would be interested to hear from those with some experience shooting thier m305/m14. I will be setting my first one up as a hunting rifle and have heard talk about case length affecting ammo choices. I am not yet a reloader so I will need to purchase factory ammo. I want to sight and group test it with the ammo i will be hunting with. So what are my best choices, that suit the norinco m305, will be targeting animals sized deer thru moose.
m305 factory ammo selection
- Thread starter 45ACPKING
- Start date
Oldsmobiler
CGN Regular
- Location
- Coquitlam, BC
Airborn_69 said:
sez who?
There's no need to limit the bullet weight to 150 grains. 165 grain bullets seem to give the best accuracy. Any factory load will do nicely.
You'll have to try a box of as many brands as you can to find the one or two that shoot best out of your rifle though. You don't need tack driving accuracy for hunting. Two inches off a bench at 100 yards will do. Then practice, off hand, shooting at a 9" plate until you can hit it every time.
You'll have to try a box of as many brands as you can to find the one or two that shoot best out of your rifle though. You don't need tack driving accuracy for hunting. Two inches off a bench at 100 yards will do. Then practice, off hand, shooting at a 9" plate until you can hit it every time.
i've spent a lot of time off hand shooting so it will just be a matter of getting used to the balance of the m305. Hopefully I'll be able to achieve better than 2 inches at 100 yrds hehehe. Anyhow, I guess my question is more intended to address the cartridge headspace thing ... let me see if i git this right.... most .308 (say 165gr) factory hunting ammo will feed and fire in my m305? But will get better accuracy with actual 7.62 x 51 ammo because of case length?? Is this correct or....... Sorry for the questions guys, I will eventually be reloading and will no doubt figure this out by then but I want to narrow down my selection of factory ammo for when i take my new 305 out for a range test next monday
you should be talking to skullboy- he's kind of the guru re m305 in your area-or mystic player in summerland - when it comes to reloading for the 305, there's a whole new set of rules- it also depends on the rifle- i've fired nothing but 308s in my 305 with no problems, but mine's one of those"bad " early ones - the ones with so-called excessive headspace and soft bolt-
Cartridges don't have headspace. Rifles have headspace. Headspace is a manufacturing tolerance thing. It's the distance between the bolt face and, for a rimless bottle necked case, a spot in the chamber, where the shoulder of the case ends up. It cannot be adjusted by doing anything to the case itself.
The case length for either a 7.62 or .308 is the same. Commercial hunting ammo is loaded a bit hotter than milsurp, but not enough to bother your rifle. Prior to there being an Internet, they were the same round. Ammo was purchased by calibre and cartridge. IE. If you could find 7.62 ball and weren't hunting, you bought it. If you coudn't find ball or didn't want it, you bought .308 Win.
In your situation, wanting hunting ammo, buy a box of Winchester, a box of Remington and a box of whatever other brands you can, load 5 of each and shoot off a bench(use a bag of sand or other rest under the forestock just forward of the mag), at 100 yards, on a different target for each brand, for group only. Keep the brass. When you find the brand that gives the best accuracy, sight in with that ammo. Then practice on the pie plate. You'll avoid taking an off hand shot, if at all possible, while hunting, but knowing you can is part of having confidence in your rifle and your shooting skills.
You may well get less than 2" groups, but 2" is good enough for hunting. If you find more than one brand that will shoot 2" or less, it's a bonus.
The 165's are a good all round bullet weight for most game in North America. They'll drop a deer, a moose or a black bear with no fuss.
The case length for either a 7.62 or .308 is the same. Commercial hunting ammo is loaded a bit hotter than milsurp, but not enough to bother your rifle. Prior to there being an Internet, they were the same round. Ammo was purchased by calibre and cartridge. IE. If you could find 7.62 ball and weren't hunting, you bought it. If you coudn't find ball or didn't want it, you bought .308 Win.
In your situation, wanting hunting ammo, buy a box of Winchester, a box of Remington and a box of whatever other brands you can, load 5 of each and shoot off a bench(use a bag of sand or other rest under the forestock just forward of the mag), at 100 yards, on a different target for each brand, for group only. Keep the brass. When you find the brand that gives the best accuracy, sight in with that ammo. Then practice on the pie plate. You'll avoid taking an off hand shot, if at all possible, while hunting, but knowing you can is part of having confidence in your rifle and your shooting skills.
You may well get less than 2" groups, but 2" is good enough for hunting. If you find more than one brand that will shoot 2" or less, it's a bonus.
The 165's are a good all round bullet weight for most game in North America. They'll drop a deer, a moose or a black bear with no fuss.
What you CAN do if you reload is size your own once fired cases to match your gun's chamber.
The headspacing in a military gun is often more generous than a commercial gun. If you have a generous chamber, and keep sizing down to minimum, you will eventually have a case seperation. If you can find a happy balance that works the case as little as possible, yet feeds 100% you can extend your brass life greatly.
The headspacing in a military gun is often more generous than a commercial gun. If you have a generous chamber, and keep sizing down to minimum, you will eventually have a case seperation. If you can find a happy balance that works the case as little as possible, yet feeds 100% you can extend your brass life greatly.
thanx guys, sorry if my questions seem kinda dumb. I know my firearms well enough, just not really up to snuff on ammunition specs and stuff.
I like the 165gr outta my 7mm mag so will try that for the m305 as well
thx again for your insight
I like the 165gr outta my 7mm mag so will try that for the m305 as well
thx again for your insight
