RE: Exact Diameter of Different Branded 7.62x39mm Ammo?
Well I know that wolf is .311 and Winchester is .310. I heard that RP is .308 but I never checked. You don’t have a Ruger mini 30 do you?? I know that Ruger used to (I don’t know if they still do?) chamber their 7.62x39 for a .308 bullet. The European 7.62x39(sks, AK, etc) is actually chambered for .311 bullet. It’s ok to shoot the .308 bullet in an Ak, sks, etc but you will get horrible groups using the European .311 ammo in a .308 barrel. Plus you can damage and wear out the barrel faster. Usually the rifling to bore diameter is .008 on most guns. That means the bullet crushes .004 per side to fit down the barrel. Using a larger bullet is only .001 per side bigger but the pressure goes way up.
Now just to make sure everyone is on the same page when I say .308 I mean the bullet diameter Not the cartridge. Both guns barrels will be stamped 7.62X39. I never understood why some American gun manufactures did this. Then I figured they could use the same barrel blank and chamber them for this caliber.
Jay