Spanish 1916/FR 7 safe for 7.62/308?
- Thread starter y2k
- Start date
I used to have one. Shot 7.62 NATO ammo fine, not that I shot it a ton.
Now, there are questions in people's heads about that action...apparently the Spanish had some weaker 7.62 CETME ammo or something for them...
As you know the small ring Mauser action did not have the third safety lug on it the big ring FR8 action did.
Your call.
Read through this. (there are other threads about this too-search is your friend)
http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php?t=234824&highlight=FR8+ammo
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Short answer is "Yes".
But it is marginal. I assume the bolt matches?
Incidents tend to be a cumulation of problems. 7.62/308 ammo tends to run between 52,000 and 60,000 psi. If you happen to have a hot lot of ammo, plus some oil in the chamber, on a hot day .... you might wish you had a stronger rifle.
If you handload, just stay in the middle of the pressure range.
I have used small ring mausers to make quite few hunting rifles in 308, 7-08 and 358. I just don't load them real hot.
But it is marginal. I assume the bolt matches?
Incidents tend to be a cumulation of problems. 7.62/308 ammo tends to run between 52,000 and 60,000 psi. If you happen to have a hot lot of ammo, plus some oil in the chamber, on a hot day .... you might wish you had a stronger rifle.
If you handload, just stay in the middle of the pressure range.
I have used small ring mausers to make quite few hunting rifles in 308, 7-08 and 358. I just don't load them real hot.
Does that make it akin to the Ishapre .308's? .........
Just kidding.....
Not at all...totally different action.
- Location
- Tucson, Arizona
The spanish definetly used a lower powered .308.
Years ago there was a thread of how these rifles were converted.
They were NOT rechambered but rather the chamber was bored out and a chambered plug was soldered in. The plug ended at the thinnest part of the barrel. Gas erosion beterrn the end of the plug and the space where it met the barrel could sometimes cause a rupture of the barrel at that point. So the answer is NO, I certainly would NOT use full powered .308 ammunition. The FR8 is safe as it was done differently.
Years ago there was a thread of how these rifles were converted.
They were NOT rechambered but rather the chamber was bored out and a chambered plug was soldered in. The plug ended at the thinnest part of the barrel. Gas erosion beterrn the end of the plug and the space where it met the barrel could sometimes cause a rupture of the barrel at that point. So the answer is NO, I certainly would NOT use full powered .308 ammunition. The FR8 is safe as it was done differently.
If you check those boxes and boxes of surplus Santa Barbara ammo that were on the market a few years ago, you will see that they are labelled prominently as "7.62 NATO Espanol", this being the special Spanish loading of the round.
It does have significantly lower pressures than the ammo used by the rest of NATO, but regular NATO ammo could be substituted for it in a pinch.
Neither the CETME nor the FR-7 should be fed a steady diet of the hot stuff.
As stated above, stay with handloads and don't go above the middle of the pressure range. You'll have no problems then at all and your rifle will be safe for a lifetime of use.
Third lug presence/absence doesn't really mean a lot. The third lug on the '98 only came to bear at all AFTER the action was seriously worn OR the locking-lugs ALREADY had been hammered back far enough for it to bear. Once assisted (while crying) in the destruction of a purely lovely 1948 commercial FN Mauser action which had been rebarreled to .264 WinMag. Guy brought the thing into the shop where I was working because it wouldn't extract. The rifle had been fired so much with handloads that were 'WAY to Hell and gone above maximum that the bolt locking-lugs had been hammered forward on the bolt shank. When he opened the action, it was trying to cam the fired casing back into the chamber! When we scrapped the action, you could see the locking-recesses where the bolt had been bearing: twin dents into the actual receiver from the pressure. Even the third lug was piened! He can thank Paul Mauser and the wonderful workmen at the FN that he even has his arms and eyes.
Your rifle doesn't have the third lug. So what? Neither does the Swede '96 and there's nothing wrong with them. Just stay in a sane pressure range and there should be no troubles.
Nice rifle, though, but I can't afford one!
It does have significantly lower pressures than the ammo used by the rest of NATO, but regular NATO ammo could be substituted for it in a pinch.
Neither the CETME nor the FR-7 should be fed a steady diet of the hot stuff.
As stated above, stay with handloads and don't go above the middle of the pressure range. You'll have no problems then at all and your rifle will be safe for a lifetime of use.
Third lug presence/absence doesn't really mean a lot. The third lug on the '98 only came to bear at all AFTER the action was seriously worn OR the locking-lugs ALREADY had been hammered back far enough for it to bear. Once assisted (while crying) in the destruction of a purely lovely 1948 commercial FN Mauser action which had been rebarreled to .264 WinMag. Guy brought the thing into the shop where I was working because it wouldn't extract. The rifle had been fired so much with handloads that were 'WAY to Hell and gone above maximum that the bolt locking-lugs had been hammered forward on the bolt shank. When he opened the action, it was trying to cam the fired casing back into the chamber! When we scrapped the action, you could see the locking-recesses where the bolt had been bearing: twin dents into the actual receiver from the pressure. Even the third lug was piened! He can thank Paul Mauser and the wonderful workmen at the FN that he even has his arms and eyes.
Your rifle doesn't have the third lug. So what? Neither does the Swede '96 and there's nothing wrong with them. Just stay in a sane pressure range and there should be no troubles.
Nice rifle, though, but I can't afford one!
