m1 ammo

[roc]

in my retirement i am still learning about rifles and their ammo so please be nice lol. my question is, what is the differenc between 30-06 .308 and 7.62. Isi it the size of the bullet, the weight or the powder charge?

Information

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[LeagleEagle]

.30-06, the American military cartridge from 1906 until the late fifties when it was replaced by the 7.62x 51mm Nato round (known commercially as the .308 Winchester). The .308 is more or less equal in power to the .30-06 but with a shorter case. The 7.62 NATO was the standard cartridge for the M-14 rifle and the rifles of various Western Nations such as the FN FAL and Heckler and Koch G3. Also used in General purpose machine guns.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.30-06_Springfield

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.62x51mm_NATO

[Griff Murphey]

I notice you did not comment on the general belief that .308 Winchester and 7.62 NATO are the same caliber. Over the past 40 plus years, I have loaded several thousands of rounds of fired 7.62 match brass, using .308 Win. dies, and fired them in a variety of 7.62/.308 rifles; M-1 conversions, M-1A, M-14 (state issued years ago), FAL, Win. M-70, M-40, Rem. 700. Also have interchanged U.S. Military Ball types and commercial ammo in 7.62 NATO and .308 with no difficulty. My Steyr-built Browning FAL is actually marked ".308 Match." I understand there are some minor dimensional differences between SAAMI .308 specs and 7.62 NATO Military Specs but as a practical matter I think most people treat them as the same caliber, and that has been my experience.

That said, for legal purposes and liability, I guess we have to say: "Always use the ammunition your gun is marked for and/or consult a competent gunsmith before its use/"

[roc]

sorry to get back to you so late . thanks for the info.