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 the Soviet period to the present day. The cartridge remains one of the few standard-issue rimmed cartridges still in military use, and has one of the longest service lives of any military-issued cartridge.
| 7.62×54mmR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Examples of 7.62×54mmR rimmed ammunition. The photo shows, reading from left to right:
Sellier & Bellot hollow point boat tail; "Czech silver tip", mild steel core, light ball; Hungarian silver/yellow-tip, mild steel core, heavy ball; Wolf Ammunition gold soft-point; USSR 1986 steel core light ball, Factory 60. [1]; Yugoslav surplus (1953); USSR 1940s lead core light ball [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Rifle | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of origin | Russian Empire | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Service history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In service | 1891–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Used by | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wars |
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| Production history | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Designer | Colonel N. F. Rogovtsev | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Designed | 1891 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Produced | 1891–present | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Specifications | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Case type | Rimmed, bottleneck | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bullet diameter | 7.92 mm (0.312 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Land diameter | 7.62 mm (0.300 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neck diameter | 8.53 mm (0.336 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shoulder diameter | 11.61 mm (0.457 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Base diameter | 12.37 mm (0.487 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rim diameter | 14.48 mm (0.570 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rim thickness | 1.60 mm (0.063 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Case length | 53.72 mm (2.115 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Overall length | 77.16 mm (3.038 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Case capacity | 4.16 cm3 (64.2 gr H2O) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rifling twist | 240 mm (1 in 9.45 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Primer type | Berdan or boxer large rifle | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum pressure | 390.00 MPa (56,565 psi) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ballistic performance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Test barrel length: 73 cm (28 in) Source(s): | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The fully-powered 7.62×54mmR cartridge is still in use by the Russian military in the Dragunov (SVD), SV-98 and other sniper rifles, as well as some modern general-purpose machine guns like the PKM and Pecheneg machine gun. Originally, the round was designated "Трехлинейный патрон образца 1891 года" – (three-line cartridge model of 1891). It then became widely known under the designation "7,62мм винтовочный патрон" (7.62 mm rifle cartridge). The round has erroneously come to be known as the "7.62mm Russian" (and is still often referred to as such colloquially), but, according to standards, the R in designation (7.62×54mmR) stands for "rimmed", in line with standard C.I.P. designations. The name is sometimes confused with the "7.62 Soviet" round, which refers to the rimless 7.62×39mm intermediate cartridge used in the SKS and AK-based (AK-47, RPK) rifles and light machine gun.