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 three decimal lines, written .3″ and read as three-line. The 7.62 mm designation refers to the internal diameter of the barrel at the lands. The actual bullet caliber is often, although Soviet weapons commonly use a bullet, as do older British and Japanese cartridges.
Pistol cartridges in 7.62 mm caliber
There are many pistol cartridges in this caliber, the most common are:
7.63×25mm Mauser, which was the basis for, and has nearly identical dimensions to, the Tokarev, but has different loading specifications
7.65×25mm Borchardt, from which both the Mauser and Parabellum cartridges were developed
7.65×21mm Parabellum
7.65×17mm Browning, also known as.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 for small frame Colt revolvers and the Marlin model 1892 rifle, this cartridge uses a heeled bullet with a case the same diameter as the major diameter of the bullet. It shares 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.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 World War II. 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 - 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 - 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 and historical rifle cartridges in this caliber are:
.30 Carbine, used in the M1/M2/M3 carbines, sometimes called the 7.62×33mm
7.62×45mm vz. 52, made solely for the Czechoslovakian vz. 52 rifle, replaced by 7.62×39mm
7.62×51mm NATO and its civilian variant.308 Winchester, sometimes 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 used in both world wars and Korea, known as the 7.62×63mm in metric measurement
