JohnDaniels, hello, I recently purchased the Springfield M1A Scout Squad in .308 (7.62X51MM), it is not the same weapon, but due to lack of information provided by, or available online from Springfield, I found that I had the same question. So I wrote the manufacture, the response was enlightening.
From, [email protected]
Recommended ammunition for our rifles that are chambered for .308 Winchester:
▪ Commercially produced, new ammunition
▪ 110 grain to 180 grain bullet.
▪ Full metal jacket (FMJ), hollow point (HP or BTHP), or ballistic tip type bullet.
▪ Do not use soft point (SP) bullets.
▪ Do not use "light magnum" type ammunition.
▪ We do not recommend the use of any steel case ammunition.
▪ Do not use cast bullets.
You can also use 7.62 x 51mm ammunition that meets the following requirements:
▪ Is clean and from sealed containers / original packaging.
▪ Is NATO spec. It will have a NATO mark on the case head and / or on the packaging that
looks like a plus sign inside of a circle.
▪ Avoid using surplus ammunition that is "loose" or "bulk".
▪ We do not recommend the use of any non-NATO spec 7.62 x 51mm ammunition.
▪ We do not recommend the use of any steel case ammunition.
To get the most in accuracy we recommend:
▪ Federal Match 168 grain
▪ Hornaday Match / custom 168 grain
▪ Hornady TAP 110 or 168 grain
Do Not use ammunition above 180 grain in any of our rifles as this may cause damage. These are
semi-auto military rifles that were designed to operate with a standard ball load with a 147-150 grain
bullet. Loads with heavier bullets can produce a pressure curve that is outside the design
parameters of these rifles.
END OF LINE
Even though the above statement was provided by the actual manufacturer of the weapon, I still find that the question is still valid due to the amount of differing experiences.
SgtCombs
Whadd'ya say?
I'm about to get a Socom 16. I'm wondering if it's okay to shoot steel through these instead of brass - a friend warned me that I risk damaging my gun because the steel is tougher on the firing pin or something like that.
Myth? Does the cheapness of Wolf (etc) mitigate the damage? In other words, if it takes shooting 10,000 rounds before the firing pin is damaged, and I've saved .20/round by shooting wolf over Federal Eagle brass, then I've saved $2,000.00, how much does it take to replace the damaged part on the gun, probably no where near that much.
Your thoughts please!