![SSA 7](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/SSA_7.62mm_143gr_AP.png)
The 7.62 mm caliber is a nominal
caliber
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...
used for a number of different
cartridges. Historically, this class of cartridge was commonly known as .30 caliber, the
imperial unit
The imperial system of units, imperial system or imperial units (also known as British Imperial or Exchequer Standards of 1826) is the system of units first defined in the British Weights and Measures Act 1824 and continued to be developed thro ...
and
customary unit equivalent, and was most commonly used for indicating a class of full-power military main
battle rifle
A battle rifle is a service rifle chambered to fire a fully powered cartridge.
The term "battle rifle" is a retronym created largely out of a need to better differentiate the intermediate cartridge, intermediate-powered assault rifles (e.g. the S ...
(MBR) cartridges. The measurement equals 0.30 inches or three
decimal lines, written ''.3″'' and read as ''three-line''.
The 7.62 mm designation refers to the internal diameter of the barrel at the lands (the raised helical ridges in rifled gun barrels). The actual bullet caliber is often , although Soviet weapons commonly use a bullet, as do older British (
.303 British
The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows th ...
) and Japanese (
7.7×58mm Arisaka
The 7.7×58mm ''Arisaka'' cartridge was the standard military cartridge for the Imperial Japanese Army's and the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service during World War II. The 7.7×58mm cartridge was designed as the successor of the 6.5×50mmSR ca ...
) cartridges.
Pistol cartridges in 7.62 mm caliber
Many pistol cartridges are in this caliber; the most common are:
*
7.62×25mm Tokarev, also known as 7.62 mm TT, is used in the
Tokarev pistol
The TT-30,, "7.62 mm Tokarev self-loading pistol model 1930", TT stands for Tula-Tokarev) commonly known simply as the Tokarev, is an out-of-production Soviet semi-automatic pistol. It was developed in 1930 by Fedor Tokarev as a service pist ...
, and many of the World War II Soviet
submachine guns
A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an automati ...
*
7.63×25mm Mauser
The 7.63×25mm Mauser (.30 Mauser Automatic) round was the original cartridge for the Mauser C96 service pistol. This cartridge headspaces on the shoulder of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pistols'', p.247. Plantersville, SC: Smal ...
, which was the basis for, and has nearly identical dimensions to, the Tokarev, but has different loading specifications.
*
7.65×25mm Borchardt
The 7.65×25mm Borchardt cartridge was designed by Georg Johann Luger for use in Hugo Borchardt's Borchardt C-93 pistol. It was the first successful rimless pistol cartridge.
History and design
With a rimless, bottlenecked case using smokeless po ...
, from which both the Mauser and Parabellum cartridges were developed
*
7.65×21mm Parabellum
The 7.65×21mm Parabellum (designated as the 7,65 Parabellum by the C.I.P. and also known as .30 Luger and 7.65mm Luger) is a pistol cartridge that was introduced in 1898 by German arms manufacturer Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) ...
*
7.65×17mm Browning, also known as
.32 ACP
.32 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol, also known as .32 Automatic) is a centerfire pistol cartridge. It is a semi-rimmed, straight-walled cartridge developed by firearms designer John Browning, initially for use in the FN M1900 semi-automatic pi ...
*
7.62mm SP-2, used only in the
TKB-506
__NOTOC__
The TKB-506 (russian: ТКБ-506) was a small handgun designed to look like a cigar cutter, developed by Igor Stechkin, allegedly on the orders of the KGB.
The dimensions of TKB-506 are 11 x 9.2 x 2 cm. Weighing 0.44 kg empty ...
cigar cutter pistol
Revolver cartridges in 7.62 mm caliber
Some of the
revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
cartridges in this caliber are:
*
7.62×38mmR
7.62×38mmR (also known as 7.62 mm Nagant and Cartridge, Type R) is an ammunition Cartridge (firearms), cartridge designed for use in the Russian Nagant M1895 revolver.
A small number of experimental submachine guns (e.g., Tokarev 1927), des ...
is used only in the
Nagant M1895
The Nagant M1895 Revolver is a seven-shot, gas-seal revolver designed and produced by Belgian industrialist Léon Nagant for the Russian Empire.
The Nagant M1895 was chambered for a proprietary cartridge, 7.62×38mmR, and featured an unusual "ga ...
revolver.
*
.32 Long Colt
The .32 Long Colt (commonly called the .32 LC or simply .32 Colt) is an American centerfire revolver cartridge.
Description
Introduced by Colt's with the New Line revolver in 1873, the .32 Colt was inspired by the .320 Revolver. It original ...
– originally chambered for small-frame Colt revolvers and the Marlin model 1892 rifle, this cartridge uses a heeled bullet with a case the same diameter as the major diameter of the bullet. It shares dimensions with the .32 rimfire cartridge of the same length. It is not to be confused with the .32 Colt's New Police cartridge.
*
.32 S&W Long is also known as .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 World War II. 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 in wide 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
The .327 Federal Magnum is a cartridge introduced by Federal Premium Ammunition and also sold by Sturm, Ruger & Co. It is intended to provide the power of a .357 Magnum in a six-shot, compact revolvers, whose cylinders would otherwise only h ...
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 and historical rifle cartridges in this caliber are:
*
.30 Carbine
The .30 Carbine (7.62×33mm) is a rimless carbine/rifle cartridge used in the M1 carbine introduced in the 1940s. It is a light rifle round designed to be fired from the M1 carbine's 18-inch (458 mm) barrel.
History
Shortly before World W ...
, used in the
M1/M2/M3 carbines, is sometimes called the 7.62×33mm.
*
300 AAC Blackout (7.62×35mm), also known as 300 BLK, is designed for the
M4 carbine
The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle.
The M4 is extensively ...
and
STANAG magazine.
* Soviet
7.62×39mm
The 7.62×39mm (aka 7.62 Soviet, formerly .30 Russian Short) round is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate cartridge of Soviet origin. The cartridge is widely used due to the worldwide proliferation of Russian SKS and AK-47 pattern rifles, as ...
, also known as 7.62 mm Soviet, M43, or occasionally
.30 Short Combloc, is designed for the
SKS and used in the
AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...
,
AKM
The AKM () is an assault rifle designed by Soviet small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1959. It is the most ubiquitous rifle of the Kalashnikov rifles. It was developed as a replacement to the AK-47 introduced a decade prior.
Introduc ...
,
RPK
The RPK (russian: Ручной пулемёт Калашникова/РПК, Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova, link=no, English: "Kalashnikov hand-held machine gun"), sometimes retroactively termed the RPK-47, is a Soviet 7.62×39mm light machine ...
and
RPD RPD may refer to:
People
* Robert Prentiss Daniel, American psychologist
* Rahul Peter Das, German professor
* Rajendra Prasad Das, Indian archaeologist
* Royal Page Davidson, American scholar
* Richard Paul Davies, English priest
* Richard Pe ...
light machine guns.
*
7.62×40mm Wilson Tactical
The 7.62×40mm Wilson Tactical (7.62×40mm WT) is a Centerfire ammunition, centerfire rifle Cartridge (firearms), cartridge introduced in 2011 by Wilson Combat. The goal was to produce an accurate, low-recoil .30-caliber hunting cartridge that cou ...
*
7.62×45mm
The 7.62×45mm (designated as the 7,62 × 45 by the C.I.P.) is a rimless bottlenecked intermediate rifle cartridge developed in Czechoslovakia. It is fired by the Czech Vz. 52 rifle, Vz. 52 light machine gun, and ZB-53 machine gun. The round ...
vz. 52, made solely for the Czechoslovakian
vz. 52 rifle, was replaced by 7.62×39mm.
*
7.62×51mm NATO and its civilian variant
.308 Winchester
The .308 Winchester is a smokeless powder rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge widely used for hunting, target shooting, police, military, and personal protection applications globally. It is similar but not identical to the 7.62×51mm NATO ...
, sometimes described as .308 NATO by people mixing Imperial and Customary measurements, is used by some civilians, with metric measurements used by NATO.
*
7.62×53mmR
The 7.62×53mmR (also known as the 7.6×53R Finnish) rifle cartridge is a Finnish design based on the Russian 7.62×54mmR round dating back to 1891.
History
After gaining its independence in 1917 and after the Finnish Civil War of 1918, large nu ...
, Finnish design based on the Russian 7.62×54mmR round.
*
7.62×54mmR
The 7.62×54mmR is a rimmed rifle cartridge developed by the Russian Empire and introduced as a service cartridge in 1891. Originally designed for the bolt-action Mosin–Nagant rifle, it was used during the late tsarist era and throughout th ...
, another Russian cartridge, it was first used in the
Mosin–Nagant
The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, bolt-action, internal magazine–fed military rifle. Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891 and informally in Russia and former Soviet Union as Mosin's rifle ( ru , винтовка Мосина, ISO 9: ) ...
rifle in 1891. The modern versions of the cartridges are now in wide use in numerous world armies as sniper rifles (particularly the
SVD
''Svenska Dagbladet'' (, "The Swedish Daily News"), abbreviated SvD, is a daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden.
History and profile
The first issue of ''Svenska Dagbladet'' appeared on 18 December 1884. During the beginning of the ...
family) and machine guns (numerous types, many developed from AK family, such as the
PKM).
*
.30-06 Springfield
The .30-06 Springfield cartridge (pronounced "thirty- aught-six" ), 7.62×63mm in metric notation, and called the .30 Gov't '06 by Winchester, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and later standardized; it remained in military use ...
, is a US military cartridge used in World War I, World War II, the Korea War, and the Vietnam War, is known as the 7.62×63mm in metric measurement.
*
.303 British
The .303 British (designated as the 303 British by the C.I.P. and SAAMI) or 7.7×56mmR, is a calibre rimmed rifle cartridge. The .303 inch bore diameter is measured between rifling lands as is the common practice in Europe which follows th ...
, used in
Lee–Metford
The Lee–Metford rifle (a.k.a. ''Magazine Lee–Metford'', abbreviated ''MLM'') was a bolt-action British army service rifle, combining James Paris Lee's rear-locking bolt system and detachable magazine with an innovative seven groove rifled ba ...
and
Lee–Enfield
The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's st ...
rifles, is known as 7.7×56mmR in metric measurement.
*
7.7×58mm Arisaka
The 7.7×58mm ''Arisaka'' cartridge was the standard military cartridge for the Imperial Japanese Army's and the Imperial Japanese Army Air Service during World War II. The 7.7×58mm cartridge was designed as the successor of the 6.5×50mmSR ca ...
is used in the
Type 99,
Type 2 and
Type 4 rifles.
*
7.65×53mm Argentine is used in various
Mauser
Mauser, originally Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik ("Royal Württemberg Rifle Factory"), was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols has been produced since the 1870s for the German arme ...
bolt-action rifles, primarily in Belgium, Turkey, and Argentina.
*
.308 Norma Magnum
The .308 Norma Magnum (7.62×65mmBR) cartridge was created by Nils Kvale at Norma, Sweden. Like the larger .358 Norma Magnum it is based on a shortened 300 H&H magnum. It very closely resembled the wildcat .30-338 Magnum cartridge.
Kvale desi ...
*
.300 Norma Magnum
The .300 Norma Magnum, also known as .300 NM or "300 Norma" for short, is a centerfire magnum rifle cartridge developed by Swedish ammunition manufacturer Norma Precision. The .300 Norma Magnum uses a .338 Norma Magnum case necked down to the ...
*
.300 Winchester Magnum
The .300 Winchester Magnum (also known as .300 Win Mag or .300 WM) (7.62×67mmB, 7.62x66BR) is a belted, bottlenecked magnum rifle cartridge that was introduced by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company in 1963. The .300 Winchester Magnum is a m ...
is used by many hunting and sniper rifles, sometimes called the 7.62×67mm.
*
.300 Winchester Short Magnum
300 Winchester Short Magnum (also known as 300 WSM) is a .30 caliber rebated rim bottlenecked centerfire short magnum cartridge that was introduced in 2001 by Winchester.
Specifications
The overall cartridge length is 72.6 mm. The cartr ...
*
.300 Lapua Magnum
The .300 Lapua Magnum (7.62×70mm) is a specialized rimless bottlenecked centerfire cartridge developed for long-range rifles. The commercially successful .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge has functioned as the parent case for the .300 Lapua Magnum, ...
, 7.62×70mm
*
.30-30 Winchester
The .30-30 Winchester/.30 Winchester Center Fire cartridge was first marketed in 1895 for the Winchester Model 1894 lever-action rifle.[Winchester Model 1894
The Winchester Model 1894 rifle (also known as the Winchester 94 or Model 94) is a lever-action repeating rifle that became one of the most famous and popular hunting rifles of all time. It was designed by John Browning in 1894 and originally c ...]
and
Marlin Model 336
The Marlin Model 336 is a lever-action rifle and carbine made by Marlin Firearms. Since its introduction in 1948, it has been offered in a number of different calibers and barrel lengths, but is commonly chambered in .30-30 Winchester or .35 ...
, and is adapted to European sporting guns as 7.62×51mmR.
*
.30 R Blaser
The .30 R Blaser (7.62×68mmR) is a rimmed bottlenecked centerfire cartridge developed for hunting in 1991 by Gerhard Blenk, the then owner of Blaser Jagdwaffen GmbH and Dynamit Nobel which then owned RWS ammunition.
Design
The cartridge is ...
, used in break-action rifles for hunting medium to large game
*
.30 Thompson Center (.30 TC)30TC
{webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924133718/http://www.tcarms.com/firearms/venture.php , date=2011-09-24
* .30-378 Weatherby Magnum
The .30-378 Weatherby Magnum is a .30 caliber, belted, bottle-necked rifle cartridge. The cartridge was developed in response to a US Army military contract in 1959. While still unreleased to the public, the cartridge went on to set world records ...
*30-40 Krag
The .30-40 Krag (also known as .30 U.S. and .30 Army) was a cartridge developed in the early 1890s to provide the U.S. armed forces with a smokeless powder cartridge suited for use with modern small-bore repeating rifles to be selected in the 18 ...
See also
* List of rifle cartridges
List of rifle cartridges, by primer type, calibre and name.
File:Cartridge Sample 2.jpg, 350px, From left to right: 1 .17 HM2,2 .17 HMR, 2.5 .17 wsm, 3 .22LR, 4 .22 WMR, 5 .17/23 SMc, 6 5mm/35 SMc, 7 .22 Hornet, 8 .223 Remington, 9 .223 WSSM ...
* 7 mm caliber
This is a list of firearm cartridges which have bullets in the caliber
In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) ...
* :7.62 mm firearms
* M14 rifle
The M14 rifle, officially the United States Rifle, Caliber 7.62 mm, M14, is an American selective fire battle rifle chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO (.308 in) cartridge. It became the standard-issue rifle for the U.S. military in 1959, ...
* 30 (disambiguation)
References
Ammunition
Pistol and rifle cartridges
7.62 mm firearms