Target Shooter 1

Above - American military sniper / Service Rifle competition bullets.
Left to right: a 174gn M1 FMJBT bullet similar to the 173gn LC match
/ sniper design; 168gn Sierra MK, the mainstay of SR rounds for the
M14; 175gn long-range Sierra MK used in competition handloads and
the current US 7.62mm M118LR sniper cartridge
308s can run up to 0.3085”. That difference sees
7.62 cartridges usually provide mediocre accuracy
in .308W rifles, as they’re under the optimal size for
a .308W barrel’s land and groove diameters – also
why British TR rifle builders specified ‘tight’ barrels
until the introduction of the 155gn ‘Bisley Match’
version. Commercial .308W ammunition using
full-diameter bullets can generate over-high
pressures if loaded right up to the CIP / SAAMI
maximum and fired in a 7.62mm rifle, especially
one of our early tight-bore TR examples built on the
relatively weak Enfield No. 4 action.
There are other less obvious, but cumulatively
important differences. As a military cartridge,
7.62 has to be able to take a lot of abuse, so has
thick-walled cases and a heavy case-mouth crimp
into a marked cannelure or crimp-groove. It has
to be waterproof, so asphalt sealant is generously
applied between case and bullet, likewise lacquer
on the primer annulus. Primers are usually crimped
70 Target Shooter
or staked into the pocket
to stop them backing out
in generously headspaced
machine-guns, and
have thick cups to avoid
slamfires. Oh yes, they have
to cost next to nothing too.
Although all NATO countries’
production is compatible to
allow
battlefield
interchangeability, there
is one major difference
between US and European
7.62 that has had an
influence on civilian practice
– ‘theirs’ is Boxer-primed
and easily reloadable, ‘ours’
Berdan, hence usually
treated as use once and
discard.
Approaches
The advent of 7.62mm
self-loading rifles had
different effects on NRA
regulated shooting
development on either side of
the Atlantic. Our pre-7.62mm
‘Service Rifle’ was already
a prone slowfire discipline
covering 200-1,000yd
shooting, while the US
equivalent involved three
positions, rapid fire, and
compulsory in-stage reloads,
to a maximum range of
600yd, specialist long range
SR competitions aside.
Americans were already using a self-loading
service rifle – the WW2 era .30-06 M1 Garand –
so adopting the 7.62mm M14 and its civilian M1A
sibling required few changes in attitudes or range
practices. Our NRA looked at the L1A1, averted its
gaze, and adopted the single-shot long-barrelled
Target Rifle while sticking with the service rifle
cartridge, even enforcing the use of low grade
milspec ammo in major competitions.
Long before 7.62mm arrived on the scene,
American shooters had a match version of the .30-
06 using Lake City Arsenal designed 173gn FMJBT
bullets, but often pulled them and substituted the
168gn Sierra MatchKing for important matches –
allowed within their SR competition rules. This
practice continued into the 7.62mm era, but soon
all serious competitors handloaded their ammunition,
again with 168s, often using selected and favoured
lots of ‘arsenal brass’, such as Lake City