Simple Question on Chambering Intentions for New Polys/Norcs

[The Kurgan]

Are the new Polytech and Norinco M305's designed to fire the similarly sized, but higher pressure, Nato 7.62x51 or the commercial .308? The branding on the receiver says 308 Win, but that may be more for marketing purposes?

 

[tjhaile]

Any 7.62 NATO or 150-168 grain commercial .308 ammo is safe to fire in the Norinco/Polytech M14 rifles. Any pressure difference between the SAAMI and NATO standards is due to different measuring technique.

The main thing to watch out for is if you are using reloaded ammo and have headspace that is more than .010" over minimum. In this case, the best practice is to neck size only to minimize working of the brass.

 

[Hungry]

Any 7.62 NATO or 150-168 grain commercial .308 ammo is safe to fire in the Norinco/Polytech M14 rifles. Any pressure difference between the SAAMI and NATO standards is due to different measuring technique.

The main thing to watch out for is if you are using reloaded ammo and have headspace that is more than .010" over minimum. In this case, the best practice is to neck size only to minimize working of the brass.

Hear hear on the neck sizing! That's all I ever did for my TRW USGI M14 that had a chamber size of over 14 thou And that is the way they CAME !

Cheers,
Barney

 

[purple]

Case length and excessive working through FL re-sizing isn't the only issue. You want to pay attention to the radial dimensions of your cases as well when reloading for M1/M14 types. An insufficiently sized case body can lead to incomplete chambering with the risk of an out of battery detonation.

The only way to determine if your headspace is within .308 Win or 7.62 dimensions is to measure it with a set of headspace gauges. I wouldn't count on the Norinco labelling.

 

[The Kurgan]

Thank you. You guys answered all my questions. At this point, I won't be reloadiong for my M305, too many rifles that eat more expensive ammo to focus on. I bought a bunch of cheap Remington UMC ammo that should suffice for now.