7.62x25mm Tokarev

Infobox Firearm Cartridge
name=7.62x25mm Tokarev


caption= A steel-cased FMJ 7.62 mm Tokarev cartridge.
origin=flagcountry|USSR
type=Pistol
service=
used_by=
production_date=
is_SI_specs=yes
parent=
case type=Rimless, bottleneck
bullet=7.8
neck=8.4
shoulder=9.4
base=9.7
rim_dia=9.9
rim_thick=1.3
case_length=25
length=34
rifling=1:250 mm (1:10 inches)
primer=Berdan or Boxer
is_SI_ballistics=yes
bwunit=gram
bw1=5.5
btype1=JHP
vel1=376
en1=390
bw2=5.8
btype2=FMJ
vel2=409
en2=488
bw3=
btype3=
vel3=
en3=
bw4=
btype4=
vel4=
en4=
bw5=
btype5=
vel5=
en5=
test_barrel_length=
balsrc= Makarov.com [ [http://www.makarov.com/tokloaddata.html load data at Makarov.com] ]

The 7.62x25mm Tokarev cartridge is a bottle-necked pistol cartridge widely used in former Soviet and Soviet satellite states. The actual caliber of its bullet is 7.85 mm (.309 in).

Design

The cartridge is in principle a Soviet version of the 7.63x25mm Mauser. They are very similar: in fact, some weapons can use both cartridges interchangeably, although this is not recommended.

The Soviets 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 (class I, IIA and II). Although most firearms chambered in this caliber were declared obsolete and removed from military inventories, some Police and Special Forces units in Russia and (mainly) in China still use it for its superior penetration, rather than the more popular 9 mm Makarov ammunition in current use.

The 7.62 Tokarev is usually much more powerful than its Mauser counterpart and may damage any firearms chambered for 7.63 mm Mauser.

Performance

The cartridge has an average muzzle velocity of around convert|400|m/s|ft/s, and has about convert|600|J|ft·lbf of energy. Recoil from the cartridge is on par with a .357 SIG. The unusually loud report and bright muzzle flash produced when this cartridge is fired from pistols can surprise onlookers.

The most notable use of this cartridge was in the Tokarev TT-33 pistol, along with several submachine guns, including the Soviet PPD-40, PPSh-41, and PPS-43, and the Czech Vz.24, Vz.26 (ref.CZ Model 25), and K-50M.

Notable variants

One modification of the standard Soviet service cartridge was made in Czechoslovakia, for use in the specially-strengthened Vz. 52 pistol (also known as the CZ-52). This round, called the Czech M48, operated at higher pressures than the standard Tokarev cartridge, improving the ballistics. However, the more powerful loading meant a greater risk of damage to firearms not designed to accommodate such pressure.

A special subsonic loading of the cartridge, designed specifically for use in suppressed firearms, was dubbed 7.62 mm Type P by the Chinese. This separate designation made it easier for the Chinese military to distinguish cartridges supplied for general service, as opposed to those meant for silenced guns, so that the standard (supersonic) service cartridge would not be fired in these weapons.

Reloaders have been known to custom load 7.62 x 25 mm with sabot rounds using .22 caliber 3.6 g (55 grain) bullets. Muzzle velocities in excess of 670 m/s (2200 ft/s) have been obtained with this method. fact|date=August 2007 These speeds are seldom obtained with a handgun; usually, the longer barrel of a rifle is required.

Initial Speed

* Tokarev TT 33 : 420 m/s
* PPsh-41 Energy in the muzzle: 693 joules
* Tokarev TT : 540 J

ynonyms

*7.62 mm Type P
*7.62 mm Tokarev
*7.62x25mm TT
*.30 Tokarev
*Czech M48

Weapons

As the 7.62x25mm was largely an Eastern Bloc round, it remained relatively rare in the west. However after the Cold War, many weapons, especially pistols, were exported to the west with the round now currently in production. Weapons produced in this caliber include pistols such as the TT-33, vz. 52, and the Russian OTs-27 "Berdysh" (Poleaxe). Submachine guns include the Soviet PPD-40, PPSh-41,PPS-43 and OTs-39, the Czech vz. 24, vz. 26, and the North Vietnamese K-50M and VPA/Viet Minh modified MAS-38 (MAS Mle 1938) and MAT-49s, and the Yugoslav M56, a submachine gun similar in appearance to the German MP40.

ee also

*7.65 mm Borchardt
*7.65 mm Luger Parabellum
*7 mm caliber
*7.62 mm

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