7.62x51mm NATO (no ontology)

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Revision as of 01:22, 24 February 2016

7.62x51mm NATO (also known as 7.62x51mm, 7.62 NATO) is a rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s by Winchester as a military derivative of .308 Winchester, a civilian hunting cartridge. Both 7.62 NATO and .308 Winchester share the same dimensions, and are frequently loaded similarly, developing equivalent maximum chamber pressure. Although it is not technically correct to state that 7.62 NATO and .308 Win are the same, depending on the pressure measurement method, they are generally safe to interchange, and most firearms marked with either caliber are typically capable of shooting safely either cartridge.

7.62x51mm NATO is the predecessor to the 5.56x45mm NATO as the US military service rifle cartridge. Originally introduced in 1954 to replace the .30-06 Springfield, 7.62 NATO was developed specifically to duplicate the performance of its predecessor, but by using a shorter, lighter case. This allowed rifles chambered for the new cartridge to be slightly lighter and smaller than their predecessors as well.

This cartridge suitable for a large number of military applications - for service rifles, light and medium machine guns, embarked and stationary MGs, as well as precision rifles (both for snipers and DMRs), making it one of the most versatile cartridges and becoming, in spirit and in practice, the definitive general-purpose caliber. Outside of military applications, it has seen use in law enforcement as an ideal sharpshooter and SWAT sniper cartridge. Last but not least, civilian applications; much the same as the .308 Winchester from which it descends, 7.62 NATO is perfectly suitable for hunting, target shooting, personal defense, and defense against dangerous animals.

The first 7.62 NATO rifle to be adopted by any military is the T44 rifle, which was type-designated as the M14 by the US military. At around the same time, the United Kingdom and Canada adopted a variant of the FN FAL, which they designated as the L1A1 SLR. Soon afterwards, based on the designs of Spanish firearms manufacturer CETME, German manufacturer Heckler & Koch developed a new rifle that would soon be adopted by West Germany, the H&K G3. Although 7.62 NATO was eventually phased out as a main service rifle cartridge by most of the militaries that adopted it, it was never completely phased out, thanks to the numerous other useful applications the cartridge is suitable for (machine guns, precision rifles...)

Recent developments in warfare also proved that there is still a need for rifles chambered in 7.62 NATO (or a similar equivalent) as a complement of modern service rifles rather than a full replacement; most notably in desert theaters where engagement distances are much longer than the effective range of most modern assault rifles. Thus, a resurgence of 7.62mm platforms has been experienced; either with the return of old service rifles (M14, AKM), the modernization of existing designs (such as the M110 SASS being a very advanced form of the Armalite AR-10), or the production of new ones (such as the H&K HK417, FN Herstal SCAR-H, or even a 7.62 NATO version of the Kalashnikov AK-12).

Mazeworld overview

How to read this?

• Available for purchase in a gun shop or a weapon shop in boxes of 20 or bulk cans of 500.
• Available brands and projectile types:
  • Standard (Regular, SP): FMJ, Match, JHP, JSP, AP, API, UHS
  • Reduced Velocity (Regular, -P): FMJ
  • Milsurp (Surplus, SP): FMJ, AP
  • Sniper Premium (Premium, SP): FMJ, Match
• Retail value of a standard round (Reg/FMJ/SP): 5 P$ /round
• Recoil level: 4 - Heavy

Handloading information

• Primer type: Large rifle
• Powder type: Rifle
• Projectile type: .308, 147 grain
• Standard load: 494 pwdr
  • -P load: 45 pwdr

• Cost of a 50 case box: 82 P$ (1.647 P$/case)
• Estimated cost to handload 1 standard round (Reg/FMJ/SP): 3.816 P$

Weapons compatible

Standard weapons

Total amount of standard weapons available in this caliber: 30.

Class 1 weapons:

• ArmaLite AR-10, combat rifle
• Beretta BM59, battle rifle
• DSA SA58 FAL SPR, precision rifle
• FN Herstal FAL 50.00, combat rifle
• FN Herstal M240B, machine gun
• FN Herstal Mark 48 mod 1, machine gun
• FN Herstal SCAR-H CQC, combat rifle
• H&K G3A3, combat rifle
• H&K HK21, machine gun
• H&K HK417, combat rifle
• H&K HK91A2, conventional rifle
• H&K MSG-90, precision rifle
• H&K PSG-1, precision rifle
• Ishapore 2A1, conventional rifle
• IZHMASH Kalashnikov AK-12(308), combat rifle
• Kel-Tec RFB, conventional rifle
• KAC M110 SASS, precision rifle
• MAS 49/56, conventional rifle
• MKEK MPT-76, combat rifle
• Parker-Hale M82, precision rifle
• Remington M24, precision rifle
• Rheinmetall MG3, machine gun
• Saco Defense M60, machine gun
• Springfield M14, combat rifle
• Springfield M1A, conventional rifle
• Steyr Scout, precision rifle

Class 2 weapons:

• DSA SA58 FAL OSW, combat rifle
• McMillan ALIAS CS5-T, precision rifle
• Nemesis Arms Vanquish, precision rifle

Maze Customs

• Customs weapon families: Available as a chambering for the Rem 700 family.
• Minor services: M14 EBR Custom (Tactical conversion for the Springfield M14), M1A EBR Custom (Tactical conversion for the Springfield M1A)
• Crafting and specs docs: Vollmer HK51-B (Specs docs weapon/Total conversion for H&K G3/H&K HK21)

Barrel length groups

Depending on the barrel length of the firearm, a multiplier to Pain and Limb damage is applied. Please refer to the lists of weapons or to the event lines to know your particular weapons' barrel length.

Gallery

7.62 NATO FMJ

See also

• Ammunition
• Weapon

Real life information

• Wikipedia article
• History of the cartridge at Terminal Ballistics Research