Hi
new to center fire rifles. I purchased a savage 11/111 trophy hunter xp chambered in .308 winchester recently and was wondering Exactly which ammo can I safley shoot? I've heard that you can shoot 7mm and some other similar rounds but don't want to just assume you can and blow my new rifle up nd hurt myself or worse someone else!
Thanks
NO!!! You need to use .308 ammunition.. they are NOT interchangeable! very dangerous!!
Now that I have your attention... I can calm down a bit.. The bullet that is in the case is used in multiple chamberings, that being said, the brass casing is specific to your caliber.
As a general rule, all factory made rifles will have the caliber of the gun stamped on the barrel.
That would be the only cartridge one should even consider firing in that particular gun.
Anyone telling you otherwise should be considered dangerous to your health.
If your gun is stamped as being a 308, then only buy and use that ammunition.
No.
You bought a 308, don't fire anything but 308 Winchester ammo in it.
If you were to fire a smaller diameter cartridge, based upon the 308 case; the bullet wouldn't be predictable when exiting the bore.
Bought a 308, shoot a 308.
I'm a firm believer in the theory that if it bleeds, I can kill it.
Like yobuck said, use only what is stamped on your barrel...
That's what I thought, just wanted to be sure.
We are very glad you asked first.. be safe!! there are multiple weight bullets available for the 308, the lighter the bullet, the lighter the recoil..
Definitely agree with the above. Well done, always cross check any information you get be it person to person or internet.
People think that modern buns cannot blow up catastrophically , they can, I saw it (aftermath)
A gun smith employee was sighting in a gun for a client. He was using reloads from the looks of things (wrong bullets would act as bad as bad reloads)
When the gun blew up (modern with the push feed and well contained design), the scope went into the shooters mouth. He lost 5 teeth and had more than one surgery to repair the damage.
He was wearing shooting glasses and nothing got in his eyes, he was very lucky.
A bystander got a fragment of the gun on his cheek, no surgery but black and blue and bloody.
We found a fragment of the receiver embedded in the back wall. Others were on that side, all were lucky it went between them.
At best a penetrating wound, at worse it could have killed or maimed someone.
I see that 7.62 x 51 mm is advertised as the same, is it?
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/09/03/308-winchester-vs-762x51-nato/ go slow grasshopper...not the same, much to learn before you mix ammunition..there are several civilian/military crosses, I'm not up on them enough to give any advice..
http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2007/09/03/308-winchester-vs-762x51-nato/
http://www.differencebetween.net/object/difference-between-7-62-nato-and-308-winchester/
Are you new to center fire rifles, or new to any firearm, period? If you are not new to rim fire or hand guns, would you chamber a 22lr in a 17HMR, or a 9mm in a 38 special?
Or maybe you are joking with us.
Originally Posted by WV1951
He ain't joking... 22short is fine to fire in 22lr.
And no matter what others say, If you can chamber a 7.62x51 in you 308win bolt gun, then you're safe to pull the trigger.
No, im not joking with you folks or new to firearms. I asked because im confused about the different things ive read about this caliber. If you want to think im joking, well everyone is entitled to their opinion. Lots of different info about the .308, I've come to understand that it's generally acceptable to fire nato 7.62 x 51 ammo in a rifle chambered for .308 but that the reverse is not. Very confusing if you ask me, but what do i know. At least i asked first.
^Please don't be offended^ Many of us here have been at this so long, we take a lot for granted.
Nothing wrong with Your question, and You were right to ask it. For now, as advised above, it is best for You to stick with 308 Winchester ammo for Your 308 Winchester Chambered rifle.
I think Wakapedia may have the best explanation of the history of the 308 Winchester and it's adoption into the Military as the 7.62mm x 51mm NATO. It's a long read, but I think it covers everything.
Good Luck-Safe Shooting, And ask anytime:-)
So here is the quick and dirty view of the difference. The two chambers: 308 and 7.62 NATO are different, the 7.62 will swallow(larger) the .308. Now that being said, I am unaware of any 7.62 AMMO that is not made to .308 headspace. So the chambers are different, but haven't run accross any ammo that made to the different headspace. ***NOTE*** this is when talking about regular ball type ammo. If you get into specialty stuff like AP, SLAP, etc. that may be a different ball of wax.
I'm a firm believer in the theory that if it bleeds, I can kill it.
It is a lot safer to shoot a 308 in a NATO chamber than the other way around. This is mostly because the tolerances of the 7.62x51 case is more generous than the 308 SAAMI specifications. In some of those circumstances you can have pressure spikes.
There is probably a lower risk than what is projected around the internet but why risk if you don't have to. It reminds me of the debate about using a case to set head space. If you know what your doing and you reload it is no big deal. But if you know what your doing, why use a case?
The Dunning-Kruger effect is alive and well.
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.
Other than with my Springfield M1A1, I have had the same experience. Never had a problem with a bolt action rifle.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 over pressure.
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
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.
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.
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
Thank You
Wayne
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.
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