Can I use 7.62x51 ammo in a .308 rifle?

Yes.

Yes you can, however you cannot always do the other, Some rifles that are chambered in Nato cannot handle .308.

That's fine, just got my .308 savage and no trying to find something to feed it.  Cabelas has wwb 7.62 nato for $20.99 in stock

7.62x51 can be safely fired in .308 chambered rifles.

 

The opposite of .223/5.56.  5.56x45 cannot be safely fired in .223 chambered rifles.

Ammunition is another leg in your quest for a precision shooting rifle. You should be looking for things that say something in the line of 175 grn. Match, M118LR, or MK316. Unless you reload, you should test out factory loads from the big names like Federal, Winchester, Remington, Hornady, ect. to see what your rifle likes. Once you determine what you and it likes, start buying the ammunition in bulk, within the same lot number. As your skills improve, you will need to rezero with new lot numbers when your bulk ammo runs out, and keep track of their performance in your log book. Yes, even with the same load from the same manufacturer, you will see variance in lot numbers. It's all about consistency and removing variables.

All ammunition is not created equal...

Ammunition is another leg in your quest for a precision shooting rifle. You should be looking for things that say something in the line of 175 grn. Match, M118LR, or MK316. Unless you reload, you should test out factory loads from the big names like Federal, Winchester, Remington, Hornady, ect. to see what your rifle likes. Once you determine what you and it likes, start buying the ammunition in bulk, within the same lot number. As your skills improve, you will need to rezero with new lot numbers when your bulk ammo runs out, and keep track of their performance in your log book. Yes, even with the same load from the same manufacturer, you will see variance in lot numbers. It's all about consistency and removing variables.

All ammunition is not created equal...

Thanks for the great advise, it's hard to find ammo now.  At this point I just want to get a feel for the gun that is why I am grabbing whatever is available.  I will definately be buying quality ammo in the near future.  But at this time I just want to shoot it.

Can I use 7.62x51 ammo in a .308 rifle?

 

no......hand it over since it will only fit in my SCAR17. 

No Problem, Brother. I just wanted to make sure you understood the relationship the ammunition plays. It's easy to get discouraged when you first start out, and shooting what equates to military ball in a precision rifle will not normally generate the results the shooter is expecting or hoping for. Good luck and have fun...

A lot of surplus ammo is designed for torso accuracy and not target match accuracy. It used to be inexpensive but not so much anymore. When I sight in a .308 rifle, I'll use surplus ammo to get me on the target rather than wasting my accuracy handloads for that purpose. The pressures of .308 ammo is often more than some 7.62x51 mil-surp rifles can take, so care needs to be taken before shooting so that you don't hurt yourself or others or damage your firearm.

The only thing I can think to add is that sometimes civy 308 rifles have a hard time with Mil-surp primers as they are harder. So dont be shocked if you get a click instead of a bang.