7.62 mm caliber is a nominal caliber used for a number of different cartridges. Historically,
this class of cartridge was commonly known as .30 caliber, the Imperial unit equivalent,
and was most commonly used for indicating a class of full power military main battle
rifle cartridges. The measurement equals 0.30 inches or 3 decimal lines, written .3" and
read as Three-Line. 7.62 mm refers to the internal diameter of
the barrel at the lands. The actual bullet caliber is normally 7.82 mm, although Soviet
weapons commonly use a 7.91 mm bullet, as do older British and Japanese cartridges.
Pistol cartridges in 7.62 mm caliber There are many pistol cartridges in this caliber,
but most common are: 7.62×25mm Tokarev, also known as 7.62 mm
TT, used in the Tokarev pistol, and many of the WWII Soviet submachine guns.
7.63×25mm Mauser, which was the basis for, and has nearly identical dimensions to the
Tokarev, but has different loading specifications. 7.65×21mm Parabellum
7.65×25mm Borchardt, from which both the Mauser and Parabellum cartridges were developed.
7.65×17mm Browning, also known as the .32 ACP.
Revolver cartridges in 7.62 mm caliber Some of the revolver cartridges in this caliber
are: 7.62×38mmR used only in the Nagant M1895
revolver .32 Long Colt Originally chambered in small
frame Colt revolvers and the Marlin model 1892 rifle, this cartridge used a heeled bullet
with a case the same diameter as the major diameter of the bullet. It shared dimensions
with the .32 rimfire cartridge of the same length. Not to be confused with the .32 Colt's
New Police cartridge. .32 S&W Long Also known as the .32 "Colt's
New Police" when chambered in Colt revolvers. The original loading for this cartridge used
a round nose, or flattened round nose and was chambered widely in revolvers made in
the US and Europe through WWII. This cartridge is used in several modern target pistols with
flush seated wadcutters. The short version of this cartridge 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 which is 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 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 & historical rifle cartridges in this caliber are:
300 AAC Blackout, also known as 300 BLK, designed for the M4 carbine platform and STANAG magazine;
Soviet 7.62x39mm, also known as the 7.62 mm Soviet, M43, or occasionally .30 Short Combloc,
designed for the SKS and used in the AK-47 and AKM assault rifles and RPK and RPD light
machine guns; 7.62×40mm Wilson Tactical;
7.62x45mm vz. 52, made solely for the Czechoslovakian vz. 52 rifle, replaced by 7.62x39mm
7.62x51mm NATO and its civilian variant .308 Winchester, sometimes incorrectly described
as .308 NATO by persons mixing English measurements, used by some civilians, with metric measurements
used by NATO; 7.62×54mmR, another Russian cartridge that
was first used in the Mosin-Nagant rifle since 1891. The modern versions of the cartridges,
to this day, are in wide use in numerous world armies as sniper rifles and machine guns;
.30-06 Springfield, US Military cartridge for both World Wars and Korea, known as the
7.62x63mm in metric measurement; .30 Carbine, used in the M1M3 Carbines, sometimes
called the 7.62x33mm; .303 British, used in Lee-Metford and Lee-Enfield
rifles, known as 7.7×56mmR in metric measurement; 7.7×58mm Arisaka, used in the Type 99, Type
2 and Type 4 rifles; 7.65×53mm Argentine, used in various Mauser
bolt-action rifles, primarily in Belgium, Turkey and Argentina;
.308 Norma Magnum; .300 Winchester Magnum, used by many hunting/sniper
rifles, sometimes called the 7.62x67mm; .300 Lapua Magnum, 7.62x70mm;
.30-378 Weatherby Magnum; .30-30 Winchester, a popular deer hunting
cartridge, typically used in lever-action rifles, such as the Winchester Model 1894
and Marlin Model 336, also adapted to European sporting guns as 7.62x51mmR;
.30 R Blaser, used in break-action rifles for hunting medium to large game;
30TC. See also
List of rifle cartridges 7 mm caliber
Category:7.62 mm firearms M14 rifle
References ^ Holt Bodinson: The old Three-Line: still
a great value, Guns Magazine, Nov, 2006 ^ 30TC