My understanding of the AK-74 round is that it contains a hollow section just behind its nose cone, so when it hits, the lead inside shifts forward and unbalances the round, causing it to tumble erratically and make a grievous wound.
Such "stinger" rounds are purportedly against the rules of war that NATO espouses. Our 5.56 rounds instead have a section of brass in front of the lead, preventing the shift in weight. Yay us, so humane.
In other news, the 5.56 WOULD tumble nicely on impact (due to its rear-biased weight imbalance) if it were fired from rifles that had less twist in the barrel. However, top brass's insistence on a universal round/rifle requires more twist because the dense air in arctic theaters makes the 5.56 somewhat inaccurate at longer distances unless it has the ballistic stability that more twist (spin) gives it. This increased stability means that the "tumble upon impact" ability of the round is negated.
Ain't empire-building grand? Every country we invade has an effective round that works for it, but we (USA + many NATO stooges) suffer from the politics of war.
7.62 rounds make all these problems go away, but also bring a few drawbacks.
Really, the only solution is to stop warring. Problem is: humans.
Such "stinger" rounds are purportedly against the rules of war that NATO espouses. Our 5.56 rounds instead have a section of brass in front of the lead, preventing the shift in weight. Yay us, so humane.
In other news, the 5.56 WOULD tumble nicely on impact (due to its rear-biased weight imbalance) if it were fired from rifles that had less twist in the barrel. However, top brass's insistence on a universal round/rifle requires more twist because the dense air in arctic theaters makes the 5.56 somewhat inaccurate at longer distances unless it has the ballistic stability that more twist (spin) gives it. This increased stability means that the "tumble upon impact" ability of the round is negated.
Ain't empire-building grand? Every country we invade has an effective round that works for it, but we (USA + many NATO stooges) suffer from the politics of war.
7.62 rounds make all these problems go away, but also bring a few drawbacks.
Really, the only solution is to stop warring. Problem is: humans.