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30-06 ammo in an M14?

ozbud
Is this a safe mix? My buddy swears that it works........
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10 comments

Date Votes
  • heavyiron
    Are you saying your buddy shoots .30-06 in a 7.62x51?

    Assuming this is the case, in a word - NO.

    The .30-06 will not chamber in the 7.62x51. The case and OAL of the .30-06 is far to long to chamber.

    Regards,

    Heavyiron[8D]



    bullitt_county_4199_small.jpg
    "If I don't see you nomore on this world, I'll meet you on the next one, and don't be late!" - Jimi Hendrix
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  • TrooperAllen469
    The U.S. Rifle M14 or the civilian version the M1a is chambered for the 7.62mm NATO cartridge, often called the .308 Winchester cartridge. A 30/06 Springfield cartridge is considerably longer, and will not chamber in the M14/M1a. If it did seat and chamber, there would be so many safety issues present, that I would not have the time to mention them here. Your friend is mistaken. To attempt this would be at best very dangerous.
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  • Iconoclast
    ozbud, welcome to the zoo!

    Your buddy is wrong about something. He may be confusing the M14 with the Garand, he may be confusing the .30-06 cartridge with the 7.62x51, he may be full of bull roar, he may be a few cards short of a full deck, but one thing is for damn sure - he is WRONG!!!

    I don't know that the M14 action would work with the longer cartridge even *if* the barrel were re-chambered, because (a) the two rounds have a different pressure curve which could affect the action function and (b) I doubt very much the action would chamber and extract the longer .30-06. But in "as issued" form, not no way, not no how. See first paragraph and others' comments. If he persists in this behavior see if you can persuade him to take out a large insurance policy with you as the beneficiary.

    "There is nothing lower than the human race - except the french." (Mark Twain) ". . . And liberals." (me)
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  • Ray Boone
    It's possible that the rifle involved is one of the transition models of a Garand, having an M-14 style gas system and a detachable magazine, so they looked a lot like an M-14, but were really M-1s. I wasn't aware that any of these made it out of the military.
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  • warcrob
    more than likely your buddy is probably thinking of a Berretta BM-51, which looks somewhat similar to the M14. The BM-51 was manufactured in 30-06.

    If you ain't got a sense of humor you got no business bein here!
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  • Doc Feelgood
    I think Warcrob has it pegged as to what is going on. As to the original question: "AIN'T NO WAY.".
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  • Herschel
    ozbud, I think your buddy has it reversed. 7.62 can be loaded in an M1 clip and will feed and fire in the M1 Rifle. I have seen it done with no malfunction, damage to the rifle or harm to the shooter.
    However, THIS IS NOT A RECOMMENDED PRACTICE. I think an attempt to load a .30-'06 round in the M-14 (M1A) would fail as the round is too long and would probably prevent the bolt from going into battery. The built in safety feature in the bolt will prevent the firing pin from going forward until the bolt is rotated into battery. So even if someone single loaded and tried to close the M14 bolt on an .30-'06 round I don't believe it could be fired. BUT DON'T TRY IT
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  • ozbud
    quote:Originally posted by Herschel
    ozbud, I think your buddy has it reversed. 7.62 can be loaded in an M1 clip and will feed and fire in the M1 Rifle. I have seen it done with no malfunction, damage to the rifle or harm to the shooter.
    However, THIS IS NOT A RECOMMENDED PRACTICE. I think an attempt to load a .30-'06 round in the M-14 (M1A) would fail as the round is too long and would probably prevent the bolt from going into battery. The built in safety feature in the bolt will prevent the firing pin from going forward until the bolt is rotated into battery. So even if someone single loaded and tried to close the M14 bolt on an .30-'06 round I don't believe it could be fired. BUT DON'T TRY IT
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  • Ray Boone
    I'm surprised that a 308 will chamber in a standard 30-06. At the point of the 308's shoulder it is several thousandths wider than that distance from the base of a 30-06. I'd say it could be jammed in to swage the shoulder down to the size of the chamber, but then extraction would likely be a problem. I'm not doubting that it sould be done- but I'd guess that it would be a situation of a chamber near the big end of the size brackets. I wouldn't recommend the practice.
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  • warcrob
    In order to safely fire the 308 in any 30-06 you need an cartridge chamber adapter which is an insert.

    If you ain't got a sense of humor you got no business bein here!
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