reloading .308 spanish mauser
- Thread starter slug1977
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This advice is incorrect. They're chambered in 7.62x51 NATO.
The guys that did these conversions knew what they were doing. I've fired a bunch of IVI NATO stuff out of mine, and it likes it very much. No problems, the bolt hasn't set back, none of that. Shoot modern factory .308s out of it, and you might have some problems.
I've been shooting 110 grain frontier cmj bullets with 46 brains of BL-C(2) or 46 grains of 4895. They should be hummin around 3050 fps at 40k psi mark, which is well within the safe range for your hundred year old spaniard
They shoot decently for plinking out to 100.
I've also shot cast wheel weight gas checked LEE C312155-2r mould (works out to 170gr and sized .309. Loaded with 40 grains of 4895 or bl-c(2) keeps em around 2400fps and they shoot as good as my eyes can see the irons.
I use IVI 7.62x51 either neck sized as fired from first firing, or full length resized once then necksized thereafter for 1f brass that i bought. I use CCI 200 lg rifle primers.
The guys that did these conversions knew what they were doing. I've fired a bunch of IVI NATO stuff out of mine, and it likes it very much. No problems, the bolt hasn't set back, none of that. Shoot modern factory .308s out of it, and you might have some problems.
I've been shooting 110 grain frontier cmj bullets with 46 brains of BL-C(2) or 46 grains of 4895. They should be hummin around 3050 fps at 40k psi mark, which is well within the safe range for your hundred year old spaniard
They shoot decently for plinking out to 100.I've also shot cast wheel weight gas checked LEE C312155-2r mould (works out to 170gr and sized .309. Loaded with 40 grains of 4895 or bl-c(2) keeps em around 2400fps and they shoot as good as my eyes can see the irons.
I use IVI 7.62x51 either neck sized as fired from first firing, or full length resized once then necksized thereafter for 1f brass that i bought. I use CCI 200 lg rifle primers.
I cannot comment on your specific rifle and chambering but a lot of old Mausers were converted to 7.62x51mm NATO. There was also the Spanish 308 round that was similar but I believe rated to lower pressures. I see these rifles sold and advertised as being .308 Winchester or "308 NATO" at some shops.
This may not be the same thing you have.
When people find themselves with guns chambered in 7.62 NATO they usually do one of three things (yes there are other options);
1 Fire only milspec 7.62 NATO ammo
2 Reload with .308 Win dies and use NATO or 308 cases with loads similar to NATO ammo.
3 Shoot or load anything they want out of it.
If it was my 7.62 NATO rifle and it was safe to shoot I would go with options 1 and 2 and stay away from commercial .308 Winchester ammo and loadings.
This may not be the same thing you have.
When people find themselves with guns chambered in 7.62 NATO they usually do one of three things (yes there are other options);
1 Fire only milspec 7.62 NATO ammo
2 Reload with .308 Win dies and use NATO or 308 cases with loads similar to NATO ammo.
3 Shoot or load anything they want out of it.
If it was my 7.62 NATO rifle and it was safe to shoot I would go with options 1 and 2 and stay away from commercial .308 Winchester ammo and loadings.
Guys, the NATO round and the 308Win are loaded to about the same pressure limits -about 60,000 psi max.
Average lots of ammo of both flavours typically run 55 to 58K psi.
I have test a lot of both types in pressure guns.
The 93, 95, 96 Mauser is ok with both types of ammo. But, if a given lot is hot in your rifle (sticky extraction, flat primers) don't use it.
Average lots of ammo of both flavours typically run 55 to 58K psi.
I have test a lot of both types in pressure guns.
The 93, 95, 96 Mauser is ok with both types of ammo. But, if a given lot is hot in your rifle (sticky extraction, flat primers) don't use it.
OP, I would go with Ganderites advice. Although I can't find the post, when I was reading up on the 7.62 Nato vs 308 topic I found a post from Ganderite that detailed what he said in much more detail.
I have a mauser in 7.62 Nato, now it's a 98 which from my reading is strong, but I have shot both Factory 308 Win and Factory 7.62 Nato. Now I load for it, with 308 data, no issues so far. I believe the difference is not enough to worry about.
Again, every rifle is different!
I have a mauser in 7.62 Nato, now it's a 98 which from my reading is strong, but I have shot both Factory 308 Win and Factory 7.62 Nato. Now I load for it, with 308 data, no issues so far. I believe the difference is not enough to worry about.
Again, every rifle is different!
just consult a reloading manual and keep your pressures down around 45,000 psi.
The Spanish, loaded a special round for their CETME rifles. It has a rather long 112 grain boat tail bullet, with a short bearing surface.
If you can find some of those, they will require a minimum of a 1-12 twist rate but they are incredibly accurate. Hardly any felt recoil at all.
The Spanish, eventually, modified their CETME rifles to accept standard NATO ammunition.
The Model 1916 and 93/95 rifles were chambered for the 7.62 CETME round. Exactly the same chambers as 7.62 Nato.
7.62 Nato ammunition is loaded to 60,000psi chamber pressures. These may not be safe in your rifle, unless it's the Spanish 98 copy.
Please see my post above. This is the cover of the actual manual for the 1916. Do we believe that the armourers would rebarrel all of these guns in a calibre that was unsafe? I can't remember exactly where off of the top of my head, but i read an article regarding when these rifles were first imported years ago, and they were tested to 90kpsi before suffering "catastrophic failure".
I shoot the milsurp 7.62x51 out of my M93/95/96 mausers. I do it without fear.
I have Spanish, Brazilian and Chilean examples. I even have an 1891 Argentine that has been set back and chambered for 7.62x51. No problems with it either.
The thing is, I know the condition of my rifles. You know the condition of yours.
We don't know the condition of the OPs.
I've magnafluxed my actions and had the 1891 ex rayed. Even then, I load it down to 45,000psi and don't shoot milsurp out of it anymore. I also load it with the proper .312 diameter bullets.
I've got what's left of an M95 Spanish Mauser action and barrel stub, that burst with some decent Hirtenberger milsurp about 20 years ago. The rifle was a real jewel. It should have been fine. My friend, got a piece of brass that came back into his eye and stuck there. Luckily no real damage was done.
I was very surprised. The rifle looked like it just came out of the refurb. New barrel, new stock and fittings. Very nice little carbine.
You just can't tell.
That pamphlet was printed quite awhile ago. I'll bet they would be a lot more careful now in what they suggest.
The biggest problem with the M93/95/96, is that they give little if any indication they are going to fail catastrophicly. They just let go.
I've seen more than just the rifle I'm telling you about do that. After the fact of course.
I keep this failed receiver around to remind me to be careful.
To each his own. At this stage of the game, taking a chance on a seventy to hundred year old receiver is no longer worth the thrill.
I have a Spanish 1916 pattern short rifle that was re-chambered for 7.62Nato. I reload relatively mild loads using .308Win data using a 147gr FMJ or 150gr bullet at around 2500fps. No bad signs and accuracy is quite reasonable.
That's why these rifles are great for shooting cast You can't push the bullet fast enough to go over 46kpsi or so. That or the lighter 110 or 120 bullets, and it's hard to overload. I just about crapped myself when i was looking on the hodgdon website, and saw that a 49g compressed load of 4895 is listed at 3200fps and 46kpsi
You can't push the bullet fast enough to go over 46kpsi or so. That or the lighter 110 or 120 bullets, and it's hard to overload. I just about crapped myself when i was looking on the hodgdon website, and saw that a 49g compressed load of 4895 is listed at 3200fps and 46kpsi 
