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The government sells its ammunition as surplus for any number of reasons, whether it has discontinued use of the weapon that fires it, too much of it was made, or it has just sat around a little too long. Shooting enthusiasts value it because it was manufactured according to very strict standards -- few things are more inconvenient to soldiers than when their weapons fail to fire in battle.
This 308 Win cartridge was made by Sellier and Bellot, so you can trust the this European mainstay's reputation for excellence when you purchase it. It features a 147 grain bullet with a full metal jacket, so you’ll save your bore and your accuracy while firing it. Its brass casing sports a Berdan primer, so reloading it won’t be quite as easy a task. On that note, these rounds have hard military primers. That means they’re less prone to an accidental slam fire (another great inconvenience for soldiers), but at the trade-off of sometimes failing to fire in some commercially available firearms. Still, at this price, you’ll agree that these 500 rounds are very much worth it!
This 308 Win cartridge was made by Sellier and Bellot, so you can trust the this European mainstay's reputation for excellence when you purchase it. It features a 147 grain bullet with a full metal jacket, so you’ll save your bore and your accuracy while firing it. Its brass casing sports a Berdan primer, so reloading it won’t be quite as easy a task. On that note, these rounds have hard military primers. That means they’re less prone to an accidental slam fire (another great inconvenience for soldiers), but at the trade-off of sometimes failing to fire in some commercially available firearms. Still, at this price, you’ll agree that these 500 rounds are very much worth it!
Product Question and Answer
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Q: I have just aquired 400 rounds of S & B .308 Winchester (7.62X 51) in the plain light green box. Supposed to be military 147 grain. Head stamp shows .308 W, 82, and has a 0 on either side of the primer. Can I safely shoot this in my M1A? Is this corrosive?
Posted On: 5/15/2021 By: Gary Beadel
A: Thanks for reaching out Gary! 308 Win and 7.62x51 are not strictly identical cartridges. They do share virtually identical dimensions, though, and althout the 308 is loaded to a slightly higher chamber pressure, SAAMI does not consider it unsafe to fire 308 in firearms chambered for 7.62x51. This is a roundabout way of saying your M1A (which is chambered for 308) can safely fire both types of ammunition, including the 400 rounds you own. As far as the primers are concerned, I believe Sellier & Bellot phased out corrosive primer production in the 1950s – or the '60s, at the very latest. Assuming the headstamp "82" corresponds to the year your ammo was manufactured in, I cannot see how its primers could possibly be corrosive. In short: safe to fire, non-corrosive!