Hi. I posted this in the reloading board, but no joy there. trying here-

I have a CETME auto rifle, which handles surplus ammo great. Never a failure to feed or cycle. With my Varget reloads (which are not maxed out at all), I am getting some serious problems.

Failure to cycle, I can see with some of my 110 gr loads, as it is a recoil-operated action. Those I can fix by heating them up a bit, or just moving to a heavier bullet weight.

My 150 gr Hornady loads will cycle, but will not feed properly in all cases. In some cases, they will not completely cycle the action, so I get a jam and a crushed case. Maybe this bullet isn't shaped to feed right?

I did run a couple 180 gr Nosler partition Federal factory loads thru it, just for the sake of comparision. They did cycle fine, but showed some pressure problems - the primers were pushed about 1/2 way out of the case.

The surplus ammo all works great. I'm not sure of the bullet weight - somewhere in the neighborhood of 160 gr I would guess - it came packed on M60 links from Radway Green.

Does anyone have a load that duplicates the standard NATO load for the .308? I think that both muzzle velocity and burn rate are critical for this rifle. Would one of the surplus powders available be better for matching these specs? It operates with roller locks for the bolt, so the time from ignition to bolt unlocking has to be properly matched to the pressure curve to make sure that everything runs right (and safely).

Any bullet recommendations? I'm looking for a ~150 gr load for deer hunting that will reliably cycle and feed in this rifle. Maybe one of the plastic-tipped offerings would feed better? Are any of these decent for big game hunting?

The weird thing is, this rifle worked fine with these same loads last fall. I could go through a full mag of my 150 gr loads without a hitch. Of course, it was well over 90 deg here yesterday at the range, so the temp _might_ have created pressure spikes...but not to that extent I would guess. I am getting good accuracy out of it regardless of the load - less than 2" with the regular sights, and about double that with surplus ammo. I just want to create ammo that will function properly regardless of temp/etc. Any help would be great. maxman

Maxman, Try the Hornady 150gr. SST or Nosler BT with 44.5grs. H4895, 46grs. Varget, 47grs. BL-C(2), one of these combos should give you excellent results, and will put a deer down right now. Jay

maxman, if you have primers backing out that is usually an indication of excessive headspacing, not overpressure! The standard NATO bullet is a 147 gr FMJ BT. judy

Also the 7.62x51 and the 308 are not just exactly the same. As I recall the 308 is just a tad shorter. Another thought,why not pull one of the bullets and weigh it then you will know for sure what it is. derf

Unless your going to hunt with the rifle I would stick with the standard 143-150gr fmj bullet. I load these in my fal and never had any problems, of course this is comparing apples to oranges. If you are going to load softpoints try loading them to the same overall length as the surplus ammo you are using it works for me. I use a lee factory crimp die as the bullet will not be seated o the cannelure and this die doesn't require one to crimp.

Maxman,

The general rules for reloading semi-automatic rifles are:

1. Use a bullet that is the weight of the military loading the weapon was designed for (150gr);

2. Use a powder in the middle of burn range for that bullet(IMR4895,IMR4320,WW748,RL15,H380,H414,BL-C2);

3. Use a loading of that powder that is in the middle to upper end of the loads for that weight bullet but nothing close to hot;

4. Seat the bullet to mil spec;

5. Crimp the bullet;

6. And if you still have trouble with functioning, get a small base resizing die.

Don't take this as criticism, but it sounds like you've violated most of these "rules." I am not at all surprised you are having problems. If you are in a hurry, most commercial loadings meet the aforestated criteria. Try a box of Win, Rem and FC 150 gr SPs and use the one that shoots best.

If you have time, try this regimen and see what happens. Good luck. Ku-dude

This is a hunting rifle. I did try to abide by most of the rules - and then tried the other loads just to see what they might do. I typically use 150 GR Hornady bullets, Varget powder (which has a burn rate real close to RL15), a good crimp (I crimp all rifle loads in which I use a channelured bullet), and loads in the upper end of the range. NATO ammo usually runs at higher pressure than SAAMI yes/no?

I don't think I need the small base sizer, as there are no failures to fully chamber or fire. I do F/L size all rounds for this rifle. The problem is feeding from the mag. Maybe the more rounded softnoses hang up with the exposed lead. I'll have to double check the OAL against NATO rounds and maybe try the polymer tipped units mentioned to see if they feed better. thanks, maxman