7.62x39mm 8m3 "effect" HP rounds

[FunkyPertwee]

I posted this in a thread in GD as a reply to a question, and then decided it deserved its own post for those who are unfamiliar with this round. I only learned about it myself in the last few months. Fortunately I still had a decent supply after shooting most of it up years ago.

I thankfully saved a few hundred rounds from back in the day when they were cheap. Also I lucked out and bought a case of Wolf black box HP that have been all 8m3 from what I've seen so far.

The 8m3 "effect" HP round is produced by the Ulyanovsk factory and has been loaded into various brands of Russian HP over the years. For some reason, the Russians have not caught on that they need to market this round differently than its other HP loadings, and they continue to mix them in with other Russian HP bullet designs that quite frankly suck and perform more similarly to FMJ in terms of terminal ballistics.

8m3 rounds can be found in the old circa 1998 white box ammo labeled as "made to hunting specifications". Old Wolf black box HP labeled with the Ulyanovsk logo may have them, and old Uly Wolf Military Classic HP may have them.

Currently, they may be found in Tulammo 122 or 124 gr HP rounds, although they are more common in 124 gr. AFAIK. Luckily, Tula produced HP rounds work better than most Russian HPs, so if you don't luck out and find 8m3 rounds at least you still have something that works halfway decently.

The only way to check if your HP rounds are 8m3 is to visually inspect the inside HP cavity for three evenly spaced slits. You can also use a dental / plumbers pick to feel for the slits.


Here is gel block test demonstrating the 8m3 "effect" round on soft tissue:

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I have this 8M1 Effect from the 20th century. It has a nipple tip and didn't shoot any better than other 7.62X39.

Why didn't they test the Wolf Pure Copper JHP?

[FunkyPertwee]

I believe the 8m1 was around before the 8m3. I doubt that either one is more accurate than FMJ, its just that the 8m3 doesn't over-penetrate.

I haven't seen that all copper for sale before. I bet you could send some to any one of the online reviewers and they would do a gel test for you. Send some to theammochannel, or tnoutdoors9, or mrgunsandgear on youtube.