I'm not sure if this has been discussed or not, but if it has, then please forgive me. I'm looking at surplus ammo. Mostly, the Portegese and the South African. Has anybody tried these? Pros and cons of each? I'll be using this ammo in a brand spanking new Springfield M1A.

Thanks for your input,
John

 There is a bunch of British linked .308 ammo on the market right now too. Bought 1,800 rounds off of an FFL friend recently and am FINALLY almost done delinking it for use in my FAL. Seems like really good stuff - can't remember the exact price but I think it was about $20 per can of 180. I'm really leery of some foreign ammo. ever since I bought Malaysian(?) and Guatamalen .223 ammo - where I had multiple stoppages and primers ripping out of the brass when I fired. I haven't had any problems with South African ammo. - probably SA ammo. or anything from Europe that is NATO spec. should run good - stay away from the really bad third world countries though.....my "live and learn" lesson.  

I've shot both in a FAL.  Either will work fine for you.

Can you tell I'm not an ammo expert?

I've shot Portuguese, So. African, & the British linked stuff out of my M1A.

The So. African has been real consistent, but a little dirty.  The British is about the same, maybe not quite as accurate.  The battlepack of Portuguese I bought has given me a lot of headaches though.  The 1st couple of boxes shot fine, then all of a sudden they wouldn't eject or else they would eject but the next round wouldn't load.  I tried a few rounds in my Winchester Model 100 semi-auto and they wouldn't fire at all out of it - dimpled primers but no BOOM. Then I put the same bullets back in the M1A and they fired - but no ejection.......and the Model 100 then fired every other bullet in my arsenal without a problem.

Most everybody I see on these forums praise the Portuguese stuff, so I figure I got a batch with some defective primers in them.  There had been rumors about a bad batch of Port. ammo floating around........looks like I got a piece of it unfortunately.

Quoted: I've shot Portuguese, So. African, & the British linked stuff out of my M1A. The So. African has been real consistent, but a little dirty.  The British is about the same, maybe not quite as accurate.  The battlepack of Portuguese I bought has given me a lot of headaches though.  The 1st couple of boxes shot fine, then all of a sudden they wouldn't eject or else they would eject but the next round wouldn't load.  I tried a few rounds in my Winchester Model 100 semi-auto and they wouldn't fire at all out of it - dimpled primers but no BOOM. Then I put the same bullets back in the M1A and they fired - but no ejection.......and the Model 100 then fired every other bullet in my arsenal without a problem. Most everybody I see on these forums praise the Portuguese stuff, so I figure I got a batch with some defective primers in them.  There had been rumors about a bad batch of Port. ammo floating around........looks like I got a piece of it unfortunately.

Great, I just order 1,000 rounds.

I have purchased about 1200 rounds of the Port stuff from two different sources.  I have fired about 400 rounds of it so with no failures, at all.  Just picked up some of the South African but have not tried it yet.  The Port is magnetic - the South African is not (steel is prohibited at most ranges here in dry SoCal).

I've gone through 400 rds of the port in M1A with no problems. Runs clean and groups good.

I have shot cases of this stuff without a single hiccup.  If my life had to depend on 7.62 surplus ammo this would be the one I would use

The Port shoots almost as well as Federal Gold Medal Match in my M1A, but your mileage may vary. Off a bench, scoped, I can get just a hair over 1 MOA with the Federal and about 1.5-1.75 with the Port. For my abilities, that makes no real difference in match shooting, but a heck of a difference in my wallet.

Both Port and SA are good ammo. The Port does have a mild steel jacket, so ranges where such ammo is unwelcome will not allow it. There is little more penetration ability, if any, but a magnet will stick to the bullet. SA is not steel jacket and, thus, OK for these ranges. No appreciable difference in performance I can tell. There have been a few batches of Port that have had some problems with misfires. You can go to FALFiles and do a search to find some of them, but all in all, Port is very good stuff. I will buy more for sure.

I've heard that the German is also reliable and accurate ammo. Check the bottom section of this arcticle where the author discusses US vs German 7.62x51 rounds.

www.fen-net.de/norbert.arnoldi/army/wound.html

Wave;
Is it really German? or Hirtenberger...which is Austrian? The German 7.62x51 is the best out there for serious use since it will fragment similarly to 55gr. 5.56, but it is very hard to find any more.

Quoted: Century is selling their .308 as "tarnished" for $119/1000 delivered as long as you have dealer access or have a C&R on file with them. I'll let you guys know what happens. Oh and yes it's listed as 145 gr. German Manufacture

Ray,
I think you mightve misinterpreted century's web page

United States consumers are able to purchase any non-firearm item directly with us at the prices stated in our online consumer catalog. If you are not a dealer, you will not be able to obtain firearm prices from us. We require an age statement and a copy of your photo I.D. on file before "any" order is processed. For more information please read our ordering guidelines. If you are interested in purchasing a firearm from us, please search our online dealer database to locate a dealer near you. You can also look in your local telephone book for the nearest firearm dealer and have them order the product directly from us.

here is the ordering page for consumers
www.centuryarms.com/store/en-us/dept_51.html

or click on www.centuryarms.com/indexc.html then click consumer catalog --> ammunition --> 308 shooter's dream

I have been shooting the SA battle packs in my FAL.....and have not had a single problem as of yet....just ordered 2 more from Cheaper Than Dirt......they have it for 20 bucks for 140 rounds......