Grendel as a Universal Infantry Cartridge

[JASmith]

...These include a laser rangefinder, a ballistic computer, and various sensors to tell whether the rifle is pointing up or downhill, or whether it's being held absolutely upright. They will even measure air pressure and any crosswinds (the trickiest part). So the soldier will not have to be a marksman to hit a target at 800m - he will just have to learn to hold the rifle steady (on a bipod, obviously, at that range), put the aiming mark on the target, press the lase button, then re-aim as the aiming mark moves to show him exactly where to aim. The only traditional shooting skill required will be to stop breathing for a couple of seconds and squeeze the trigger very carefully rather than pull it.

Tony,

I concur with all the above except the part about not having to be a marksman. It is all too easy for us folks who have been shooting for more than a half-century to forget what it takes to become effective at shooting even at 100 yards.

The problem is that "Joe Tentpeg" needs 1000 - 2000 rounds downrange to develop his basic skills to where he can effectively use the scope yo describe. That shooting needs to be a mix of supervised known and unknown distance and surprise targets plus a number of informal sessions "Joe Tentpeg" might get to shoot 600 - 800 during his entire initial active duty commitment and those shots are almost always taken under rather controlled conditions.

Further, marksmanship in the military field also requires significant skills in identifying targets that the average Joe won't develop.

Bottom line, the scopes you describe are likely to be a very important addition to the tools used by the sharpshooter or designated marksman. Remember also that users of the scope will be obliged to carry an extra 1-2 lbs on his rifle. Those scopes are big and heavy in their current incarnation. So the DM might be a little less effective in a room or alley, but likely more effective in covering his team from longer distance threats.

Take the new-fangled scopes to the next level, however, where the squad or team leader can designate the aimpoint in the shooters scope, then "average Joe" may be able to employ more effective suppressive fire.

The trade will be whether the new scope would justify the added cost, weight and reliability hits.

Cheers,
Joe