09-18-2012, 11:01 PM
AK runs much lower, at 50,000 psi or less, while the 5.56 NATO runs at 52,000+. That's why 7.62x39 has such a rainbow trajectory with a starting mv of 2350fps, pushing fat little monkey-humped football-shaped projectiles, which doesn't affect third-world Soviet doctrine in the slightest, since the AK was envisioned to be used as a sub-machinegun more than a rifle, and that is how untrained peasants have applied it to warfare ever since.
The Soviets realized the failure of ground combatant unit-level and higher logistics strains the 7.62x39 puts on the system, as well as its lacking terminal effects on tissue, especially when faced with the M16 in the Southeast Asian Conflict, where over 85% of the engagements were decisively won by the US, Aussies, and ROK forces against North Vietnamese Army, Viet Cong, and the guerilla militia's armed with 7.62x39 Type 56 weapons.
Before the fall of Saigon, Russia had introduced the 5.45x39 standard assault rifle cartridge and the new AK-74 rifle to fire it, soon to see service within 5 years in the Afghan-Soviet War. Certain Spetsnaz units still retained the AKMS in that conflict, with a heavy reliance on Bakelite magazines to reduce the insane weight of the steel AK mags, which weigh more empty than a fully-loaded 5.56 NATO STANAG 30rd aluminum mag. Look closely and you'll see the Bakelite mags:
![[Image: Evstafiev-spetsnaz-prepare-for-mission.jpg]](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Evstafiev-spetsnaz-prepare-for-mission.jpg)
Back to the Grendel. The fact that it uses a .300" neck diameter in the chamber will help tremendously with feeding a diet of steel case ammunition. I personally would like to see the smoothest surface finish on the steel cases as possible, and I like the idea that pre-primed cases would be sold en masse to US ammo makers, aside from this recent development:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/how-chinas...ld-economy
The Soviets realized the failure of ground combatant unit-level and higher logistics strains the 7.62x39 puts on the system, as well as its lacking terminal effects on tissue, especially when faced with the M16 in the Southeast Asian Conflict, where over 85% of the engagements were decisively won by the US, Aussies, and ROK forces against North Vietnamese Army, Viet Cong, and the guerilla militia's armed with 7.62x39 Type 56 weapons.
Before the fall of Saigon, Russia had introduced the 5.45x39 standard assault rifle cartridge and the new AK-74 rifle to fire it, soon to see service within 5 years in the Afghan-Soviet War. Certain Spetsnaz units still retained the AKMS in that conflict, with a heavy reliance on Bakelite magazines to reduce the insane weight of the steel AK mags, which weigh more empty than a fully-loaded 5.56 NATO STANAG 30rd aluminum mag. Look closely and you'll see the Bakelite mags:
Back to the Grendel. The fact that it uses a .300" neck diameter in the chamber will help tremendously with feeding a diet of steel case ammunition. I personally would like to see the smoothest surface finish on the steel cases as possible, and I like the idea that pre-primed cases would be sold en masse to US ammo makers, aside from this recent development:
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/how-chinas...ld-economy