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9×39mm
9×39mm
	9×39mm SPP (7N9) cartridges with blue-tip armor-piercing bullets
Type	Rifle cartridge
Place of origin	Soviet Union (Now Russia)
Production history
Designer	Undisclosed team of 27 & Nikolai Zabelin
Designed	Began in 1940s, finished in 1980s
Specifications
Parent case	7.62×39mm
Case type	Rimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter	SP-5: 9.25 mm (0.364 in); SP-6: 9.26 mm (0.365 in)
Land diameter	9.00 mm (0.354 in)
Neck diameter	9.98 mm (0.393 in)
Shoulder diameter	10.36 mm (0.408 in)
Base diameter	11.35 mm (0.447 in)
Rim diameter	11.35 mm (0.447 in)
Rim thickness	1.50 mm (0.059 in)
Case length	SP-5: 38.76 mm (1.526 in); SP-6: 38.78 mm (1.527 in)
Overall length	56 mm (2.2 in)
Ballistic performance
	Test barrel length: 270 mm (10.5 in); Source(s): Russian military data, RifleShooter Magazine

The 9×39mm is a Soviet rifle cartridge.^[2]

History and design

The 9×39 is based on the Soviet 7.62×39mm case but with the neck expanded to fit a 9.2mm bullet. The final design was completed by N. Zabelin, L. Dvoryaninova, and Y. Frolov of the TsNIITochMash in the 1980s. The intent was to create a more stealthy cartridge for suppressed firearms used by Spetnaz and other special troops that had more power, range, and penetration than 7.62 US subsonic rounds used in AKM-type rifles at the time.

The subsonic round is originally designed to have an optimistic effective lethal range of 400 to 530 meters and a maximum penetration of up to 10 mm of steel. Like the 5.45×39mm cartridge, the 9×39mm SP-5 features an air pocket in the tip, which increases its tendency to yaw or "keyhole" upon impact, thus increasing soft tissue damage in human targets. The armor-piercing SP-6 cartridge is more effective against light armor, vehicles, or light barrier targets.^{[citation needed]}

Commercial Wolf and Tula brand Ammunition that was being imported into the United States was subsequently banned on September 7, 2021 by President Biden as part of sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine.

While the 9×39 is very popular in several European countries, many of which had previously been under the control of the USSR, it was only introduced in America in late 2018.

Since there are many users in the U.S. that had adopted the 9×39 round prior to the import ban, were forced to reload their own ammunition. However, there are multiple companies worldwide who make 9.3mm (.366") Mauser bullets which are suited for reloading the 9×39, including Hornady, Barnes, Nosler, Prvi Partizan, Lapua, and others.

Redding Reloading produces a set of full size reloading dies.

Lehigh Defense briefly made prototypes that had limited distribution of their maximum expansion and xtreme penetration copper bullets designs for subsonic rounds.

KAK Industries sold bullets which include 125 gr solid copper, and 140 gr slitted copper projectiles capable of being fired at supersonic velocities.

There are companies such as NOE and LEE which make cast bullet molds for the 9.3mm Mauser cartridge. Powder coated cast bullets generally work exceptionally well at subsonic velocities and have decent expansion in gel targets too.

Variants

Cartridge	SP-5(7N8)	SP-5UZ	SP-6(7N9)	SP-6UCh	PAB-9	SPP	BP(7N12)
Type	Sniper	Test (increased charge)	Armor-piercing	Training	Armor-piercing	Sniper (increased penetration)	Armor-piercing
Bullet weight [g]	Up to 16.8		About 16		Up to 17.3
Muzzle velocity [m/s]	280–320		280–290		280–305	280-320	280-310
Muzzle energy [J]	658-860				678-886
Maximum penetration			Up to 8 mm of steel		Up to 8 mm of steel^[3]

SP-5 (7N8) – The SP-5 (СП-5) (SP: Spetsialnyj Patron; "special cartridge") was developed by Nikolai Zabelin. It is a conventional lead core FMJ bullet, developed for accuracy.

SP-5UZ – The SP-5UZ (СП5-УЗ) is an SP-5 variant with an increased charge intended for a factory-specific strength testing of the weapons.

SP-6 (7N9) – The SP-6 (СП-6) was developed by Yuri Frolov. It has a hardened metal armor-piercing core. It can penetrate 2 mm (0.079 in) of steel at 500 meters or 6 mm (0.24 in) of steel, 2.8 mm (0.11 in) of titanium or 30 layers of Kevlar at 200 meters. At 100 meters it can penetrate 8 mm (0.31 in) of steel or GOST 3 rated body armor, while retaining enough power to inflict damage to a soft target behind it.^[3]^[4]

SP-6UCh – The SP-6Uch (СП-6Уч) is an SP-6 variant intended for training.

PAB-9 (7N12) – The SP-6's bullet is expensive to manufacture, so an attempt was made to make a lower-cost version of the cartridge. The PAB-9 (ПАБ-9) used a stamped rather than machined steel core. It sacrificed too much performance to be usable. As of 2011, its usage by Russian troops is prohibited.^[3]

SPP – The SPP (СПП) (SPP: Snaiperskiy, Povishennaya Probivaemost; "sniper – increased penetration") is a sniper round with increased penetration.

BP – The BP (БП) (BP: Broneboinaya Pulya; "armor-piercing bullet") is an armor-piercing round. Three modernizations of PAB-9 were created under the designation of BP to remedy its unusable performance.

Weapons

References

^ "The 9x39 – A New Cartridge from Russia". RifleShooter Magazine. 2018-12-14. Retrieved 2020-05-11.
^ Николаев, Андриан. "Патроны для стрелкового оружия" [Ammunition for firearms]. Militaryparitet.com (in Russian). Archived from the original on May 2, 2007. Retrieved 2013-12-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ ^a ^b ^c "Специальные патроны СП-5, СП-6 и ПАБ-9" [Special bullets SP-5, SP-6 and PAB-9.]. artillerist.ru (in Russian). 2008-04-02. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved 2015-03-24.
^ F., Nathaniel (2017-11-03). ".300 Blackout vs. 9×39mm: Russia's Subsonic Brute". The Firearms Blog. Retrieved 2020-12-12.