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The 7.62x39 Soviet (Model 43)
By Chuck Hawks
This attenuated .303 cartridge (bullet diameter is .311", not .308"
like true 7.62mm rifles) has had one of the most infamous careers in
the history of firearms. It was designed during the Great Patriotic
War (World War II to those of us in the Free World) for use on the
Eastern Front against Hitler's Wehrmacht by Stalin's Communist hoards.
After the defeat of the Third Reich in 1945, every Communist
dictator in the world used troops armed with 7.62x39 rifles to control
their own unhappy populations and perpetuate their corrupt regimes.
Today the 7.62x39 has gone on to become the preferred cartridge of
virtually every international terrorist organization.
As a military cartridge for automatic carbines (assault rifles) the
7.62x39 has been very successful. It is the international rival of the
5.56mm NATO. The standard military load for the 7.62x39 fires a 123
grain FMJ bullet (SD .182) at a muzzle velocity of 2350 fps. Some
experts consider it superior to the NATO round, although I regard it
as a step sideways.
The Remington factory load starts a 125 grain PSP bullets at 2365
fps with a muzzle energy of 1552 ft. lbs. At 100 yards the velocity
has dropped to 2062 fps and the energy to 1180 ft. lbs. At 200 yards
the velocity is 1783 fps and the energy is 882 ft. lbs. The trajectory
of the Remington factory load for the 7.62x39 looks like this: +1.5"
at 100 yards, 0 at 150 yards, -3.8" at 200 yards, -10.4" at 250 yards.
Here are some specifications to keep in mind when reloading 7.62x39
ammunition: bullet diameter .311", maximum COL 2.20", maximum case
length 1.528", MAP 50,000 cup.
It is recommended that 7.62x39 reloaders stick with commercially
manufactured brass. Much foriegn military ammunition is loaded in
copper-plated steel cases.
Hornady offers reloaders a 123 grain pointed soft point bullet,
while Sierra and Speer offer 125 grain PSP bullets for hunting
applications. Reloaders can use these bullets to duplicate the
commerical factory loads.
Due to its limited capacity, fairly fast burning rifle powders work
best in the 7.62x39. AA 2015, H4198, IMR 4198, and RL-7 are examples
of suitable powders.
The Speer Reloading Manual No. 13 shows that 24.0 grains of
IMR 4198 powder will drive their 125 grain spitzer bullet at a MV of
2246 fps. A maximum load of 26.0 grains of IMR 4198 will drive the
same bullet to a MV of 2402 fps. |
