7.62x39 Ammo

7.62 × 39 mm is a well known cartridge for assault rifles. AK-47, SKS, Mini-30 and RPD, all these high powered rifles load the 7.62 × 39 mm round.

The history of this cartridge starts at the end of World War II. The Russians loved their Mosin Nagants, but these rifles were too big and bulky, and the 7.62x54R rounds were just too powerful for the close-in fighting that was going on. So they took a hint from the Germans, and based a new round of the 7.92 Kurz (of MP44 and FG42 fame) to be used in auto-loading carbines, assault rifles, and light machine guns.

7.62 x 39 mm is a rifle cartridge that originated with the Soviets and was designed during the Second World War. The cartridge was probably influenced by a variety of foreign developments, especially the pre-war German GeCo, 7.75 × 39 mm round and perhaps at the end of the war German 7.92 x 33 mm Kurz. The AK-47 was specifically designed to be loaded by this cartridge. The cartridge remained the Soviet standard until the 1970’s and continues to be one of the most common rifle cartridges used in the world. The cartridge was replaced in service of Russia by the 5.45 × 39 mm cartridge that is used to date on AK-74 and variants.

Many modern Russian-made 7.62 × 39 cartridges, such as those sold under the Wolf and Golden Tiger ammo, are a modified M67 ball with a cast of air in the nose or leading edge design similar in ballistic strength, which improves the fragmentation and trends tumbling.

7.62 × 39 mm by China, Pakistan and Russia.

China military-issued ammunition of this caliber is a style of M43 steel core and a thin jacket of copper or brass. Chinese ammunition (as well as all the other ammunition M43) is now banned for import into the United States. US federal law classifies this as an armor piercing round.

Standard Ballistic AK-47 or AKM fires a 7.62 × 39 mm round with a muzzle velocity of 732 m / s (2400 ft / s). Initial energy is 2110 J (1560 lbf ft •). Sleeve length is 38.6 mm (1.52 inches) and weight is 18.21 g (281.0 g). Projectile weight is normally 8.0 g (123 gr). The AK-47 and AKM, with the 7.62 × 39mm cartridge, has an effective range of 350 meters (1150 feet).

According to the official CIP (Commission Internationale Permanente For testing Firearms Porta Sports) 7.62 × 39mm directives case can handle up to 355 MPa (51,488 psi) piezo pressure. In CIP regulated countries every rifle cartridge combo has to be guaranteed 125% of this maximum CIP pressure to certify for sale to consumers. Other names for 7.62 × 39mm On some occasions, this ammunition called Soviet 7.62 mm, 7.62 mm of the Warsaw Pact (or WP), corresponding to 5.56 or 7.62 mm NATO ComBloc. It was also known in America as 0.30 Short Russian / ComBloc, the “short” was to distinguish it from the old .30 Russian, which was the 7.62x54mmR.

Hunting and sporting purposes since about 1990, 7.62 × 39mm cartridge has seen some use in the arms of hunting in the U.S. for hunting game in the size of deer, as it is about as strong as the Winchester .30-30 round and has a similar profile ballistic.

The low cost and high availability of surplus military ammunition cartridges makes this attractive to many civilian shooters, but for the big game, many people prefer the 154gr soft point, usually labeled under the name Wolf. A 126 grain soft point is marked on the fire MFS and Zn coated steel cases instead of the usual lacquer or polymer-coated steel.

There is some dispute that the 7.62x39 has as much power as the .30-30 Winchester cartridge. This is not true. The case size can't hold enough powder to propel that projectile to .30-30 velocities. Also, a common misconception is that the 7.62mm projectile is .308 inches, like the American 7.62mm projectile. This, too, is wrong. Russian 7.62 ammo is actually .310 or .311 inches, but can be fired safely in .308 bores, which might cause a slight swage in the bullet. The Mini-30's barrel is .308" diameter, but it can accept the surplus .311 ammo just as well.

Also, the Mini-30 doesn't stand up well to the surplus corrosive-primed ammo. After firing corrosive ammo through any firearm, you should immediately swab the bore, chamber, and bolt face with a 50/50 mixture of Windex and ammonia on a patch, and then a dry patch to get it all out of there. If left unchecked, all that superheated salt can turn that rifled bore into a rust bucket.

7.62x39 is one of the cheaper centerfire calibers that can be found in the shooting world, but by no means is it a big boy's .22LR. Ammo prices aren't that cheap, but you can still have lots of fun when you buy in bulk.