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Venezuelan CAVIM 7.62 or .308?..military surp?..NATO?...HELP

21K views 8 replies 8 participants last post by  win308 
#1 ·
Several years ago (probably 7 or 8) I bought 300 rounds of Venezuelan ammo. It came 20 rounds/box...5 boxes in a clear plastic battle pack bag. The individual boxes are marked"20 CARTUCHOS, CAL. 7.62 x 51 NATO, lote No. ANGIS 07, 01 OCT 1992". However, the plastic battle pack has a white paper label which reads".308 Win FMJ, 150gr FMJ, Venezuela, Non-Corr, Boxer-primed". The only headstamp on the individual rounds is "CAVIM 92"...no ".308" or ".762" on headstamp....also no NATO "circle" on headstamp, box, or battlepack. Cartridge case headspace length is 1.627 -
1.629".

Does anyone have any experience with or know anything about this ammo?...is it .308 WIN?... 7.62 x 51?...military?...NATO??

I would like to pop off a few rounds of the stuff, but don't want to pop my poly m14S in the process....HELP???
 
#3 ·
I have fired almost all of the 200 rnds I bought about 8 years ago, and have never had a problem. I see no difference in the clean up after shooting -its just as dirty as other ammo.

As I understood, the reason for a NATO std ammo was for universal use in the event of war by NATO countries. Therefore, NATO std ammo should be fine in modern 7.62 weapons.
 
#4 ·
M-14 Two hundred Rounds is not enough to judge, I agree with Karsten, that Tar Sealer is filthy, I dont care that much for Cavim but I sure like the Boxer Primed Brass! ;)
 
#5 ·
A buddy of mine bought SEVERAL THOUSAND rounds of CAVIN 7.62 in the early 90's (I can't remember the exact year :oops: ) It was like 7 cents a round back then! It runs ok out of his HK-91's but none of the M14's like the stuff, We have had lots of FTE's over the years. The stuff was loaded super hot, with variance swings + or - 300 FPS
And it all patterned like a shot gun. It was designated range fodder. I would not by CAVIN now unless it was down around 7 cents a pop, and then it would be fodder
 
#6 ·
CAVIM sub-contracted several orders from the Venezuelan military to both Priti Parvizan, in Yugoslavia, and the Brazilian company, I think it was CTC (?). The Brazilian ammo was loaded hot!!

As for the NATO stamp, only NATO nations may use that on the headstamp.

The packaging that you received the ammo in was probably provided by the importer. That is how the 7.62 NATO appeared on the label, as a sales gimmick, and wasn't on the headstamp.

The Venezuelans also used FN-FAL rifles, in 7.62x51. The tar like sealer is from many years ago, and was found to be better than the then available lacquer sealers in jungle climates. I have several hundred CAVIM in .30-06 from the 1960's-1970's with that gunk used in them, too.

FYI, older Argentine, Brazilian, and Chilean ammo will also show the same general type of tar-like sealers. Most of the other S. American countries got away from it in the 1960's, though. :D
 
#7 ·
I do a complete cleaning after every shooting event, and as I stated, I have not noted any difference in the clean-up after using CAVIM. I also have not had any feeding problems. As for accuracy, I also have not noted any difference - however accuracy is obviously in the eyes of the beholder. All the surplus 7.62 seems to shoot about the same for me - Port a little better.

As for the Brazillian stuff - CBC, now commercially available as Magtech, I will not touch it after the failure issues that occured about 10-years ago.

I may need to take another look, but I think the boxes and the brass have the NATO cross.
 
#9 ·
Just for education, pull 10 tips from unfired CAVIM and look at the back where the copper jacket ends and the lead slug is exposed. No 2 look alike. Each tip as a little lead sticking out....some tips very little and some a whole lot, (like the tip is taking a dump).

No way those rounds are going to be accurate. As far as the brass goes, the 200 rds I purchased years ago, was VERY soft. You almost didn't need lube, (almost). Resized with very little force on the handle of the press. Of course, being so soft, I had to trim almost every time I reloaded the stuff.

So, I think I would pass on CAVIM ammo unless it's a gift.
 
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