Stoopid Stuff

Approaching Perfection?

In it's current state of evolution, with one glaring exception, the US M-4 variant of the venerable M-16 comes very close to perfection as an infantry rifle. With the telescoping stock, Picatinny rail, Optical sight and vertical foregrip, the ergonomics are superb. Easy to carry, light, quick to deploy, easy to maintain in the field, this is a tremendously effective battlefield weapon, whether the battlefield is urban or countryside.

What about that exception? 5.56 NATO. Hey, I'm a HUGE fan of varmint rounds, and the goal of going lighter/faster in order to increase the number of rounds a soldier in the field can carry is admirable. But it's time for the DoD to recognize that this is too much of a compromise in a battle rifle round. You don't have to go all the way back to .308 to improve the situation. Something with a little more reach and a better set of terminal ballistics would be desireable. I'd develop the new round off the .270 Winchester. Something in the 6.5mm range, with an 85-100 grain slug at around 3400 fps. Very manageable recoil, effective to 800 meters, better energy delivery and knockdown power, minimal impact on the basic load - coupled with the current M-4 you'd have something serious that could serve for the forseeable future.

posted by mikey @ 12:10 PM