7.62 in a Remington 700 ADL

smokindog

smokindog

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2013
Messages
1,833
Reaction score
1,357
Location
The Great State of Texas
Since my brass for reloading 308 got delayed, I was shopping around for some ammunition and came across a good price on a couple hundred 7.62 rounds. It's about $0.25 less per round than 308.

I THINK I know that the 308/7.62 discussion is backwards to the 223/5.56 as the 308 is actually the higher pressure round.

I read the manual that came with my 700ADL and can find no mention of using 7.62.

Any guidance from the experts with first hand info here?
 
Register to hide this ad
7.62x51mm NATO and .308 Winchester cases are identical and interchangeable for reloading - unless the 7.62mm brass is foreign military with Berdan primers. Most U. S. Military 7.62 headstamps will be L C xx, but there are others. You can safely shoot loaded 7.62 millitary ammo in any .308 rifle.
 
Last edited:
It should pose no problem, depending on the origin of the 7.62. G.I. brass is "thicker" than commercial brass and therefore, a little "hotter" when fired in a "commercial" chamber. If the ammo you purchased is reloadable and military in nature, most manuals recommend a 10% reduction of the powder load.

I have fired thousands of rounds of G.I. (U.S.) Lake City brass in my M1A, .308 M1 and Model 70 match rifles chambered for .308. I have one match rifle that is so tightly chambered, that it will only accept commercial brass, Winchester, Remington, Federal, etc. and to close the bolt on Lake City match requires excessive pressure on the bolt handle so, I just don't shoot L.C. brass or ammo out of that rifle.

I owned a Remington Mod. 700, Police model and shot several hundred rounds of Lake City M118, M852 and M118 LR ammo with great results and no ill effects. The barrel on that rifle was stamped ".308". It was and still is a tack driver and a friend of mine bought that rifle from me to shoot "F-Class" matches.

I have also witnessed individuals shooting 7.62 ammo out of Mod. 700 BDL rifles with no ill effects. A friend of mine had one, several years back, and forgot his ammo (conveniently?) when we went to the range to zero his rifle. His used some of my L.C. ammo and some R.A., Vietnam era ammo to zero the rifle with no issues. That ammo was "ball" ammo with the 147 grain bullet so, accuracy was about 1.5 to 2.5 MOA. He shot some of my hand loads that I use for matches (168 gr. Sierra BTHP) and the rifle produced sub MOA groups. The reloads I had were M118 match brass with IMR 4895 and Federal primers. There were no issues with my hand loads.

Great rifle and great caliber! Enjoy and remember to post a photo of your groups.
 
7.62mm NATO ammunition is the military designation for the .308 Winchester cartridge (actually, the 7.62mm was developed for military use with the .308 Win. introduced as the civilian designation). Initial development was intended to provide performance comparable to .30-06 with a shorter OAL to optimize performance in automatic and semi-auto weapons, as well as to provide a standard interchangeable caliber for all of the NATO countries regardless of weapons used.

I have used many fired 7.62 cases to reload as .308 Win. ammo, including US production and some foreign (UK, Australian, Venezuelan, Israeli). About the only usual impediment would be Berdan primers in some foreign produced ammo, which would require specialized tools and a source for Berdan primers.

Loads from different nations/arsenals/manufacturers will vary somewhat (bullet types & weights, Boxer vs. Berdan priming, etc) but all should be functional in the broad range of NATO weapons chambered for that cartridge, and pressures should be within industry norms.

Shooting the 7.62 ammo in your Remington 700 should not be an issue. Reloading the brass will require determining primer type (Boxer, Berdan), removing primer pocket crimp (if present), checking length, and other normal cautions. Some military production brass (not all) will have thicker than usual case walls, hence reduced internal capacities. As with any other application, start at the bottom end of the loading charts and work up loads carefully while watching for signs of excessive pressure.
 
It's often stated that 7.62mm cases are "thicker" than commercial cases. While that may be true in some cases, I have weighed U. S. GI (Lake City) brass against about every brand of commercial .308 cases. For the most part, commercial cases have essentially the same weight or are heavier than U. S. GI brass. That may not be true for foreign 7.62 military cases. Under NATO standardization agreements (STANAG), dimensions and ballistics of all NATO military cartridges are kept within the same limits, for the obvious reason that all NATO ammunition must be compatible with all NATO small arms.
 
I see the case construction discussion all the time in the 223/5.56 threads too. Not sure I've ever seen anything definitive either way there.

I picked up the can of 240 for $135 based on the input received here. Now I'll have to drive to a different range to shoot them :) Good thing I've got a couple weeks off coming up !!!!
DWalt said:
It's often stated that 7.62mm cases are "thicker" than commercial cases. While that may be true in some cases, I have weighed U. S. GI (Lake City) brass against about every brand of commercial .308 cases. For the most part, commercial cases have essentially the same weight or are heavier than U. S. GI brass. That may not be true for foreign 7.62 military cases. Under NATO standardization agreements (STANAG), dimensions and ballistics of all NATO military cartridges are kept within the same limits, for the obvious reason that all NATO ammunition must be compatible with all NATO small arms.
Click to expand...
 
I hope your Remington works well with 7.62 NATO. I have a Howa 1500 that won't group certain 147gr 7.62 NATO rounds at all. I can't recall if it was Prvi or German surplus, but it shot patterns with the stuff, far worse than my Century FAL, in fact. I think the Howa's rifling did not like that particular jacket material. The same surplus ammo is laser accurate from a converted Chilean Mauser. Go figure.
 
A little over 20 years ago I bought a BDL. The only ammo that has been run thru this rifle has been M852 and M118. Or, the reloaded equivalent using the M852 brass. Never a problem.
 
PM ME

LVSteve said:
I hope your Remington works well with 7.62 NATO. I have a Howa 1500 that won't group certain 147gr 7.62 NATO rounds at all. I can't recall if it was Prvi or German surplus, but it shot patterns with the stuff, far worse than my Century FAL, in fact. I think the Howa's rifling did not like that particular jacket material. The same surplus ammo is laser accurate from a converted Chilean Mauser. Go figure.
Click to expand...

Steve: While Howa is a well made rifle, the early ones often had too slow of a rifling twist for most weight bullets in .308 caliber. If you need a easy, fool proof method of determining the actual twist rate your rifle has, please feel free to PM me with a phone number and I will talk you thru the process. ..............
 
Big Cholla said:
Steve: While Howa is a well made rifle, the early ones often had too slow of a rifling twist for most weight bullets in .308 caliber. If you need a easy, fool proof method of determining the actual twist rate your rifle has, please feel free to PM me with a phone number and I will talk you thru the process. ..............
Click to expand...

Did not know about a slow twist issue. I'll have to do a cleaning rod twist check one day. I know it shot MUCH better with 168 grain Federal GMM.
 
Well to add to the confusion the barrel on my 40x stainless steel single shot is stamped 7.62NATO. My reloads are based on lake city match or national match cases. I once tried some south african 7.62 ball. It seemed to me that the recoil impulse was somewhat lower so maybe these cartridges were loaded to a lower pressure level. Accuracy wasn't up to the rifles usual groupings about 1.5" at 100yds. Frank
 
Big Cholla said:
Steve: While Howa is a well made rifle, the early ones often had too slow of a rifling twist for most weight bullets in .308 caliber. If you need a easy, fool proof method of determining the actual twist rate your rifle has, please feel free to PM me with a phone number and I will talk you thru the process. ..............
Click to expand...

Not too long ago (about 10 years or so) the Howa 1500 was rated as the most accurate production rifle available in an article published by NRA.

Rifling twist rates can considerably affect a rifle's performance with different ammo. Longer and heavier bullets usually require a faster rifling twist than shorter and lighter bullets in order to properly stabilize. Each rifle manufacturer produces rifles based upon their perceptions on intended uses (types of ammo, etc).

Twist rates commonly seen in .308 rifles include 1-12, 1-14, and 1-10. Each is capable of performing extremely well within certain parameters. None can be expected to be perfect for all applications.

Factory .308 ammo is offered with bullet weights from 110 to 180 grains, and reloaders have an even broader range of choices. One of the advantages of reloading is the ability to tailor ammunition for use with specific rifles for optimum performance.
 
I think the standard rifling twist for the GI M-14 was 1:12, but I have understood there were also a few barrels made with 1:10 and 1:11 twists for better performance in match rifles with heavier bullets for better long-range performance. I have a pre-64 Winchester M70 Featherweight in .308 which also has a 1:12 twist barrel. It works fine with 168 grain bullets in my experience. Maybe not so good with 180 grain bullets, but I haven't tried any bullets heavier than 168 grains. I don't know of a reason why anyone would ever use a 1:14 twist rate for a .308 unless someone planned to use only very light .30 bullets, say 130 grains or less.
 
To reload or not to reload sometimes..?....?..?

My '94 new Remington 700 in 338win. Mag. At 100yds with new over the counter Winchester super X 338wm. 225gr ammo will put two bullets through the same hole if I do my part. I purchased the reloading dies but purchased plenty of new Winchester ammo when it was $20 a box back then. She's only accurate with new Winchester ammo. I never reloaded for it yet. I don't shoot it often to save the barrel. I only hunt with it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
A reasonably priced Remington 700
Replies
8
Views
445
ColbyBruce
C
C
Remington 7/700 trigger recall/repair?
2
Replies
27
Views
1K
Buford57
B
brendonjames65
Vintage Remington 700 ADL 7mm Mag
Replies
19
Views
2K
Bald1
Bald1
D
Remington 1903A3
Replies
17
Views
2K
LVSteve
LVSteve
R
Remington 572
Replies
11
Views
565
Empe
E

Latest posts

Back
Top