The AK-47 was designed shortly after World War II, later becoming the AKM because the production of sheet metal had issues when first initiated.

On July 15, 1943, the Technical Council of the People's Commissariat for Armaments (Russian: Техсовет Наркомата Вооружения) met to discuss the introduction of a Soviet intermediate cartridge.

The Soviet planners also decided at this meeting that their new cartridge was to be used in a whole range of infantry weapons, including a semi-automatic carbine, a selective fire rifle, and a light machine gun.

Elizarov collaborated closely with some leading weapons designers, including Fedorov, Tokarev, Simonov, and Shpagin.

About 314 cartridge designs were considered theoretically, before narrowing the selection down to eight models that were physically constructed and tested.

[7] The first variant of the new cartridge was officially adopted for service after completing range trials in December 1943; it was given the GRAU index 57-N-231.

[7] After more detailed testing results became available, starting in 1947 the cartridge was tweaked by the Ulyanovsk Machine Building Plant to improve its accuracy and penetration.

However, further testing showed that the boat tail improved accuracy even at shorter ranges, where the bullet was still supersonic.

To preserve the total length of the cartridge, the case sleeve was shortened to 38.7mm (and by rounding it is customarily referred to as 7.62×39.)

The use of low-carbon (mild) steel was guided mostly by the desire to reuse some industrial equipment that was manufacturing the 7.62×25mm Tokarev cartridge rather than by bullet fragmentation considerations.

The 7.62×39 cartridge equipped with the PS bullet finally overcame all objections of the GAU in mid-1947, when it was ordered into series production and given the index 57-N-231S.

In an effort to simplify terminology, sometime thereafter the 57-N-231 designation was recycled to denote all steel-core 7.62×39 Soviet ammunition, irrespective of case build.

It was adopted for service in 1962, and given the army designation "7.62 US" (US stood for уменьшенной скоростью, meaning "reduced speed") and the GRAU index 57-N-231U.

The 7.62 subsonic ammo was intended to be fired from AK-47-type rifles equipped with the PBS-1 silencer and developed a muzzle velocity of about 285–300m/s.

For recognition, this ammo typically has the bullet tips painted black with a green band underneath.

[7] After 1989, the regular (PS) Russian bullets started to be manufactured with a steel core with a higher carbon concentration and subjected to heat treatment.

The cartridge itself consisted of a Berdan-primed, highly tapered (usually steel) case which seats the bullet and contains the powder charge.

Production started in 1956 at State Factory 66 but was eventually handed over to Norinco, who continues to manufacture the rifle, primarily for export.

As part of a ballistic study, the West German government commissioned reverse-engineered copies of the 7.62 mm M43 round.

It was made for use in SKS rifles and RPD light machine guns that they had obtained from East German Army defectors.

It was loaded with kugelpulver (Dutch / German: "ball powder"] and used non-corrosive Sinoxid primers.

In the 1960s, Yugoslavia experimented with new bullet designs to produce a round with a superior wounding profile, speed, and accuracy to the M43.

(French: Commission Internationale Permanente pour l'Epreuve des Armes à Feu Portatives) rulings the 7.62×39mm can handle up to 355.00 MPa (51,488 psi) Pmax piezo pressure.

regulated countries are currently (2015) proof tested at 444.00 MPa (64,397 psi) PE piezo pressure.

[15] The 7.62×39mm rounds in use with the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are designed for AKM assault rifles and AK-derived light machine guns.

B Military 7.62×39mm ammunition is purportedly tested to function well in temperatures ranging from −50 to 50 °C (−58 to 122 °F) cementing its usefulness in cold polar or hot desert conditions.

[20] Large numbers of imported semiautomatic rifles, such as the SKS and AK-47 clones and variants, are available in this caliber.

[citation needed] The lower cost and higher availability of military surplus ammunition makes this cartridge attractive for many civilian hunters, plinkers, target and metallic silhouette shooters.

[21] On December 1, 2014, CMMG introduced the Mk47 Mutant (later rebranded to Resolute line) rifle in 7.62×39mm, using a cut-down AR10 bolt.

[citation needed] CZ-USA sells the CZ 527 carbine, a "micro length Mauser style" bolt-action rifle chambered in 7.62×39mm and .223 Remington.