I think it's a good rule Delta. Anything that reduces pain and suffering is good isn't it? Sure other ways to kill people remain and probably always will, but it's better than nothing. Info on 5.56mm and 7.52mm rounds eh? Whew!!! Have you got all day to spare?
Okay, the SS109 5.56mm round as it is known is the standard rifle round for NATO Countries and it's allies. It is a round chambered in 5.56x45mm (ie: the diameter of the projectile is 5.56mm wide and the length of the projectile is 45mm long) The Standard round is a 67.9 grain projectile (projectile weights are measured in grains, not grams.) The round when fired from a NATO standard rifle gnerally has a velocity in the vicinity of 3025 feet per second. This round is a full metal jacket round (ie: it has a copper casing around a steel penetrator) and is designed to be capable of penetrating a 10mm steel plate at 570 metres.
This round is normally used in NATO standard rifles (M-16/M4, SA-80, FAMAS, Steyr AUG, G36 etc) and light support weapons (FN-Minimi SA-80 Light Support Weapon, etc). The 7.62mm round is the older NATO standard round and is predominantly still used in general purpose machine guns, (M60E3, MAG-58/M240 etc) sniper rifles and countries still using older rifles such as the FN-FAL (SLR) or G3. The round is chambered for 7.62mm with a projectile length of 51mm. The projectile weights vary, but are generally around the 145 grain, mark. The velocity of the round also varies but is generally around the 2750 feet per second mark. This round as you can see is much bigger and heavier than the 5.56mm, but has a slower velocity. It is much more accurate over long ranges than the 5.56mm, but as it is bigger and heavier generally less rounds can be carried, which is the primary (though not the only) reason it was replaced by 5.56mm. The 7.62mm also produces far more recoil than the 5.56mm round and thus is far less controllable on an automatic weapons. (GPMG's excepted, due to their size and weight).
The round is still used in GPMG's and sniper rifle's due to it's range, accuracy and penetrating power. Both rounds are still widely manufactured by just about every country on Earth (even ex-Soviet bloc countries). The Soviet 7.62mm round confuses some people. It is known as 7.62mm short, due to the projectile being chambered for 7.62mm diameter, but only 39mm in length ( ie" 7.62mmx39). The Soviet 7.62mm is therefore much less powerful than the NATO 7.62mm round and is more comparable to the 5.56mm round. This is just the basics. There is far more to learn on this subject and a quick "Googleing" will provide you with more info than you would ever want to know about this stuff... Cheers.
[Admin: AD, very hard to read everything in one paragraph. ]