Surgeon wrote:I'm new here but I'll add my experience. I have a bolt action surplus Israeli Mauser that was re-chambered in 7.62x51. Basically a .308 round. And it fires and cycles the 7.62 marked surplus ammo perfectly. But, when I chambered a commercial .308 ammo round and fired it, I had a devil of a time trying to open the bolt to eject the spent shell. Conclusion: The pressure from the commercial .308 round expanded the case and wedged it tightly in the breach whereas the 7.62 NATO gave me no problems. The wall thickness of the NATO ammo was well suited for this particular rifle whereas the commercial ammo.....not so much. I have reloaded the 7.62 and the only problems I have encountered is with the cheaper Aguila brand ammo. For some reason the primers tend to seat a tad lower in the primer hole and I've had a few misfires. So I don't use them any more. I have reloaded .308 spent brass at the recommended specs for 7.62 NATO and have had zero problems...........so far. The .308 die and set up works just fine. Hope that helps.
Be careful shooting 308 in a 7.62x51. The 308 is a higher pressure round, same as M1 and 30.06.