Is it safe to shoot 308 win ammo out of a 762x51mm 308 cetme rifle?

Answer 1

NO! While dimensionally similar, the civilian .308 Winchester cartridge is a higher power than the 7.62 NATO cartridge. There was also a 7.62 CETME cartridge that is loaded lighter than the 7.62 NATO cartridge. Possibility of injury and damage to firearm.

According to Lyman the only difference worth noting is that the Nato Cartridge uses a thicker casing, giving it less loading capacity, about 2 grains. The external is not just similar but exactly the same dimensions. The 7.62 Cetme uses a lighter bullet of 112gr as opposed to a 147gr or 150gr, only for the purpose of less recoil firing from a fully auto firearm. Any variation in pressure readings between Nato and the US SAAMI is because Nato uses CUP pressure readings while SAAMI uses PSI. Unless your owners manual specifically says not to use one or the other, there is no major difference when it comes to safe firing, otherwise SAAMI would have made a clear separation between the cartridges and they have not.