7.62 mm caliber
7.62 mm caliber is a nominal caliber used for a number of different cartridges. Historically, this class of cartridge was commonly known as .30 caliber, the Imperial unit equivalent, and was most commonly used for indicating a class of full power military main battle rifle (MBR) cartridges. The measurement equals 0.30 inches or 3 decimal lines, written .3″ and read as Three-Line.[1]
7.62 mm refers to the internal diameter of the barrel at the lands (the raised helical ridges in rifled gun barrels). The actual bullet caliber is normally .308 in (7.82 mm), although Soviet weapons commonly use a .311 in (7.91 mm) bullet, as do older British (.303 British) and Japanese cartridges.
Pistol cartridges in 7.62 mm caliber
There are many pistol cartridges in this caliber, but most common are:
Revolver cartridges in 7.62 mm caliber
Some of the revolver cartridges in this caliber are:
- 7.62×38mmR used only in the Nagant M1895 revolver
- .32 Long Colt Originally chambered in small frame Colt revolvers and the Marlin model 1892 rifle, this cartridge used a heeled bullet with a case the same diameter as the major diameter of the bullet. It shared dimensions with the .32 rimfire cartridge of the same length. Not to be confused with the .32 Colt's New Police cartridge.
- .32 S&W Long Also known as the .32 "Colt's New Police" When chambered in Colt revolvers. The original loading for this cartridge used a round nose, or flattened round nose (in the case of the .32 Colt's N.P.) and was chambered widely in revolvers made in the US and Europe through WWII. This cartridge is used in several modern target pistols (not revolvers) with flush seated wadcutters. The short version of this cartridge (.32 S&W) was chambered in many break-top revolvers at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries in the US and Europe.
- .32 H&R Magnum Is the only revolver cartridge in this caliber which is in wider use today, mostly in small-frame revolvers. This is an extended version of the much earlier .32 S&W long, which is an extended version of the .32 S&W.
- .327 Federal Magnum Is a new cartridge developed jointly by Ruger and Federal. This cartridge is an extended version of the .32 H&R Magnum.
Rifle cartridges in 7.62 mm caliber
The most common & historical rifle cartridges in this caliber are:
- Soviet 7.62x39mm, also known as the 7.62 mm Soviet, M43, or occasionally .30 Short Combloc, designed for the SKS and used in the AK-47 and AKM assault rifles and RPK and RPD light machine guns.
- 7.62x51mm NATO, and its civilian variant .308 Winchester, sometimes incorrectly described as .308 NATO by persons mixing English measurements used by some civilians with metric measurements used by the NATO organization.
- 7.62×54mmR another Russian cartridge that was first used in the Mosin-Nagant rifle since 1891. The modern versions of the cartridges to this day are in wide use in numerous world armies as sniper rifles (particularly the SVD family) and machine guns (numerous types, many developed from AK family such as the PKM).
- .30-06 Springfield US Military cartridge for both World Wars and Korea, known as the 7.62x63mm in metric measurement.
- .30 Carbine, used in the M1/M2/M3 Carbines, sometimes called the 7.62x33mm.
- .303 British, used in Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield rifles.
- .308 Norma Magnum
- .300 Winchester Magnum used by many hunting/sniper rifles, sometimes called the 7.62x67mm.
- .30-378 Weatherby Magnum
- .30-30 Winchester A popular Deer hunting cartridge typically used in Lever-Action Rifles such as the Winchester Model 1894 and Marlin Model 336 also adapted to European sporting guns as 7.62x51Rmm.
- .30 R Blaser, used in break-action rifles for hunting medium to large game.
- 30TC.[2]
See also
References
- ^ Holt Bodinson: The old Three-Line: still a great value, Guns Magazine, Nov, 2006
- ^ 30TC