View Poll Results: which is better (see text)
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Machine Gunner
The comments about 30/06 and 30 cal from previous wars and conflicts just CANNOT be applied to modern combat. The same can be said about .45 and .50 cal muzzle loaders, 30/30 etc... They were great for their time, but times change.
5.56 is a decent round when facing an unarmored or out in the open target at ranges below 300m, but the facts of modern urban conflict really point out the failures of this round. VERY POOR penetration being the most glaring issue.
Is 7.62 NATO the answer... yes and no. This round has been relegated to more of a "support" weapon round where the US Army at least is concerned in the last 40 years. You can see this is the weapon type selection of the Army (and NATO as a matter of fact)... M60 machinegun, M24 Sniper Rifle and the variations of the M60 that are support/suppression weapons on vehicles.
There are rounds which are going to deliver the performance of the heavier 7.62 and the key factors of the 5.56 round... weight reduction and brutal wounding.
6.8mm comes to mind, but I'm not a ballistics expert. I've read tons of material on this exact subject and having first hand experiences with the short comings of the 5.56 round, I'm still a fair supporter of the 5.56 bullet. I just can't abide the thought that we are seeing such poor performance from the round (but more specifically the weapon platform- M4) in our current conflicts. You can see time and again that with the types of conflicts that we are engaged in over the last 15 years that 5.56 just isn't cutting it any more.
The depressing part is that the US and NATO seem to want to keep going down this path with their new weapon systems (XM-8 and G36 systems) and for some reason that I can't fathom, are passing on intermediate calibers like 6.8mm. With so many advances in weapon weight reductions (conversely cancelled out because of accessorization), round performance improvements, if the only choices left to us are 5.56 or 7.62, then 7.62 has to be the only rational choice.
There was a nice comment about the advantages of 5.56 in urban conflict due to low secondary penetration; I can't agree with that being an advantage for the 5.56. There are variations on the basic FMJ and hollow point rounds, such as the frangible classes.
Nope, long as short, given these options 7.62 is the only real choice.
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