At the ranges you are talking about, 300+m, that 22 caliber projectile has less stopping power than most 9mm handguns. At least up close, where it matters, the .30 cal will hit harder and penetrate more cover to get the job done.
First off, "stopping power" is a laughable term with the knowledge abound these days. Disc brakes on an automobile have "stopping power". "Wounding ability" is the more appropriate wording, and the 5.56x45 has plenty more of that at 300 yards than a 9x19 does at the muzzle. (that whole 2000+ FPS thing, ya know) Secondly, the 7.62x39 exceeeds the 5.56x45 in muzzle energy by a mere 200 ft/lbs, and that advantage is eclipsed beyond 100 yards due to the short, flat-based bullets and lower initial velocity of the 7.62. Ever wonder why the soviets switched to the 5.45x39 after being on the recieving end of 5.56mm rounds some thirty-odd years ago?
Uh, energy can't be disputed. Whether or not a round with greater energy will be more likely to stop someone can, but then you're going against 100+ years of hunters who know that a bigger round is needed to put a big creature down fast.
Humans aren't big creatures. If the much larger diameter rounds were
that much more effective on human targets, we would still be using the .45-70.
Speaking of inaccuracy, why is the most accurate bench rest cartridge, the 6mmPPC, based off of the "pure inaccuracy" of the 7.62x39 round?
For one, the only thing the 6mmPPC has in common with it's distant relative is case head and rim diameter. Second, we are not comparing accuracy of 5.56x45 vs. 7.62x39, but rather accuracy of AK vs. AR. There simply is no argument to be made there.
Oh, please inform me what rifles those might be? I'm coming up short here.
FN FAL, FN FNC? Nope. G3, G36? Nope. SA80? Nope. FAMAS? Nope. SIG-550? Nope. Steyr AUG? Still no. And then we have the Galil, Valmet, and Vectors are all direct refinements of the AK47 system. That would be Finland, Israel and South Africa. Hardly illiterate, uneducated and poorly trained, I would think.
You could further that by acknowledging that the AK gas system is derived from the same principles as the M1 Garand, just put on top of the rifle instead. The operating principles of the AK aren't the first of their kind.
The AR's direct impingement system
was the first of it's kind. The reason it hasn't been adopted to other rifles is simple: everyone is adopting AR-pattern rifles in their entirety.
BTW, the SA-80 (L85) is nothing morre than a bullpup-stocked AR-180.
All that said, I own both and enjoy both. The AR is infinitely more pleasant to shoot, far more accurate and just as reliable. But I'm not about to ditch my AK. I don't worry about accuracy with the AK since there was none to begin with, so I will happily empty the 75 round drum post-haste!
