1950–1980.308 Winchester
7.62×51mm NATO (civilian counterpart)
- Year
- 1952
- Designer
- Winchester / U.S. Army research
- Family
- .308 family
- Recoil
- moderate
- Bore
- .308 in
- Capacity
- 56 gr H2O
Why it exists
Born out of post-war U.S. research into a shorter, lighter rifle round that could match .30-06 performance. Civilian release came in 1952, NATO adoption in 1954. Now the parent of an entire short-action family.
Lineage
Descendants
Notes
- Shortened from the experimental T65 cartridge
- Adopted as 7.62×51 NATO in 1954
- Standard for police snipers and competitive target shooters for decades
The .308 Win and 7.62 NATO are similar but not identical - pressures and case dimensions differ slightly, and ammunition is not always cross-compatible.