The original Soviet M43 bullets are 123 grain boat-tail bullets with a copper-plated steel jacket, a large steel core, and some lead between the core and the jacket.

苏联产的M43弹（57-N-231S）是一种重123格令的铜被甲铅芯弹，伯丹式底火，通常采用钢弹壳。 因为弹体锥度大，上弹非常容易，弹匣也较弯。 该弹较稳定，射入人体组织26cm左右才会开始翻滚，极大降低了杀伤力。 1960年代南斯拉夫开发的M67弹比M43更短，重心更靠后，进入人体17cm左右就会翻滚，这造成了更大的杀伤力。 中国的56式步枪弹是一种M43样式软钢芯铜/黄铜被甲弹，弹芯全由软钢制成，该弹被美国禁止进口。

M43步槍彈是蘇聯軍方於二戰後的標準步槍彈藥，並推廣到前 華沙公約國 以及各共產主義國家，這種彈藥在蘇聯軍隊大量裝備到1970年代，才被 5.45×39毫米M74小口徑步槍彈 所取代，但這種彈藥仍在世界多國持續生產，亦有不少新款步槍仍兼容這種彈藥。

Loaded with soft point (expanding) bullets, the 7.62x39 produces somewhat better performance but due to a combination of low muzzle velocities and low BC’s, bullet expansion is limited, the cartridge quickly losing the ability to create disproportionate to caliber wounding.

M43子弹。 右图中俄罗斯的 M43 子弹是一种广泛使用的子弹，虽然其弹头设计可以归类为全金属被甲弹，却也包含全金属被甲空尖弹的结构，亦即大部份的兵工厂会很有技巧的将铅汁倒入铜质外壳内一直到灌满为止；M43子弹的弹头内部前端却留有一中空的空间。

2018年1月9日 · Although less powerful than the German 7.92x57 mm Mauser rifle cartridge, it offered superior external and terminal ballistics to those of the 9 mm Luger pistol and submachine gun cartridge.

2025年2月1日 · Most 7.62x39mm cartridges that are used in shooting incidents in Europe are provided with full metal jacket (FMJ) bullets with either a mild steel core or a lead core. Mild steel core bullets are usually military M43-PS type bullets. This type of bullet was used in e.g. the former Soviet Union and in Warsaw Pact countries.

In the 1960s Yugoslavia experimented with new bullet designs to produce a round with a superior wounding profile, speed, and accuracy to the M43. The M67 projectile is shorter and flatter-based than the M43.

2021年11月12日 · The 7.62x39mm was originally loaded with 123-grain bullets with an elaborate configuration; a steel core was surrounded by lead, and that was contained within a copper-coated steel jacket. A variety of bullet-making materials, profiles, dimensions, and techniques, including heat treatment, were tested through the years.

2021年11月18日 · The original and most prototypical loading for 7.62×39 is known as M43, a steel-cased round with a 123-grain boat-tail FMJ bullet that has a steel core and a copper-plated jacket.