Picarto: why is everyone so guntistic
Cal: because pic, funny
Cal: 7.62x39
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- heavier bullet (harsher bullet drop, but better impact force (especially at low velocity))
- designed because the russians were tired of using the mosin nagant and the germans had 8mm short and that killed a bunch of them so they shrunk 7.62x54r
- less tendency to tumble through brush and thin concealment (not really a barrier)
- often used in weapons that keyhole the round at more than 100m anyway so the above doesn't matter for most people
- just as much variety available on the US civilian market as 5.56 (tracer, incendiary, APIT, regular AP, hollow point, hollow point poly tip)
- available in packages cheaper than most 5.56 but the cheaper ones are usually corrosive primed and steel cased which can cycle poorly in some guns
- most of the cheaper stuff is banned because it has to be imported from russia and the president is allowed to just say "no"
- heavier per-round to carry
- recoils about the same as 5.56 but the platforms people use it in are old as fuck and don't use all the recoil-mitigating tricks the AR does
- different recoil impulse and generally lower cyclic rate than 5.56 guns so you burn through less ammo in full auto
- still available in modern platforms because a bunch of post-combloc countries refuse to move on and also CMMG exists
- 7.62 aks have non-concentric threads so even if you shoot subsonics it's near impossible to make or get a can for it that will work because you need a can for your specific gun

5.56x45
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- lighter bullet (less bullet drop at distance, no stopping power)
- designed to penetrate armor
- devastating effect on non-armored targets
- for most loads, creates much larger temporary wound cavities but smaller permanent wound cavities
- small and light to carry
- unreasonably expensive even though it is produced much more in the US market, but what isn't in 2023
- functionally no recoil if you don't hold the gun 4 inches away from your shoulder
- more variety in accessories for most guns that fire it
- most guns that fire it are more modular in general
- completely useless in subsonic, and immensely high pressure, so 5.56 suppressors are often girthy, heavy and long
- used by most NATO countries in some capacity so everyone has some
- standard mags designed around it so plenty of availability for those
- tons of interesting designs for it and almost every new-production rifle has a version made for it