Probably, every person, even a little interested in weapons and their history, heard about the ammunition 7.62 54 mm R. Which is not surprising - for half a century he was the main patron of the Russian army. Yes, and now has not lost its popularity - it is actively used both in the army and in hunting. That is why telling about it in more detail will not be out of place at all.
Ammunition history
To begin with, the cartridge was first developed back in the Russian Empire in 1890. The developer was Colonel N. Rogovtsev. Of course, that cartridge was significantly different from our usual one. But it was he who became the progenitor who survived many changes. Initially produced at the Tula Cartridge Plant.
A few months later, in 1891, the legendary Mosin rifle, also known as the “three-ruler”, was developed under this cartridge without exaggeration.
At first, the 7.62x54 cartridge had a dull, rounded bullet that weighed 13.6 grams. A significant mass provided serious injuries when hit, but reduced the flight range, and also complicated the calculation of the trajectory. Therefore, a few years later - in 1908 - the munition was modernized and received a pointed head familiar to contemporaries. The mass decreased to 9.6 grams.
The development of new modifications was very slow - the conservative monarch confidently refused any innovations. Only in 1916 was another modification adopted - a cartridge with an armor-piercing bullet Kutovoy.
But after the revolution, the end of the Civil War and the restoration of industry, everything changed. For several years, several successful modifications have been developed. For example, Kutovoy’s armor-piercing bullet was replaced by a more advanced analogue of Boyno-Rodzevich. Also appeared a cartridge with a weighted bullet, used when firing a machine gun and the first Russian tracer ammunition, incendiary and combined. It was still being produced at the Tula Cartridge Plant - significantly modernized and improved.
Subsequently, many other modifications were developed - we will talk about them a little later. Also changed ammunition in other directions. For example, instead of a copper sleeve, they began to use stainless, and then bimetallic. Of course, this also affected weapons using ammunition 7.62 54 mm R. The most complex evolution, a chain of improvements led to the fact that today you can see one of the most popular cartridges in the world, created almost a century and a half ago.
Characteristics
Now we will study the main characteristics of the cartridge 7.62x54. Since different modifications vary greatly, for example we take only the standard cartridge. We will consider it here and further.
The total length of the cartridge is 77.16 mm. In this case, the bullet weighs 9.2 grams. A hitch of gunpowder 3.25 grams provides a huge muzzle energy - 3840 joules. Thanks to this, an experienced shooter can confidently hit a target at a great distance - about a kilometer and even more. The weight of the cartridge 7.62x54 is 23 grams.
The initial speed of the bullet is about 860 meters per second - a very good indicator, thanks to which the shooter can take relatively small corrections when shooting at moving targets.
In a word, it is not surprising that this live cartridge immediately gained immense popularity and became the main one in the Russian army. And today, almost 130 years after development, it remains popular.
The main advantages
Of course, one of the main advantages of this cartridge is its high power. Indeed, it can be called one of the most powerful cartridges used for small arms, not belonging to the category of large-caliber. Due to this, most injuries are either severe or fatal.
Penetration is quite high - this is provided not only by significant power, but also by a pointed bullet.
The combat distance is simply enormous, and the corrections when shooting can be taken relatively small - the high speed of the bullet in total with low weight provide excellent ballistic characteristics.
With all this, the cartridge is simple, which means it is unpretentious and reliable.
Shortcomings
Of course, any cartridge that has advantages will have certain disadvantages. And 7.62x54 is no exception.
The main one, and, in fact, the only significant one, is a very strong return. Well, this is a charge for high power. Of course, modern weapons thanks to the significant and correctly distributed weight or due to the complex mechanism of repayment of returns reduce this unpleasant indicator. But nevertheless the accuracy of light small arms is reduced. In addition, to visit a target, even an experienced shooter takes longer than using a weapon with a weaker cartridge.
However, a good shooter with a decent shot is always ready for this. And I’m ready to put up with such a flaw, more than compensated by numerous advantages.
Piercing ability
One of the most important indicators of any ammunition is its penetration ability. And here 7.62x54 boasts very impressive performance. Of course, in some cases it is necessary to use special ammunition with a steel core to hit the target - they are most often used by snipers. But the indicators speak for themselves.
For example, when firing at distances of up to 200 meters, any ammunition of this caliber confidently pierces brickwork up to 12 centimeters deep. That is, from fire from a machine gun or a sniper rifle that uses 7.62x54 rounds, it’s clearly not worthwhile to hide behind an ordinary brick wall.
Even more impressive results can be obtained when shooting wood. Dry pine timber with a cross section of 20x20 centimeters can be pierced right through a bullet fired at a distance of up to 1200 meters.
The parapet, erected of their carefully packed snow, at a distance of 1000 meters makes its way to a depth of 80 centimeters - and this is when using conventional cartridges.
A little better protection from fire from these weapons is an earthen barrier made of sandy loam soil, poured freely, without tamping. In it, the bullet just gets stuck, but still, by 30 centimeters, it will break through the barrier even from a distance of about 1 kilometer.
The standard steel helmet used in the army can be pierced by a 7.62x54 caliber bullet equipped with a steel core, just at a great distance - up to 1700 meters.
Finally, if we consider the effectiveness of bulletproof vests of the fourth protection class, we can say with confidence that a special cartridge loaded with a bullet having a steel core pierces it at a distance of about 200 meters.
Marking
As mentioned above, the cartridge has been significantly modified in order to successfully perform various combat missions. Of course, many different modifications have appeared - their total number is approaching fifty. They differ very much - in shape, weight, type of bullet, weight of gunpowder, even the material of the bullet and sleeve. To describe them all, I would have to write a full book. But not all are actively used today. For example, some of them, developed before the war, were replaced by more successful modifications. Therefore, we will analyze some of the most popular and briefly describe them.
- Easy. It is ordinary - it is used in most cases when firing machine guns. Provides a good battle range and allows you to take the minimum corrections when shooting. But it has a relatively small breakdown power. No marking.
- Heavy. It is marked with a yellow nose. Solid, without additional inserts. It differs from light weight due to which it has the worst ballistic characteristics. But it provides better penetration of obstacles.
- With a steel core - indicated by a gray paint mark in the head. Perfect for defeating enemy manpower, protected by body armor and helmets. Also effectively penetrates car bodies and other obstacles.
- Tracer - used when shooting weapons and target designation. The rear of the bullet is filled with a special combustible composition, thanks to which in flight leaves a clearly visible mark. Marking - green bullet nose.
- Armor-piercing incendiary. At the front of the cartridge is a steel core that provides excellent punching properties. In the back is a small cup containing incendiary mixture. Thanks to this, the bullet effectively breaks through serious obstacles and easily ignites combustible mixtures. It is used to disable enemy vehicles - from vehicles to air vehicles. Marking - a red stripe on the pool with a black nose.
This is a very general classification. At least because only five armor-piercing incendiary cartridges exist. They differ not only in the shape and composition of the bullet, but also in the sleeve itself. The latter can be made of brass, steel or alloys. However, one should not go so deep into the jungle - for most people who are interested in weapons, it will be enough to know the main purpose, features and marking of cartridges 7.62 54 - cartridges for machine guns and sniper rifles.
We should also say about idle cartridges 7.62x54. Separately, because they are never used in battle. But they are often used during solemn and mourning ceremonies - they salute them. In addition, blank cartridges are often used in training. Many soldiers who do not have shooting experience are first given weapons loaded with safe ammunition so that they are used to giving away without harming anyone around them.
Army use
Now it’s worth telling which weapon the 7.62x54 cartridge is used for. The list is quite extensive, so first we’ll talk about military weapons.
Of course, the most famous weapon produced under this cartridge is the Mosin rifle, which was mentioned earlier. On its basis, many modifications were created. For example, a rifled carbine, characterized by a shorter length. Also, special sniper rifles were created, with which our snipers confidently mowed the ranks of the enemies during the Great Patriotic War. To date, it is not produced, since it was replaced by much more successful samples.
The SVD or Dragunov sniper rifle is the most common weapon in Russia used by snipers. Developed in the late 50s of the last century, still has not lost its relevance. On its basis, several more rifles were developed: IEDs (shortened, with a bullpup system) and SVDS - with a folding stock used by the landing force.
Other sniper rifles were also developed: BC-121, MS-74, SV-98, SVK. They were not even taken into service and, accordingly, were not put into mass production. Others are the latest developments and are being tested in the field.
If we talk about machine guns, then it is worth highlighting the PKM (modernized Kalashnikov machine gun), which is the main machine gun in the army of Russia and many other post-Soviet states. High penetration power, reliability, unpretentiousness - all this makes it a truly terrible weapon.
It is worth noting that this cartridge was also used by the Maxim machine gun, which was once a true legend.
These include AEK-99, MT, DP, RP-46, PKP (aka Pecheneg). From easel and aircraft machine guns can distinguish SG-43, GSHG, ShKAS.
Rifled carbines and rifles were also developed, which enjoyed different levels of popularity: SVT, AKT-40, ABC-36.
Hunting Application
Having studied the characteristics of the ammunition, it is difficult to be surprised that the hunting cartridge 7.62x54 is in great demand today when hunting medium and large animals - from wild boar and roe deer to elk and bear.
The most famous example is the Tiger, a sniper rifle developed on the basis of the SVD. Accordingly, it retained almost all the advantages of a military analogue. There are a large number of modifications that differ mainly in the forend material, type of stock.
A terrible weapon in skillful hands is the KO-91 Hammer, which was created using the usual three-ruler.
Rifled carbines of VPO can be called quite successful. Their design strongly resembles a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Accordingly, reliability and ease of use are very good.
It is difficult to imagine, but even weapons such as the Degtyarev machine gun and maxim can be acquired today as hunting weapons. They are slightly modified (lacking the ability to fire bursts) and are freely sold in many specialized stores.
In which countries is used
After the collapse of the USSR, a huge amount of weapons developed for the 7.62x54 cartridge remained in the entire post-Soviet space. It is not surprising that in most cases these countries use it. The exception is the Baltic states - they are actively trying to switch to NATO models here, but because of the extremely meager budget for a quarter of a century, they failed to cope with this task.
This cartridge is used in many countries of the Warsaw Pact. Some of these states even developed their own weapons. A striking example is the Romanian PSL. In China, a Type 80 machine gun was also created using this cartridge.
In general, as a hunting (and not only) this ammunition is used in almost all countries of the world. It is no coincidence that for many years it has remained one of the most popular, second only to the NATO analogue of 762x51 mm.
