.280 Enfield...Ahead of its time

[stanc]

I disagree with all of your statement that I quoted.

My own view of the evolution of small arms ammo in the 20th century goes like this:

Phase 1. Full power 7.5-8mm cartridges (.30'06, 7.62x51 etc)

Phase 2. The full-power cartridges were supplemented by short-range assault rifle cartridges because auto fire from shoulder guns was found valuable in battle, and the full-power ones were unsuitable for this.

Phase 3. General-purpose rounds, with the long-range performance to replace the full-power cartridges but low enough recoil to replace the assault rifle cartridges too. The .280 fell into this group, so might the 6.5 Grendel.

I see. Thanks for elaborating.

So it wasn't the .280 which was outmoded but the 7.62x51. I'd reword your quote as follows:

"The 7.62x51 was definitely not ahead of its time. Quite the opposite, actually. It is a battle rifle cartridge, developed even though rounds like the .280 were already showing a better way forward."

Well, I never claimed that 7.62x51 was ahead of its time. As for the .280 being a better way forward, I have to disagree. It had most of the same undesirable traits as 7.62x51: Rifles heavier and longer than necessary for either infantry or (especially) support troops; ammunition heavier and more powerful than necessary for either infantry or (especially) support troops; limited (20-rd) magazine capacity; excessive muzzle blast in short barrels.

If .280 had been adopted by the US, it would've been superseded by 5.56 in the mid-1960s, and for the same reasons 7.62x51 was.

I long argued for a "general-purpose" or "universal" cartridge,* but it is debateable if such a round is truly a better idea than the two-caliber system that has worked very well in combat for the last six decades. Certainly LRRPF52 has made a strong case that it's a bad idea, and only the Chinese have actually attempted it (with 5.8x42).

* http://www.g2mil.com/6mm_optimum_cartridge.htm shows my 1990s concept for a GP cartridge. Like the 6.5/8/800 discussed on your forum, my 6x48 Optimum is based on the .30 Remington case. Coincidentally, I initially planned for it to be 6.5mm, but switched to 6mm in order to get a high-BC, lightweight bullet.