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SAI M1A Caliber: 7.62 or .308

23K views 15 replies 13 participants last post by  Mainzer 
#1 ·
What is the true/actual caliber of the Springfield Armory M1A Standard?

The SAI website states "7.62 x 51mm NATO (.308 WIN)" which suggests that 7.62 is my answer. However, I believe SAI stopped stamping "7.62MM" on the receiver heels. Nearly 50% of all other internet references to the M1A (not M14) is .308. I've tried researching my answer on this forum and have not found a conclusive answer.

My SAI M1A Standard has SN 242XXX if that makes any difference.

I'm new to the M1A world and rifles in general. So, if you would, please confirm my understanding:
* generally, it is safe to shoot 7.62 in a .308 rifle
* generally, it is unsafe to shoot a hot-loaded .308 in a 7.62 rifle -- this of course begs the question, what is "too hot" and how can you tell when purchasing the ammo?
* milsurp 7.62 should be fine within my aforementioned M1A? If not, why not? What should I look out for -- hot loads?
* now that SAI is a commercial company (as opposed to the original Armory in Springfield, MA), is the M1A considered a commercial rifle or is it still considered a milsurp rifle?

This isn't a "7.62 vs .308" question. If my M1A is actually 7.62, I just want to be sure I select my .308 purchases carefully. If it's actually .308, I guess I won't care what I feed it. ;)
 
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#5 ·
SAI M1A builds are ALL chambered SAAMI .308 Winchester except for the ones SAI made with USGI chrome-lined barrels (7.62 NATO) and the relative few with .243 or 7mm-08 barrels.

There's a ton of info here (check Gus Fisher's and Art Luppino's pages) about measuring, checking, and reckoning with the slight differences b/t .308 and 7.62, but Ted Brown is the only person I can think of right off who has a set of USGI 7.62 headspace gauges.
 
#14 ·
SAI M1A builds are ALL chambered SAAMI .308 Winchester except for the ones SAI made with USGI chrome-lined barrels (7.62 NATO) and the relative few with .243 or 7mm-08 barrels.

There's a ton of info here (check Gus Fisher's and Art Luppino's pages) about measuring, checking, and reckoning with the slight differences b/t .308 and 7.62, but Ted Brown is the only person I can think of right off who has a set of USGI 7.62 headspace gauges.

Oooooh! A 7mm-08 would be nice! Probably a real flat shooter.DI2
 
#6 ·
OK, so because my M1A is actually .308, I don't have to worry too much about hot loads, right? (Not as much worry as if it were a 7.62 anyway.)

And thanks for that "7.62 vs .308" link. I had already read it actually and, unfortunately, sometimes reading a large thread is cumbersome because you have to sift through so much extra info. And, being a beginner, it's hard to separate the wheat from the chaff (in regards to my specific question).

How can you determine what any round's load is?
 
#7 ·
What is the true/actual caliber of the Springfield Armory M1A Standard?

SAI rifles are chambered for the .308 , it is safe to shoot mil surplus ammo.

The SAI website states "7.62 x 51mm NATO (.308 WIN)" which suggests that 7.62 is my answer. However, I believe SAI stopped stamping "7.62MM" on the receiver heels. Nearly 50% of all other internet references to the M1A (not M14) is .308. I've tried researching my answer on this forum and have not found a conclusive answer.

My SAI M1A Standard has SN 242XXX if that makes any difference.

I'm new to the M1A world and rifles in general. So, if you would, please confirm my understanding:
* generally, it is safe to shoot 7.62 in a .308 rifle YES
* generally, it is unsafe to shoot a hot-loaded .308 in a 7.62 rifle --correct this of course begs the question, what is "too hot" and how can you tell when purchasing the ammo? SAI will warrenty your rifle when you shoot any factory ammo. They do not recomend the light magnum ammo. Most ammo will not produce immediate damage to your rifle, it is an accumulative effect that cause most damage.
* milsurp 7.62 should be fine within my aforementioned M1A? Yes it is fine,however there are some substandard mil surplus to be stayed away from. (ask in the ammo forum.) If not, why not? What should I look out for -- hot loads?
* now that SAI is a commercial company (as opposed to the original Armory in Springfield, MA), is the M1A considered a commercial rifle or is it still considered a milsurp rifle?
SAI is a completly differant entity than the goverment arsenal and is a civilian product.
This isn't a "7.62 vs .308" question. If my M1A is actually 7.62, I just want to be sure I select my .308 purchases carefully. If it's actually .308, I guess I won't care what I feed it. ;)
Hope these answer some of your questions.
 
#8 ·
What is the true/actual caliber of the Springfield Armory M1A Standard?

The SAI website states "7.62 x 51mm NATO (.308 WIN)" which suggests that 7.62 is my answer. However, I believe SAI stopped stamping "7.62MM" on the receiver heels. Nearly 50% of all other internet references to the M1A (not M14) is .308. I've tried researching my answer on this forum and have not found a conclusive answer.

My SAI M1A Standard has SN 242XXX if that makes any difference.

First of all, welcome to the forum ROYALE. Your barrel will be stamped with .308 cal, Genoese, ILL. or will have a series of numbers/letters and 7.62 on it. That will tell you what chamber specs are.

I'm new to the M1A world and rifles in general. So, if you would, please confirm my understanding:
* generally, it is safe to shoot 7.62 in a .308 rifle

If your barrel listed as .308 you can shoot both >308 and 7.62 milsurp. Bullet weight should be kept in the 140-175 grains weight. Heavier bullets could cause damage to a unmodified rifle. If you do have a mil-surp barrel, there could be a potential problem if your chamber is too long, by using .308 ammo.


* generally, it is unsafe to shoot a hot-loaded .308 in a 7.62 rifle -- this of course begs the question, what is "too hot" and how can you tell when purchasing the ammo?

Avoid ammo listed as "Magnum or High performance" .308/7.62 This ammo is basically meant for bolt guns, and not semi-autos. Keep the weight of the bullets in the range mentioned above and should not have any problems standard factory hunting bullets or mil-surp.



* milsurp 7.62 should be fine within my aforementioned M1A? If not, why not? What should I look out for -- hot loads?
* now that SAI is a commercial company (as opposed to the original Armory in Springfield, MA), is the M1A considered a commercial rifle or is it still considered a milsurp rifle?

There are threads here on the forum that describe what ammo that is good for the M1A. SAI has a list of recommended ammo also. Give them a call and they will e-mail it to you. Hope this helps. dozier
 
#9 ·
Linkage Removal?

Thanks all for the good advice. So I took a lunch break down to my LGS, and decided to purchase a couple different rounds for comparison purposes. Among the samples, I picked up 40 rounds of 7.62 NATO surplus ammo that was on sale $10/20rds (UK RG94 144gr FMJ brass case). It comes in strings of 4-rounds attached by metal "links" -- excuse my lexical inexperience.

My question: Is there an easy method of removing the cartridges from the links? Is it just a matter of muscling it out with a plier... Each round/link can be easily hand-separated from the others but how to remove the linkage from the individual round without damaging the cartridge?
 
#13 ·
My question: Is there an easy method of removing the cartridges from the links? Is it just a matter of muscling it out with a plier... Each round/link can be easily hand-separated from the others but how to remove the linkage from the individual round without damaging the cartridge?
I put the links on a metal table and push down with the end of a Sharpie pen. That's not the greatest price on linked ammo. You might want to shop around a little more

http://m14forum.com/ammunition/102030-de-linking-ammo.html

and

http://m14forum.com/ammunition/2330...lus-internet-updated-often-so-check-back.html
 
#10 ·
Link is indeed the proper nomenclature.

welcome to the forum!

I have never shot the Radway linked ammo, but the stuff that comes on stripper clips is fantastic for surplus ! (or so was my sampling)

As far as you and I are concerned .308 and 7.62 are the same.

I don't worry about pressure or anything , the biggest projectile i will shoot is 175gr. And i believe 168 is what the military's largest projectile is (m118LR)

some stuff i have shot

Tul Ammo
Wolf .308
Silver Bear .308

those three are fine but real dirty
then

Winchester 7.62x51
Radway Green 94
Hornaday TAP
Hornaday Zombiemax
Hornaday Steel Match

Federal 175gr Sierra matchkings
M118LR
M80 Ball

all these are easy to find and worked great in my rig.
 
#12 ·
+1.
I've shot a bunch of it through mine and it works great as well as M80 ball I had. I havent had any problems with any off the shelf .308 Win either, but never have used light magnum.
However, don't shoot handloads someone made with slower burning powders as you can snap an op rod. The M1A/M14 isn't the rifle to use hot loads/push max loads either. I stick with pretty standard off the shelf loads, never had any problems except an isolated batch of really bad handloads. But handloads done properly by a knowledgeable loader can yield better results than factory loads performance wise.
m14brian
 
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