So I’ve read numerous places that 7.62x51 surplus ammo can be shot in a 308winchester rifle. I have 3 308 winchesters and have been spending more time plinking at the range than I did previously. I’m looking at buying some bulk 7.62x51 to punch paper. Anything I need to know? What’s the deal with this corrosive/non corrosive? These are my hunting rigs and I don’t want to run anything through them that will effect their performance. I’m assuming the surplus ammo will not be as accurate as the quality hunting ammo I buy and I’m fine with that. I just don’t want to ruin my barrels. If there’s any information that can be shared with me I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
7.62x51 vs 308win
- Thread starter DeadShot519
- Start date
This question has been asked a million times. I will chime in with some of my personal experience.
The only rifle I have ever encountered that had problems running 7.62x51 was an early ruger scout that would fail to extract fired rounds.
As for accuracy it will vary from brand to brand. I’ve gotten sub MOA out of Austrian surplus with my tikka T3 tactical and a consistent 2MOA (with the odd flyer) with Remington 700 varmint using PRC surplus.
Barrel twist rate is going to play a major role. 1:12 is a fairly common twist rate in sporting rifles and will work better with intermediate bullet weights like 180grains.
I’ve been buying up 308 match since the cost of FMJs and hunting rounds has gone up around $40-60 a box. Match seems to go on sale around $34-37 a box for S&B and PPU. I even managed to snag some sig match for around $34.
Barrel life for most steel barrels should be around 3k before you see headspace erosion. I’m not sure what shooting cheaper plated projectiles like MFS,Barnaul and PRC (norico) will do but at the current cost I would recommend the match ammo.
The only rifle I have ever encountered that had problems running 7.62x51 was an early ruger scout that would fail to extract fired rounds.
As for accuracy it will vary from brand to brand. I’ve gotten sub MOA out of Austrian surplus with my tikka T3 tactical and a consistent 2MOA (with the odd flyer) with Remington 700 varmint using PRC surplus.
Barrel twist rate is going to play a major role. 1:12 is a fairly common twist rate in sporting rifles and will work better with intermediate bullet weights like 180grains.
I’ve been buying up 308 match since the cost of FMJs and hunting rounds has gone up around $40-60 a box. Match seems to go on sale around $34-37 a box for S&B and PPU. I even managed to snag some sig match for around $34.
Barrel life for most steel barrels should be around 3k before you see headspace erosion. I’m not sure what shooting cheaper plated projectiles like MFS,Barnaul and PRC (norico) will do but at the current cost I would recommend the match ammo.
- Location
- Western Manitoba
Was a thing at one time to use a different chemical in the primer - some countries still use that cheaper stuff - it creates a type of salt residue in the soot that gets deposited up the barrel when a round is fired - those "salts" tend to pull water molecules out of the air - so you end up with salty water sitting in the soot in your barrel. Old days - WWI British - used corrosive primers - was pretty standard to just pour a quart or so of boiling water down the bore at end of every day that rifle was fired - that hot water will dissolve those salts and flush them out - has added benefit of being "hot" - barrel gets hot and dries about instantly - corrosive stuff is gone - but now deal with soot and jacket fouling as per normal, and oil that bore to prevent future rusting. But typically "corrosive" is related to the chemical in the primer - becomes "corrosive" to your rifle's bore if allowed to stay in there and absorb atmosphere moisture. I believe any surface contacted by the powder gas/soot can be affected - so like gas valves, pistons, etc. on gas operated semi or auto firearms. Plain old boiling hot water works fine to remove it - it has done so for at least a century - or you can buy into marketer's B.S. about some specific, and usually extraordinarily expensive, chemical is needed to handle that. Bore corrosion is real - is going to start to happen within about 24 to 48 hours after firing corrosive ammo - maybe sooner than that - has to be dealt with or can end up with no light being able to get from one end of barrel to other.
Was also a thing to line some barrels with chrome - idea was that chromium takes more time to corrode than plain carbon / iron (steel) - but sort of like "stainless" steel - give enough time and abuse and it will eventually corrode - is not "immune" - just takes longer to occur.
There are varying opinions whether normal "bore solvent" will remove that salt or not - I take the view that it will NOT - but boiling hot water WILL - so part of my choice to fire corrosive primed ammo is to plan to clean up after doing so. I am aware of about three potential contaminants to get cleaned out - carbon from that soot (from the gunpowder that burned), jacket fouling and salts - I prefer to use a specific product to take out each - I am not aware of any one product that will take them all, although many marketer's will claim their stuff will. No doubt there might be some that could??
Many people will assume "table salt" - sodium chloride - when they read the word "salts" - is actually many, many kinds of "salts" - not all the same stuff. I think the actual chemical thought of what is a "salt" is the product that you get when you interact an acid with a base = the "+" ion from one and the "-" ion from the other. My user name - I mined the stuff for decades - potash - is potassium chloride - or at least that is what we mined in Saskatchewan - is also other chemicals called "potash" in the world that are not potassium chloride - but potash - that we mined - is a "salt" - but does not contain any sodium.
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Corrosive vs non-corrosive. It should also be noted that ammunition with primer compounds that are corrosive, are actually far more reliable to ignite under adverse conditions. Old ammo, improperly stored ammo, humid storage...it's not a guarantee, but odds are far better that 50 year old corrosive ammo will fire appropriately, than 50 year old non-corrosive.
It's not "salty water." The salts in question are nitrogen salts and when they combine with water they create nitric acid .... which is what corrodes the metal.
Corrosive primers contain mercury fulminate. Modern non-corrosive primers contain lead stypnate.
I do believe you are correct that mercury fulminate primers are very stable over time. However lead stypnate primers are also pretty stable. It is the new lead free priming compounds that suffer breakdown over time and are way less reliable.
Unless you have a real fancy “.308”, shooting surplus in it won’t cause any world changing difficulty. If shooting surplus, I clean the rifle normally, with the last swipe being a patch with Fluid Film and hang a tag on stating CLEAN BEFORE SHOOTING. In my little world, that means it will have Fluid Film in the barrel. Been doing that for years and have never had rust. I’ve shot lots of nasty old Yugo 8x57 in my milsurp rifles, no trouble.
If you're asking if it's safe, then the answer is yes. 308win rifles are generally built for higher pressures than the 762nato rounds produce, so you're good that way. The only thing I'd recommend is to clean more often and sooner after you're done shooting. Some of that ammo is dirty, and can be corrosive. Also, lots of it is primed differently, so you may not be able to re-use your brass - this can be a big factor when you're calculating the total cost of shooting surplus - often it's cheaper to use 308 ammo, because the brass is reusable, which will save you lots in the long run if you decide to start handloading (sounds like you're not doing that now, but you should consider it if you shoot that much). Others have given good advice above re. cleaning etc.
My experience is that accuracy is pretty lousy if you have a high twist rate. Surplus ammo is generally 150gr, so if you have a really fast twist, you might do better with 180+. You never know till you try though.
