2. 9x19mm vs 7.62x51/54/39mm.
9mm Para/Luger - 124gr @ 1150 FPS (American Eagle FMJ)
7.62x51mm NATO/.308 Winchester - 150gr @ 2648 FPS (American Eagle Boat-Tailed FMJ)
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In addition, the drop-off in energy experienced by the 9x19mm (due to its rather un-areodynamic shape) is difficult to model in game, as well as its short range power (that same shape means it transfers a great deal more of its energy to the target than the more streamlined 7.62). And remember kids, its all about energy transfer.
One must also bear in mind the proliferation of body armour in PR. Mind you, most military issue body armour isnt actually rated to stop 9mm rounds with the soft bits, though the ceramic plates definetly would (well, they should stop the first few, anyway) The energy transferring qualities of 9x19mm mean that it has poor penetration qualities. With body armour one needs a more clever design with tumbling and/or fragmentation. Or THV. But THV was loony.
3 - Practical rate of fire. During its time in use a fully trained marksman could achieve 30 ARPM with the Lee-Enfield bolt action if needed (Minimum standard was considered to be 15 ARPM). From the hip the SVD will kick out rounds pretty much as fast as you can pull the trigger. Practical rate of fire takes into account magazine changes, reallining sights and such. Now I don't know the exact cyclic rate of fire for the SVD, but I'll wager it'd be a good deal higher that 30.
9mm pistol rounds are *very* ineffective against all modern body armor.
Russia proving you wrong wrote:This development leads us back to pistol ammunition, but this time with improved penetration capabilities rather than stealth. The proliferation of body armor rendered most military pistols, with its ammunition being about 100 years old, almost obsolete. The one way to deal with body armor is to adopt smaller-caliber, high velocity bullets for both pistols and submachine guns. This gives additional benefit of flatter trajectory and lessened recoil, both beneficial for accuracy. At the minus side, the terminal performance of the small-caliber, light weight bullets is somewhat questionable. After initial test and research, conducted since late 1980s under the codename “Grach”, Russian armed forces adopted an improved version of the world’s most popular pistol ammo, the 9x19 Parabellum. First produced circa 1994, this version of the 9mm features an armor piercing bullet of proprietary design, and a powerful powder charge, which brings this cartridge, officially designated as 7N21, to the +P+ level, with peak pressures running up to 2 800 kg per square meter. Armor piercing bullet for 7N21 ammo features a hardened steel penetrator core, enclosed into bimetallic jacket. The space between the core and jacked is filled with polyethylene, and the tip of the penetrator is exposed at the front of the bullet, to achieve better penetration. Bullet of the similar design, but of lighter weight, is used in another service 9x19 cartridge, 7N31, which has been developed in late 1990s for the GSh-18 pistol, and latter was adopted for PP-2000 submachine gun. Another offspring of the ”Grach” trials is the 9x21 family of ammunition. Adopted by the Federal Security Bureau (FSB) of Russian Federation, this cartridge in its basic form, known as SP-10, is more or less a stretched-out 7N21 cartridge with improved performance; 9x21 ammo also available in AP-T (tracer) and SP-11 low-ricochet ball (with lead core) bullets. This ammo is used in SPS “Gyrza” pistol and in SR-2 “Veresk” submachine gun.
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a 9mm pistol ammo wouldn't penetrate a kevlar helmet. Or at least it shouldn't, of course everything can happen but those helmets are supposed to be able to stop 9mm bullets. Not sure about the seconds part, but I'd imagine that no. The bullet is very light, so even though it moves fast the total force isn't that big.
Until now, there’s never been a helmet designed to stop bullets, said Elder. The MICH uses a different version of Kevlar combined with different bonding techniques to form a shell capable of halting a submachine gun’s 9 mm round in addition to protecting against fragmentation.
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So the Brand new American Helmets would. I doubt the current issue British MK6 (though this is in the process of being phased out for the MK6a) which is of a similar vintage to the old American PAGAST lid would hold up against them, and by extension I'd also question the ability of the MEC and PLA helmets to do the same.