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7.62x54R (1908)
The 7.62x54mmR is a full-power rifle cartridge, designed in 1891 by the Russian Empire. It was originally intended for use in the Mosin-Nagant rifle.
History
The 7.62x54mmR is one of the oldest cartridges still in use by any military in the world. The Russian military uses it in the Dragunov SVD, as well as other sniper rifles and general purpose machine guns. The round is colloquially (and incorrectly, as the 'R' in 7.62x54R stands for rimmed) known as the "7.62 Russian" or "Russian 30-06". The name is sometimes confused with the "7.62 Soviet", which refers to the 7.62x39mm cartridge. The 7.62x54mmR cartridge is also one of the few rimmed bottleneck cartridges still in common use today.
It was designed in 1891 along with the Mosin-Nagant. The 7.62x54R originally had a 210-grain round-nosed full metal jacket (FMJ) bullet. Due to experiences in the Russo-Japanese War, it was replaced in 1908 with a 148-grain spitzer FMJ bullet, which has remained standard to the present.
Design details
The 7.62x54mmR cartridge is ballistically similar in effect to the modern 30-06 center fire cartridges.
Specifications
Case type: Rimmed, necked
Bullet diameter: 7.9 mm (0.311 in)
Rim diameter: 14.48 mm (0.57 in)
Case length: 53.72 mm (2.115 in)
Overall length: 77.16 mm (3.038 in)
Primer type: Berdan
Types of ammunition
- Full-metal jacket
- Hollow point
- Soft-point
- Light steel-core
- Heavy steel-core
- Boat Tail
- Tracer
- Super-incendiary
- Sniper (Снайперские)
- Wood training rounds
Penetration
The 7.62x54mmR steel core cartridge has been observed to penetrate 1/2 inch steel, but leaving a dent in 3/4 inch steel.