7.62x39mm

About 7.62x39mm

7.62x39 is the AK cartridge, and its character is the opposite of 5.56: a heavier, slower bullet with a rainbow trajectory past 200 yards and considerably more authority up close. Inside brush and at realistic distances it hits harder, which is why it has a following for hogs and woods hunting.

It also runs in AR-pattern rifles and a growing number of bolt guns, though AR magazines for it are the historic weak point — the case taper that makes AK magazines curve so sharply is difficult to feed reliably from a straighter AR magazine well. Buy magazines known to work with your specific rifle rather than generically, and note that much imported ammunition is steel-cased, which some ranges prohibit.