6mmARC Military Application

[LRRPF52]

Googled some 6x45mm SAW info and note that its 105gr bullet achieved 2410 fps from a 14.5" barrel and 2550 fps from a 20" barrel.

So, if the 6mmARC achieves those velocities, we're doing pretty good in terms of an analog to a military cartridge studied, designed, and ready for combat.

6mm ARC seems to add 150fps mv over the 6x45 SAW. 6mm SAW should have been the cartridge we adopted for the SAW and a mid-sized AR15/AR10-based Semi Auto DM rifle.

We had the institutional knowledge at the time to have supported such a cartridge mix, but the .30 caliber nazis won out. There were some scare tactics articles back in the 1980s where they were talking about replacing the M60 with 5.56 NATO SAWs, but a 6mm SAW M249 would have been ballistically superior to the M60 and far easier to carry and employ.

It's kinda funny and sad to look back at successful and combat-proven small bore cartridges since the US military already had experience with the 6mm Lee Navy from the late 1800s-1900, where it was instrumental in repelling hordes of attackers in Peiking during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. It was also instrumental in allowing considerable combat endurance/persistence in the Spanish American War in Cuba, where Marines did not need to resupply even after their ship-based logistics chains were cut off. I've seen articles talk about a 180-220rd combat load that was still very lightweight.