MBR caliber penetration
 

Attachment 78551

In case you don't SEE it, the 5.56 is shown in AP, FMJ & SMK - yet the 39 is ONLY shown in FMJ.

I have YET to see any wound ballistics on ANY of the 39 SMJ or soft point (like some of the Russian 'BEAR' rounds). If you have the ballistics of these rounds, PLEASE POST THEM HERE. I am constantly updating my info.

So this is NOT an apple to apple comparison. This plainly shows that the 39 round turns COVER INTO CONCEALMENT. Exactly what FERFAL said.

Kindly note the weight of the bullets fired. 5.56 heavy round is 77 grain. The 39 heavy round is 124 grain (61% more weight) and it travels slightly slower than the 5.56 which is like comparing a 9mm to a 45 acp - light weight fast bullet vs heavy slow bullet. Just sayin...

Attachment 78552

Also note ANY of the larger 30 cal rounds perform equally well in this display. Lightest bullet in this group is 150 grain.

Re: MBR caliber penetration
 

For those metrically challenged, 10 cm is just a hair under 4 inches. So a 30 cm wound channel would be 11" or so.

If you lie prone flat on your back and stand a 12" ruler upright next to your chest, the ruler will protrude 2" - 3" above your chest if you have an average build (like me). According to these charts, most of these rounds will leave an exit wound on a frontal target, assuming no body armor or cover.

That tells me that for the FMJ rounds, look at the width of the wound channel at about the 25 cm mark, which would approximate the location of the exit wound. Like the 120.5 gr 7.62 x 39 round - the channel is still narrow at the exit wound.

As pointed out though, this does give one a good indication of how some of these FMJ rounds can defeat materials traditionally considered as cover.

I try to stay out of the 5.56 vs. 7.62 x 39 pissing contests. I think both have their uses, and thus have both, in addition to rifles in .308 (which will take 7.62 x 51 rounds). Not to mention the obligatory Mosin-Nagants... :biggrin:

Re: MBR caliber penetration
 

These charts show three types of cavity wounds. First the bullet path, this is the narrowest. Temporary cavity, this is the largest. Last is the dark area, this is where tissue is likely to be damaged or destroyed. As you can see the damage cavity with the 7.62X39 is not much larger than the bullet path. The 5.56 FMJ however has a much larger damage area. Basically this means the 7.62X39 FMJ tends to make a pencil hole through the body while the 5.56 does much more tissue damage which is what it was designed to do.

Re: MBR caliber penetration
 

Here's some data on modern 7.62x39 loads. It's all about bullet construction.

http://www.brassfetcher.com/762x39mm.html

Give me a week or so to buy a camera and I'll post some pics of what a few different loads will do against an actual chunk of meat.