I recently acquired a Spanish FR8 Mauser and it’s chambered in 7.62x51 NATO, is .308 Winchester safe to shoot through these firearms? I’ve seen lots of debate on these guns shooting .308 and thought I’d get some more info here I read it’s best to get the headspace checked and have no clue whereabouts I can get that done. Am I SOL?
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Most authorities agree that you'll be fine shooting .308 Winchester in a 7.62 x 51 NATO chamber, but MAY run into issues going the other way. The drawing for the NATO cartridge shows a slightly longer neck allowed but as far as I know all of the North American armouries load the 7.62 to the same length as commercial .308, you usually will only run into issues with European loaded 7.62. As you're going .308 to 7.62 it really isn't an issue. If you look at this thread, you'll find pretty much all of the answers to any question you may have about this. https://forums.thecmp.org/forum/cmp-sales/ammunition/138416-cartridge-headspace-specifications-308-win-7-62-nato?t=146769