As a wee bairn, 6th grade, in the shadow of the Vietnam war, ca. 1981, we boy talked among ourselves about important subjects like army stuff and tanks and guns. We knew that our side used M16s and the other side used AK47.
Other received wisdom that we were told was true back then? That the two rifles used different sized bullets. But them crafty Commies made it so their rifles could shoot from M16 magazine, but our side couldn't do it the other way around. This was a good idea, by our kid logic, as the enemy could scrounge from our supplies, and it was short sighted of the Pentagon to not do the same. Our confidence in our military gear back then was shaken a bit, and I am sure that pleased the Kremlin. Negatively impact our morale early on, you see.
Yes, we thought, told by our friend's older brothers, I am sure, or misheard from a buddy's father, that a Viet Cong AK could shoot what we now know (more precisely) as 7.39x39mm Combloc ammo as well as 5.56x45mm NATO. It couldn't shoot the American stuff as well, but how accurately do you have to shoot a bullet hose?
Like I said, this was received wisdom, and, to us, almost certainly true. Elementary school libraries and our meager researching skills were no help sussing out the truth. If we even considered it.
We were obviously misinformed.
What I always heard was that 7.62x54R could fire 7.62x51. It would be a terrible idea, but it would be possible at least once.
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