Is the M118 the current military round for an M14(173gr FMJBT)?

I see commerical .308 ammo ranges from 120-180gr. Should I stay away from one extreme or the other?

Thanks.

If your bbl twist is 1:10 than the M118 will do just fine. If your bbl twist is slower, than the lighter bullets would be a better choice.

The twist is 1:11 in my SOCOM. I'm looking at the PMC 168gr FMJBT(308D) round for plinking and general purpose shooting. Should I go with something a little lighter because of the shorter bbl?

Thanks.

Mil still issues/uses  M118, M118SB, M118LR,M852, M80 also AP and Tracer loads.

You will be fine with bullets from 147 thru 180 grains but it is really the Powder used that is important and you should stay away from commercial loaded hunting ammo with an M1a. Some commercial ammo might be fine but it only takes one hot hunting round and soft brass to destroy an M1a ...

That's good info tangeant. Is there a good resource for what powders/loadings are okay? I plan to reload for the M1A and want to shoot bullets from 150 to 175 grains in it. I also plan to pick up a good .308 bolt rifle (maybe Remington Police Sniper or similar) eventually and shoot the same loads in that (if possible). I reload for the .30-06 now and prefer loads that carry a punch (H4350), but I don't load to the Never Exceed specs. Any info on this would be much appreciated. Thanks!

You want to make your handloads using powder that has a similar burn rate to IMR 4064. Varget might be the slowest powder that you can use.

How about non-reloaders. What is a middle of the road round, FMJBT, that comes close to the military round? Something about $10-12 bucks a box, not surplus or "Training ammo only" seconds.

I was thinking of getting some PMC Bronze 168gr FMJBT(308D), but finding someone who is not backordered is proving a little difficult. Any other suggestions?

Thanks.

Quoted: Mil still issues/uses  M118, M118SB, M118LR,M852, M80 also AP and Tracer loads. You will be fine with bullets from 147 thru 180 grains but it is really the Powder used that is important and you should stay away from commercial loaded hunting ammo with an M1a. Some commercial ammo might be fine but it only takes one hot hunting round and soft brass to destroy an M1a ...

I know one cannot use hot commercial ammo such as Hornady's Light magnums in any semi-auto, M1A's especially, but I don't understand what the issue would be with run of the mill Winchester or Remington hunting cartridges. I am not disagreeing with the quote, I am very interested in the reason specific to M1A's.

Quoted: Quoted: Mil still issues/uses  M118, M118SB, M118LR,M852, M80 also AP and Tracer loads. You will be fine with bullets from 147 thru 180 grains but it is really the Powder used that is important and you should stay away from commercial loaded hunting ammo with an M1a. Some commercial ammo might be fine but it only takes one hot hunting round and soft brass to destroy an M1a ... I know one cannot use hot commercial ammo such as Hornady's Light magnums in any semi-auto, M1A's especially, but I don't understand what the issue would be with run of the mill Winchester or Remington hunting cartridges. I am not disagreeing with the quote, I am very interested in the reason specific to M1A's.

Most commercial hunting ammo esp the premium uber hunting stuff is designed for bolt guns in which you don't have a gas sytem to worry about. You would " probably "  be ok with the generic Remington 150 gr PSP load.

Reloading your own hunting ammo is the best way to go when it comes to both the M14/M1a and the Garand.

Basically, and I'am going to be brief as possible.  The problem with M1a's is how the M14 gas system works. The higher the pressure the faster the gas piston hits the op-rod causing the action to cycle faster & more aggressive than normal, this combined with how the M14 tries to pull the case from the chamber before the pressure drops completely ( reason why Mil cases have thicker walls )  this can be disasterious if the case seperates before all the pressure drops.  Atleast twice in the last year someone who blew their M1a with an overpressure round will hit all the boards swearing to god that he had an " Out of Battery " and looking for a shoulder to cry on.

That makes a lot of sense to me. I had a Ruger 44 mag. carbine that used the gas piston/op rod system. On that rifle you could adjust the length of stroke of the piston and tune the gas system to handle hot or light loads. There is no such adjustment on the M1A. Thanks for pointing that out.

Quoted: How about non-reloaders. What is a middle of the road round, FMJBT, that comes close to the military round? Something about $10-12 bucks a box, not surplus or "Training ammo only" seconds.

Most NATO head stamped surplus ammo is perfect for your rifle.
I have fired nothing but Portuguese from my rifle since new.
It was great from my 1:11 rot barrel and it's even better from my new 1:10 rot barrel.

HTH ~

American Eagle and Remington-UMC make 150gr plinking ammo.  I have had no problem with either.

Quoted: American Eagle and Remington-UMC make 150gr plinking ammo.  I have had no problem with either.

I've not tried American Eagle but the Remington UMC 150 grain FMJ cartridges have worked well for me.  I used Remington UMC exclusively in a two day Tactical Rifle class last year.  I had no problems whatsoever with it.  I've also used it in my full auto M1A and it worked great.