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In my opinion, the adequacy or inadequacy of the 5.56's lethality could be argued all day, but in the absence of any satisfactory scientific studies on the matter, the only things that can be...

Going back to the original topic...

I've been curious lately on the effects of suppression with the scaling of weapons, but I haven't been able to find much on it.

It's intuitively obvious to...

That seems awfully close to what a 7.62x51 would achieve with a 16" barrel. :eek:

The case is smaller than 7.62's as well, which would imply to me that it either runs at a much higher pressure, or...

I must ask why you think adopting one caliber would be a better option than using 2 different calibers. Keep in mind that the weight saved with the 5.56 compared to a hypothetical mid-range cartridge...

I assume you mean something like the 6.5 grendel or 6.8 SPC? While that would increase the terminal effect (6.8), or both terminal and external ballistics (6.5) of IWs, it would also decrease the...

With regards to reliability... the bolt of the Mk 48 has to be replaced after 15,000 rounds, and the receiver after 50,000. So if nothing else, it's more maintenance-heavy than the M240.

The article also goes on to say:


If this pans out, and the technology is applied to 7.62, then it would weigh close to what 5.56 currently weighs, wouldn't it?

According to this:


The US Army appears to be adopting the Mk 48 as their fireteam automatic weapon in Afghanistan. The quote is brief, however, and I haven't been find much more info on it.

The article is a couple of months old, but it appears that the US Army M4s are being upgraded to M4A1s with full auto and a heavier barrel (among other improvements). Interesting to note that they're...

I wasn't referring to full-auto per se, although I can tell you hate it with a passion. :rolleyes: I was referring to really rapid semi-auto fire.

An example can be found here:...

Wow. 100 rounds seems pretty low to me (although those are just my uneducated "feelings"). I wonder how the troops felt about the amount of ammunition they carried.

Perhaps my perceptions are...

I've heard more than one person claimed well over 300 among people who claimed close to basic load, but you're right, it is anecdotal. Which was partly why I made this topic.

Well, regardless, there was one person who claimed he wouldn't leave the FOB if all he could carry were 300 rounds.

It's good to see that isn't the norm though, although it seems to be more common...

They weren't all loaded into magazines. Around 7 - 10 magazines, the rest were stored in their pack for reloading the mags.

Regardless, I've never really personally heard someone say they carried...

Ahh, does that mean you don't believe in the SAW concept? (unless you consider those IWs as well)

I believe there was an article near the beginning of this year that stated that US soldiers...

Out of curiousity, Mr. Owen, what would be the "correct mix" of 5.56 and 7.62?

I agree. While our opinions may differ on what round the average infantryman should be equipped with, my reason for the preference of 7.62 is purely penetration based (not range or "stopping power")....

Well, my skepticism comes from the fact that it is touted as both penetrating better and more lethal.

It is apparently a dual-core projectile, with a steel "arrowhead" penetrater with either a...

I'm highly skeptical of the M855A1. It seems like a semi-AP round that leans further towards the AP end of the scale than M855.

Another example of a firefight in Afghan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBd8Fl6gGdI
Although it's from MSNBC, so take it with a grain of salt.



My sources indicate that M885 weighs 12.31...

Would you guys disapprove or approve the use of full-auto in rifles during Vietnam? Considering that that article quoted above states that the line of sight was often not much more than 5 meters in...

It certainly was an interesting read, as I've heard much more disapproval over full-auto in an M16 than praise for it.

I personally think that a 7.62x51 rifle would be better for jungle fighting,...

Greetings SWC,

Infantry tactics has always been a topic of interest to me, and here has always been a certain aspect that has been of particular interest me. As you can probably guess from the...