The ammunition plant at Lake City is related to Federal, so their case is head stamped with the Federal symbol and date of manufacture. The ammo also offers a muzzle velocity of over 2,700 feet per second, with a muzzle energy of 2,485 ft. The boxer-primed ammo is non-corrosive and has a reloadable brass case that can be reloaded up to seven times. Since this Federal Lake City 7.62 ammo is topped with steel core magnetic bullets, you wouldn't be allowed to use them at indoor ranges.
US SPRINGFIELD 1898 AMMO PRICE FULL
This ammo, marked with an “XM” lot designation, comes packaged in a plastic MTM ammo can with a rubber seal for easy carry to the range and for protection during storage.īulk-packed Federal XM80 7.62x51mm NATO features 149-grain copper-plated, full metal jacket bullets. Government-Owned, Contractor-Operated facility, or GOCO for short.Įven though Lake City Ammunition has been loaded to exact NATO specifications, some production batches do not meet all military specifications and they may have very slight, (typically cosmetic), imperfections. This bulk of affordable 7.62x51mm NATO ammunition comes from the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant (LCAAP), a U.S. Our final advice, though not as accurate as commercial ammo, is the military FMJ as the cheapest, best deal so you can keep a surplus of military ball ammo, though you should avoid using the surplus stuff labeled "loose" or "bulk". However, you should avoid using frangible loadings and any ammo type labeled "light magnum." Some tracer and armor piercing ammunition produced in NATO specs can also be used. The second reason is the soft bullet's parts that end up in the rifle's inner workings, and can then block the whole weapon.įor target shooting, you will probably want to stick to using bullets that are a standard full metal jacket (FMJ), or "ballistic tip" type, cartridges topped with 168-grain bullets manufactured by a match grade ammo company. On the other hand, some shooters don't advise using soft-tipped bullets, mostly because they do not always feed reliably from the magazine. will damage your M1A operating rod.īesides weight, the bullet construction is very important in hunting, so many hunters also recommend hollow point and soft point rounds because they can cause quick and humane kills. Since bullets that are too heavy are more affected by gravity, projectiles of 168 grain are recommended for best accuracy in long-range shooting.Ĭartridges for deer hunting purposes also demand the heavy 168-grain bullets, but a larger 175-grainer is better for bigger game, such as moose. 308 bullets may be a better solution since they are less susceptible to being blown off course by the wind. However, shooting for maximum accuracy and heavier hunting, the. 308/7.62mm bullet weight depends on your intended use of M1A, but as rough guidelines, we break it down for you.įor casual plinking, you can use whatever bullet weight you want, with a focus on small price and proper functioning in your M1A. when shooting past 600 yards.Īs for the scope or any other gun accessory selection, the first thing to do before making a decision is to determine the purpose for your ammo.Ĭhoosing the right. and not use anything smaller than 147 gr., or 168 gr.
While general advice is to avoid steel-cased ammo in a semi-automatic M1A, the uniform bullet weight is not so strict, but you have to stay within the golden middle. While the bullets (projectiles) can weigh anywhere between 15 grains for the lightest calibers (17 HMR bullets) all the way up to 750 grains (.50 BMG), the most common type. 308 ammo in weapons chambered for the NATO cartridge, to keep yourself ultra-safe, you should fire only 7.62x51m NATO in 7.62 chambered firearms and. While the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) does not consider it unsafe to fire the. 308 ammunition chamber, the headspace is between 1.630 and 1.6340 inches. For the 7.62x51mm NATO it is between 1.6355 and 1.6405 inches and for the sporting. This is the distance from the face of the bolt to a point on the chamber, which stops forward motion of the cartridge. Since the military rifles for 7.62x51mm NATO are designed to provide reliable feeding and operation by using ammo made all over the world, they usually have longer chamber headspace. If you have barrel discipline when loading the rifle, then all is well. However, this is a very remote possibility. Unlike harder military ammo primers, the civilian ammunition utilizes primers that are more sensitive with an increased risk of primer detonation when the bolt slams forward.
Another more theoretical issue can often be found on the web and refers to a different specification for cartridge primers.