The AK fires the 7.62×39mm cartridge with a muzzle velocity of 715 m/s (2,350 ft/s) .
| AK-47 | Muzzle velocity 715 m/s (2,350 ft/s) |
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| Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy | 147 gr (10 g) M80 FMJ 2,800 ft/s (850 m/s) 2,559 ft⋅lbf (3,470 J) | 175 gr (11 g) M118 long range BTHP 2,600 ft/s (790 m/s) 2,627 ft⋅lbf (3,562 J) |
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| AK-47 | Cartridge 7.62×39mm | Action Gas-operated, rotating bolt |
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The AK-47 fires 7.62mm diameter bullets using a 39mm long cartridge, usually referred to as 7.62 x 39mm rounds. These are significantly less powerful than the 7.62mm NATO bullets which are fired using a larger, 51mm long, cartridge, usually referred to as 7.62 x 51mm rounds.
Self-Defense: Whether you consider the 7.62×39 accurate up to 200 or 400 yards, its bullet still carries sufficient energy to neutralize a threat well beyond its maximum effective range. Hunting: The 7.62×39’s energy limits its effective range for humane whitetail hunting to an average distance of 163 yards .
| P90 | Rate of fire 850–1,100 rounds/min | Muzzle velocity 715 m/s (2,350 ft/s) | Effective firing range 200 m (660 ft) | Maximum firing range 1,800 m (5,900 ft) |
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Firearm muzzle velocities range from approximately 120 m/s (390 ft/s) to 370 m/s (1,200 ft/s) in black powder muskets, to more than 1,200 m/s (3,900 ft/s) in modern rifles with high-velocity cartridges such as the . 220 Swift and .
When bullets fly through the air, they do so at amazing speeds. The fastest bullets travel more than 2,600 feet per second. That’s equivalent to over 1,800 miles per hour .
The . 220 Swift remains the fastest commercial cartridge in the world, with a published velocity of 1,422 m/s (4,665 ft/s) using a 1.9 grams (29 gr) bullet and 2.7 grams (42 gr) of 3031 powder.
The AK-47 and its derivatives deserve the title “Weapon of the Century,” at least in the early days of this epoch, because it is quite simply the most effective machine ever manufactured that allows a man, woman or child to kill another human being with the least possible skill, training, effort or expense .
Russian Mikhail Kalashnikov invented the weapon that bears his name in the middle of the 20th century. Born on Nov. 10, 1919, Kalashnikov was a tank mechanic in the Soviet military during the Second World War.
Even hardcore AR fans will admit that the AK’s 7.62×39 round is more powerful than the AR-15’s 5.56/. 223 . No debate here, the bigger round just packs more punch. However, there might be a simple way to compensate for that difference in firepower—by loading your AR with hollow point rounds.
The M16 is much more accurate weapon than the AK-47 . It is much smoother-operating weapon and has less recoil. The M16 is much easier to control during full-auto fire. Recoil of the M16 moves the weapon very little due to its internal design.
A long curved box magazine held 30 rounds , and a separate gas-return tube above the barrel held a piston that was forced back upon firing to activate the mechanisms that ejected the spent cartridge and cocked the hammer for the next round.
| Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy | 7.9 g (122 gr) 57N231 FMJ 730.3 m/s (2,396 ft/s) 2,108 J (1,555 ft⋅lbf) | 10.0 g (154 gr) SP 641.3 m/s (2,104 ft/s) 2,056 J (1,516 ft⋅lbf) | 8.0 g (123 gr) FMJ 738.0 m/s (2,421 ft/s) 2,179 J (1,607 ft⋅lbf) |
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Un-tuned, these rifles (scoped) often produce accuracy of between 1.5 and 3 MOA, similar to the SKS and AK-47, giving acceptable accuracy out to ranges of 100 to 200 yards . As a youth training cartridge, the 7.62×39 is not completely ideal.
A 5.56 x 45 mm cartridge is fired at a velocity of 2,050 miles per hour . As the NATO rifle cartridge, it is used by the military forces of more than thirty-one countries, including use in the M16 series, M4 Carbine, HK-416, and M249 Squad automatic weapons used by the United States armed forces.
| Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16 | Rate of fire 45–60 rounds/min semi-automatic 700–950 rounds/min cyclic sustained (M16A1) 700-900 rounds/min cyclic sustained (M16A2, M16A3) 800 rounds/min cyclic sustained (M16A4) | Muzzle velocity 3,150 ft/s (960 m/s) (M855A1 round) |
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According to the Guinness World Records, the machine gun in service with the highest rate of fire is the M134 Minigun . Designed in 1960s, this weapon spat fury from helicopters and armored vehicles. This 7.62mm calibre gun fired at a super fast pace of 6,000 rounds per minute i.e. 100 rounds per second.
| AK-47 | Muzzle velocity 715 m/s (2,350 ft/s) | Effective firing range 350 m (380 yd) | Feed system 20-round, 30-round detachable box magazine There are also 40-round, 75-round drum magazines available | Sights 100–800 m adjustable iron sights Sight radius: 378 mm (14.9 in) |
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A 9mm-calibre Luger Parabellum round fired from a handgun travels at about 370m/s .
| Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy | 655 gr (42 g) ADI 3,029 ft/s (923 m/s) 13,350 ft⋅lbf (18,100 J) | 700 gr (45 g) Barnes 2,978 ft/s (908 m/s) 13,971 ft⋅lbf (18,942 J) | 750 gr (49 g) Hornady 2,820 ft/s (860 m/s) 13,241 ft⋅lb f (17,952 J) | 800 gr (52 g) Barnes 2,895 ft/s (882 m/s) 14,895 ft⋅lbf (20,195 J) |
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22 LR ammunition is rated at 1,070 ft/s ( 330 m/s) . Most standard velocity ammo has a bullet weight of 40 gr (2.6 g).
