@CloverDeuce you are not wrong.
The AP rounds should do more damage to infantry.
I am not a dev either but I think it comes down to the result of the buff or nerf, not how they got there.
So if nerfing a weapon makes it kill slower, does it matter if it is from more spread, less damage, slower projectile speed, or more recoil?
I think the damage reduction is the simplest one and the one that has the least secondary effects or variance between players.
If you add recoil to lower TTK, that may not impact great players who can control recoil better. Things like that.
These are my assumptions and all my comments are within the guidelines of this forum.