Spanish FR-8

[Catfish Magic]

I received a Spanish FR-8 today as a late Christmas gift, the CETME rifle trainer. I've been eying one for a while. I love the rifle itself, but I have a concern.

Ammo. 7.62 CETME, 7.62 NATO, or .308 Win.? I keep hearing conflicting reports, some say that the FR-8 will handle .308 Win just fine, some say NATO, some say the low pressure 7.62 CETME. So, what do you guys think? It's a large ring 98 action, so I'm thinking 7.62 NATO is fine, but I hear Spanish actions are soft.

PS, mine is dated 1956. The CETME "Type C" barrel wasn't produced until 1964, and it was, supposedly, an upgrade to handle NATO loads.

Thanks,
Catfish Magic

Information

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[jonnyc]

Well, at the risk of igniting a fire storm........7.62x51, 7.62 Nato, and .308 Win. are essentially different names for the same round, so you have no problem there. The 7.62 Cetme is a lighter loading, but it was developed for the small-ring FR-7, not the FR-8 that uses a stronger large-ring Mauser action. Many large-ring Mauser actions get safely chambered for 7.62x51, 7.62 Nato, and .308 Win.

[arado]

I have a case of surplus cetme 7.62x51 ammo. It is very comfortable to shoot in a bolt action. It will not cycle an fal. I use Nato 7.62x51 in my Fr7 and Fr8. They were built to handle 8 Mauser pressure. That' s CIP not Sammi. gary

[Catfish Magic]

Thanks for the input! I have believe 7.62 NATO is slightly lower in pressure than the .308 Win, but I could be wrong.

[jonnyc]

You are, but that's OK, it's a common internet myth.

[Aragorn243]

The FR-7 is built on an action designed for the 7mm cartridge which produces pressures well below 7.62 NATO and care should be taken in using the more powerful round. General recommendations are it will not stand up to repeated long time use and should use reduced load handloads. It won't blow up but will develop excessive headspace over time.

The FR-8 is built on an action designed for the 8mm cartridge which produces pressures just slightly below 7.62 NATO and given the usual Mauser safety factor should be fine for NATO.

[ArizonaBeagle]

What He Said.....^^^^^^^^
Oh Goody.....the other eternal debate........

From Surplusrifle.com .............

"In terms of pressure, there is a wide (very wide) gap between the 7.62 NATO and the .308 Winchester. Here at Surplusrifle.com, we recommend in the strongest possible terms that you do not fire factory .308 Winchester ammunition in any Mil-Surp rifle chambered for the 7.62 NATO round.

Keep in mind that old rifles should be thoroughly inspected before shooting, and that each rifle is unique as to what loads it will handle. A person that reloads using .308 brass; should stick to the bottom loads from their current loading manual. The bottom load has reduced pressures, and is usually more accurate anyway. That load should also be crosschecked against at least 2 other current loading manuals. "

Article here........
http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting...nato/index.asp

I shoot both a FR-7 and FR-8 and I do download ever so slightly for the FR-7 as it is a Mauser 93 action versus Mauser 98 for the FR-8.

AZB

[Catfish Magic]

The FR-7 is built on an action designed for the 7mm cartridge which produces pressures well below 7.62 NATO and care should be taken in using the more powerful round. General recommendations are it will not stand up to repeated long time use and should use reduced load handloads. It won't blow up but will develop excessive headspace over time.

The FR-8 is built on an action designed for the 8mm cartridge which produces pressures just slightly below 7.62 NATO and given the usual Mauser safety factor should be fine for NATO.

Thanks, this is what I was thinking. I'm not so much worried about the action as I am the barrel, being a NATO chamber, it won't handle .308 Win properly.