What's the difference between 30-06 and 7.62 x 39 ammo. Aren't they both .30 cal?

Question

What's the difference between 30-06 and 7.62 x 39 ammo. Aren't they both .30 cal?

Answer 1

Wow I’m surprised some got this wrong.

The 7.62 x 39 has a bullet that’s .311 in diameter. NOT .308 like other true 7.62 rifles.

This explains this;

http://www.chuckhawks.com/7-62russian.htm



The 30-06 bullet is .308 diameter.

http://www.chuckhawks.com/30-06.htm



The 7.62 x 39 holds a smaller powder charge and is far less powerful than the 30-06.



Here is a ballistics chart to compare them;

http://www.chuckhawks.com/rifle_ballistics_table.htm



In this photo the one on the left is the 30-06 the one on the far right is the 7.62 x 39;

http://www.surplusrifle.com/reviews/tigerloudhousecat/graphics/l/1.jpg



So yes you "could" call it a 30 caliber round and many do but its not the same as a true 7.62 bullet which is .308 in diameter.





Akluis is correct the 30-06 is the same animal as the 7.62x63mm.



NOTE;

The .303 is also .311 in diameter;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.303_British

Its also referred to as the 7.7mmx56R. So why don’t they call the 7.62 x 39 the 7.7mm x 39 instead? And for that I do not have an answer!

Maybe one of our gun cranks can explain it

Looks like I will be learning someting too! But thats whats great about the hunting section.

Answer 2

it's a funny fact that they are not the same at all, not even the bullet diameter.

the .30-06 Springfield uses a .308 caliber bullet, the 7.62X39mm uses a .311 caliber bullet, the ruskies seen the .30 caliber in a different way and went a little higher then the US(they did this with the 7.62X54R too) and the rest of the world, you can use .308 bullets for reloading, but they likely won't work as well as true .311 bullets.

they're also completely differently designed, the .30-06 is a long slender cartridge(7.62X63mm), the 7.62X39mm is a shorter, slightly fatter cartridge.

Answer 3

Cory-



Two completely different cartridges with two completely different bullet diameters.



The "7.62" designation for European and Soviet cartridges are totally different.



The 7.62x39mm Cartridge Bullet Diameter is .311 to .312 Inch



The 7.62x54R, (Mosin Nagant Cartridge) is .311 to .312 Inch



The 7.62x51mm, (7.62 NATO or .308 Winchester) measures .308 Inch same as the .30-06 Bullets.



And... in fact the .308 Winchester and the .30-06 Springfield share many of the same bullet weights.



British .303 also uses the .311 to .312 Inch Diameter Bullets.



However, all of the above are still considered ".30 Caliber" in the Loading Data Handbooks.



@ Reb-



I have to make a respectful correction to one of your measurements. 7.92mm is the designation for the 8mm Mauser Bullet which measures .323 Inch. I know because I reload for my two 8mm Mauser Rifles and finding diecent hunting bullets is, needless to say difficult, and the choices are slim.



In any event I hope this helps.



Good Luck and Happy Shooting!

Answer 4

yes they are both a 30 cal bullet. The 30-06 has a larger brass case that holds more powder that makes it more powereful and have a longer range. The 30-06 can be loaded with heavier bullets too. The 7.62x39 is a lot smaller and has a shorter range.



.308

30-06

300 win mag

300 weatherby

300 H&H

300 ultramag

7.62 variants

are all a .308(30 call) bullet, but some can use heavier bullets than others.Brass case size make a difference on how much powder there can be and the more the more powerfull.

Answer 5

Actually, the 7.62x39 is technically considered a Pistol round by US Federal Law. Partially due to it's dimensions, but also after the Chinese made their MildSteel Core Armor Piercing rounds, they can fit into AK pistols, so they are classified as pistol rounds! Go figuare!



The 30-06 is a true rifle round, comparable to the Russian 7.62x54R round, which can be bought in surplus ammo for literally dirt cheap and has competitive accuracy.



The 39 is a cheap assault round, typically accurate to 250yds to 300yds, but if the rifle is modified, they can reach quite farther contrary to popular belief!

Stray rounds can be deadly past 500 yards I believe, from what I've heard from Iraq.



The 30-06 and 54R have much more power and range, but are much larger.

I don't have much experience with these, but I believe they roll out to 600-800 yards nicely, but don't hold me to that.



Both can kill deers, but if your looking for a cheap hunting rifle, look no further than the Mossin Nagant, a WW2 era Russian rifle( bolt action), it uses the 7.62x54R.

You can scope mount them and buy a junk rifle for $80 or less sometimes.

If you want a nicer one, it'll cost $120 thru 200, they also have sniper rifles for 400 usually.

If your looking for a bargain deer rifle or to shoot something bigger, there's no better choice for the price, period!

Answer 6

Yes, they're both about 30 caliber, but the 30-06 case is 63 mm long, so it has a lot more powder capacity, and it typically shoots bullets of about 150-180 grains' weight, where the standard bullet in 7.62x39 is about 123 grains. Cartridges like the latter are intermediate in capacity and power between pistol cartridges and full-sized rifle cartridges.



Late edit: Jeez, guys. 3 thumbs down? Note that I said they're both ABOUT 30 caliber. I put it that way on purpose! If I thought it would have been useful to talk about things like restricted case capacity with heavier bullets, compressed loads, and stuff that was sure to make this guy nod off, I would have put it in my answer.

Answer 7

The 30-06, is a .30 cal. there are a number of .30 cal rifles, you need to be more specific

Answer 8

Yes, they are .30 caliber and so is the .30 Mauser(pistol) .30 carbine, and all the .300 magnums. The difference is in the powder capacity of the case. More powder = more power. A simple Google search will get you pictures and comparisons.

Answer 9

The 7.62 x 39 is a short cartridge. I believe they used to call it 'Russian Short', or something like that.



For cleaning purposes I use the same rod and brushes on both my '06 and SKS.

Answer 10

well for a hint I will tell you the the 30-06 in metric parlance is 7.62x63mm, and I will also tell you those extra 24mm of case length are not filled with jellybeans

Answer 11

Yes, but they are vastly different lengths. There are dozens of .30 caliber cartridges, and they arent interchangable either.

Answer 12

7.62x39-





Bullet diameter- 7.92 mm (0.312 in)

Neck diameter- 8.60 mm (0.339 in)

Shoulder diameter- 10.07 mm (0.396 in)

Base diameter - 11.35 mm (0.447 in)

Rim diameter - 11.35 mm (0.447 in)

Rim thickness- 1.50 mm (0.059 in)

Case length- 38.70 mm (1.524 in)

Overall length - 56.00 mm (2.205 in)

Rifling twist - 240 mm (1 in 9.45 in)

Primer type - Berdan or Boxer Small Rifle or Boxer Large Rifle

Maximum pressure - 355.00 MPa (51,488 psi)

Filling - SSNF 50 powder

Filling weight - 24.7 gr





.30-06 Springfield-



Bullet diameter- 7.823 mm (.308)

Neck diameter - 8.63 mm (0.340 in)

Shoulder diameter- 11.20 mm (0.441 in)

Base diameter - 11.96 mm (0.471 in)

Rim diameter - 12.01 mm (0.473 in)

Rim thickness - 1.24 mm (0.049 in)

Case length - 63.35 mm (2.494 in)

Overall length - 84.84 mm (3.340 in)

Case capacity - 4.43 cm³ (68 gr H2O)

Rifling twist - 254 mm (1 in 10 in)

Primer type - Large rifle

Maximum pressure- 405 MPa (58,700 psi)