5.56 Nato
Seems the old fight about 5.56 Nato being ineffective has taken a new twist. Now, it’s not the round so much as the 14.5 inch barrels do not deliver enough oomph. And, of course, criticism of the US military round. SayUncle’s free tip to solve the problem: JHPs.
Yeah, some argue that would violate some arbitrary rules of war. But I think beheading people does too.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:07 am
Not to mention we’re not even a signer of the treaty that banned HPs from warfare.
May 28th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Dum Dum or expanding bullets were banned, at least in the popular mythology of the Hague Conventions, due to the excessive suffering they supposedly caused. It could be argued that a rifle or pistol round designed to incapacitate the target most quickly, with minimal risk of over-penetration and subsequent risk to innocent bystanders, actually conforms to the spirit and perhaps the letter of the Conventions. Or as your post noted, JHPs.
May 28th, 2008 at 10:10 am
I almost hate to state the obvious, but…
duh?
hey, why don’t we give them all *pistols* in 5.56 instead of M4s, that way we wouldn’t have to give them rifles OR handgun cartridges! See how easy that is? Maybe an icepick for backup just in case.
[/sarcasm]
Show of hands, who thinks we are going to see a 6.xmm round for all our troops anytime soon?
May 28th, 2008 at 10:37 am
We could just go back to using 55gr M193. Cheaper than JHP, and AmmoOracle reports better fragmentation than the M855 stuff (ducks out) . . .
May 28th, 2008 at 11:46 am
I’d really like to see how the M-1 carbine (WW2, .30 cal.) would perform in Iraq street fighting versus the current M4 with the 5.56 NATO round…that would be interesting…
I’d also like to see a return to .45 acp for military sidearms, but that’s probably pissin’ up a rope, too.
I read one soldier awhile back wistfully wishing for a Colt Single Action Army in 45 LC as opposed to the M9 he has to carry. And why not? Proven man stopper, proven it can work in a Desert environment (American Southwest, anyway)…less to go wrong with it… 😉 The Army has gone retro before, like when they realized their .38 spec revolvers weren’t up to snuff in the Philippines but before they could get the 1911s issued…they temporarily went back to the Colt Single Action Army in 45 LC.
Today I’d be happy to see a 1911 comeback, or if it has to be modern then the Springfield XD in .45 acp or the Smith and Wesson M&P in .45 acp…
May 30th, 2008 at 12:07 am
Always reinventing the wheel. Colonel Rubin determined in what … 1890? that the ideal soldier’s bullet was roughly .30 caliber, about 160-180 grains, with roughly 2400-3000 fps velocity. Lethal enough up to a quarter mile, comfortable enough to shoot, not too heavy for a soldier to carry enough rounds to last him through a battle.