.280 Enfield...Ahead of its time

[stanc]

I know that the US pressured the Brits into adopting the T65 case, which was a shortened .30 Cal Rifle case, eventually becoming the 7.62 NATO, but my understanding was the .280 Enfield started off with a case head closer to the 6.5 Carcano.

Perhaps you are thinking of the .270 Enfield (7x46). The .270 and .280 British rounds were completely different in all respects, with the .270 being similar in concept to 6.8 SPC (short bullet in long, small diameter case) and the .280 being like 6.5 Grendel (long bullet in short, fat case).

I haven't seen any trend to environmentalist whacko "green" bullets in European armies. With the economic conditions as they are, trying to get any self-respecting parliament or army to sign off on bullets that cost 3-4x more than what they have been using will likely be a feat in futility.

I'm sure that's true of Eastern Europe, but IMO it's unlikely the Czechs, Slovaks, and Poles would opt for lead-core bullets for the proposed 6.5 MRLMG. AFAIK, their 7.62x54R and 7.62x39 ammo is steel-core, so it seems reasonable to think that pattern would continue in a new, medium caliber.

That means we're looking at a bullet design like that of the Swedish 6.5x55 steel-core AP, which weighed only 112 grains.



FYI: Lead-free ammo in Scandinavia http://www.dtic.mil/ndia/2006smallarms/mauritzson.pdf