USSR 1940s 7.62x54r Lead Core Light Ball
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This ammunition is repackaged in the former Yugoslavia.  Based on the condition of the cases it appears to have been cleaned by tumbling and the primers replaced and sealed.  Ammunition of this era would not have had sealed primers.   Ignition is reliable and consistent and the ballistics are surprisingly good for something of this vintage, although it should probably be classified with the newer production surplus since it has been "reworked".

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(Reference number 003)

Case Over all Length Powder
Headstamp Material Coating Water Volume Min. Max. Weight
Miscellaneous steel copper wash 63.2 gr. 3.004" 3.012" 51.3 gr.

 

Bullet
Dia. Length Weight Style Core Tip Color Magnetic? Ballistic
Coefficient
Sectional
Density
.310" 1.116" 148.2 gr. spitzer flat base lead none yes 0.363 0.220

 

Package
15 rounds per cardboard box repackaged in Yugoslavia
ammo003d.JPG (44673 bytes)

 

Measured Muzzle Velocity in Feet per Second (10 shot string)
Rifle M44 M28 M91/30 M91 (Finnish) M91 (Russian)
Low 2591 2755 2776 2839 2706
High 2689 2795 2846 2911 2775
Average 2628 2773 2812 2872 2738
Extreme Spread 98 40 70 72 69
Standard Deviation 32 18 26 28 25
Trajectory and Drop Graph
(click on the thumbnails)
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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 2628 2506 2388 2273 2162 2053 1947 1845 1747 1653 1563
M28 2773 2648 2526 2407 2292 2179 2070 1964 1861 1762 1668
M91/30 2812 2686 2563 2443 2327 2214 2103 1997 1892 1792 1697
M91 (Finnish) 2872 2744 2619 2498 2380 2266 2154 2046 1940 1838 1741
M91 (Russian) 2738 2614 2493 2375 2261 2149 2041 1935 1834 1736 1643

 

Bullet Energy to 500 yards in Foot Pounds

Distance (yds) 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500
M44 2269 2064 1874 1698 1535 1385 1246 1118 1003 898 803
M28 2526 2303 2096 1904 1725 1561 1408 1267 1138 1021 914
M91/30 2598 2370 2158 1961 1779 1610 1454 1310 1176 1055 946
M91 (Finnish) 2710 2474 2254 2051 1861 1686 1525 1375 1236 1110 995
M91 (Russian) 2464 2245 2042 1854 1679 1518 1369 1231 1105 991 887

 

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) 10.8 fps 9.6 fps 11.1 fps 10.3 fps 9.9 fps
Recoil Energy (Foot-Pound) 14.9 ft-lb 14.1 ft-lb 16.5 ft-lb 15.6 ft-lb 14.3 ft-lb


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