7.62×25mm Tokarev

7.62×25mm Tokarev
A steel-cased FMJ 7.62mm Tokarev cartridge.
Type	Pistol
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Production history
Produced	1930–Present
Specifications
Parent case	7.63×25mm Mauser
Bullet diameter	7.87 mm (0.310 in)
Neck diameter	8.48 mm (0.334 in)
Shoulder diameter	9.47 mm (0.373 in)
Base diameter	9.83 mm (0.387 in)
Rim diameter	9.96 mm (0.392 in)
Rim thickness	1.32 mm (0.052 in)
Case length	25.0 mm (0.98 in)
Overall length	34.0 mm (1.34 in)
Case capacity	1.04 cm3 (16.0 gr H2O)
Rifling twist	1:250 mm (1:10 inches)
Primer type	Berdan or Boxer Small Pistol
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy 5.5 g (85 gr) JHP 376 m/s (1,230 ft/s) 390 J (290 ft·lbf) 5.8 g (90 gr) FMJ 409 m/s (1,340 ft/s) 488 J (360 ft·lbf) 5.5 g (85 gr) FMJ 502 m/s (1,650 ft/s) 693 J (511 ft·lbf) 5.5 g (85 gr) FMJ 525 m/s (1,720 ft/s) 760 J (560 ft·lbf) 5.5 g (85 gr) JHP 510 m/s (1,700 ft/s) 715 J (527 ft·lbf)
Test barrel length: 120mm

The 7.62×25mm Tokarev cartridge is a Russian bottle-necked pistol cartridge widely used in former Soviet satellite states, China and Pakistan among other countries. The cartridge has since been replaced in most capacities by the 9×18mm Makarov in Russian service.

Prior to the First World War, the 7.63×25mm Mauser C96 pistol gained in popularity worldwide. In 1908, the Tsarist army placed the C96 on a list of approved sidearms that officers could purchase at their own expense in lieu of carrying the Nagant M1895 revolver. Between 1914 and 1917, more Mauser pistols and ammunition were obtained as captured arms from German and Turkish forces. The Mauser and its cartridge were used on all fronts of the Russian Civil War and in the 1920s, during a period of relatively close cooperation between Soviet Russia and the Weimar Republic, the Red Army purchased batches of the smaller Bolo version as well as ammunition for use by its officers. Although a copy of the cartridge was being produced at the Podolsky Ammunition Factory, the Soviets eventually purchased a license and manufacturing equipment from DWM in Germany to produce the cartridge. In 1929, the Soviet Artillery Committee made a proposal to develop a domestic pistol chambered for the Mauser cartridge. After considerable research and development, it was decided that the "Model 1930 7.62 mm Pistol Cartridge," essentially the Mauser round with minor modifications, was to become the standard caliber for Soviet pistols and submachine guns. Early versions of the Vasily Degtyaryov-designed PPD-40 submachine gun were marked "For Mauser Cartridge Caliber 7.62 mm".

The cartridge is in principle an enhanced Russian version of the 7.63×25mm Mauser. The Russians produced a wide array of loadings for this cartridge for use in submachine guns. These include armor-piercing, tracer, and incendiary rounds. This cartridge has excellent penetration and can easily defeat lighter ballistic vests (NIJ level I and IIA) as well as some kevlar helmets, such as the American PASGT helmet. When fired from a carbine length barrel the cartridge may penetrate NIJ level II, but is readily stopped by the current standard armor NIJ level IIIA. Although most firearms chambered in this caliber were declared obsolete and removed from military inventories, some Police and Special Forces units in Russia, Pakistan and (mainly) in China may still use it because of the large quantity of stored ammunition available.