Reloading 7.62 NATO in .308

Niko-PG

Niko-PG

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I have a bunch of 7.62 NATO casings and I'm wondering if it's safe to reload them for a .308 rifle.
Brass has been fired once but I don't know if it's from a 7.62 or a 308 rifle.

I found different answers to this question, including a: " minus 1.5 gr from the data book..."
Any experience on this ?
 
Because the brass is likely thicker, and it internal volume lower, it may result in higher pressures and lower capacity. It will be safe to reload, but you may not be able to load it with as much powder. Watch for signs of excessive pressure, and be carefull about stated reloading limits. I don't personally see a need to load to the limit. My guns shoot great at less than the stated maximum, and kill as dead as dead can be.
 
Be sure and full length resize (not from your gun, standard practice). If they are military cases, they may have crimped primers. That and thicker brass are your biggest concerns.
 
What country is the brass from? Do a case volume comparison with some commercial brass and take it from there. If its IVI then its the same specs as Imperial. If so thats good brass, hold on to it. You'll get many reloads out of it. If its that south african stuff watch out for splits on the shoulder (it is a lot thinner). Good reloading to you.
 
Also, check inside to see if there are 2 primer holes, ie Berdan primed. Not all NATO surplus is Boxer primed, unfortunately.
 
I'm in the same boat as you. IIRC most manuals say to load at 10% less than commercial cases due to thickness. I load 9mm and .45 but am getting into rifle and have over 2000 DA 64 cases and 1000 Hertenberger to size and load.
 
Niko-PG said:
I have a bunch of 7.62 NATO casings and I'm wondering if it's safe to reload them for a .308 rifle.
Brass has been fired once but I don't know if it's from a 7.62 or a 308 rifle.

I found different answers to this question, including a: " minus 1.5 gr from the data book..."
Any experience on this ?
Click to expand...

10% less powder would be a good, and safe place to start.

Ted
 
Tex Critter said:
What country is the brass from? Do a case volume comparison with some commercial brass and take it from there. If its IVI then its the same specs as Imperial. If so thats good brass, hold on to it. You'll get many reloads out of it. If its that south african stuff watch out for splits on the shoulder (it is a lot thinner). Good reloading to you.
Click to expand...

Isn't that stuff Berdan-primed? :redface:
 
There's no need to guess on how much to reduce your loads and 10% is excessive - 3-5% is more like it based on measuring I've done. F/L size the brass in question, and do the same with the commercial brass you use, then re-prime them with a spent primer. Weigh the two cases empty, then weigh them full of water to the top of the case - the difference provides relative case capacities.

Military brass will be heavier (I find Norma to weigh about 170 grs, Lapua about 175 grs, IVI about 187 grs and DA about 196 grs), but have 2-4 grs less internal capacity (they usually fall in the 52 to 56 gr range). If the military case is, for example, 2 grs smaller, deduct that 2 grs from the loads you would use with commercial brass. Use a chrony to confirm that your loads are near equivalent. If the MV is higher, drop the load, and vice-versa.
 
Andy said:
There's no need to guess on how much to reduce your loads and 10% is excessive - 3-5% is more like it based on measuring I've done. F/L size the brass in question, and do the same with the commercial brass you use, then re-prime them with a spent primer. Weigh the two cases empty, then weigh them full of water to the top of the case - the difference provides relative case capacities.

Military brass will be heavier (I find Norma to weigh about 170 grs, Lapua about 175 grs, IVI about 187 grs and DA about 196 grs), but have 2-4 grs less internal capacity (they usually fall in the 52 to 56 gr range). If the military case is, for example, 2 grs smaller, deduct that 2 grs from the loads you would use with commercial brass. Use a chrony to confirm that your loads are near equivalent. If the MV is higher, drop the load, and vice-versa.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. I'll have to weight the mil stuff I have against the commercial I have kept.
 
In my experience, dropping the powder charge by 2 grains compared to a load in 308 brass is about right.

DA is excellent brass. Once you remove the primer crimp, you have good brass for reloading.

Sicne it was not shot in your rifle, it will need full length sizing, but maybe not 100% of the full length size. If you are laoding for a military chamber, they are often a bit deep, so try sizing the brass so that the sizing stops at the base of the neck, and see if 10 cases sized that way all fit your chamber. No point in over-sizing the cases.
 
Ganderite said:
In my experience, dropping the powder charge by 2 grains compared to a load in 308 brass is about right.

DA is excellent brass. Once you remove the primer crimp, you have good brass for reloading.

Sicne it was not shot in your rifle, it will need full length sizing, but maybe not 100% of the full length size. If you are laoding for a military chamber, they are often a bit deep, so try sizing the brass so that the sizing stops at the base of the neck, and see if 10 cases sized that way all fit your chamber. No point in over-sizing the cases.
Click to expand...

They were all fired out of my FN's when we could still do that and my nork-14. I've de-primed most of it and swaged the pocket with an RCBS swager (you can imagine how long that took!). I plan on full sizing them all first then just neck sizing after they go through the bolt gun.
 
Weigh the military cases and compare them with whatever commercial cases you are using. Drop your powder charge by 10% of the difference between average weights. This will likely work out to about a 1-2 grain difference, which is consistent with what the Lyman reloading manual recommends.

Around 46 grains of BL-C(2) powder with a 147-150 grain FMJBT will give a close approximation to 7.62 NATO ball. W748 will give similar performance with charges in the same ballpark. This is not to say that load data for the two powders is interchangeable.

Make sure those cases aren't Berdan primed! You don't want to break a decapping pin and it isn't worth the effort given the availability of Boxer primed .308 brass.
 
i've loaded lots of milsurp brass and i started loads low and worked up looking for sing of pressure on the case found it a bit hard to seat primmers so i would run a case chamfer tool in the primer pocket
 
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