Firing 7.62x39

[RoyalTenenbaum]

I was firing today against a target affixed to a 14" or so diameter tree in front of one of the hills on my property. Just wanted to pass along; to my astonishment this humble cartridge passed through the trunk on a number of occasions. This served as a big reminder of that rule we always follow, be sure of your target and all that is behind it.

 

[malern28us]

I just remember stories from my uncle about fools hiding behind trees. He always said even 5.56 rounds go through a lot more tree than you think it would.

 

[japartridge]

seen both of those happen, fired some 7.62x39mm about 3 months ago went right through about a 22" diameter maple... granted it was dying, but still!

 

[kevinsr98]

I saw a special on cable about the AK vs the AR. Vets in Vietnam said that a tree was no cover against the AK47, some would also adopt the AK's they recovered.

They went on to show an AR going through a treated 4 by 4 post. The AK easily blew through two 4 by 4's. Pretty impressive.

Of course, when tested for accuracy the AR won hands down.

 

[chraland51]

Years ago down at the old Atterbury range, I was down there with my son shooting our SKSs and Ruger Mini-30s. I was using some 1/4" flat steel bars to support the targets on each side. My son put a couple of those steel cored Norincos clean through his bars. It made me think about what kind of armored vehicle they would have went through in Viet Nam and other places around the world. It would sure means that a wood framed house, apartment or even a concrete block house would not be much protection from someone using those or larger rounds.

 

[Seancass]

A lot of people don't realize the power these small-bore rifles have. And a lot of people don't know much about metal.

I've shot standard, plinking(non-steel core, non-fancy death bullet) .223 rounds thru 3/8 and even 1/2 inch steel. The steel apparently hadn't been hardened at all! It was pretty amazing to see. Reminds us to shoot at good, soft, bullet absorbing backdrops!

 

[paperboy]

7.62x39 is a powerful round thats often overlooked!!

 

[alpha0486]

Pretty amazing. And you always see people in movies hiding behind barrels and cars. Would not stand a chance.

 

[snorko]

I agree the 7.62x39 is a good round, but shooting at a standing tree, the bullet will penetrate much further since you're shooting perpendicular to the grain.

 

[U.S. Patriot]

One reason that my AK is my go to rifle. I own an AR and I'm not doubting the capabilities of the 5.56/.223 round. The 7.62x39 is better at punching through intermediate barriers. It terms of accuracy, a good AK is accurate out to 400 yards. What's the chances I'll ever have to shoot past 100. I will be loading some steel core penetrator ammo for my AR though, because you never know.

 

[Cat-Herder]

5.56 against unarmored, fleshy targets. .308 against everything else....

 

[Cerberus]

Years ago when I was a young buck, our CO & 1SG did a few test to show us the capabilities of our weapons and the limitations of common cover. He built bif wooden boxes that he filled with 2x12 square boards and fired the 5.56 and 7.62x51 into them. The 5.56 penitrated 19" of pine board, the 7.62 went 26".

 

[IndianaGTI]

I saw an episode of mythbusters where they tried to cut down trees with machine guns. The M-16 shot straight through a mesquite tree if I remember correctly. It was at least 16 inches in diameter. I know a guy that used an AR-15 to trim an 8-10" diameter limb that was blocking his satellite and was too high for the tree trimmers. As I recall, he said it took him 57 rounds of M855 to bring the limb down.

 

[84VETTE]

I agree the 7.62x39 is a good round, but shooting at a standing tree, the bullet will penetrate much further since you're shooting perpendicular to the grain.

Wouldn't that mean it has less penetration going against the grain instead of with the grain?