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Gents

 

What are you guys using for .308 ammo, where are you getting it and how much are you paying?

 

I'm looking to feed a hungry Springfield M1A with something that is not corrosive and won't tear up the barrel based on bullet metal content.

 

Any suggestions?

 

Wolverine

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Like gunguy51 says, the South African stuff works just fine. The Australian stuff is a little faster but seemingly less commonly available. Both are non corrosive, I'm not sure if they are reloadable. One of the reasons I bought the Saiga was to use surplus so I don't have to reload for ALL of my calibers. Don

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Thanks for the response and feedback guys. I take it part of the reason for this choice includes the lead inner core rather than steel. Are there any US manufacturers that use lead? I note Sportsman Guide carries Federal in bulk as mil spec for training purposes only for a pretty decent price.

 

Further input is appreciated. :rolleyes:

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I have used the South Africian, its been plentful at the gun shows around here, same prices as mailorder and no shipping, along with some Australian(austrailan made not the surplus made for australian south american stuff). Stay away from the Indian stuff especally the plastic bagged late ninties ofv, its had loading problems.(though I have read on a fal forum that the seventies bandolered in cans ofv is good, not sure on that one) Some of the nato stuff will have steel cores, cannot remember which ones though, easy just to check with a magnet.

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If I remember correctly, the 308 Win. cartridge (and 7.62 Nato) was not developed until after the switch had been made from mercuric, to non-mercuric primers. In other words, any 308/7.62 that you find is going to be non-corrosive. I have yet to find any that is corrosive. If you do (or anyone else) then let me know; I'd be interested in hearing about it.

 

Also, you're not likely to find any steel CORE 308/7.62 for sale. You may find steel JACKETED ammo though. Keep in mind, it's a very mild steel, otherwise it wouldn't conform to the rifling. It may or may not be more damaging to the bore; the results aren't in yet. As always, I may be wrong. If anyone has detailed information on the subject, I'd be interested in hearing about it through a PM.

 

By the way Wolverine, how does your M1A shoot? Have you fallen in love with it yet? ; )

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Concerning corrosive 308 ammo: Samco in Florida advertises S&B corrosive ammo at a cheap price. I have 400 rounds of it. You may find other corrosive stuff on the market. Ther are probably some countries still making corrosive primed ammo. It is generally believed to last longer in storage. I dont know if this is true or not.

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Concerning corrosive 308 ammo: Samco in Florida advertises S&B corrosive ammo at a cheap price. I have 400 rounds of it. You may find other corrosive stuff on the market. Ther are probably some countries still making corrosive primed ammo. It is generally believed to last longer in storage. I dont know if this is true or not.

 

Hey Wolverine...I feed mine Austrian Hirtenberg, works well, and got a case of 1000 for 190$ at the local shop.

 

I also have a case of old orange box Norinco stuff, it works well too. Just stay away from wolf 308..it's craptastic.

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Thanks for the additional information. Bravo, I note one of the mail order ammo suppliers has the Austrian stuff but he wants $299 for 1,000 rds.

 

I took the Socom-16 out today. I was using ammo from Argentina made in the early 80's that I picked up at the Gun show this past weekend. It is copper jacketed lead core with brass casing. The boxes smelled a little musty but the ammo looks pretty good and worked fine. I paid $100 for 500 rds. Supposedly, this ammo was produced for Australia under contract but who knows.

 

I ordered some Mil Spec .308 from SportsmanGuide (manufactured in from Lake City, Mo.) at $200 for $1,000 rds. of "training" ammo. It is recent production using unfired cases with various date stamps. It is on back order until 9/30/05.

 

I believe AmmoMan is offering the same stuff (currently in stock) but wants $250 for 1000 rds.

 

Anyway, the Socom-16 is a fine weapon. It shot pretty accurate right out of the box. I sighted it in with a few minor adjustments and put about 100 rounds through it. I got some pretty nice groups shooting (freehand) without a rest.

 

I'm still getting used to the M1A Socom. The Socom weighs more than the Saigas. The magazine and safety are new for me. So is the power of this round but recoil was relatively minimal. As I had read Springfield's muzzle device is quite effective. I really like this little rifle and am glad I made the investment. It's a keeper. Now to try out it's big brother the Scout Squad!! :super::super:

 

Wolverine :smoke:

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I have shot 3000 rounds of this .308 ammo:

 

.308 Ball, Mixed head stamps. The countries of manufacture are; Belgium, Israel, Portugal, and U.S. manufactured during the 70's and 80's, 147 gr. BT bullet,BE & BO *,NC.

 

Stock No. 2021, $109.00/1000 (In Stock)

 

Stock No. 2022, $65.00/500 (In Stock)

 

 

 

www.southernammo.com

 

Shipping to NJ is $17 for 1000 rounds

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I have shot 3000 rounds of this .308 ammo:

 

.308 Ball, Mixed head stamps. The countries of manufacture are; Belgium,  Israel, Portugal, and U.S. manufactured during the  70's and  80's, 147 gr. BT bullet,BE & BO *,NC.

 

Stock No. 2021, $109.00/1000    (In Stock)

 

Stock No. 2022, $65.00/500        (In Stock)

 

 

 

www.southernammo.com

 

Shipping to NJ is $17 for 1000 rounds

 

switlikbob,

 

That's pretty cheap. How's the quality in terms of accuracy and condition of the cartridges? Any corrosion? Any reliabilty issues such as misfire, hangfire, etc. or has it all been good stuff? Thanks for the steer.

 

Wolverine

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as far as Sportsman's Guide goes, when they give you a backorder date, don't hold yer breath...I live in Minnesota, and deal with them frequently, and have learned that if it isn't in stock today, don't expect them to get hold of you if and when it does come in. by then, you are totally forgotten. even if you place a firm order pending. you need to keep checking with them and pounce when the stuff is in the warehouse. they have extremely high turnover rate with their employees, the whole operation is rather loose, you need to pay attention to the actual catalog number of what you want, if you get that wrong, you'll end up paying more. also, forget asking them to look something up, they are totally helpless about answering simple lookup questions.

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NO DOUBT....

 

What it says in their catalogue... is what they have on their computers... no help there...

 

I agree about the backorder BS too... takes forever... and iof you DONT call to nag them, your boned if it comes in and you didnt happen to catch it when it was...

 

Although.. I DID luck out ONCE... and they charged my CC and it arrived without my realizing it till I found the box on the front porch on day....

 

so that was cool...

 

STILL.... They *USUALLY* have some of the BEST prices on AMMO going... Take the wait for a good price... I guess it all comes out in the wash, eh??

 

 

:smoke:

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  • 11 months later...
switlikbob,

 

That's pretty cheap. How's the quality in terms of accuracy and condition of the cartridges? Any corrosion? Any reliabilty issues such as misfire, hangfire, etc. or has it all been good stuff? Thanks for the steer.

 

Wolverine

Sorry for the really late reply. I had 4 misfires out of the 3000 rounds. Other than that, no corosion and the rounds were accurate as hell. 2 inch groups at 200 yrds iron sighted...

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I've had great experience with SG. They usually ship my backordered stuff sooner than promised, don't charge for seperate shipping like Midway, and when I had to return something, they sent me a prepaid mailer.

 

Speaking of which, I scored some really nice FN Belgian 308 from them a while back for cheap (~180 for 1200??). Shipping was cheap too, not like Cheaper than Dirt who gouges you.

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The NATO stuff I've fired is very innaccurate.

 

Winchester 147gr. white-box was spot-on at 50 yds. (the range was flooded -- didn't slog any further out)

 

On another trip, Black Hills 175gr. BTHP was dead-on at 100 yards.

Pricey, but it is worth it if one MUST fire at that distance and be accurate.

 

I haven't fired the Blk.Hls. 168gr, yet

 

 

Best,

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