indian surplus .308 ammo?

Question

i just got a remington 700 .308 and i [lan on sighting it in with federal ammo but until i get used to the rifle i planned on shooting with some indian ammo from cheaperthandirt.com but ive been hearing mixed reviews on the ammo anyone have a good/bad expirience

Answer 1

Just my 2 cents here, but all the India surplus 308 ammo I've shot has been crap. Had more than a handful of cartridges where you open the pack they come in and the bullets fall out of the casings!/ Had squibs, no fires, hang fires( hang fires scare me) and just plain old duds. And when/if they did fire, they're not accurate, and as the others have said, they are corrosive as well. You're better off with South African surplus, best 308 surplus ammo I've ever fired was SA surplus.

Answer 2

The Indian ammo is OK for just plinking and playing. BUT, remember that most of is is at least "mildly corrosive". This is no big deal in a bolt action gun, you just need to make sure that you either use hot soapy water first, or a good military bore cleaner, then use your regular cleaner/lubricant to finish off. This will neutralize the corrosives and protect your firearm. I would only add that you need to make sure to hit the bolt really well also, to protect it as well. If you use a semi auto rifle, I don't recomend the Indian stuff as it will take you forever to detail strip and clean all the corrsives off!!
I know that some people will say that after the early '70's all ammo stopped being corrosive, but I'm here to tell you that anything before the early 80's is still corrosive. Don't learn the lesson the hard way, take the extra time to clean that rifle right if your using Indian ammo.
Shoot safe

Answer 3

7.62x51 NATO and .308 Winchester are NOT the same, but it's the .308 that creates higher pressures.

You should be fine to shoot 7.62 NATO in a rifle chambered for .308.

The only reason for concern is if you have an old two-lug Mauser (usually Spanish) that was later modified to accept 7.62 NATO. These are not safe shooting modern high pressure .308.

Count on the Indian surplus to have corrosive primers, but a quick swab after shooting with Windex or just household ammonia will neutralize the salts and then a regular cleaning will be fine. I have a bunch of that Indian .308 and it shoots OK, it's not the most accurate but it's not garbage either. Great for getting yourself familiar with your rifle as range ammo.

Answer 4

I think you'll find the performance not as good as Federal but use it as 'blasting ammo'. Be sure and thoroughly clean the barrel after each use, just in case the primers are not the quality you're use to.
Use a good bore cleaner like Hoppe's or an equal.

Answer 5

Tango is right about the pressure, but only somewhat. Standard 5.56 is loaded to a higher pressure than .223. Fortunately, if it is marked 7.62, it's going to be loaded to a slightly lower pressure than .308. Since it's in a sturdy bolt-gun, though, I wouldn't worry about it. I did try a battlepack of that in my Saiga, and it didn't have enough pressure to cycle reliably. I doubt that's going to matter to you, but you might not be getting as flat of trajectories as you'd like.

Answer 6

STOP do not do that. if it is marked as 7.62x51mm surplus ammo.

The military ammo is loaded ot a high psi for use in machine guns. This could cause a over pressure condition in your rifle and cause you to become seperated from your hands and or your head.

EDIT TO ADD

You are right I appolgize for the screw up on my part.

EDIT TO ADD

Watch out for Crossive primers. Not sure if they are still using them in other countries. but they can be hell on a barrel if not cleaned right away.

Answer 7

I have sold the same stuff in my store. Never had a complaint.

Answer 8

Give it a try. I assume you're talking about 7.62mm?

Answer 9

Never heard of it.*