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.308 vs. 7.62

I have no doubt this has been asked / posted many times but I can't find it.

New to the M1A (Scout Squad) and this caliber, calibers...I received an email from SA customer service telling me the M1A was chambered in .308. and that I could use .308 or 7.62 ammunition. My receipt and SA's own site show the M1A to be 7.62X51 hence my confusion.

I read somewhere that 7.62 out of a designated .308 is ok but .308 out of a designated 7.62 is not a good idea because .308 is factory loaded to higher pressures. Thoughts?
 
I have no doubt this has been asked / posted many times but I can't find it.

New to the M1A (Scout Squad) and this caliber, calibers...I received an email from SA customer service telling me the M1A was chambered in .308. and that I could use .308 or 7.62 ammunition. My receipt and SA's own site show the M1A to be 7.62X51 hence my confusion.

I read somewhere that 7.62 out of a designated .308 is ok but .308 out of a designated 7.62 is not a good idea because .308 is factory loaded to higher pressures. Thoughts?
you can shoot both 7.62 or .308 in your M1A.
The user manual does specifically state NOT to use soft tip ammunition such as round nose lead tipped or other "soft point" hunting ammo.
 
It’s the same cartridge except 7.62 is loaded to a little higher pressure but not enough to make a difference. And the brass is a little thicker at the case web. The big difference is in what the gun is chambered for. 7.62 will have a longer throat. All that means is the rifling is tapered a few thousandth longer than a .308. The bullet in the 7.62 has a little more distance to travel to fully engage the rifling so it keeps the chamber pressure from spiking as quickly since it is loaded to a little higher pressure than a .308. Your M1A (awesome rifle) will handle either cartridge with no pressure problem. Your rifle might shoot 7.62 more accurately than .308 or vice versa. It’s the same with 5.56 and .223.
 
.308 and 7.62 out of the M1a are both fine. This article has more info than needed but in the end (the second to last paragraph) you’ll see your answer.
I’ve shot both from my M1a and haven’t blown up yet. 🤞🏻
Thanks for the article, that certainly answers my question.
 
@KillerFord1977 I did not know that about the soft tip ammo. Do you know why?
if memory serves, it has to do with fouling of the barrel and chamber, but I'm not 100% certain on that.
Here is the pic from the manual that states not to use the ammo type:

1780680843753.png
 
It’s the same cartridge except 7.62 is loaded to a little higher pressure but not enough to make a difference. And the brass is a little thicker at the case web. The big difference is in what the gun is chambered for. 7.62 will have a longer throat. All that means is the rifling is tapered a few thousandth longer than a .308. The bullet in the 7.62 has a little more distance to travel to fully engage the rifling so it keeps the chamber pressure from spiking as quickly since it is loaded to a little higher pressure than a .308. Your M1A (awesome rifle) will handle either cartridge with no pressure problem. Your rifle might shoot 7.62 more accurately than .308 or vice versa. It’s the same with 5.56 and .223.
.308 actually has a slightly higher pressure loading at 62,000 psi where is 7.62x51 has a load pressure of 50,000psi to 60,000psi
 
if memory serves, it has to do with fouling of the barrel and chamber, but I'm not 100% certain on that.
Here is the pic from the manual that states not to use the ammo type:

View attachment 111983
Yes fowling has a lot to do with barrel leade. And a lot of other things that affect the pressure of a cartridge. The longer throat mo a military firearm helps function and keeps the gun safe when there has been several hundred rounds fired.
 
.308 actually has a slightly higher pressure loading at 62,000 psi where is 7.62x51 has a load pressure of 50,000psi to 60,000psi
Yes the main reason is because of heat effecting pressure. A lot of guys that were having to shot longer ranges in the Middle East would cook their rounds. Snipers in a hide would lay their magazines in the sun so they would heat up and get higher pressures extending the range of the given cartridge. And during WW2 the MG rds were loaded to higher pressure than what was fired in a Garand.
 
Yes the main reason is because of heat effecting pressure. A lot of guys that were having to shot longer ranges in the Middle East would cook their rounds. Snipers in a hide would lay their magazines in the sun so they would heat up and get higher pressures extending the range of the given cartridge. And during WW2 the MG rds were loaded to higher pressure than what was fired in a Garand.
So not to confuse anyone, the M1 Garand used 30-06 NOT .308/7.62
 
Yes the main reason is because of heat effecting pressure. A lot of guys that were having to shot longer ranges in the Middle East would cook their rounds. Snipers in a hide would lay their magazines in the sun so they would heat up and get higher pressures extending the range of the given cartridge. And during WW2 the MG rds were loaded to higher pressure than what was fired in a Garand.
No..
Same ammo same max pressure. 308/762 is interchangeable since it's basically the same thing.


And no... There is no such thing as mg ammo loaded to higher pressure than what was fired in the garand.

There was no "mg ammo" at all.
 
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