.308

[rosewood]

I am wondering if the confusion came with the ability to rebarrel a Savage to another caliber. Someone may have said you can convert it to other calibers or misstated it in such a way to imply you could simply shoot whatever. As others have said, only shoot .308 winchester in a .308 winchester. I will agree with some others also in that I have fired 7.62x51 in many of .308 winchester stamped barrels and have never seen any issues.

Good question, glad you asked before trying it. There is never a dumb question when it comes to firearm safety. And there are a lot of morons out there spouting off unsafe practices. You have to temper them with common sense and research.

Various cartridges can be confusing also. When referring to a particular cartridge, the full name should be used. I have heard stories of folks wanting to buy ammo for their .300. Well, what is that? A 300 win mag, a 300 norma mag, a 300 black out? They are all different cartridges and are definitely not interchangeable.

You may also note there is a .308 marlin express, and it is not interchangeable with the .308 winchester. 7mm Remington Magnum and a 7mm-08 Remington are not the same either.

Rosewood

[RC20]

I got caught in the I think I know it trap when in fact I did not.

I needed some 45 ammo and bought a box of 50. First two failed to cycle and it was, what the hey? This has been totally reliable.

After looking at the case and a bit of head scratching, something does not look right here, I found a 45 case on the ground (pretty obvious from the size) and put them side by side. Ok, I do have it right, that case I just bought the box of is SHORTER. That's impossible.

I then looked at the box and it said 45GAP! No, don't tell me........... yep, glock in their ego decided they had to have a round named after them. Longer? No.

I am not a glock fan (no offense to anyone) I really hate them now.

[RC20]

Dave: To be clear I said wrong bullet (cartridge) could be as bad as BAD RELOADS....

As noted above, my failure to read and understand what the box of ammo was telling me.

I would guess reloads are much higher variable than factory ammo and a greater chance of a problem. That's across the reload spectrum.

Factory does have risk and there have been cases of where bad factory ammo got into the publics use.

I am one of those people that look at it in a risk assessment, my reloads could be an issue, driving to the range has a risk and being at the range has a risk from a variety of sources.

For the most part I can control two of the three.

I do shoot mil surplus and the risk I can't control is the poor containment of those guns.








Wow! This thread scares me! Glad you asked....if you are being serious. Really does sound like your having a go at us though. But anyway.... couple things l. RC20 posted something strange. He said that a shooting a smaller bullet size would be as bad as bad as using reloads. I'm wondering(hoping) that just came out wrong. Sounded like you were implying ALL reloads are dangerous. That would be a, let me see.., how do I say this, uh....DUMB thing to say! To imply reloads are even remotely bad, let alone as bad as using the wrong cartridge is a rediculous notion, and simply untrue. Another thing is the continuing argument concerning 7.62 & .308. Are they different? Well yes, the chambers are slightly different. Are the cartridges themselves different. Aside from 7.62 brass being thicker, I have never really seen any difference. I have fired thousands of rounds OF BOTH, through many different .308 Winchester, & 7.62 NATO chambers. And have never even seen any indication of overpressure. Same holds true for 223 and 5.56. I actually use LC 7.62 brass for my 260 Remington loads because it's cheap shooting. Again to the OP...thank you for asking before assuming. I would also recommend you look online for a place near you that provides a basic firearms course. You could really benefit. Rather, I'm just gonna say it...you REALLY NEED TO.

[waynef]

My Stupid story ....

Bought a Lee Enfield chambered in what I was TOLD was .308. Bought it at a Gun Show in Dallas. Sales guy said it was a 308 and would shoot any modern ammo.

Bought 168 grain, Winchester 308. Went to the range. As I fired the rifle the 1st round made a very strange sound ... as I pulled the bolt back to eject the round ... only 1/2 the brass casing came out.

Gun smith later told me I was lucky the thing didnt blow up in my face. The Enfield I bought was chambered for 7.62 x 51 NATO

Never again would I shoot ammo that was not specific to a rifle

[Dave Hoback]

Dave: To be clear I said wrong bullet (cartridge) could be as bad as BAD RELOADS....



Gotcha RC20. I was thinking that's what you meant. And on that note, you are oh so correct! I wil also say that while I actually LOVE Glocks, I'm with you on the 45GAP. Absolute waste of a good for nothing, neutered 45 auto!! It's, once again, a FIX to a non-existent problem! Much the same as creating a "Gas Piston" system to replace the "Direct Impingement" system on the Ar-15, that has been kicking butt & taking names for 50 years! An answer to a question that was never asked.

[brokefootkeny]

Again wasn't joking. Haven't fired the gun yet, actually just picked it up today haven't even taken out of the box. Brought it home put in the safe, will try to get to the range after Christmas. I did buy 2 boxes of .308 ammo, federal 150 grain boat tail. Since the post I've done lots of research on the 2 types of ammo along with the responses from here I have a much better understanding now. Thanks for the help, can't wait to shoot the rifle and get accustomed to it, gonna go after some boars down south next summer! :) I've always wanted a savage and now I do! I will just find a round the rifle likes and stick with factory loads, I reload for shotgun but not interested in buying all the reloading gear for rifle, won't shoot as much as there isn't an outdoor range very close to chicago and the inside range is just too loud for lots of shooting, my hearing is bad enough now! Thanks again! Merry Christmas!