Ammo for 305

Niko-PG

Niko-PG

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Yep I did my homework and found a lot of stuff...too much...
So to keep it simple : my 308 NATO surplus ammo are on their way, but I need ammo for this week-end, what can I use ? I've heard about the Wallmart Winchester white box, but are they safe ?(hard primer?)
What else can I shoot ? Any marking on the box for hard primers ?

What you guys think about this :


The receivers are excellent if the heat treatment is good, the bolts are crap (soft & bad geometry). And NO, SOME parts interchange, others do not. Some theads are different. Bolts are soft and have poor geometry. Most other parts are not to SA standards, let alone USGI, and will not be as accurate because the headspace is way loose. Most important, Chinese rifles have 7.62 NATO chambers - not SAAMI chambers. An SA will headspace at 1.632", a chicom will commonly headspace around 1.636", which is .002" beyond SAMMI "NO GO". This means Headspace is safe ONLY for 7.62 NATO ammo BUT NOT SAFE FOR .308. NEVER, EVER shoot standard commercial .308 loads unless you install a USGI bolt and have it fitted and headspaced (which a lot of owners do, and should improve accuracy also). Is is also desirable to check the heat treatment: Chinese bolts RC 40, receivers 44 to 56 per Ron Smith
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Thanks
 
Where did you get that info? If US, I would disregard. I have shot Remington Cheap stuff UMC and no problems at all in my M305. I have a newer one. THe US info on Chinese M14clones is old. Like 10years old and the firearms imported then were, so I hear, different. Probably others will chime in but I know Marstar is selling 308 Winchester white box for their M305s. Hope this helps.
 
Niko, when you cleaned your rifle, you took the firing pin out and completely cleaned it and the bore it goes in and then left it dry, right?
And when you tip your rifle from muzzle-up to muzzle down, you can hear the gentle "click" of the firing pin freely moving?

If so, any normal, commercial loading (bullet weight of 165 grn and under) is just fine.
Stay away from any load that says anything like "Light Magnum" or if it says in the fine print on the back "Not for use in semi-automatic firearms"

As for the US intel, Clinton banned the import of Chinese firearms in 1994.
You can safely ignore it.
 
Most of what Fulton says should be dismissed as nonsense. They're in the business of refinishing rifles then selling them at high prices.
Any commercial .308 will do nicely. Although I'd stay away from the 'light magnum' stuff too. It's expensive. Use 165 grain hunting bullets or 168 grain match ammo. These give the best accuracy out of a .308.
There's no need to keep the bullet weight under 165 grains either. You will have slightly more felt recoil with heavier bullets(175's or 180's) but they won't hurt your rifle. I've never once seen nor heard of any rifle being damaged by properly loaded ammo alone.
 
sunray said:
...There's no need to keep the bullet weight under 165 grains either. You will have slightly more felt recoil with heavier bullets(175's or 180's) but they won't hurt your rifle. I've never once seen nor heard of any rifle being damaged by properly loaded ammo alone.
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I was pretty sure one of the resident M14 experts just mentioned that it causes your rifle to wear out faster due to the increased slam going back. He said the reason the army or competition guys don't worry about shooting the 180 grain bullets is they have an armourer with them all the time to replace any broken parts.
 
Seriously, maybe this information was correct 10 years ago, but on new rifles, it's just plain incorrect (about the 308 thing, at least). I've fired 400 rounds of commercial Winchester whitebox ammunition without a single problem, and reloaded and re-fired those cases 2 times already without problem niether.

In fact, I find the chamber of my M14S (M305) really suited for the 308 cartridge, there's very little difference in dimentions of a fired case compared to a full length sized case.

As for primers, out of all 400 rounds of factory I've shot with my rifle, I had no slamfires, I've even tested the no-no chambering method (i.e. chamber a round by hand and let the bolt slam it) and it didn't went off. Also, my reloaded ammo uses Federal 210 primers, which are known to be the softest around. No problem niether with them, even with the no-no test. (Before safety nazis jump on me, the 'no-no' testing was done with the rifle on a rest, carefully aimed downrange.)
 
Poff, I did the same testing, except with Federal large handgun primers, way softer than 215s.
(empty primed cases, repeated drops on the same primers)
 
:) thanks a lot ! it means lots of fun for this week end !:D

what's a "match ammo" exactly, btw ? just more constancy in the powder amount in each round , or there is more ?
 
death-junky said:
that is crap all of it Ive used 150 grain power points for a long time with no problems.
ttyal
Riley
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180s, Riley. You've been using 180 grain Winchester .308 loads since dirt was invented, and you shoot aleast 5,000 a year and you've forgotten more about M14 type rifles than Jerry Kuhnhausen, Scott Duff, Bill Ricca and Hungry ever knew, put together.

You should also make sure that anyone looking at your M305 knows it has seen a bunch of commercial 180s through it.

:)
 
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