Question on 7.62 Ammo Usage
I have a baikal spr 18 rifle that is chambered for a .308 aka 7.62-51. My question is can I target practice using the 7.62-39 ammo since the gun is a single shot?
Also, if that is possible what is the best source for both reloadable and non reloadable 7.62 ammo in both the 51 and 39 sizes.
Input appreciated.
Curt
Also, if that is possible what is the best source for both reloadable and non reloadable 7.62 ammo in both the 51 and 39 sizes.
Input appreciated.
Curt
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NO It is a different cartridge and will not work. 0 -
NO, NO, NO, and NO; absolutely NOT!!! As has been said, and is written on ammo boxes and even on some guns--USE ONLY THE AMMUNITION INTENDED FOR THE GUN. Again--NO!! 0 -
Also, .308 is NOT the same as 7.62 mm NATO.
Neal0 -
quote:Originally posted by leftyboy
I have a baikal spr 18 rifle that is chambered for a .308 aka 7.62-51. My question is can I target practice using the 7.62-39 ammo since the gun is a single shot?
Also, if that is possible what is the best source for both reloadable and non reloadable 7.62 ammo in both the 51 and 39 sizes.
Input appreciated.
Curt
No, you can't do it for several reasons.
Never having been foolish enough to try it, I'm not even sure you could get a 7.62x39 round to fit in the chamber of a 7.62x51 gun. Assuming you could, the cartridge wouldn't headspace correctly.
That means it might not even go off, and then if it did go off, it wouldn't be safe to fire it (eg you may rupture the case, damaging both the gun and yourself).
Next issue, is that even though both are nominally called "7.62mm" the Nato round and the Commie-Bloc round actually do NOT use the same caliber bullets. Your NATO gun uses .308 caliber bullets and the 7.62x39 takes .311 caliber bullets. The latter probably won't blow up the gun, but it can lead to higher pressures, and increased barrel wear.
In short, stick, to the ammo your gun was designed for.
Unfortunately 7.62x51 ammo isn't cheap, but if you need to save a buck, steel-cased Russian made 7.62x51 is relatively easy to find, and a good bit cheaper than commercial loads or even military surplus type .308.
Alternatively, if you like shooting a round with the POWER of a .308, you could look into sporterized older military surplus guns that take 8mm or 7.62x54R caliber surplus ammo, both of which will actually exceed the power of the .308 round, but at considerably less cost per round.0 -
Hey tnks on the 7.62-39 info, I am a new guy to rifles and will not use it!
Now one of you said NOT to use the 7.62-51 round in the rifle as target shooting even though it is a 308 bore gun and the other said I can use the steel cased Russian stuff.
Can you all help a fng here and clear this up for me. I wanted to shoot the russian stuff to target shoot with at the range I just joined.
tnks Curt0 -
308 and 7.62x51 are dimensionally the same, but 308 is loaded to (about 10% max) higher pressures.
So if your gun is chambered and labeled for 308, you can use 7.62x51 ammo. Note that some surplus ammo is corrosive, some has harder primers (may not be reliable in your gun), some has a reputation of being very dirty (CAVIM), and some has a tendency to blow up (CBC from the mid 70s, IMI from the 80s/90s).0 -
quote:Originally posted by leftyboy
Hey tnks on the 7.62-39 info, I am a new guy to rifles and will not use it!
Now one of you said NOT to use the 7.62-51 round in the rifle as target shooting even though it is a 308 bore gun and the other said I can use the steel cased Russian stuff.
Can you all help a fng here and clear this up for me. I wanted to shoot the russian stuff to target shoot with at the range I just joined.
tnks Curt
Well, even though a lot of people assume they are the same load, to be clear 7.62x51 NATO and .308 Winchester are similar but NOT exactly the same.
In a nutshell, the .308 Winchester is a civilian/ commercial version of the NATO round and is potentially loaded to higher pressures. (In practice, not all of the rounds ARE actually loaded to higher pressures, but they can be).
Because of the potentially higher pressures generated, most experts will advise you NOT to use commercial .308 Winchester ammunition in military type guns chambered for the 7.62x51 NATO round, because the higher pressures may damage the gun. For example, M14-type semi-auto guns are particularly susceptible to damage of the operating rod from high-pressure ammo. There are safety questions about using the higher pressure ammo in military style bolt-action guns like Indian Ishapore Enfield rifles, etc.
But in your case, you should be able to fire all the military surplus 7.62x51 NATO ammo you like through commercial/civilian hunting/sporting type rifles like your Baikal, which is nominally chambered for .308 Winchester.
By the way, if you like your Baikal gun, but want to use the cheaper 7.62x39 ammo for practice, then you might be pleased to hear that the exact same gun is available in 7.62x39.
If you look at total costs, it may make sense to buy a second gun, if you plan to do a lot of shooting.
For example, the Baikal guns retail for about $250.
Steel case 7.62x39 ammo runs about $0.25 per round.
Steel case 7.62x51 ammo runs about $0.40 per round.
Military surplus 7.62x51 ammo runs about $0.50 per round (or more).
At $0.15 per round savings, it will take 1660 rounds (or roughly three cases of ammo) to pay for an entirely new gun! Of course you'll also be saving your shoulder a bit!.
To answer your second question, ammo is a commodity. While prices are usually at least somewhat competitive, different retailers will offer different prices for it at different times. If you want the best prices, you'll have to check different sources to find the best price.
In terms of online places, the following are worth checking out:
JG Sales (AZ), Aim Surplus, Cabela's, Wideners Reloading, etc.0 -
Beantown,
Great info. I may just take the 308 back and pay the difference for the 762-39 tnks Curt0 -
quote:Originally posted by leftyboy
Beantown,
Great info. I may just take the 308 back and pay the difference for the 762-39 tnks Curt
The question really is what do you want to do with the gun?
As a casual "plinker" (recreational shooter) at relatively close distances, the 7.62x39 will be both more pleasant to shoot and cheaper. If by "target shooting" you mean informal recreational target shooting, this is a good choice. The round is also good for hunting deer out to maybe 125-150 yards, though you'd want to use nice soft-point hunting ammo for that purpose, rather than cheap jacketed military-type steel case ammo.
If you want to hunt things bigger than deer (or just BIG deer), or hunt them from FURTHER than 125 yards, then the .308 is better.
If you want to shoot ANYTHING out to 200, 300, 400 yards you're going to want the .308. Serious match-type shooting is done with .308, not with 7,62x39.
In general the .308 *tends* to be more accurate than 7.62x39, but this is because usually .308 is being fired from guns designed for accuracy, and with better ammunition. Steel-case type Russian 7.62x39 ammo isn't manufactured with accuracy as the main concern, and the most common guns that use it (eg military type SKS and AK type rifles) aren't designed for accuracy either.
If you need it, with the right gun and right (hand)loads and brass cases, it is possible to get good accuracy with the 7.62x39. . .the question is how bad do you need it?0 -
quote:Originally posted by leftyboy
I have a baikal spr 18 rifle that is chambered for a .308 aka 7.62-51. My question is can I target practice using the 7.62-39 ammo since the gun is a single shot?
No.0
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