Norinco M-14S?
- Thread starter LeePeterson
- Start date
punkrockboy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Eastern Bantario!
Most of the ammo I put through mine is factory.308.My gun loves winchester supreme ballistic silvertips.I've been told however, not to go over 168 grains,its hard on the action.
punkrockboy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Eastern Bantario!
Ive probably put 500 rounds of South african surplus 7.62x51NATO, and 500 rnds of factory.308. By the way, my reciever is actually marked .308, not 7.62x51.
You can actually buy that very gun,with that stock,from Milarm in edmonton.They have one in stock,assembled!
You can actually buy that very gun,with that stock,from Milarm in edmonton.They have one in stock,assembled!
Northman999
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Yukon
LeePeterson,
My M14S is marked.308 win, not 7.62x51. Many retailers advertise the rifle as 7.62 x 51, but when you get it, it's marked .308. This is basically standard on these Norincos in the last several years. You can shoot factory 308 in it for the lifetime of the rifle, but stick to 168 grain bullets max. I also checked with Fulton Armory in the USA (and heard from others they checked with Springfield) and both Fulton and Springfield state that factory 308 cartridges with bullets not exceeding 168 grains are fine in all M14 type rifles. Also stay away from hot handloads, as they are usually worked up for bolt action rifles. Excellent loads I have found are Federal Hyper Shock with 165 grain Sierra Gamekings and Winchester Premium Ballistic Silvertips with 165 grain bullets. And I am a big game hunter like you and use my M14 for everything. The Silvertips are loaded a bit hotter (still okay for M14) and have better terminal ballistics at ranges like 400 and 500 yards.
My M14S is marked.308 win, not 7.62x51. Many retailers advertise the rifle as 7.62 x 51, but when you get it, it's marked .308. This is basically standard on these Norincos in the last several years. You can shoot factory 308 in it for the lifetime of the rifle, but stick to 168 grain bullets max. I also checked with Fulton Armory in the USA (and heard from others they checked with Springfield) and both Fulton and Springfield state that factory 308 cartridges with bullets not exceeding 168 grains are fine in all M14 type rifles. Also stay away from hot handloads, as they are usually worked up for bolt action rifles. Excellent loads I have found are Federal Hyper Shock with 165 grain Sierra Gamekings and Winchester Premium Ballistic Silvertips with 165 grain bullets. And I am a big game hunter like you and use my M14 for everything. The Silvertips are loaded a bit hotter (still okay for M14) and have better terminal ballistics at ranges like 400 and 500 yards.
Before you shoot .308 Winchester in an M-14 Chinese, please read the stickies on M-14 headspace, and get your headpace checked by a competent M-14 specialist. Most of the Chinese M-14 rifles have headspace a LOT greater than is recommended by SAMMI standards for .308 Win [ like averaging about .014" thou over .308 GO ].
This excessive headspace is not usually an issue if you stick to 7.62 surplus BALL ammo, which is built with thicker/stronger brass, but .014" over .308 GO will absolutely/positively stretch .308 Win commercial brass beyond what most sane gunsmiths would consider as safe.
ALSO,
.308 Win is available in several loadings, some of which are definitely NOT recommended for the M-14 gas system, which after all was designed and optimised to shoot military 7.62 BALL ammo. Maximum bullet wight should be 168 Gr. Powders should be tailored to maintain residual port pressure same as GI spec. The so called .308 "MAGNUM" Hi velocity loads are a bit hot for the 14..
Ignoring this advice can eventually lead to a badly beat up M-14.
[;{(
BTDT
LAZ 1
This excessive headspace is not usually an issue if you stick to 7.62 surplus BALL ammo, which is built with thicker/stronger brass, but .014" over .308 GO will absolutely/positively stretch .308 Win commercial brass beyond what most sane gunsmiths would consider as safe.
ALSO,
.308 Win is available in several loadings, some of which are definitely NOT recommended for the M-14 gas system, which after all was designed and optimised to shoot military 7.62 BALL ammo. Maximum bullet wight should be 168 Gr. Powders should be tailored to maintain residual port pressure same as GI spec. The so called .308 "MAGNUM" Hi velocity loads are a bit hot for the 14..
Ignoring this advice can eventually lead to a badly beat up M-14.
[;{(
BTDT
LAZ 1
Difference between a SAAMI Go and No Go is only .006" or so. SAAMI Field is longer again, but it is the"better check this rifle very carefully before you shoot it any more" gauge. My 305 would swallow a SAAMI Field gauge as received. That is beyond what a good gunsmith - like myself - would be happy with, for .308 Winchester ammunition. I wouldn't be comfortable shooting commercial .308 ammunition in it, and I would not have recommended a customer do so. No self respecting gunsmith would rebarrel a bolt action .308 rifle and release it to the customer if the rifle would accept a SAAMI Field gauge. I rebolted my rifle with a GI bolt; it will now just accept a SAAMI No Go, and absolutely rejects the Field. I consider this to be excellent for 7.62mm ball, and acceptable for .308 Winchester ammunition.
What no one has mentioned in this thread is that .308Win and 7.62x51NATO are almost IDENTICAL. The only differences between 7.62NATO and .308Win are the Chamber tollerances (7.62NATO has a bigger/looser chamber) and NATO spec brass is thicker.
I've been shooting lots of Federal Factory ammo from my M14 with no problems.
I've been shooting lots of Federal Factory ammo from my M14 with no problems.
Depends on what you mean by "almost". Apart from chamber dimensions, brass thickness/weight, bullet weight, primer sensitivity and pressure levels, they are almost identical. Sometimes bullet diameters are significantly different, as well.
"Hungry" here on the board has a standing offer. Send him 5 fired cases, and he will measure them, and let you know what the exact situation is with your rifle. Sometimes it might be better not to know.
Fortunately, most commercial ammunition is of very high quality, and a failure of non handloaded ammuntion is extemely rare. Handloading cases fired in a rifle with generous headspace is a different situation.
"Hungry" here on the board has a standing offer. Send him 5 fired cases, and he will measure them, and let you know what the exact situation is with your rifle. Sometimes it might be better not to know.
Fortunately, most commercial ammunition is of very high quality, and a failure of non handloaded ammuntion is extemely rare. Handloading cases fired in a rifle with generous headspace is a different situation.
As a brand new M14 owner myself there is very little advice I can give but one of them is to buy this book, purely from a safety and knowledge standpoint. It was recommended to me by a member here and I wisely bought it from him
http://www.chestnutridge.com/images/inv/14AB01.asp. Pretty much covers everything.
http://www.chestnutridge.com/images/inv/14AB01.asp. Pretty much covers everything.
