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M1A Ammunition

penguin
What type and time period ammo can you safely shoot in an M1A 308 rifle?
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8 comments

Date Votes
  • mark christian
    Ball, M80, 147-grain, which is the NATO STANAG round, as well as Match, M118 173-grain FMJBT, which was specifically designed for match purposes, will both function without issue. That ammo could have been loaded yesterday or decades ago...if stored correctly, age is meaningless.

    If you plan to use the rifle for hunting, which some people do, and plan to use bullets above 180 grain, then you'll need an adjustable gas plug, such as this one made by Schuster:
    https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1004719353

    I own an M1A, but I don't hunt with it. If hunting with the M1A your goal then someone else will have to chime in.
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  • penguin
    Thank you.
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  • mrmike08075
    Mark brownells offers such a system for the M1 - did they also carry one for the M1A???

    Can't recall off the top of my head.

    Mike
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  • charliemeyer007
    You should load for, if you do your part it will be the best ammo money can buy.

    https://www.rifleshootermag.com/editorial/tips-for-safe-handloads-in-your-m1a-style-rifle/83672
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  • llama
    Ball, M80, 147-grain, which is the NATO STANAG round, as well as Match, M118 173-grain FMJBT, which was specifically designed for match purposes, will both function without issue. That ammo could have been loaded yesterday or decades ago...if stored correctly, age is meaningless.

    If you plan to use the rifle for hunting, which some people do, and plan to use bullets above 180 grain, then you'll need an adjustable gas plug, such as this one made by Schuster:
    https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1004719353

    I own an M1A, but I don't hunt with it. If hunting with the M1A your goal then someone else will have to chime in.

    Don't forget the older LC Match that was 168gr bullets.... but yes, basically you are looking at M80 NATO spec stuff. For hunting, commercial 150grn loads will be close enough, but watch out for the "reduced recoil" loads and heavier bullet loads, since the gas pressure at the port will be drastically changed, which can cause nasty things like bent op rods.

    One of the many reasons I love the FAL design - not as accurate, but the adjustable gas just plain rocks.
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  • yoshmyster
    I thought pretty much anything under .178gr bullet weight was good to go. For 1-10 twist .168gr off the shelf was preferred.

    Ammo bending op rod? Didn't know these rifles were that fragile.
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  • llama
    yoshmyster wrote:
    I thought pretty much anything under .178gr bullet weight was good to go. For 1-10 twist .168gr off the shelf was preferred.

    Ammo bending op rod? Didn't know these rifles were that fragile.

    It has to do with the actual gas pressure at the gas port. With the big slow bullets, or the hornady "Light Magnum" or "reduced recoil" or "superformance" a slower powder is used to build pressure for longer, so pressure can still be building at a pretty good rate when the bullet passes the port, which means that it is a harder "slam" on the end of the op rod. Some more googling to get you some interesting links shows the bent op rod is more of a Garand problem than a M14/M1A problem due to the differences in the op rod design, but it should still be a concern.
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  • NeoBlackdog
    From page 5 of the M1A manual...

    3. The M1A is designed and built to specifications to shoot standard factory .308 made to SAAMI specifications or 7.62x51 NATO ammunition. The specifications for standard military ammunition include harder primers to withstand the slight indentation from the firing pin when the bolt chambers a cartridge. This slight indentation is normal.
    The use of civilian ammunition with more sensitive primers or handloads with commercial primers and/or improperly seated primers increase the risk of primer detonation when the bolt slams forward. This unexpected ?slam fire? can occur even if the trigger is not being pulled and if the safety is on. Use of military specification ammunition will help avoid this. Every shooter should use extreme caution when loading this or any other firearm. See page 17 for instructions on proper loading to help avoid a ?slam fire?. Also see enclosed article on ?Slam Fire? written by Wayne Faatz.

    The manual didn't have Mr. Faatz's article in it.
    From the little reading I've done I think I'd stick with standard 7.62x51 NATO rounds to avoid slam fires!
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