'99 Savage: .308 Win or 7.62 NATO?

Violator22 said:
Sorry I'm azzbackwards. here it is, found what i was looking for.

They are NOT exactly alike although many people do treat them as interchangeable. You might get by in some firearms but the pressures are different and the shoulders are different. The difference in a bolt action will probably go by unnoticed. But in a semiauto firearm, trying to use a 7.62x51 in a modern firearm could cause chambering problems because the degree of angle on the shoulder of the 7.62x51 is not as great as on a .308. Using a .308 Winchester in a gun chambered for 7.62x51 could result in neck/shoulder splits and gas coming back at the shooter. While we're on the topic, .223 is not the same as 5.56 either...
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Excellent!

That would explain it.

Thank you Les and to everyone else who's added to my education on things that go BOOM.

fwiw,
Cheeky Munkey
 
I guess the 'death defying' mixture of 762/308 & 223/556 should best be left to 'Chris Angel' then ????

While on the topic of (seemingly) comparing apples to elephants, maybe someone could explain the drastic differences of the 87 octane gasoline from Chevron and the that of 87 octane gasoline from Esso;)
 
I can appreciate some of your comments about the veracity of concerns re. .308 Win vs. 7.62mm NATO. I don't know much about firearms but I wade through inane non-issues in the motorcycling world all the time.

However, this *was* a genuine issue the other evening.

The '99 Savage .308 Win had no trouble discharging 7.62mm rounds, it just wouldn't/couldn't eject the spent cases afterwards.

That's a very real functional "issue" from where I'm standing.

In your experience, gentlemen, is this normal for a '99 in .308 Win?

Should I be looking for another firearm or can I be assured this will be a fine performer with available .308 Win ammunition?

This will be my first hunting rifle purchase and I have not much experience to base my decision upon.

tia,
Cheeky Munkey
 
I had the same problem with my 99E. The first few were tight but still ejected, but as I continued to shoot it got worse and worse to the point that I no longer felt safe firing the rounds. Luckily I bought them from a reputable gun shop who purchased the unopened boxes back after explaining what the issue was.

The rounds were cheap but I later got into reloading and haven't looked back.
 
Well, you guys obviously know better than me, I know when i was in the Armorers school we got to see some of the damage wrought by shooting standard 233 in a 5.56, doesn't happen the other way around. Real easy on the extractors, but hey, i went to the Army course back in 97, maybe they don't know anything. Was told not to fire the 308 from a rifle designed for the 7.62x51 either. Doesn't apply to the M-21 just the M14's. Les
 
Here's some facts for you:

The .308 Winchester and 7.62x51mm cartridges are not identical and there are minor differences in their inner case dimensions, though SAAMI does not list either cartridge as unsafe in a firearm designed for use with the other.
 
The 99 is a rear locking bolt. maybe flexing causing excess headspace etc. older metals, higher pressures etc not a good mix. properly done handlaods in mil brass should be OK. Mil spec not the same as civi spec. JMHO
 
I have mixed and matched a plethora of 'surplus and civvie' ammo (for many years) out of my 700P, mini14, AR15A2, K98 and the odd TRW M14 with nary a problem....I guess getting baptised as a child is paying off early and Im just cheating death ?????
 
Or maybe your reading comprehension isn't quite up to snuff, Jennis?

We're talking about 7.62mm brass ejection problems with a '99 Savage in .308 Win.

But thanks for sharing.

Cheeky Munkey
 
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No problem slick...................Stick around here and get more than 14 posts under your belt and you may actually pick up a thing or two
 
maynard said:
7.62 Vs .308 and 5.56 Vs .223 comes up every few weeks. Not one has been able to point me to a thread on the WWW where a 7.62 fired in a .308 rifle or a 5.56 fired in a .223 rifle has had any KABOOM.

Speaking from a competitors point of view the Canadian rifle team takes .308 chambered rifles to Bisley England every year and shoot 7.62 RG ammo. When the CF switched to 5.56 just about every shooter had a .223 rifle built to shoot 5.56 ammo. I am talking hundreds of thousands of rounds without a KABOOM.

On the next point, can someone show me where I can buy 7.62 NATO or 5.56 NATO dies?
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AMEN! I've shot thousands upon thousands of 7.62mm and .308 rounds of different manufactors through a various highend rifles (read m1a-supermatch, bolt actions... blah blah blah) and when you read the different manuals for reloading they all tend to say the same things regarding interchangability (read yep). I've yet to find dies 7.62 and 5.56 dies. WHAT I HAVE noticed is that these types of ammo needs to be run through a SMALLBASE resizer every time for semi's to avoid problems.

My experiance my not be the same as yours so..... :)
 
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