Milsurp 7.62x54R Potency
Hi Guys,
I just picked up 880 rounds of 7.62x54R light ball military surplus spam cans. I think it was loaded some time in the 70's.
My question is, what kind of muzzle velocity can I expect out of this stuff? How much power has been deminished by 4 decades of storage? Are these rounds significantly more powerful than new production 7.62x39mm? Throw me a bone.
I just picked up 880 rounds of 7.62x54R light ball military surplus spam cans. I think it was loaded some time in the 70's.
My question is, what kind of muzzle velocity can I expect out of this stuff? How much power has been deminished by 4 decades of storage? Are these rounds significantly more powerful than new production 7.62x39mm? Throw me a bone.
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No guarantees on the storage of the ammo you have which will have an effect on the quality of the ammo now. Regardless, it will have more umph that any 7.62x39. 0 -
The 7.62X54R is equal to a 30-06. 0 -
Being properly stored (and a sealed spam can is pretty darned good) does nothing to diminish the energy of loaded ammo. Expect MV of AROUND 2600 fps. Your fresh 7.62x39 ammo has about 1500 ft lbs muzzle energy. Your "Old" 7.62x54R has about 2600 ft lbs. Your will figure that out when you shoot. We do NOT want to see pictures of your bruises. I think ammo was designed so that the muzzle flash kills anything within 10 meters of the muzzle. I do not consider rifle ammo "old" if it was made after the war. World War ONE. 0 -
Thanks for the info guys. I will be sure to seal the ammo again once I open it. Perhaps in some freezer bags. 0 -
I've shot plenty of the 1970s era 7.62x54R, and frankly it looks like it rolled out of the factory yesterday, with brand new shiny copper-washed steel cases, and 100% fire rate.
Exact specs are going to depend on which exact type of ammo you're talking about and which exact gun, but for the typical 1970s era Russian surplus, figure you're going to push a 148 grain full metal jacket steel core at 2600 fps from the M44 carbine, or 2800 fps from a full 91/30 rifle.
As mentioned, that's 2600 foot-lbs of muzzle energy from the longer rifle, which is about mid-way in between typical ball .308 and .30-06 loadings. There is a reason they call this round the "Russian "30-06".
In other words, this is no slouch round. In fact, at roughly $.20/round when you buy it by the tin, in terms of bang/buck this is probably the best bargain in surplus ammo out there right now.
As a nice "bonus", while the surplus stuff wasn't specifically designed as armor piercing ammo, in practice the soft steel cores offer significantly better penetration than you're going to get out of typical FMJ-over-lead surplus ammo.
I will tell you anecdotally, this ammo will shoot right through a telephone pole like a hot knife through butter. Here it what happened with my M44. Each of the three "Physician Desk Reference" books is hardback and 3000 pages long (so yes, that's 9000 pages):
And this is what the recovered bullet looked like, when I tried the same thing with 5 PDRs:
EDIT: What the heck. . .one more for sense of scale:
And the gun in question. Its a stock Russian M44, with bayonet removed, recoil pad, shell holder with foam cheekrest underneath. Scope is a 2x Leupold pistol scope on an SK mount.
IMO, at $300 (and most of that is the scope cost), something like this is a much better "SHTF" gun than many would give it credit for.
The gun itself lacks charm, but its rugged and effectively idiot-proof. Also, at 300 yards the .31 caliber Russian slug will still carry 1500+ ft-lbs of energy, which is more than a typical .223 has at the muzzle.0 -
Wow! Cool project beantown. The ammo I got is LPS steel core, 1982 manufacture. This is gonna be fun! 0 -
Most East-bloc stuff does 2800+ from a 91/30, and a couple of hundred feet slower from a carbine. It is no wimp from any of the issue-lengths of barrels. The website '7.62x54r.net' has extensive ballistics from many models of Mosins using many dates and arsenals of surplus ammo, as well as commercial loads.
In a Mosin with an excellent bore, the East-bloc stuff shoots well no matter who made it. I have four 91/30's that shoot inside 2 minutes with various makes of ball, and with softnose handloads (150 and 180 grainers). All of the military bullets that I have measured were .311, and the pipes in these guns range from .300/.312 to .302/.313, so being slightly oversize doesn't seem to have much (if any) effect on service accuracy.
All of the East-bloc ammo is reported to be corrosive, and I have not put that to the test. I clean with Hoppe's using the military regimen, and the bores have remained brilliant.
Beantown must have backed off a ways with his carbine, or all he would have got would be ashes, LOL.0
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