Re-purpose a cartridge

[kerreckt]

I think that the 7.62x25 pistol round would make a great varmit/small game rifle round. I'm talking 100-150 yards. I would like to have a rifle with a 20-24" barrel to shoot these from. It seems a standard 7.62 barrel would work so there is plenty to choose from. Maybe, the answer is to rechamber something, but what? Normal, 7.62 rifles are firing a large round with very high pressures. I don't think this would generate those kinds of pressures. Doesn't hold enough powder. So, you could have a pretty light .30 varmit rifle. Load stuff from 60-100 grains. I got to thinking about this when I was reloading 500- 218 Bee rounds for a friend. The niche that it filled so nice. Not super loud. Great to 150 yards. I just thought a different type .30 bullet, 60-100 grains would be cool and do the same thing but differently. This round came to mind. Any thoughts?

 

[hdwhit]

The performance data I have seen for 7.62 x 25 is for it as a pistol cartridge and yields between 1,200 and 1,700 fps with an 85 grain bullet out of a 5 inch barrel yielding around 26,000 psi chamber pressure.

I don't know how much improvement you could realize using a slower burning powder to take advantage of a 20-24 inch barrel, but 1,800 to 1,900 fps seems plausible.

But then an 85 grain bullet at 1,900 fps isn't as good as the M1 Carbine which pushes a 110 grain bullet to 1,900 fps and you don't have to build a rifle or pistol for it as they already exist. And from a reloading standpoint, the 30 Carbine is a slightly tapered straight wall case, so carbide sizer dies are available.

And then there's the venerable 357 Magnum which can launch a 110 grain bullet at upwards of 2,100 fps from a 10 inch pistol barrel and is also readily available as a pistol and rifle.

 

[rcmodel]

A 60 grain .30 caliber bullet would have all the flight property's of a badminton shuttlecock.

It wouldn't be a 150 yard prospect, at the starting velocity you could attain.

The little Bee bullet has a much better ballistics coefficient, which allows to be a 150 yard cartridge.

 

[Proinsias]

They make insert sleeves which are supposed to let you shoot 7.62x25mm in either Mosin Nagants or Enfields. I haven't used one so I can't comment on its accuracy or whether it is a good idea for your rifle.

 

[DWFan]

You're better off with the .22 TCM. Experiments I've read about with a 60gr bullet in the 7.62x25 have yielded some impressive velocities, but woeful accuracy.

 

[kerreckt]

Thanks this is the sort of stuff I wanted to hear.

 

[CraigC]

You'll get a better result with existing rifles in .218Bee, .25-20 or .32-20.

 

[snuffy]

Well, call me a dreamer as well. I have a CZ-M-52, I thought of getting an encore chambered for that 7.62X25 cartridge. There used to be an outfit that made specialty barrels for contenders, maybe they're still around, could make a barrel to fit an encore.

I think the Tokarev cartridge would perform well in a longer barrel, but over 18 inches long would be a waste of steel. Case capacity is so limited that a longer barrel would be useless.

Another pistol cartridge that would be interesting in a rifle length barrel would be the 357 Sig. Now there's more powder capacity, with lightER .355 bullets, it would be a screamer.

 

[gotboostvr]

Snuffy, I've thought about a Glock 35 with an extended barrel in 357Sig with a slide mounted reddot would make a handy stand in for a carbine.
At that point though I'm not sure if typical 9mm JHP's would be holding together at those speeds.

 

[Jim Watson]

So don't use "typical" JHPs, go copper, got.

Snuffy, see http://matchgrademachine.com/chambers/#30cal
Available either .308" or .311" depending on what ammo and bullets you want to use.
It ain't cheap.

 

[Traffer]

I think it would be a commendable project. Don't listen to the nay sayers. The fun is in the building.
I am currently building a 22 magnum on the lines of this fun build:
https://youtu.be/fAiwkGaoSbQ

 

[Hondo 60]

I shoot 7.62x25. (1966 Zastava M57)
My go-to round is a re-purposed .223 brass, cut to 1"
After sizing, I trim to .980 & use Berry's 110 gr 30 cal.
8.0 gr of Accurate #5 gives a velocity of 1,300+fps

That would be quite the round in a 20-24" barrel. 1,800-2,000?

Because I already reload for that round, I might be interested in a rifle that fires that cartridge.

Imagine trying to use that in a 3-gun.

 

[748]

Sounds almost like a lot of work to reinvent of the 30carbine cartridge.
Or get a 30-30 and crank out some reduced loads.

 

[Archie]

I see a purpose

I've thought about building a rifle - probably bolt or single shot - in either 7.62x25 or .22 TCM or 5.7x28 FN. Possibly something similar.

Whereas the result might be similar in ballistics to a .30 Carbine or light loaded .30-30, the shorter case makes for a shorter action. A shorter action makes for a lighter rifle and frankly, a handgun round of the category mentioned doesn't have a lot of recoil.

I'll agree, this probably would not be an instant - or eventual - commercial success, and more than likely, no manufacturer is likely to offer me a gazillion dollars for the intellectual rights. But I think it would be fun.

 

[Kp321]

There have been several threads on converting Spanish Destroyer carbines to 7.62x25. Makes a nice light rifle but Destroyers are too scarce these days to be practical.

 

[TRX]

A few years ago when the 7.62x25 was cheap it was popular with AK builders. Both blowback and gas operated builds were documented on gunco, akfiles, theakforum, etc.