Question about Mil Surplus Ammo

[RSK70 0]

I am relatively new to shooting (very new to gun ownership, just picked up my XD 45 today!) and have a question about surplus ammo. Along with the handgun, I have a shotgun on the way. Out of curiosity, I was browsing online and found Remington 700s are more affordable than I thought! I'd like to add a long gun to the mix but have to think about finances.

 

Came across this .308 ammo that is VERY affordable. I know military surplus can have some duds and such, but is there anything else I should know? I can live with cleaning the firearm after each use, but not sure how easy or difficult that would be. Again, I have shot a decent amount of times (never a long rifle) but have never had to learn or worry about areas of gun ownership until now.

 

http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/24770

 

Thanks

[checko 180]

It says its corrosive so you need to clean it pretty quickly to avoid damage to your gun. How difficult will it be to clean? Depends what gun. Bolt actions are a breeze, some semi autos are tougher.

 

My advice would be to buy some cheaper non corrosive stuff like pmc or auguila. Not march ammo by any means but I run them with no problem in my guns.

[GRIZ 3,369]

Keep in mind that if you spend a little more for non-corrosive, boxer primes ammo you can start saving brass to reload or recoup the extra expense by selling the brass.

[RobertJames 14]

Bolt guns, such as the Remington 700 you mentioned, will be very easy to clean. Take the bolt out, run some patched through, and oil it. If the ammoe is corrosive, just run some hot water down the barrel first. I've even heard some people spray some Windex down the barrel before leaving the range, then cleaning normally at home. YMMV. I say go for it. Use the inexpensive corrosive stuff on one of those days you just want to blow off stress and send LOTS of rounds down range. When you are trying for those sub-moa groups, spring for the good stuff. Most importantly, have fun.

[NJKen 23]

Technically 7.62 and 308 are not quite the same. will it work? Most likely...but, if it has the hard military primer that it should you may get quite a few failure to fires. I think those light bullet loads are for the CETME rifle.

That is an awefully light bullet though at 112 gr. I would stay away from that stuff for any .308 or 7.62x51. A good wight range for your rifle would be in the 150gr to 170gr range. Perhaps even a bit heavier for really long range.

Ken

[NJKen 23]

Also, steel cased Tula 150gr ammo is about the same price and would shoot a lot better. Look around and you might find a better deal. Keep an eye on www.sgammo.com

Ken

[Dan 177]

IMO, if you are going to go with a Rem 700 bolt gun, I'm thinking you are going for accuracy?

 

If so, I'd stay away from the 7.62nato milsurp for anything other then plinking or for use out of a SA military pattern rifle designed for it (DSA FAL, PTR91, M1A, etc). Keep in mind there are precision platforms based on these rifles also which would benefit from better ammo.

 

I was told by a trusted source that most of 7.62milsurp (besides match and marksman ammo) is designed for dual purpose use in battle rifles (FAL, G3, etc) and belt fed machine guns (M240 and such). The bearing surface on the bullets is going to be smaller then a match round bullet. The purpose is to reduce wear and tear on high round count machine gun barrels. Accuracy is sacrificed when doing this. Not a big deal when hitting zombie sized targets at range, but could be a big deal when looking for sub-MOA accuracy.

 

IMO, you will get much better satisfaction shooting heavier match grade ammo out of a .308 Rem 700. Stuff like 168gr - 175gr match bullets with quality components and powder. If you really get into it, reloading is the way to go, and is how I got into reloading. An affordable single stage press, scale, scoops, caliper, and some case prep accessories is all you need to get started. You will be able to make match grade rounds tailored to your liking for half the cost or better of match grade retail box stuff.