.308 Nato

[afmo]

Is the .308 NATO (7.62x51) cartridge interchangeable with the .308 WIN cartridge?

[Joeywhat]

Usually this depends...NATO rounds are designed with tighter tolerances then commercial ammo. They also use thicker brass. You may or may not have trouble with interchanging them.

Typically what I do (I shoot 5.56 from time to time) is to never put NATO ammo in a gun chambered for commercial ammo (like .223). You can, however put .223 into a gun chambered for 5.56 NATO.

You probably won't have many problems...but probably doesn't cut it for me when dealing with guns.

[afmo]

k, what i'm looking at is an Enfield 2a, chambered in .308 NATO (7.62x51). the price is right, but i'm not going to drop the cash on if i need another specialized caliber....

[EricCartmann]

There is a big argument on this that has been going on for years. You will hear many people say they are not the same when in fact they are truly the same.

[lobster_roboto]

They should be fine.

I've ran both 7.62 NATO and .308win in large quantities with a Lee Enfield and a CETME.

[nickb]

Originally Posted by afmo

Is the .308 NATO (7.62x51) cartridge interchangeable with the .308 WIN cartridge?

Short answer is NO.

The head spacing is a little different so you can run into problems. Yes each round might work in either weapon for a while, or not. The tolerance limits are not spec'd the same. 1.635 is what I remember as being best for both rounds. But.....

There are some really good breakdowns out there that explain it much better than I or most could. I'll try to find one for you.

[EricCartmann]

I like to quote this one guy a lot. He says it best.

The point is that you get a different pressure number for .308 Winchester depending on which gauge you choose to measure it with. You get 52,000 PSI with the copper crusher gauge, which is known as copper units of pressure (cup) and you get 62,000 PSI for the same loading of the same .308 Win with the piezoelectric transducer gauge. The use of these two different gauges by the US military (copper crusher) and the commercial SAAMI specs (piezo) is responsible for the fictitious net rumor that .308 is loaded to much higher pressures (62,000) than 7.62 NATO (50,000). They are actually loaded to approximately the same pressures when you measure with the same gauge (50,000 vs 52,000 PSI). Die rumor, die!

[nickb]

Originally Posted by EricCartmann

I like to quote this one guy a lot. He says it best.

It's not just the pressure that's different.

No question, we are talking very small differences here. But are your digits, Chiclets or peepers worth the chance?

[EricCartmann]

Originally Posted by nickb

It's not just the pressure that's different.

No question, we are talking very small differences here. But are your digits, Chiclets or peepers worth the chance?

i have shot .308 ammo in my 7.62x51 FAL rifle and 7.62x51 ammo in my .308 AR-10 rifle without issues. However no need to take "chances" like the way I am doing. There are inexpensive tools out there that measures your chamber if you are really worried about it.

i find it weird how the case length and OAL are the same between my Federal Powershox 308 ammo and my Lithuanian 7.62x51.

read gun mags and fulton armory bulletins as law if you want, i will continue to use common sense myself.

[nickb]

Originally Posted by EricCartmann

i have shot .308 ammo in my 7.62x51 FAL rifle and 7.62x51 ammo in my .308 AR-10 rifle without issues. However no need to take "chances" like the way I am doing. There are inexpensive tools out there that measures your chamber if you are really worried about it.

i find it weird how the case length and OAL are the same between my Federal Powershox 308 ammo and my Lithuanian 7.62x51.

read gun mags and fulton armory bulletins as law if you want, i will continue to use common sense myself.

Eric, I'm not trying to tell you or anyone what to do. But, there are differences not just between 308 & NATO but just in NATO itself. The stuff is made all over the world and has been for decades. There are some known bad manufactures and batches of NATO. Common sense should tell you that it's very likely you will find variances in NATO made all over the world.

OP asked a simple "unqualified" question. If you want to qualify your advice and say he's probably good to go if he is using new weapons and fairly new ammo, I won't argue. But you can't just say 308 and NATO are interchangeable.

Bottom line; The question has more to do with what rifle you are using than what cartridge. Older 7.62 chambers do need to be checked before you consider using 308.