Is 308 WINCHESTER NPB in India ?

[jigyasu1]

Hi All ,

Any idea if 308 Winchester is NPB in India ? And how is availability of 308 Win ammo in India .

thanks
Rohit

[ranger1234]

Yes they are

[Vikram]

As far as I know, .308 Win is not a restricted calibre. 7.62X51 is. There are a couple of differences between the two in terms of case thickness and chamber pressure. The .308 operates at a slightly higher pressure and the 7.62X51 cartridge can be fired in that but not vice versa.

[jigyasu1]

thanks for quick response , i also wanted to know how difficult its to buy 308 bullets in India are they easily available ?

[rana_ji]

Can someone definitively confirm because this forum has a different answers regarding the category in which 308 falls.

(a) Bolt action or semi-automatic rifles of either .303 (British) or 7.62 mm (NATO) (i.e. 7.62x51mm) bore of any other bore which can chamber and fire service ammunition of .303 or 7.62 mm calibre; Since the 7.62 NATO round is almost identical to the .308 Winchester round, that would necessarily mean that the latter is also classified as a prohibited bore (even though the nomenclature is different). However I may add here that some (older) rifles chambered for .308 CANNOT safely fire 7.62 NATO service ammunition, due to the higher pressures produced by the latter.

from viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2780&start=0

[marksman]

As far as I know, .308 Win is not a restricted calibre. 7.62X51 is. There are a couple of differences between the two in terms of case thickness and chamber pressure. The .308 operates at a slightly higher pressure and the 7.62X51 cartridge can be fired in that but not vice versa.

7.62x51 Nato in fact has 200PSI more then .308 Win. Hence the former cambering is preferred in the US.IMHO

Marksman

[Vikram]

Actually it's the other way round.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.62%C3%9751mm_NATO

Although not identical, the 7.62×51mm NATO and the commercial .308 Winchester cartridges are similar enough that they can be loaded into rifles chambered for the other round, but the Winchester .308 cartridges are typically loaded to higher pressures than 7.62×51mm NATO service cartridges.[4] Even though the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) does not consider it unsafe to fire the commercial round in weapons chambered for the NATO round, there is significant discussion[5][6][7] about compatible chamber and muzzle pressures between the two cartridges based on powder loads and wall thicknesses of the military compared to commercial rounds.

[riflemarksman]

Hi All ,

Any idea if 308 Winchester is NPB in India ? And how is availability of 308 Win ammo in India .

thanks
Rohit

.308 win is the civilian version of 7.62 NATO so you can import the ammo in thousands if you are a shooter and since it is stamped .308 win on the base of the cartridge I dont think there would be a problem.......but now a days you never know.......its better to get a .30-06

[Vineet]

As per Arms Rules 2016, following rifle calibers are PB and rest all are automatically NPB.

7.62mm (7.62mm NATO/7.62x51mm NATO)
5.56mm (5.56mm NATO/5.56x45mm NATO)
7.62mmx39mm, .303 British or 7.7x56mmR

[partheus]

I was quite confused about why this is so for a while, too. But as it turns out, 308 is NPB in India. Also, this page on the DSRA website -> http://dsra.in/ShootingDisciplines.html states 308 winchester as a cartridge used in 300 meter matches. You probably can't get 308s at gun shops, though. You will need to become a renowned shot in a 300 meter event to qualify to import ammo for practice and competition. If you don't want to go the competition route, then 30-06 is the way to go.

[sumbriavikramaditya]

We know that .308 Win and 7.62x51mm NATO are different cartridges but do the Indian Arms Act differentiates between .308 Win and 7.62x51mm NATO?

[riflemarksman]

If you are a shooter importing rifle and ammo for sport I dont think the authorities will bother to check PB or NPB since you will have all the valid documents, the problem is you will not get the ammunition locally

[nagarifle]

its NPB as i know someone who got one short while back