[Sgt Rick 417]

I own a Remington 760 carbine in .308 Win and a Remngton Model 7 in .223.
Can I safely shoot military surplus 7.62 NATO or 5.56mm in tese rifles?

 

[zachaliles]

i dont personally know about the 7.62 nato, but i know my remington 700 in .223 will not, i say again, will not cycle 5.56MM. it chambers fine, shoots like any other mil-surp ammo(terrible) but will not eject. i had to run my cleaning rod down the barrel after every round fired to get it the round out. never ever had that problem with standard .223 Rem ammo. i think it has something to do with the rim being slightly smaller to cycle through semi autos easier, but thats just a S.W.A.G on my part. someone else will chime in on the specifics of it all.

 

[Gil Martin]

It depends

The links below discuss the differences between the .308 Win. and 7.62mm NATO. The second link talks about the .223 Rem and the 5.56mm and some potential concerns. Interesting reading so you can draw your own conclusions. Hope this helps. All the best...
Gil


http://www.thegunzone.com/30cal.html


http://www.thegunzone.com/556v223.html

 

[pisgah]

There are slight but potentially problematic diffferences between the military rounds and their civilian counterparts. Just about all "assault rifle" style rifles today will accept either, except tight-chambered custom jobs intended for varmint or target work. The average sporter, though, will have the somewhat tighter-than-military chambers which can lead to trouble with military ammo. Of course, rifle chambers do vary a bit, and there are probably sporters out there that will be fine -- but sticking cases would be a sign that something is not right.

 

[nvshooter]

5.56mm NATO vs .223Rem: The debate rages on...

From what I know about the subject, military ammo is loaded to higher pressures in these two cartridges than is commercial ammo. Your extraction problem could be related to that. Also, the throat in a 5.56mm barrel is longer than in a .223Rem to facilitate breeching and extraction at high cyclic rates. I don't have a bolt .223, but I do have a T/C Encore chambered in that round. I find 5.56mm and .223Rem fire just fine in it and deliver eye-opening accuracy. Ever wonder why there are no 5.56mm NATO reloading dies? If they're out there, I've never seen any...