7.62×25mm Tokarev

7.62×25mm Tokarev
A steel-cased FMJ 7.62mm Tokarev cartridge.
Type	Pistol
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Production history
Produced	1930–Present
Specifications
Parent case	7.63×25mm Mauser
Bullet diameter	7.87 mm (0.310 in)
Neck diameter	8.48 mm (0.334 in)
Shoulder diameter	9.47 mm (0.373 in)
Base diameter	9.83 mm (0.387 in)
Rim diameter	9.96 mm (0.392 in)
Rim thickness	1.32 mm (0.052 in)
Case length	25.0 mm (0.98 in)
Overall length	34.0 mm (1.34 in)
Case capacity	1.04 cm3 (16.0 gr H2O)
Rifling twist	1:250 mm (1:10 inches)
Primer type	Berdan or Boxer Small Pistol
Ballistic performance
Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy 5.5 g (85 gr) JHP 376 m/s (1,230 ft/s) 390 J (290 ft⋅lbf) 5.8 g (90 gr) FMJ 409 m/s (1,340 ft/s) 488 J (360 ft⋅lbf) 5.5 g (85 gr) FMJ 502 m/s (1,650 ft/s) 693 J (511 ft⋅lbf) 5.5 g (85 gr) FMJ 525 m/s (1,720 ft/s) 760 J (560 ft⋅lbf) 5.5 g (85 gr) JHP 510 m/s (1,700 ft/s) 715 J (527 ft⋅lbf)
Test barrel length: 120mm

The 7.62×25mm Tokarev cartridge is a Russian bottle-necked pistol cartridge widely used in former Soviet satellite states, China and Pakistan among other countries. The cartridge has since been replaced in most capacities by the 9×18mm Makarov in Russian service.

History

Prior to the First World War, the 7.63×25mm Mauser C96 pistol gained in popularity worldwide. In 1908, the Tsarist army placed the C96 on a list of approved sidearms that officers could purchase at their own expense in lieu of carrying the Nagant M1895 revolver. Between 1914 and 1917, more Mauser pistols and ammunition were obtained as captured arms from German and Turkish forces. The Mauser and its cartridge were used on all fronts of the Russian Civil War and in the 1920s, during a period of relatively close cooperation between Soviet Russia and the Weimar Republic, the Red Army purchased batches of the smaller Bolo version as well as ammunition for use by its officers. Although a copy of the cartridge was being produced at the Podolsky Ammunition Factory, the Soviets eventually purchased a license and manufacturing equipment from DWM in Germany to produce the cartridge. In 1929, the Soviet Artillery Committee made a proposal to develop a domestic pistol chambered for the Mauser cartridge. After considerable research and development, it was decided that the "Model 1930 7.62 mm Pistol Cartridge," essentially the Mauser round with minor modifications, was to become the standard caliber for Soviet pistols and submachine guns. Early versions of the Vasily Degtyaryov-designed PPD-40 submachine gun were marked "For Mauser Cartridge Caliber 7.62 mm".

Design

The cartridge is in principle an enhanced Russian version of the 7.63×25mm Mauser. The Russians produced a wide array of loadings for this cartridge for use in submachine guns. These include armor-piercing, tracer, and incendiary rounds. This cartridge has excellent penetration and can easily defeat lighter ballistic vests (NIJ level I and IIA) as well as some kevlar helmets, such as the American PASGT helmet. When fired from a carbine length barrel, such as the Soviet PPSh-41 or the Czech Sa 24 submachine gun, the cartridge may penetrate NIJ level II, but is readily stopped by the current standard armor NIJ level IIIA. Although most firearms chambered in this caliber were declared obsolete and removed from military inventories, some Police and Special Forces units in Russia, Pakistan and (mainly) in China may still use it because of the large quantity of stored ammunition available.

There is a common misconception that 7.62 Tokarev surplus ammunition in the United States uses copper-coated mild steel bullets, and that this increases the chance of dangerous ricochets when fired at hard targets and can damage bullet-traps often used on shooting ranges. While steel-core ammunition in 7.62×25 is available internationally, in the United States the importation of 7.62×25 cartridges loaded with copper-coated steel bullets is illegal; federal law defines these as armor-piercing pistol ammunition. The so-called steel bullets sold in the United States are generally lead-core bullets with copper-washed steel jackets, and these do not present a significantly greater risk of ricochet than a standard copper-jacketed projectile.

Reloadable cartridge cases can be produced by resizing and trimming 9mm Winchester Magnum brass, or alternately by reforming 5.56×45mm NATO. The cartridge case is inserted into the open-topped die, which produces a shoulder in the correct position, and one saws off the portion of the case projecting through the top. Afterward, one uses a reamer—which fits a tap handle—to ream out the new case neck to an acceptable thickness. This is necessary because a powerful rifle cartridge has just been cut back to where the brass is relatively thick—this must be thinned if excessive chamber pressures are to be avoided in the pistol. Alternately, reloaders in the USA can purchase proper, new cases from Starline Mfg. Use .308" or .309" bullets for reloading for the Tokarev TT-33 and Czech CZ-52. Mauser C96 and C30 "Broomhandle" pistols typically have oversized bores, and .311" bullets may be needed to produce acceptable accuracy. Hornady makes an 85-grain .309" "XTP" bullet that functions well in all these pistols. On the Starline website, at the 7.62×25mm section, information is given about using ammunition intended for the Mauser pistol in pistols chambered for the Tokarev round.

In 2012, 7.62×25 ammunition was available for importation, from Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Russia.

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  7.62mm Tokarev rounds. Left: Brass case FMJ. Right: lacquered steel case.

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  Round comparison 22 Long Rifle (lead round nose), .32 ACP/7.65mm Browning, 7.62×25mm Tokarev, .380 ACP / 9mm Kurz, 9mm Makarov, 9×19mm Parabellum, .38 Special (hollow point), .40 Smith & Wesson, .45 ACP (hollow point)

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  Rear view of the head-stamp on a Sellier & Bellot 7.62mm Tokarev cartridge

Performance

The pistol-fired bullet has various muzzle velocities around the range of 1300 to 1800 fps. A common velocity would be around 442 metres per second (1,450 ft/s) with about 544 joules (401 ft⋅lbf) of energy. Given the wide disparity in ammunition manufactured in many different nations, ammunition will be encountered that yields higher and lower velocity. Some newly manufactured ammunition intended for commercial use has a velocity of approximately 1,560 feet per second (480 m/s). Wolf Gold FMJ tops out at 1,720 feet per second (520 m/s) with 570 foot-pounds force (770 J) as does PPU ammunition. Some of this ammunition, such as the Wolf Gold and Sellier & Bellot, uses boxer primed, brass cases that are reloadable.

Notable variants

The Soviet P-41 was a 74 grain, steel-cored, incendiary variant produced for use in the PPSh-41 and PPS-43 during World War II. This ammunition would achieve a velocity of 1,600 feet per second when fired from these weapons.

The Chinese 7.62mm Type P is a special subsonic, heavy, pointed (spitzer) loading of the cartridge, designed specifically for use in suppressed firearms. The Chinese-produced standard loading of the cartridge is designated as the Type 51.

Weapons and service use

Chinese copy of the TT-33 called the Type 54 with 7.62×25mm ammo

The most notable use of this cartridge was in the Tokarev TT-33 pistol, which was the Soviet Union's standard service pistol from the early 1930s until the mid-1960s. It was also used in the Czech ČZ vz. 52, which was the standard Czech service pistol from 1952 until 1982. The cartridge was also used in several submachine guns, including the Soviet PPD-40, PPSh-41, and PPS-43, the Russian PP-19 Bizon, the East German WG66, the Czech Sa 24 and Sa 26.

One of the strangest weapons attempted for this cartridge was the LAD light machine gun (5.6 kg empty weight, 960 mm length), developed the Soviet designers V.F. Lyuty, N.M. Afanasyev and V.S. Daykin during 1942-1943. Only two prototypes were built and it was not accepted for service.

Outside COMECON countries it is not so common; however after the Cold War, many weapons, especially pistols, were exported and the round is still in production. The cartridge was also used in the Russian OTs-27 Berdysh and OTs-39 submachine gun, the North Vietnamese K-50M and VPA/Viet Minh modified MAS-38 (MAS Mle 1938) and MAT-49s, and the Yugoslav M49 and M56, the latter gun being developed from the design of the German MP40. Aftermarket conversion sleeves are also available that enable this round to be fired using the Mosin–Nagant family of rifles.

Synonyms

• 7.62mm Type P
• 7.62mm Type 51
• 7.62mm Tokarev
• 7.62×25mm TT
• .30 Tokarev
• Czech M48
• 7.62 TT
• Norinco DA P762
• .30 Bore - Pakistan Ordnance Factory (used for both 7.63mm Mauser and 7.62mm Tokarev).

See also

• 7.65×25mm Borchardt
• 7.63×25mm Mauser
• 7.65×21mm Parabellum
• .30 Carbine
• 7 mm caliber

References

• Cartridges of the World 11th Edition, Book by Frank C. Barnes, edited by Stan Skinner, Gun Digest Books, 2006, ISBN 0-89689-297-2 pp. 288, 337

External links

• 7,62×25 Tokarev on GunsTribune
• Defense-Update: New Super-Strong Fiber Designed to Meet Threats in Former-Soviet Markets
• Cartridge dimensional diagram and reloading data on makarov.com (dead link as of 31 Dec 14)
• Russia Agreement On Firearms And Ammunition