Ballistic gelatin test results : 7.62x54mmR Brown Bear 203gr JSP

[Brass Fetcher]

Special thanks to grimjaw for supporting this test in full.

Cartridge : Brown Bear 203gr JSP

Rifle : Mosin Nagant M44 carbine with 20.5" barrel length

Block calibration : All depths corrected (From 9.0cm @ 584 ft/sec)

Single shot fired from 10' distance. Impacted at 2251 ft/sec and penetrated to 14.2". Two
fragments of 6.2gr and 13.9gr penetrated to 12.6" (uncorrected) and 12.8" (uncorrected)
respectively.

Bullet was recovered at 127.3gr weight and 0.808" average diameter.

 

[DMK]

Nasty looking wound. Not as much penetration as I expected though.

 

[jagdpanzer347]

That would get your attention. I agree with DMK, I'm really surprised by the lack of penetration. The amount of fragmentation and low recovered weight as well.

-jagd

 

[grimjaw]

Yes, I was expecting the opposite from this round. I thought it would have poor expansion but penetrate well. But definitely an ugly wound.

jm

 

[trueblue1776]

perfect, I'm impressed. thanks

 

[DMK]

Although this is just one test and one round, it would seem better suited as an anti-personnel round than a hunting round.

 

[armoredman]

Look at that wound track, and imagine it begins at your navel, heading back...

 

[grimjaw]

Well, one begins to think. Most of these tests are conducted at 10', which is probably not the distance you're going to shoot a deer from. When the bullet has reached a lower velocity, chances are that expansion might not have been as great and/or penetration increased. You could try pulling that bullet and using a reduced charge to fire it but it would take load development and time.

jm

 

[rangerruck]

wow, makes me wanna pre empty my bowels...

 

[Avenger]

Wonder what the penetration with the steel core surplus stuff is? Probably pretty much straight through, I'd guess.

 

[McCall911]

Single shot fired from 10' distance. Impacted at 2251 ft/sec and penetrated to 14.2". Two
fragments of 6.2gr and 13.9gr penetrated to 12.6" (uncorrected) and 12.8" (uncorrected)
respectively.

Bullet was recovered at 127.3gr weight and 0.808" average diameter.

That is kind of disappointing and impressive all at the same time.
Disappointing because it didn't penetrate in the way it "should have."
Impressive because it fragmented so badly.

 

[Brass Fetcher]

Right. But I suppose that it is use-dependant. For self-defense or thin-skinned game, I would say that 12.0" is a decent depth. If the bullet had penetrated to that depth, but impacted at the same velocity, much more damage would have been done to the block. Likewise, if it went deeper, than the results would have looked a lot more like a high-velocity pistol cartridge.

 

[McCall911]

But also impressive was that expansion to .808 inch!

So maybe it's safe to make this observation:

A bullet having a lot of kinetic energy but giving shallow penetration does a great deal of damage in some form--to the target, to the bullet itself, or to both.

 

[cwmcgu2]

Cool, thanks for the info.

I've got nearly 200 rounds of this ammo with a nearby store that keeps it in stock. I have a M44 that I swapped a synthetic stock onto and mounted a Leupold 2.5x28mm Scout Scope on an S&K Mount. I am still waiting to get out to a range and sight it in with this load so I can start practicing for my first deer season in the fall. Could any of yall more experienced folks sound in on whether this will be an appropriate deer round?

 

[Red Tornado]

That doesn't look like it fragmented, it looks like it exploded! I'm amazed that it didnt' penetrate more than that, but that's a serious wound channel.

Cwmcgu, I think it'll kill a deer just fine. I agree with grimjaw, I believe you'd get better penetration and less explosive fragmentation at a more normal rifle distance.
RT

 

[kcmarine]

Yikes.

 

[The Deer Hunter]

I think its safe to say that anything hit with one of those isn't going to be having a good day.

 

[fletcher]

Looks like a particularly good round, but penetration is definitely a little lower than expected.