Posted on 05/27/2008 12:13:42 PM PDT by DmBarch
There is much talk lately about the shortcomings of the M16 series, so I was particularly interested to see how it was performing in Iraq. It’s popular today, in some circles, to deride this weapons family for its direct gas method of operation. Some claim it’s not reliable enough for military use, especially in the dust and sand of Iraq.
Plus many still scorn its small-caliber, high-velocity 5.56mm round. It’s common to hear people say the terminal performance of this cartridge, especially in its standard military 62 grain M855 loading, is inadequate. So I was interested to see not only how the weapons were performing but what the troops thought of them.
The standard combat rifle issued to the men of the 3rd Squadron, 7th U.S. Cavalry is the M4 carbine. This is simply a shortened version of the M16A2/A3 rifle and utilizes the same method of operation. However, unlike the full size rifle the M4 wears a short 141⁄2-inch chrome-lined barrel and a collapsible stock. Barrel twist is 1:7 inch to allow use of all standard U.S. military 5.56mm ammunition including tracer, armor piercing and sniper/match loads.
Overall length with the stock extended is a handy 33 inches. Collapse the stock and this shrinks to just 29.8 inches. Loaded weight is only 6.9 pounds, making for a short and handy package. Like the M16A2, the M4 can be fired either semiautomatic or in three-shot burst mode but does not fire full automatic like the old M16A1 (although the M4A1 has this capability). Velocity for the standard 5.56mm 62-grain M855 ball round is approximately 2,900 fps.
(Excerpt) Read more at rifleshootermag.com ...
ALWAYS had a love affair with Bullpup configurations...
And the FN-FAL has always been one of my favorites too. The “Free World’s Strong Right Arm”...a great nickname. Too bad NATO didn’t adopt the M14, though...
“Never do an enemy a small injury.” - Niccolo Machiavelli
I understand being able to hump more ammo. I also understand that a DEAD enemy is one less coming at you later on. And if you wound one, take out the other two IF they come to get him...threesies...
Also - We need to be able to outrange the other guy - why engage him on HIS turf with limited-range smaller calibers? Take him out with well-aimed, optically directed surgical shots (like any good RIFLEMAN) so his close-up tactics are useless. Especially when they like to hide behind women and children...
Carbines are good for house-clearing, CQB, etc., but why go “muzzle to Muzzie” when you can perform .308 Ballistic Cranial Surgery from long range (on ANY enemy)?
Just my “ignernt” two cents...
“...the jamming on a grain of sand issues...”
Again, that’s because of the design flaw of the M16/AR15 rifles - it craps where it eats. Very dirty design.
But it’s an OK weapon overall if you keep it clean. I like my AR and will keep it. But the Garand and the M14 hold a special place in me ol’ heart...
As well as Enfield No.4 MkIs and No. 5 Jungle Carbines, AK’s, SKS’s, lever-action Marlins and Winchesters...KAR98K’s, Springfield 03’s...etc.,
Even my old Mosin-Nagant M44 gives me a warm and fuzzy occassionally...
Great to be an American, ain’t it?
Don’t get me started on that Treasonous SOB Klinton. Those ‘14s should have come BACK to the States, been converted to semi-auto for civilian use, and should now be gracing the gun racks of American Citizens as their primary “Homeland Defense Rifles”. The government would have MADE money on that one, AND earned the trust of the Citizens.
He, like most of the Dem leadership, is scum...but then again, why didn’t our side prosecute him to the utmost extent when they had the chance? Easy - no balls. “When men reduce their virtues to the approximate, then evil acquires the force of an absolute, when loyalty to an unyielding purpose is dropped by the virtuous, it’s picked up by scoundrels—and you get the indecent spectacle of a cringing, bargaining, traitorous good and a self-righteously uncompromising evil.” _ Ayn Rand
BM-59 was the Beretta version, I believe...?
ArmaLite made the AR-10 in .243.
Here is the article
New .243 Service Rifle Cartridge, A Proposal -- By Chuck Hawks
I think you’re right about getting used to the extra weight. The SOCOM II is really intended for SOCOM guy, all of who are serious athletes. I think they’ll happily trade the extra 2-3 pound for the stopping power. They’re studs, they can handle the weight.
My only other concern would be long range accuracy. I haven’t fired the SOCOM, but the M16/.223 combo is very accurate at ‘longish’ ranges (say 300+ yards). I wonder how the SOCOM compares, especially with its shorter barrel. I suspect within 150-200 yards it compares very well (and much better than the sloppy AK-47 and its variants). And frankly most combat is within that range. I suspect this weapon is already being tested in Iraq and Ashcanistan. Looking forward to the field reports.
Outstanding quote.
Thanks!
Sweet
That’s nice. I may have to look into one.
The “designed to wound” notion is a myth.
Used _as_designed_, the 5.56/M16 system is terminally devesating. High-velocity catastrophic fragmentation is not “designed to wound”, it is designed to make a very large and very messy and very terminal hole.
The problem is that the 5.56/M16 system, while excellent when used as designed, gets awfully tempermental when used as _not_ designed. When first introduced to combat, it lacked the chromed barrel, proper powder, and cleaning was discouraged. Today, usage often includes improper twist/weight/length combinations, hard-target rounds on soft targets, and wet lubes in dusty environments, predictably leading to substandard results. Garbage in, garbage out.
Because sometimes the range is short, not long. If you're planning on doing urban CQB, don't take a tool designed for half-mile applications.
Good read - thanks for the link!
5.56 mm is an inadequate cartridge for reliable one-stop hits. Doesn’t mean I’d like to be on the receiving end of one, but if I had to choose a round on which to stake my life, that wouldn’t be it. .308 is nice and hard-hitting, and I’ve got 2 rifles that shoot it (a Remington 700 and an M1A).
However.
If I had to pick a new cartridge for the grunts to use, I’d pick the 6.5 Grendel. It is based on the very accurate 6mm PPC round. The ballistics of the 6.5 bullet are superior to virtually anything out there, and it is inherently very accurate. One can hump many more rounds of it than .308/7.62mm, and have far greater hitting power than the 5.56. Excellent sniper round, as it is accurate at up to 1,000 yards (because of the ballistics).
Check it out at http://www.65grendel.com/
Me, I’d use this new cartridge with a piston-powered version of the AR series. You get the ergonomics of the AR series, the reliability of not $hitting where you eat, and the superior ballistics of the 6.5 bullet. Logistics will be simplified - get rid of all of the mouse-gun cartridges and the .308. Use this for LMGs, and if you need some really long-range stuff for sniping, use either .338 Lapua or .50 BMG.
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