FR-8 Ammunition Choices

1

10CFR

New member
I have posted several places regarding these little Spanish FR-8 carbines which are showing up here in the U.S. My friend has a couple of them.

From what I can gather, they are being marketed in the U.S. as .308 Winchesters and this could be a deadly mistake to shoot commercial .308 in them because of head space and pressures involved.

My friend has fired 7.62 NATO in them with no apparent problems. I personally would not fire anything but reduced handloads in one, and declined to shoot his with the 7.62 NATO rounds. Here is some of the info I've gleaned so far. Can anyone add anything meaningful to it?

http://www.gunsworld.com/spain/cetmefr8_us.html http://www.storm.ca/~debin666/html/the_fr-8_page.html http://shelfspace.com/~c-r-ffl/archives/199812/msg00597.html
http://www.storm.ca/~debin666/ht..._page.html
http://www.goags.com/~c-r-ffl/ar...00364.html
http://www.goags.com/~c-r-ffl/ar...00451.html
http://talk.shooters.com/room_27/Jul162000.cfm
http://talk.shooters.com/room_43/3728.cfm
http://oldguns.net/q&a2_97.htm
http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=61277
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=59883
http://www.angelfire.com/nt/cruffler/spanish_fr-8.htm
http://pub33.ezboard.com/ffirearmsfriendsfamilyfrm22.showMessage?topicID=30.topic


-10CFR


[Edited by 10CFR on 05-10-2001 at 11:53 AM]
 
There was a discussion about these rifles and the proper choice of ammo on rec.guns about a year or so ago. Perhaps you can find it on the new search of Usenet archives at deja.com.

Use the advanced search and direct it to rec.guns.

I recall warnings, but can't remember what exactly they were. In any case, it would be wise to have the chambers and headspace checked.

Ken Strayhorn
Hillsborough NC
 
Strayhorn, Spectre,

Thanks for the responses. Would it be possible for one to fail the .308 no-go headspace gauge and pass the 7.62 NATO gauge because of the small differences in case dimensions? (I am not a gunsmith or reloader)

-10CFR
 
FWIW, I have not necessarily bought all the concerns about those rifles, but I think I would stick to milspec 7.62 or even lighter handloads. Even though the FR-8 was made from the Model 43, which is a Mauser 98 action designed for the 8mm (7.9), Spanish rifles are often soft and the Spanish 8mm was loaded more lightly than the German.

Jim
 
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