308 enfield

johnkristyj

Every one asks if 7.62 nato can be fired in a rifle chambered for .308 winchester. I am curious if My Ishapor Enfield chambered for 7.62 nato will safely fire a commercial .308 round? Can some one help please?

jonk

This is one of the specific cases where the two are NOT interchangeable. The 7.62 is loaded to a lower max pressure level than some .308 Winchester is. The gun is safe with the 7.62 but not with a .308. That said, I fired 40 rounds of .308 before I heard this myself. No trouble. Is your gun going to blow up if you do? Not at all likely. However, eventually, the gun will likely start to strech out of spec and eventually COULD fail. Certainly stay away from any light magnum ammo. Think of the 7.62 as one specific loading of the .308; just as some loads cause trouble in the M1 in 30-06, so too can some cause trouble in the Ishapore.

If you handload and keep 2-3 gr under the max charge for any listed load you should be ok, this related to me by an IMR service rep.

"...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conf

Xracer

Jonk has nailed it.

Generally speaking, any rifle chambered for commercial .308 can be used with 7.62 NATO.

While .308 will fit any (military) rifle chambered for 7.62 NATO, many commercial .308s are loaded to higher pressure than the 7.62 military load, and shouldn't used in rifles made for 7.62. This is particularly true of older military rifles that were converted to 7.62 from other calibers.