This article originally appeared in Firearms News August 2020 Issue 16. Pick up a copy to read more articles like this one.
While the AR-15 is undeniably America’s darling, there are now more AKs in circulation in this country than ever before, and most of them are chambered in the original 7.62x39mm cartridge.
While the 7.62×39 is considered the “intermediate assault rifle cartridge against which all others are judged,” few people actually know what kind of performance they can expect from the cartridge out of an AK.
For this article, I decided to test seven 7.62x39mm loads, some similar, several very different. I chose them based on a number of factors — availability, price, and (advertised) performance. My ammo list included American Eagle FMJ, premium defensive ammo from Winchester and Hornady, and steel-cased Russian-made ammo from Wolf and Barnaul. My plan was to measure velocity, accuracy, and terminal performance using ballistic gel blocks.
