Lethality: The 5.45 x 39's projectile appears to be quite long but there is a void at the very tip of the projectile that deforms upon impact causing the projectile to destabilize when it hits meat. In a way it operates a bit like an expanding bullet causing the projectile to chop a bigger wound channel through the target. It is important to note that this highly lethal round is completely legal under the hague and geneva conventions since it is a FMJ.
Trajectory: The 5.45 x 39mm has a much flatter trajectory than the 7.62X39 mm round and this translates into a longer ranged POA-POI battelsight setting. The AK74 is also a little easier to control on full automatic than the AK47. However the 7.62 x 39mm ammo boasts a little more punch and better penetration at ranges beyond ~ 200 meters.
The 5.45 x 39mm ammo is superior to the SS109 5.56mm NATO ammunition in lethality but not in penetration.
Kalashnikov proposed that the AK74 be chambered for a higher performance 7.62 x 39 mm round of his own design but little is known (at least to me) about the performance of this interesting round. Does anyone have any information on the round that Kalashnikov proposed?
For my FOT games with altered weapons I boost the min max damage up a bit for the AK74 to min15 max 30 and kicked up the magazine capacity to 40 since there are 40 round magazines for the AK74. I also increased the number of rounds fired in a burst to 6.
slapshot
