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Mauser .318 & .323 issues
- Thread starter Aaron Neville
- Start date
With all that's been said here, much it true, we're only talking .005in here. I really doubt any factory ammo, European or North American is going to cause any grief. I also don't think there will be any pressure or accuracy issues with .323 bullets in a .318 bore. Copper jackets are relatively soft and so are the lead cores. They will swage themselves nicely without any fuss. Some times we get a little anal around this subject. As an example, I've loaded up literally thousands of .314 diameter surplus 303 bullets in 30-06 rifles and shot them at close to max with H4831 and the primers weren't even flattened.
I watched a newbie at the local range shoot .323 8x57 rounds in a shiney new Rem 700 BDL without a hitch as well. He thought that because they fit in the chamber they should be fine. Accuracy was no hell and it made for some nicely shaped cases but the rifle was fine.
Now that being said, if the bore is rusty, pitted ok, extremely fouled and dirty, there is a slight posibility of higher pressures.
I watched a newbie at the local range shoot .323 8x57 rounds in a shiney new Rem 700 BDL without a hitch as well. He thought that because they fit in the chamber they should be fine. Accuracy was no hell and it made for some nicely shaped cases but the rifle was fine.
Now that being said, if the bore is rusty, pitted ok, extremely fouled and dirty, there is a slight posibility of higher pressures.
With all that's been said here, much it true, we're only talking .005in here. I really doubt any factory ammo, European or North American is going to cause any grief. I also don't think there will be any pressure or accuracy issues with .323 bullets in a .318 bore. Copper jackets are relatively soft and so are the lead cores. They will swage themselves nicely without any fuss. Some times we get a little anal around this subject. As an example, I've loaded up literally thousands of .314 diameter surplus 303 bullets in 30-06 rifles and shot them at close to max with H4831 and the primers weren't even flattened.
I watched a newbie at the local range shoot .323 8x57 rounds in a shiney new Rem 700 BDL without a hitch as well. He thought that because they fit in the chamber they should be fine. Accuracy was no hell and it made for some nicely shaped cases but the rifle was fine.
Now that being said, if the bore is rusty, pitted ok, extremely fouled and dirty, there is a slight posibility of higher pressures.
What caliber was the 700 BDL in. You forgot that. I still don't think S in a J-bore is a good idea, and I saw my friend shoot 8mm PRVI Partizan 196 Grain Ball ammo in his M1 garand in .30-06 and live to tell about-it but it's still a bad idea.
The BDL was in 30-06. As far as living to tell about it, slightly over size bullets won't cause any grief as long as the rifles are in decent condition. The ductility of the components in all but the most specialised bullets will allow for a lot of variables. The .314 bullets in the .308 bores shot very well by the way, better than they did in the .303 Brit rifles they were designed for. Back in the days of my DCRA membership, it wasn't at all uncommon for FAL owners to load the Indian FALs with .312 bullets. They just wouldn't shoot .308 diameter bullets well. That doesn't mean that this statement is true for all Indian FALs.
I just think that when people make KABOOM statements about things like .323 bullets in .318 bores, they aren't being very realistic when safety concerns are brought up.
I can understand following safety procedures to a point. Many of those procedures are set in place for people that aren't willing or able to investigate beyond a certain point. A good example other than firearms is construction. There is the odd contractor that insists on following safety procedures to the letter but I'm willing to bet they're rare. The same thing can be said for many industrial manufacturers.
We live in such a sanitary and safety regulated society that we don't even bother to question why or what anymore.
I just think that when people make KABOOM statements about things like .323 bullets in .318 bores, they aren't being very realistic when safety concerns are brought up.
I can understand following safety procedures to a point. Many of those procedures are set in place for people that aren't willing or able to investigate beyond a certain point. A good example other than firearms is construction. There is the odd contractor that insists on following safety procedures to the letter but I'm willing to bet they're rare. The same thing can be said for many industrial manufacturers.
We live in such a sanitary and safety regulated society that we don't even bother to question why or what anymore.
