7.62 and 308 win:5.56 and 223?

Question

i have burnt alot of ammo in miliary and my fair share in civilian life,i ve always thought that the 308 and 7.62 nato are intechangable just different nominclature military vs civlian.and the same applys for the 5.56 and 223.read a posting the other day and the guy said there was just enough diverance that they would not interchange .ive shot both alot but never used military ammo in my personal weopon or vice a versa .have i been wrong all these years thinking that rounds were the same rounds just different names

Answer 1

That is a common rumor, but they are different. I have a Ruski 7.62 myself and was headed to buy 308 rounds... LUCKILY I went to the Army Surplus and the guy was very familiar with the weapon and told me the 308 would not work in it.

Answer 2

The bullet with the main important diameter is one in .380". All of those are in inches, different than the 7.62mm, that's clearly in millimeters. .308" and 7.62mm are an analogous diameter. .223" is greater or less the equivalent of five.56mm. while you're speaking approximately how powerful they're, there is not any thank you to evaluate. There are multiple .223" and .308"/7.62mm cartridges. Offhand, i will record 2 or 3 cartridges that use a .223" bullet, and a minimum of a dozen that use a .308" bullet. those are rifle cartridges, nonetheless, and a .380" bullet will often be in a handgun cartridge. A .380 ACP, as an occasion, is a reasonably low-powered handgun cartridge, considered by ability of many to be the weakest cartridge it particularly is nonetheless suited for self protection. A .308 Winchester is a reasonably extreme-powered rifle around which could be suited for looking enormous interest such as deer and probable elk.

Answer 3

Maybe they are, and maybe they aren't. The military round conforms to CIP standards, where the US civilian round conforms to SAAMI standards. The test barrel for the former has the pressure transducer placed at the case mouth, and the leade is more generous. The latter has the pressure transducer back towards the case head, and it'll measure a higher pressure, all else being equal, with equivalent loads. So it's possible you'll get a military round that's hotter than SAAMI specs. Add to that the possibility of the military round having the bullet touching the lands when chambered, and that will run your pressures up even more. If you have a strong bolt-action with enough leade, it won't be a problem, but most shooters won't know how to check, so it's generally best to be a bit cautious. This applies more the 5.56x45 than to 7.62x51, where bullet weights (and lengths) won't get you into trouble.

Answer 4

I always thougth the same thing... Especially since the M14 I was issued shot 7.62 nato... and was nothing more than a winchester .308 so I guess it should be fine. I never (thankfully) got a face full of (whatever could blow up on me).

So I was shooting 7.62 nato out of the .308 Winchester and it
worked just fine. Standart and A.P.

Answer 5

7.62 X 51 mm is the Nato round..... the same as .308 ......NOT 30-06 which is 7.62 X 63 mm

.308 Nato - 7.62 X 51 mm
30-06 --- 7.62 X 63 mm

.223 and 5.56 mm are the same round.....

I have bought many .223 rounds made by winchester at the gun shop and fired them in an AR15 at the gun range.... same round.....

Answer 6

They are different, but usually not by enough to be dangerous. The military version has slightly higher pressures and the cartridge length is not exactly the same.. I reload and use military brass in my civilian chambered rifles with no problem. I've shot at least 5,000 rounds of my .223 reloads and about 3,000 rounds of .308 reloads.

Answer 7

You have some of it right the 7.62 is actually the 30-06... And the 5.56 is 223.


I have used a 30-06 bullets in a AK-47 interchangeably... I have no idea if it was modified for use with the more common 30-06.. I have spent my share of ammunition and was acutally the ncoic of my batt. for land and ammo. But I could very well be wrong.

Answer 8

They are identical.