Posted on 04/25/2009 1:36:34 PM PDT by wafflehouse
American commercial .308 caliber ammo is roughly equivalent to 7.62 X 51mm NATO ammunition. This is the caliber that FN and M1A rifles are chambered for.
It is NOT interchangeable with AK ammunition which is 7.62 X 39mm Russian.
The rule of thumb, and it's a VERY good rule if you ask me, is to fire ONLY the caliber of ammunition which is stamped on the reciever of the rifle.
If it says ".223", then purchase and fire ONLY .223 ammo out of it. If it says "5.56 NATO" on it, then only fire 5.56 NATO ammo. Now the caveat here is that Winchester has said it's safe to fire .223 ammo out of a rifle with a 5.56mm chamber. So I feel comfortable doing so.
Now my M1A is stamped "7.62mm NATO", so that's all I fire out of it unless I've reloaded ammunition to the 7.62 specification.
My AK is fed ONLY 7.62 X 39mm Russian ammo, PERIOD.
So my advice is whatever rifle you purchase fire ONLY the caliber of ammo that is stamped on it until you really, really, REALLY know what you're doing.
It's not worth having a weapon explode in your face so you can save a couple of bucks shooting 'cheaper' ammo. That ammo may very well end up being the most expensive of your life.
It could also end up being the LAST ammo of your life.
L
Small correction. Off the top of my head i think that the major issue might be a tighter leade on the .223 causing a shorter jump than the .556 is designed for and resulting in unacceptable pressures with 5.56.
Either way: Bad to fire 5.56 in .223.
prices are pretty close to manufacturer online list prices, but reading some of these other posts, $1000 might not be such a great deal.
It's a darned well built, rugged, reliable, and powerful rifle. If you can scare one and a few tins of 8MM ammo up I'd say go for it.
Try Mitchells Mausers to start with. They've got some very nice ones.
Prices have been crazy on these, but $1000 for a Bushmaster sounds reasonable.
Good advice. Always ber VERY careful. You could have say a 9 mm pistol and another caliber and soemhow put the wrong ammo into it or ditto with a rifle.
Cleaning guns is a another thing. Always be careful especially with rifles. If you are new to guns, join the NRA and find one of their local classes or get a CCW just for the class or see if the gun store has classes.
Great rifles for massaging shoulders
ok, good advice. thanks :-)
Please report to your local negborhood coordinator for a re-education appointment.
1:14 is a SLOWER twist. You want to be shooting 46 gr bullets with that barrel. A 1:7 is a fast twist. Suitable for the 62 to 72 gr offerings. A 1:9 works well with the common 55 gr FMJ.
Why?
the bushmaster website starts listing at just over 1000 and goes up from there.. at the gun show they are a bit higher though, 1200-1400. i suppose there could be some bells and whistles on them though
thanks for the link
The 1K for a Bushmaster is about right, depending on the model.
If you'd like some advice I'd say buy one chambered for 5.56MM NATO. It'll be stamped on the receiver. Then you can safely and confidently fire either 5.56 NATO or commercial .223 ammunition.
If you're going the AK route take the money you save over the AR and put that into ammunition and, more importantly IMO, range time.
Whatever you chose, make sure you practice, practice, practice. Get some training, too.
Most importantly have fun. Once you're confident with your rifle take a non-shooting friend to the range with you.
Good luck.
L
You wont find a lot of info on these, but they are great rifles made in Tx. Those MSRPs are high but are probably about right for todays market
My impression is that the two main differences between .223 and 5.56 are: 1) the throat on the 5.56 is a bit longer, and 2) the 5.56 produces about a 10,000 psi higher chamber pressure than the .223.
Having said that, quite a few manufacturers seem to have beefed up their chambers for 5.56, even though they are “nominally” chambered for .223. I suppose the longer throat would make a .223 fired from a 5.56 somewhat less accurate, but I’m not an expert.
Of course, you should check with the specific manufacturer, since AR-15’s etc seem to be multiplying like rabbits (NOT apologies to the likes of Carter and Kerry!).
I also think (based on “some” reading) that the 7.62 and the .308 are virtually identical.
I would try to check the exact price with the options against Bushmaster’s website, but if it’s only about $100 more it’s probably worth it (you would probably pay that much in shipping and FFL transfer fees if your ordered direct).
I haven't checked the chamber on my Encore .308 pistol barrel. It might work with 7.62X51 NATO, but I'm sure going to measure carefully first.
Rock River Arms or S&W.
For a 5.56mm on an improved AK frame, check out the Galil Golani sporter.
About $700.00 or so on gunbroker.com. Those with bayonet lugs are hard to find, but they do p.o. the liberals so.
Yes, they’re rebuilds. But I just spent most of this past Sunday cleaning my issue M16A2 after range firing, and the Golani cleans up much faster and is more fun to shoot.
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