Does AK-47 7.62mm bullet have more range and stopping power than a 5.56mm NATO bullet?

Answer 1

I have an AK-47 type 56 Chinese. I also reload for it. I also own a Bushmaster XM-15A2 (AR-15A2)and reload for it also.

The AK projectile is a .311 diameter bullet usually weighing 123 grains. Because of it being a .30 caliber it does have more knockdown power than the .223 Rem. (5.56 NATO)because of the bullet weight. The 5.56 NATO used to be a 55 grain projectile but the U.S. government has changed the weight to a 62 grain bullet with the issuing of the A2 rifles.

The M16A2 has a 1 in 7 twist rate in the barrel. That means 1 full rotation of the bullet inside the barrel in 7 inches of barrel. The 5.56 NATO is much more accurate on point targets than the 7.62X39mm (AK) round.

The AK is very effective out to about 250 meters but really drops like a rock. The 5.56 NATO is deadly accurate out to 550 meters.

So the AK round has more knockdown power because it's a heavier bullet; more lead, but the M16A2 cartridge is far more accurate at ranges exceeding 300 meters.

Yes this is all true. The Ak-47 cartridge has double the knockdown power of an AR-15/M-16 style weapon (Black Rifle). The Ak-47 round weighing at 123 grains travels at a muzzle velocity of 2340ft per second (1114ft per/sec. spd of sound) divided by muzzle velocity equates to Mach speed. the rate at which the projectile outruns the speed of sound which is 760 mph. multiply this and the bullet speed in mph results. 1600mph for an ak-47 and 1900-2100mph for m4/m16 (4 inch barrel differentiation).

So the the AK is considerable more powerful and closer distances but the bullet drops 25 inces and 300 meters compared to 7 inches for the AR style weapons at the same distance. The AR style weapons are accurate out to 550m for point targets human silhouettes and 800m for are targets (i.e. Dumpsters). Hope this helped.

Terminal Effects

The term "stopping power" is ill-defined at best. As the question states 5.56 NATO, I'll leave out expanding rounds (Illegal for NATO due to the Hague Convention). If stopping power is defined as knocking a target down or back, then it's specious at best considering physics. Bullets do not knock people down, at best they destroy the central nervous systems and cause the body to lose coordination.

7.62 Ball, A roughly 30 caliber round has a reputation for going straight through a target. In doing so it does impart more gross kinetic force than 5.56 Ball. That ia about where the similarities in terminal effects end. 5.56 Ball actually creates a larger internal wound channel with it's wobble effect. It is also prone to bouncing inside the body. When 5.56 bounces inside the body it generally does so along the skeletal structure, destroying joints and often times entering the torso area from a limb. This means one 5.56 round has the capability to do the damage of several 7.62 rounds. That's at worst, at best 5.56 takes on a wobble after entering the target, creating kinetic force that is chaotic and which can actually cause more damage than 7.62's straight through effect.