05-15-2011, 08:00 AM
Thanks for that, Gene. Judging by the unofficial* feedback from British forces which I have seen, the views you express here are held by about half of the troops who have expressed an opinion. The other half are unhappy with 5.56mm performance and effectiveness and would like something more powerful to replace it. Some would even go so far as to readopt 7.62mm instead of 5.56mm. One interesting comment from the Royal Marines is that they found that using 7.62mm rifles tended to encourage troops to pick and choose their shots rather than throwing loads of ammo at possible targets, and the reduced ammo loads therefore tended to last longer.
(*The official British position, like the US one, is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with either 5.56mm or 7.62mm as they are now and we will go on using both of them for evermore without ever seriously considering anything else.)
(*The official British position, like the US one, is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with either 5.56mm or 7.62mm as they are now and we will go on using both of them for evermore without ever seriously considering anything else.)