USSR 1986 7.62x54r Steel Core Light Ball
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This late cold war production ammo is highly regarded for it's dependability and consistency. The copper washed case is less likely to cause extraction difficulty than lacquer coated cases. "188" is another factory that produced the same type ammo and the specifications and ballistics should be similar.

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(Reference number 001)

Case Over all Length Powder
Headstamp Material Coating Water Volume Min. Max. Weight
"60" (factory) over "86" (year) steel copper wash 63.6 gr. 3.009" 3.017" 47.9 gr.

 

Bullet
Dia. Length Weight Style Core Tip Color Magnetic? Ballistic
Coefficient		 Sectional
Density
.311" 1.264" 147.8 gr. spitzer boat tail steel none yes 0.325 0.219

 

Package
20 rounds per paper wrap 440 rounds per spam can 880 rounds per wooden crate
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Measured Muzzle Velocity in Feet per Second (10 shot string)
Rifle M44 M28 M91/30 M91 (Finnish) M91 (Russian)
Low 2577 2717 2779 2847 2727
High 2652 2784 2897 2922 2814
Average 2629 2749 2812 2874 2778
Extreme Spread 75 67 118 75 87
Standard Deviation 30 25 37 30 30
Trajectory and Drop Graph
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Notes on the graphs The graphs above each represent two sets of data. The red line is the path of the bullet fired from the rifle with the sights zeroed at 200 yards. The bullet exits the muzzle at a distance a fraction of an inch below zero inches. This represents the height of the sight over the centerline of the bore. The bullet rises above zero in a trajectory that then passes through zero again at 200 yards and continues downward. The blue line is the the bullet drop in inches for the distance traveled. This begins at the muzzle at zero inches and decreases with distance not taking sight height or zero distance into account.

 

Trajectory Comparison Graph
This graph combines the trajectories of the 5 graphs above to compare the performance of the test rifles.
Click on the graph for a large, scalable PDF to zoom in for better detail clarity.  Adobe Reader required.

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Bullet Velocity to 500 yards in Feet per Second
Distance (yds) 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
M44 2629 2494 2362 2235 2111 1992 1876 1765 1660 1560 1464
M28 2749 2610 2475 2344 2218 2095 1976 1860 1751 1646 1546
M91/30 2812 2671 2534 2402 2273 2149 2028 1910 1798 1692 1590
M91 (Finnish) 2874 2731 2593 2459 2328 2202 2080 1961 1846 1737 1633
M91 (Russian) 2778 2638 2502 2371 2243 2120 2000 1883 1773 1667 1566

 

Bullet Energy to 500 yards in Foot Pounds
Distance (yds) 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
M44 2271 2043 1833 1641 1465 1304 1156 1024 906 799 704
M28 2483 2238 2013 1806 1616 1442 1283 1167 1007 890 785
M91/30 2598 2344 2110 1895 1698 1517 1351 1199 1063 940 830
M91 (Finnish) 2714 2451 2209 1986 1781 1593 1421 1263 1120 992 877
M91 (Russian) 2535 2287 2057 1847 1653 1476 1314 1165 1032 913 806

 

Recoil
Rifle M44 (Soviet) M28 (Finnish) M91/30 (Soviet) M91 (Finnish) M91 (Russian)
Weight (Pounds) 8.25 lbs 9.75 lbs 8.56 lbs 9.50 lbs 9.38 lbs
Recoil Velocity (Feet per Second) 10.5 fps 9.3 fps 10.8 fps 10.0 fps 9.8 fps
Recoil Energy (Foot-Pound) 14.2 ft-lb 13.1 ft-lb 15.7 ft-lb 14.8 ft-lb 14.0 ft-lb
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