that don't know squat and an equal amount that are on their game.

cheers,

I tried the search function, but it came with three posts related only in-so-far as they refered to dies. I had read elsewhere of the differences, and understood that guys interchange the two, but I was confused in terms of simply reloading. Good to know the 308 dies work.

Thank you all - I shall now go blow more money

 

[urbaneddy]

I tried the search function, but it came with three posts related only in-so-far as they refered to dies. I had read elsewhere of the differences, and understood that guys interchange the two, but I was confused in terms of simply reloading. Good to know the 308 dies work.

Thank you all - I shall now go blow more money

IMHO, I found the american eagle brass for .308 the only American eagle brass that didn't need to be swaged. It presses very easily and is inexpensive to aquire. But, if you got the money for good brass, go Lapua.

 

[ton45-II]

As long as your 308 set has a full length sizer die and not a neck sizer die only you should be fine.

 

[Satain]

Shouldn't this be in the reloading section?

 

[45ACPKING]

the two cases are similar...... military brass is thicker..... overall load length remains the same BUT if you dump the same load of powder for a .308 commercial case.... into a NATO case....... BEWARE .....dangerous pressures may result. While i am not a pro at reloading.... nor do i confess to be an expert..... i am just getting into reloading for my M14.
I think the best guys to take advice from on this site for reloading for the m14 would be Hungry, Skullboy, tstar and possibly savage and some of the service rifle guys...... these guys seem to be pretty well on the money with everything m14 related

 

[squid1230]

Thanks 45acpking

 

[Oldsmobiler]

with military brass its thicker so the inside volume is less. If you load up some winchester brass with lets say 41.5 of IMR4895 and some 168SMK and then try to do the same with some military brass you could run into over pressure conditions. I was always told to knock it down one grain (40.5 in this example) with the military stuff as a starting point.

Ante

 

[Ganderite]

Like Olds said, except I drop 2gr between commercial and military brass.

All my 7.62 rifles digest brass sized with a standard 308 Full Length die just fine.

 

[762shooter]

In nato brass I would load 42 grains of H4895 with a 150 gr bullet. That's about 3 gr lower than civilian brass and it performs well for me.

 

[guess_kto]

7.62 Nato is the military name. .308 Winchester is the commercial name.

+1 on this one.

The only exception is converted surplus rifles when done during NATO re-arsenal-ing.