New Reloading Powder Shipment

Just received some new reloading supplies! Smokeless powder, Swiss 4Fg black powder, and percussion caps. I've been wanting to try the Swiss 4f in my NAA Companion for awhile. Shop reloading supplies here (click).

Prvi Partizan 7.62x39 Soft Point

If you reload for 7.62x39, it is no secret to you that Boxer-primed brass is not the easiest or cheapest thing to come by. With that in mind, when I saw that Midway had Prvi Partizan softpoint ammo in stock and on sale in the midst of the buying frenzy of late December 2012, I had to buy some. The price was just over ten dollars a box, which is just a bit higher than that steel-cased Berdan stuff from Russia was going for at the time. As you can see from the video, it does occasionally fail to feed in my Norinco SKS. It is good enough for deer hunting though, with the added benefit of giving me some reloadable brass. My plan is to load Lyman #311041, 172 grain flatnose cast bullets. I think this might be another job for some of my batch of AL-8.

Hatcher's Notebook

Hatcher's Notebook
A standard reference book for shooters, gunsmiths, ballisticians, historians, hunters and collectors.

7.62 x 39

7.62x39mm

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

7.62x39mm
Lateral view of a steel-cased 7.62x39mm FMJ cartridge.
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1945–present
Used by	Soviet Union, Warsaw Pact, People's Republic of China, Cambodia, North Korea, Vietnam, Finland, Venezuela, numerous others
Production history
Designed	1943
Produced	1943–present
Specifications
Case type	Rimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter	7.92 mm (0.312 in)
Neck diameter	8.60 mm (0.339 in)
Shoulder diameter	10.07 mm (0.396 in)
Base diameter	11.35 mm (0.447 in)
Rim diameter	11.35 mm (0.447 in)
Rim thickness	1.50 mm (0.059 in)
Case length	38.70 mm (1.524 in)
Overall length	56.00 mm (2.205 in)
Rifling twist	240 mm (1 in 9.45 in)
Primer type	Berdan or Boxer Small Rifle or Boxer Large Rifle
Maximum pressure	355.00 MPa (51,488 psi)
Filling	SSNF 50 powder
Filling weight	24.7 gr
Ballistic performance
Bullet weight/type	Velocity	Energy
123 gr (8.0 g) Spitzer	710 m/s (2,300 ft/s)	2,010 J (1,480 ft·lbf)
154 gr (10.0 g) Spitzer SP	641.3 m/s (2,104 ft/s)	2,059 J (1,519 ft·lbf)
Source: Chuck Hawks,, Wolf Ammo

The 7.62x39mm rifle cartridge was designed during World War II and first used in the SKS carbine by the Soviet Union. The cartridge produces significant wounding (including remote wounding effects known as hydrostatic shock) in cases where the bullet tumbles and fragments in tissue, but produces relatively minor wounds in cases where the bullet exits before beginning to yaw. In the absence of yaw, the M43 load can pencil through lung tissue with relatively little injury. On a direct hit to the cranium, hydrostatic shock can cause the head to explode. Even in the absence of yaw and a large temporary cavity, a hit to the shoulder can produce significant lung hemorrhaging attributed to stress wave transmission. Indirect injuries can be common with hits to the abdomen and may be attributed to the explosive effects of temporary cavitation.
The cartridge was likely influenced by a variety of foreign developments, especially the pre-war German GeCo, 7.75x39mm experimental round, and possibly by the late-war German 7.92x33mm Kurz ("Kurz" meaning "short" in German). Shortly after the war, the world's most recognized military pattern rifle was designed for this cartridge: the AK-47. The cartridge remained the Soviet standard until the 1970s, and is still one of the most common intermediate rifle cartridges used around the world. Its replacement, the 5.45x39mm cartridge, has less stopping power and armor penetration, but is highly lethal, has a flatter trajectory, and is more controllable in fully automatic fire due to the lower recoil. The change was in part a response to NATO switching from the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge to 5.56x45mm NATO and due to the Red Army's demand for a lighter cartridge to reduce soldiers' burden or increase carrying capacity.

History

Oblique view of a steel-cased 7.62x39mm FMJ cartridge.

A 7.62x39mm M67 round next to a 7.62x25mm pistol cartridge

7.62x39 shown along side other cartridges. From left to right: 30-06, 7.62x39, .454 Casull, .45 Colt, .357 Magnum, .38 Special, .45 ACP, 9mm, .380, .22 Long Rifle

The original Soviet M43 bullets are boat-tail bullets with a copper-plated steel jacket, a large steel core, and some lead between the core and the jacket. The cartridge itself consists of a berdan-primed, highly tapered (usually steel) case which seats the bullet and contains the powder charge. The taper makes it very easy to feed and extract the round, since there is little contact with the chamber walls until the round is fully seated. This taper is what causes the AK-47 to have distinctively curved magazines. While the bullet design has gone through a few redesigns, the cartridge itself remains largely unchanged.

M43

Although the new cartridge represented a great leap forward from previous designs, the initial bullet design was flawed. The complete solidity of the M43 projectile causes its only drawback—it is stable even in tissue and begins to yaw only after traversing nearly 30 cm (one foot) of tissue. This greatly reduces the wounding effectiveness of the projectile against humans. Dr. Martin Fackler noted that the wounds from the M43 round were comparable to that of a small handgun round using non-expanding bullets. Unless the round struck something vital, the wound was usually small and healed quickly.

M67

7.62x39mm copper-plated steel jacket

In the 1960s the Yugoslavians experimented with new bullet designs to produce a round with a superior wounding profile, speed, and accuracy to the M43. Dr. Fackler also evaluated the M67 in the same manner that he evaluated the M43. The M67 projectile is shorter and flatter-based than the M43. This is mainly due to the deletion of the mild steel insert. This has the side effect of shifting the center of gravity rearward in comparison to the M43. This allows the projectile to destabilize nearly 17 cm earlier in tissue. This causes a pair of large stretch cavities at a depth likely to cause effective wound trauma. When the temporary stretch cavity intersects with the skin at the exit area, a larger exit wound will result, which takes longer to heal. Additionally, when the stretch cavity intersects a stiff organ like the liver, it will cause damage to that organ.
However, without fragmentation, the wounding potential of M67 is mostly limited to the small permanent wound channel the bullet itself makes. While a fragmenting round (like the 5.56x45mm NATO) might cause massive tissue trauma and blood loss (and thus rapid incapacitation) on a lung or abdominal hit, the M67 has a greater chance of merely wounding the target. However, the 5.56x45 will only reliably fragment in close ranges below 125 meters.
Many contemporary Russian-made 7.62x39 cartridges, such as those sold under the Wolf, Golden Tiger, or Brown Bear label, feature a modified M67 bullet with an airspace cast into the nose or similar ballistic-enhancing tip design (e.g. 8m3) which improve fragmentation and/or tumbling tendencies.

Chinese steel core

7.62x39mm from China, Pakistan, and Russia.

Chinese military-issue ammunition in this caliber is M43 style with a mild steel core and a thin jacket of copper or brass. Contrary to common belief, the use of steel was a cost saving measure rather than one to increase penetration. Additionally, mild steel is not sufficiently hard to grant unusual armor penetrating capability. Despite this, Chinese ammunition (As well as all other M43 ammunition) is currently banned from importation in the US because there are 7.62x39mm caliber handguns and the ammunition is an armor-piercing handgun round under the U.S. federal legal definition of the word, which is based on materials and bullet design rather than on tested ability to penetrate armor.

Ballistics

The standard AK-47 or AKM fires a 7.62x39mm round with a muzzle velocity of 710 metres per second (2,329 ft/s). Muzzle energy is 2,010 joules (1,467 ft·lbf). Cartridge case length is 38.6 millimetres (1.5 in), weight is 18.21 grams (281.0 grains). Projectile weight is normally 8 grams (123 gr). The AK-47 and AKM, with the 7.62x39mm cartridge, have a maximum effective range of around 400 meters. 

Cartridge dimensions
The 7.62x39mm has 2.31 ml (35.6 grains H₂O) cartridge case capacity.

7.62x39mm maximum C.I.P. cartridge dimensions. All sizes in millimeters (mm).
Americans would define the shoulder angle at alpha/2 ≈ 16.4 degrees. The common rifling twist rate for this cartridge is 240 mm (1 in 9.45 in), 4 grooves, Ø lands = 7.92 mm, Ø grooves = 7.62 mm, land width = 3.81 mm and the primer type is berdan or small rifle or large rifle.
According to the official C.I.P. (Commission Internationale Permanente Pour L'Epreuve Des Armes A Feu Portative) guidelines the 7.62x39mm case can handle up to 355 MPa (51,488 psi) piezo pressure. In C.I.P. regulated countries every rifle cartridge combo has to be proofed at 125% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers.

Other names for 7.62x39mm

On some occasions, this ammunition is referred to as 7.62 mm Soviet, 7.62 mm Warsaw Pact, or 7.62 mm ComBloc. It was also known in the United States as .30 Short Russian/ComBloc; the "Short" was to distinguish it from the older .30 Russian, which was the 7.62x54mmR.

Hunting and sport use

Since approximately 1990, the 7.62x39mm cartridge has seen some use in hunting arms in the US for hunting game up to the size of whitetail deer. Large numbers of inexpensive imported semiautomatic rifles, like the SKS and AK-47 clones and variants, are available in this caliber.  In addition, Ruger produces the Mini-30 as a 7.62x39mm version of their popular Mini-14 rifle. Inexpensive imported 7.62x39mm ammunition is also widely available, though some of it is the older non-expanding and steel core type that is illegal to use for hunting in US states. However, both imported Russian ammunition like Wolf brand and American civilian manufacturers produce both hollow-point and soft-point rounds, which are suitable and nearly universally legal for hunting except in areas where the use of rifles for hunting is completely prohibited, and most modern FMJ ammunition sold today features improved tumbling or fragmentation variants of the M67 bullet, such as the rebranded Ulyanovsk produced 7.62x39-8m2 and 8m3 "effect" typically sold in sealed metal cans.
7.62x39mm ammunition has typically been one of the least-expensive centerfire rifle ammunitions on the market. It cost just over 17 cents a round for quality imported ammo in early 2006. In 2005/2006, prices began to soar (almost doubling in the US) due to the United States placing a massive order to supply the fledgling Afghan and Iraqi armies. Average price in early 2008 rose to 22 cents per round, bought in bulk packs of 500 to 1000.  This cartridge has endeared itself to shooters in spite of its limited ballistics, because of the many inexpensive good semiautomatic rifles available for it, the availability of inexpensive ammunition, and because of its minimal recoil. 

References

1. ^ "The 7.62x39mm M43". http://www.chuckhawks.com/7-62soviet.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-25. 
2. ^ "Wolf Rifle Ammo". http://www.wolfammo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1&Itemid=12. Retrieved 2008-09-05. 
3. ^ Bellamy RF, Zajtchuk R. The physics and biophysics of wound ballistics. In: Zajtchuk R, ed. Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty, Vol. 5, Conventional Warfare: Ballistic, Blast, and Burn Injuries. Washington, DC: Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, United States of America (1990) pp. 146-155
4. ^ U.S. Military Small Arms Ammunition Failures and Solutions, GK Roberts, NDIA Dallas, TX, 21 May 2008 http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2008Intl/Roberts.pdf
5. ^ Wounding Effects of the AK-47 Rifle Used by Patrick Purdy in the Stockton, California, Schoolyard Shooting of January 17, 1989, Fackler, Martin L. M.D.; Malinowski, John A. B.S.; Hoxie, Stephen W. B.S.; Jason, Alexander B.A., American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, September 1990
6. ^ Bellamy RF, Zajtchuk R. The physics and biophysics of wound ballistics. In: Zajtchuk R, ed. Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty, Vol. 5, Conventional Warfare: Ballistic, Blast, and Burn Injuries. Washington, DC: Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, United States of America (1990) Fig 4-38 p. 148
7. ^ Bellamy RF, Zajtchuk R. The physics and biophysics of wound ballistics. In: Zajtchuk R, ed. Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty, Vol. 5, Conventional Warfare: Ballistic, Blast, and Burn Injuries. Washington, DC: Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, United States of America (1990) Fig. 4-34 p. 145
8. ^ Bellamy RF, Zajtchuk R. The physics and biophysics of wound ballistics. In: Zajtchuk R, ed. Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty, Vol. 5, Conventional Warfare: Ballistic, Blast, and Burn Injuries. Washington, DC: Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, United States of America (1990) Fig. 4-39 p. 148
9. ^ Bellamy RF, Zajtchuk R. The physics and biophysics of wound ballistics. In: Zajtchuk R, ed. Textbook of Military Medicine, Part I: Warfare, Weaponry, and the Casualty, Vol. 5, Conventional Warfare: Ballistic, Blast, and Burn Injuries. Washington, DC: Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army, United States of America (1990) pp. 149-152
10. ^ "Origin of AK Assault rifle and 7.62x39mm cartridge". http://guns.connect.fi/gow/QA4.html. Retrieved 2007-09-25. 
11. ^ "US Code: Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 44, § 921". http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00000921----000-.html. Retrieved 2007-09-25. 
12. ^ C.I.P. decisions, texts and tables free current C.I.P. CD-ROM version download (ZIP and RAR format)
13. ^ "CZ Mod 527 (7.62x39mm)", theothersideofkim.com, retrieved 20 October 2007.
14. ^ "US sets up £215m deal for Afghan arms - from Russia", telegraph.co.uk, retrieved 2 October 2006.
15. ^ "AmmoEngine.com 7.62x39mm prices" "AmmoEngine.com", retrieved 13 July 2009.

External links

• Various photos of 7.62x39mm ammunition
• .30 Caliber cartridge article at Chuck Hawks

• Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of Use for details.

Heavy Cast Bullets in 9mm

This is a video of a Hi Point 995, 9mm carbine firing 158 grain cast bullets. The bullet is a Lee .358-158 RF, tumble lubed and sized to .356-inch. Primers are Tula and the powder is NM-04 which is a Russian or Chinese (I forget which) copy of Dupont PB. If you don't have any PB, Green Dot works fine too. This is cheap shooting at its best: the brass is free (range pickups), the powder was something like $40 for an 8 lb jug, the primers were about $20 per thousand and the lead was free. The lube is a couple of bucks for 1,000 rounds' worth. That comes to less than thirty bucks for a thousand rounds. Ok, not fair since I already had this stuff before the current buying frenzy. But even if you have to buy Green Dot and pay $30 per thousand for primers, you can still come in at about the price of loss-leader .22 ammo, assuming you can scrounge 22 lbs of lead. If you have to actually buy lead for a dollar a pound, that still only puts you at $60 per thousand rounds. Build a backstop in your backyard so you can salvage at least some of the lead for reuse, and the next batch will be cheaper.

.50 Hush Puppy

From Wikipedia(View original Wikipedia Article) Last modified on 23 September 2010 at 22:37 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

.50 Hush Puppy
Type	Rifle
Place of origin	United States
Specifications
Parent case	7 mm WSM
Case type	rebated rim, straight taper
Neck diameter	0.538 in (13.7 mm)
Base diameter	0.555 in (14.1 mm)
Rim thickness	0.535 in (13.6 mm)
Case length	1.7"
Ballistic performance
Bullet weight/type	Velocity	Energy
300 gr (19 g) Barnes	2,600 ft/s (790 m/s)	TBD
500 gr (32 g) Cast Boolit	1,850 ft/s (560 m/s)	TBD
649 gr (42.1 g) API	1,525 ft/s (465 m/s)	TBD
850 gr (55 g) Cast Boolit	1,100 ft/s (340 m/s)	TBD
500 gr (32 g) Cast Boolit, Reduced Load	1,100 ft/s (340 m/s)	TBD
Source: Aaron of Delta Company Arms

The .50 Hush Puppy is a rifle cartridge based on the 7mm WSM  case cut off at 1.7", just at the start of the shoulder. The result is a  more sturdy case capable of higher pressures than that used by the .50 Beowulf  and with a bit more taper, aiding in feeding. The .50 Hush Puppy's  ballistics are slightly superior, but very similar, to the venerable  50-70. This wildcat is still in development.

.45 ACP AL-8 Heavy Bullet Load

In this post, I suggested 9.5 grains of Alcan AL-8 as a starting load for heavy (250-260 grain) cast bullets in .45 ACP. Yesterday, I tested that load.

While rummaging around in some old reloading stuff I picked up somewhere, I found a partial box of Magnus 255 grain .452" semi-wadcutters that are intended for .45 (Long) Colt. Something had been nesting in the box, and the 47 bullets remaining were dirty and gritty, so I decided that they should be fired in the chrome-plated bore of my Norinco 1911a1. Upon further contemplation, it seemed the perfect candidate for testing the AL-8 load, so after brushing the bullets off, I grabbed some pre-primed cases with assorted headstamps and uncertain history, and weighed some AL-8 charges from Lee dippers. I generally do this before going to the trouble of actually setting up a powder measure, and by happy coincidence, the 1cc dipper held 9.6 grains of my batch of AL-8. I took that as a sign, and proceeded to charge 47 cases. I seated the first bullet without touching the adjustment of the die, which was set up for the Lee 230 grain truncated cone bullet from my 6-cavity mould.  It looked just about right with the 255 grain bullet, so I continued to seat the other 46.

Later at the range I fired them from my Norinco, using 3 generic 7-round magazines. I didn't bring my chronograph, but they shot about like factory hardball loads, were 100% reliable with zero failures of any kind, and shot to point of aim with minute of milk jug accuracy at 50 yards. The only disadvantage I noticed was that the load shot dirty, with lots of powder residue. I think increasing the charge will improve that, and since some of the empty cases were landing on the brim of my hat, I'm sure I have room to increase the charge a bit.

I will leave that for somebody else though, because I don't plan to buy any more of these bullets. I will have to start over with some of my home-cast bullets; perhaps the Lyman #452424 Keith bullet.

I also tried the same powder charge with the 230 grain truncated cone home-cast bullet, and those worked fine, too.