Reloading for a 7.62x51 Chamber

G

Gobc

CGN frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
66   0   0
Location
Maple Skids, BC
Hi,

I'm considering getting the FN FNAR which is a 7.62x51 semi auto. The rifle accepts commercial win308 ammo but since the 7.61x51 chamber is bigger than a win308 chamber it changes the reloading situation. I've already read on one forum that this rifle was jamming on hand loads. Please note, I'm a noob and have not reloaded before. Its something I plan to get in to. Any advice on reloading 7.62x51 or any experience/observations made would be much appreciated.
 
7.62x51 and .308 are the same thing. No such thing as 7.62X51 dies so you are stuck with using regular old .308 Win dies. If the FN FNAR are jamming on handloads there is a good chance the round was not resized properly other than a rifle failure.
 
The cartridges same the same external dimensions, but the rounds different max pressure ratings. Furthermore, the 7.62x51 chamber is longer than a 308 win chamber. This is why I'm concerned about reloading for this round.
 
lots of us have 7.62 x51 chambers and have been using 308 winchester data for years- if you were to 'harvest" all the info on the internet about the differences twixt the 308 and the 7.62, you'd be in your grave before you understood it all= let me "nutshell" it for you- the 7.62 has a SLIGHTLY longer neck to aid with extraction- that's it- and as far as the pressure goes, the 7.62 is a SLIGHTLY lower pressure round, but not significantly unless you EXCEED the design limits of the rifle- with the m14, that means loads of 175 grains or less, and 2550 fps- now if you do your LOAD DEVELOPMENT properly, your RIFLE will LET YOU KNOW long before you get anywhere near maximum pressure via pressure signs- when i was doing mine, i had a bunch of sierra match kings ( 175 grain) that had a factory load of 2610 , which is a bit over- that was 45 grains of 748- HOWEVER , DURING LOAD DEVeLOPMENT, i got a no function at 42, unreliable at 43, working at 43.5, good function at 43,9, and really working at 44- this was consistant with the match loadings by zediker- 44.2 started to show sooty primers and cratering- so i backed it back down to 44- that's NOWHERE NEAR what the reloading book says, nor is it anywhere near the FACTORY LOAD
 
"...reloading 7.62x51..." Same as for any other semi-auto. You must full length resize every time and watch the case lengths and OAL. Use regular .308 Win data. If you use milsurp brass, you'll have to remove the primer crimp and reduce the powder charge by 10% as the brass is a bit thicker than commercial. Neither is required when using commercial .308 Win brass.
As mentioned, before there was an Internet, 7.62NATO and .308 Win were the same thing. Been the same since the mid 1950's.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom