7.62×38mmR
| 7.62×38mmR | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Commercial production 7.62×38mmR (right) in comparison with .32 Smith & Wesson Long and .32 H&R Magnum | ||||||||||||
| Type | Revolver | |||||||||||
| Place of origin | Belgium Russian Empire | |||||||||||
| Service history | ||||||||||||
| In service | 1895–present | |||||||||||
| Used by | Russian Empire USSR Russian Federation | |||||||||||
| Wars | Russo-Japanese War World War I Russian Civil War World War II Post 1945 conflicts | |||||||||||
| Production history | ||||||||||||
| Designer | Léon Nagant | |||||||||||
| Designed | 1895 | |||||||||||
| Specifications | ||||||||||||
| Case type | Rimmed | |||||||||||
| Bullet diameter | 7.82 (.308) | |||||||||||
| Neck diameter | 7.26 mm (0.286 in) | |||||||||||
| Shoulder diameter | 8.38 mm (0.330 in) | |||||||||||
| Base diameter | 8.94 mm (0.352 in) | |||||||||||
| Rim diameter | 9.855 mm (0.3880 in) | |||||||||||
| Case length | 38.86 mm (1.530 in) | |||||||||||
| Overall length | 38.86 mm (1.530 in) | |||||||||||
| Primer type | Berdan or boxer small pistol | |||||||||||
| Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
| Test barrel length: 114 mm (4.5 in) Source(s): [1][2][3] | ||||||||||||
7.62×38mmR (also known as 7.62 mm Nagant and Cartridge, Type R) is an ammunition cartridge designed for use in the Russian Nagant M1895 revolver.
A small number of experimental submachine guns (e.g., Tokarev 1927), designed by Fedor Tokarev, were also produced in a 7.62 mm Nagant chambering.[4] None, however, were accepted into Soviet service.[5][6]
Background
[edit]Designed by Léon Nagant in 1894 for his gas-seal revolver, and adopted the next year by the Russians to replace the .44 S&W Russian cartridge,[7] the 7.62×38R cartridge mouth expands when fired, forming a gas seal to improve muzzle velocity by preventing gas leaks from the gaps between the barrel and cylinder.[8]
Reportedly, Tsar Nicholas II took an interest in the 7.62×38R cartridge as he felt that a cartridge loaded with smokeless powder would make soldiers firing positions less conspicuous than the old black powder .44 S&W Russian cartridge.[9]
Description
[edit]The cartridge uses a 108 gr (7.0 g) Full Metal Jacketed bullet seated below the mouth of the cartridge case which is crimped above the bullet.[10] The case is rimmed and the mouth of the cartridge is designed to enter the rear end of the barrel. According to Ness and Williams, the shape of the cartridge mouth varies between manufacturers. Russian military loads had a lead core and a nickel jacket.[8]
The Nagant 1895 revolver gas seal involves moving the cylinder forwards, so that the chamber about to be fired enclosed the rear part of the barrel and the mouth of the cartridge actually entered the barrel. Upon firing, the mouth of the cartridge expands to form a 'forcing cone' completing the gas seal.[8][10] According to Shooting Illustrated magazine, the gas seal provides an estimated 21 m/s (70 ft/s) increase to the muzzle velocity.[11]
The 7.62×38mmR bullet performs relatively well for a .30 caliber round. Fired from the M1895 114.5 mm (4.51 in) barrel, the bullet can penetrate 20 cm (7.9 in) of white pine boards at a 20 m (66 ft) distance. In comparsion to the .44 S&W Russian, the 7.62×38mmR is lighter, with greater speed and penetration but less stopping power. According to some sources, the M1895 have a muzzle velocity of 271 m/s (890 ft/s), while others give a muzzle velocity of 327 m/s (1,070 ft/s). The Pieper loadings reportedly had a muzzle velocity of 221 m/s (730 ft/s), while Russian military loads give a muzzle velocity of 336 m/s (1,100 ft/s). Modern loadings from Fiocchi give a muzzle velocity of 229 m/s (750 ft/s), allowing its use in older revolvers.[9]
Handloading
[edit]
Many users of this caliber handload their own ammunition. The proper brass cases are also expensive and difficult to come by. Handloaders have had success using dies for the .32-20 Winchester and .30 Carbine to handload the rounds. 32-20 Winchester brass cases are inexpensive, readily available, and can be reformed and used safely in guns chambered for 7.62×38R, but the resulting cartridges are too short to achieve the gas seal. Cut down. 223 Remington brass reformed in 30 carbine dies can be utilized to load for the Nagant also. These will achieve the gas seal, but the case rims will be undersized.[citation needed]
Three other cartridges, the .32 S&W, .32 S&W Long, and .32 H&R Magnum, will also generally chamber and fire in the revolver, but will not achieve the gas seal. The case head of the .32 S&W/H&R is about the same size as the case diameter of the Nagant cartridge, so the case head will sometimes actually end up moving into the chamber, thus preventing an adequate primer strike. Due to the dimensional differences between these cartridges and the original 7.62×38mmR cartridge, this practice is done at the shooter's own risk. The .32 H&R Magnum in particular develops much higher pressures than the 7.62 Nagant or either of the .32 S&W cartridges, which are both late 19th century developments. The most common anomaly when firing these cartridges is the bulging cases.[12]
Producers
[edit]
Belgium
Russian Empire
Soviet Union[13]
Second Polish Republic - From 1929 until 1939[14]
Italy - Fiocchi manufactures cartridges in this chambering; they fire 6.4 g (98 gr) FMJ bullets at about 260 m/s (850 ft/s), which works out to an energy of 213 J (157 ft·lbf)—comparable to a .32 ACP semi-automatic.
Serbia - Prvi Partizan, a Serbian company produces a 7.62×38R load similar to Fiocchi's, originally under the "HotShot" brand but now under the standard Prvi Partizan label.[15]
See also
[edit]- 7.62 mm caliber
- 7 mm caliber
- List of rimmed cartridges
- List of handgun cartridges
- Table of handgun and rifle cartridges
References
[edit]- ^ Schreier, Philip (July 18, 2022). "The Model 1895 Nagant Revolver". Shooting Illustrated: An Official Journal Of The NRA.
- ^ Campbell, Dave (August 9, 2020). "The 1895 Nagant Revolver: A Look Back". American Rifleman.
- ^ Herbert, Terril (June 6, 2017). "GUN REVIEW: RUSSIAN M1895 NAGANT REVOLVER IN 7.62X38R". Guns.com.
- ^ Williams, Anthony G. (2012). Sub-Machine Gun: The Development of Sub-Machine Guns and their Ammunition from World War 1 to the Present Day. The Crowood Press UK. p. 62. ISBN 978-1847972934.
- ^ Bolotin, David (1995). Soviet Small-Arms and Ammunition. Suomen Asemuseosaatio (Finnish Arms Museum Foundation, Finland). p. 44. ISBN 951-97184-1-9.
- ^ Ezell, Edward (1988). The AK-47 Story: Evolution of the Kalashnikov Weapons. Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-2247-3.
- ^ Thompson 2022, pp. 8−9.
- ^ a b c Ness & Williams 2006, p. 9.
- ^ a b Thompson 2022, p. 35.
- ^ a b Thompson 2022, p. 8.
- ^ Schreier, Philip (July 18, 2022). "The Model 1895 Nagant Revolver". Shooting Illustrated: An Official Journal Of The NRA.
- ^ "Nagant 1895". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-05-28.
- ^ 7,62-мм револьверные патроны "Наган" // А. И. Благовестов. То, из чего стреляют в СНГ: Справочник стрелкового оружия. / под общ. ред. А. Е. Тараса. Минск, «Харвест», 2000. стр.524-525
- ^ Александр Борцов. Патроны Польши // журнал "Мастер-ружьё", № 9 (114) 2006. стр.70-73
- ^ BPrvi Partizan 7,62 mm Nagant
Bibliography
[edit]- Ness, Leland; Williams, Anthony G, eds. (2006). Jane's Ammunition Handbook 2006-2007 (15th ed.). Surrey: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0-7106-2746-9.
- Thompson, Leroy (2022). Soviet Pistols: Tokarev, Makarov, Stechkin and others. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-5349-3.
