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I have the honor to start this section with something I think it is important.
A lot of people love the AR15 due to its amazing accuracy, flexibility and reliability.
But I want to dedicate this thread to the AR15 in its original form and the 5.56 ammo that goes with it.
We see countless accounts of people criticizing the round and using the obsolete 55gr FMJ ballistics data to compare to other rifles and calibers.
Here we will demonstrate those who make those claims how little they know about the rifle and the round, with facts and not fiction.
We see it everyday with calibers like the Russian calibers and the rather anemic blackout that behaves more like a +P+ 30 carbine.
The lethality of the 5.56 is unquestionable. Now, when we take extreme situations all sort of battlefield scenarios then one could
argue about the benefits of this and shortcomings of that.
If one reads about the several private get togethers between Eugune Stoner and General Kalashnikov when they were exchanging opinions
and memories about their developments one could learn a thing or two.
In one occasion General Kalashnikov asked Mr. Stoner about the requirements and directives for his developments.
Eugene said he had 3 requirements from the Army:
A) Weight
B) Weight
C) Weight
That was a big LOL at the time but totally true.
The whole idea was to increase the firepower capability and these requirements are becoming more important today than even before.
In Vietanam patrols had to go deep into he jungle sometimes for 3 days at the time and it was not unusual for a patrol to carry 8 fully
loaded 30 round magazines + another 700 to 1000 rounds. Something not possible with many other rounds. The weight of the combat
load was already too much for those patrols but one thing for sure then didn't want was to be caught shorthanded with ammo when
deep into enemy territory and w/o the capability for logistical support.
As we know the original AK47 was displaced by the AK74 based on the same directives originally though to be wrong.
But the rifles and rounds of the Vietnam era are long gone from the battlegrounds. The modern 5.56 ammunition like MK318 (Marines)
uses modern bullet designs and faster powders optimized for full burn on shorter carbines. Now this is not the round you want to shoot a Taliban at 600 yards in Afganistan.
For that there are support rifles and marksman trained for those shots. Actually if one takes an MK 262 round (77gr LongRange bullet) shot
from a carbine the range is further extended to 600 yards on soft targets w/o doing anything else. Only marksman and SO train for those shots.
The 6.8 is accurate, simple and the king of hunting. A 120gr is a very serious round to harvest many kinds of meat but if one goes back
to the original purpose and requirements of a MBR maybe a 95gr 6.8 bullet moving at 2900fps looks more like the type of deal that
would meet all requirements for battle use.
The 5.56 is and old concept but not too far off if you think about it. If you look at what could be the perfect infantry MBR round probably the
same case whit a 6mm bullet would be the ideal compromise between speed, range, energy on target w/o compromising the sacred weight.
If you look at the ballistics of a 6x45 (5.56 simply necked up to 6mm) using a 85gr or 90gr bullet there is a substantial increase in
ballistics performance that is proportional to the increase in weight and w/o getting into excessive costly investments that are not needed
in the first place.
I think the Chinese are the ones who finally realized the potential of the 6mm in this category and their new 5.8x42 while not perfect, it
is a substantial improvement in the right direction.
I truly believe the 5.56 is more capable than many give them credit for but if you were to give the military a simple upgrade that is nothing
more than a barrel swap the 6x45 could well be the perfect round for the purpose. The retooling would be very simple both for new barrels (only)
and dies/bullet combination for ammo factories. Even existing 5.56 ammo the bullets could be pulled and cases quickly reformed to 6mm w/o
removing primers and w/o any issues.
Firearms is always a world of trade-off of some sort no matter what. Ideally we would love to have a super rifle with the power of a 50 caliber
and the operational weight of a 22 LR but physics do not work that way.
I shoot a lot of calibers and one think I learned in all these years is that more times than not, less is more in the end.
One just have to be reasonable and be true to the needs and expectations.
I am very skeptical about some of the garbage I read online so that is why I test everything I can so I can get one version of the truth.
HERE ANOTHER COMPARATIVE ONLY USING SHORT CARBINES AND COMMERCIAL AMMO
A lot of people love the AR15 due to its amazing accuracy, flexibility and reliability.
But I want to dedicate this thread to the AR15 in its original form and the 5.56 ammo that goes with it.
We see countless accounts of people criticizing the round and using the obsolete 55gr FMJ ballistics data to compare to other rifles and calibers.
Here we will demonstrate those who make those claims how little they know about the rifle and the round, with facts and not fiction.
We see it everyday with calibers like the Russian calibers and the rather anemic blackout that behaves more like a +P+ 30 carbine.
The lethality of the 5.56 is unquestionable. Now, when we take extreme situations all sort of battlefield scenarios then one could
argue about the benefits of this and shortcomings of that.
If one reads about the several private get togethers between Eugune Stoner and General Kalashnikov when they were exchanging opinions
and memories about their developments one could learn a thing or two.
In one occasion General Kalashnikov asked Mr. Stoner about the requirements and directives for his developments.
Eugene said he had 3 requirements from the Army:
A) Weight
B) Weight
C) Weight
That was a big LOL at the time but totally true.
The whole idea was to increase the firepower capability and these requirements are becoming more important today than even before.
In Vietanam patrols had to go deep into he jungle sometimes for 3 days at the time and it was not unusual for a patrol to carry 8 fully
loaded 30 round magazines + another 700 to 1000 rounds. Something not possible with many other rounds. The weight of the combat
load was already too much for those patrols but one thing for sure then didn't want was to be caught shorthanded with ammo when
deep into enemy territory and w/o the capability for logistical support.
As we know the original AK47 was displaced by the AK74 based on the same directives originally though to be wrong.
But the rifles and rounds of the Vietnam era are long gone from the battlegrounds. The modern 5.56 ammunition like MK318 (Marines)
uses modern bullet designs and faster powders optimized for full burn on shorter carbines. Now this is not the round you want to shoot a Taliban at 600 yards in Afganistan.
For that there are support rifles and marksman trained for those shots. Actually if one takes an MK 262 round (77gr LongRange bullet) shot
from a carbine the range is further extended to 600 yards on soft targets w/o doing anything else. Only marksman and SO train for those shots.
The 6.8 is accurate, simple and the king of hunting. A 120gr is a very serious round to harvest many kinds of meat but if one goes back
to the original purpose and requirements of a MBR maybe a 95gr 6.8 bullet moving at 2900fps looks more like the type of deal that
would meet all requirements for battle use.
The 5.56 is and old concept but not too far off if you think about it. If you look at what could be the perfect infantry MBR round probably the
same case whit a 6mm bullet would be the ideal compromise between speed, range, energy on target w/o compromising the sacred weight.
If you look at the ballistics of a 6x45 (5.56 simply necked up to 6mm) using a 85gr or 90gr bullet there is a substantial increase in
ballistics performance that is proportional to the increase in weight and w/o getting into excessive costly investments that are not needed
in the first place.
I think the Chinese are the ones who finally realized the potential of the 6mm in this category and their new 5.8x42 while not perfect, it
is a substantial improvement in the right direction.
I truly believe the 5.56 is more capable than many give them credit for but if you were to give the military a simple upgrade that is nothing
more than a barrel swap the 6x45 could well be the perfect round for the purpose. The retooling would be very simple both for new barrels (only)
and dies/bullet combination for ammo factories. Even existing 5.56 ammo the bullets could be pulled and cases quickly reformed to 6mm w/o
removing primers and w/o any issues.
Firearms is always a world of trade-off of some sort no matter what. Ideally we would love to have a super rifle with the power of a 50 caliber
and the operational weight of a 22 LR but physics do not work that way.
I shoot a lot of calibers and one think I learned in all these years is that more times than not, less is more in the end.
One just have to be reasonable and be true to the needs and expectations.
I am very skeptical about some of the garbage I read online so that is why I test everything I can so I can get one version of the truth.
HERE ANOTHER COMPARATIVE ONLY USING SHORT CARBINES AND COMMERCIAL AMMO
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