05-21-2011, 01:21 AM
I have just received some feedback from interviews with a dozen British infantrymen just back from Afghanistan, who were specifically asked about the calibre issue.
They are comfortable with the performance of the 5.56mm out to 200m, the main problem at longer ranges being scoring hits, partly because the little bullets are so affected by wind drift. (Comment: their standard rifle does of course have a 20.5 inch barrel.)
They dislike the L85A2 because it is so heavy and unergonomic; for those reasons, they'd rather have an M16A4. Their opinion of the L85A2 has put them off all bullpups. (Comment: a pity, since there are much better bullpups around. It is of course possible that if they did get the M16, they would start complaining about the length!)
They very much like the 7.62mm guns: the L7 GPMG (M240) and the L129A1 rifle, which are very effective at all ranges. However, only 30-40% soldiers were capable of getting the best out of the L129A1 in terms of long-range accuracy.
Given a straight choice between 5.56mm and 7.62mm weapons, ALL of them would rather carry 7.62mm, despite the weight and recoil issues.
They would be delighted if someone came up with an intermediate cartridge and weapons which matched the performance of the 7.62mm with significant reductions in weight and recoil. However, they have no experience of such a round and would need to have a lot of successful hands-on experience with the weapons before they would accept it.
They are comfortable with the performance of the 5.56mm out to 200m, the main problem at longer ranges being scoring hits, partly because the little bullets are so affected by wind drift. (Comment: their standard rifle does of course have a 20.5 inch barrel.)
They dislike the L85A2 because it is so heavy and unergonomic; for those reasons, they'd rather have an M16A4. Their opinion of the L85A2 has put them off all bullpups. (Comment: a pity, since there are much better bullpups around. It is of course possible that if they did get the M16, they would start complaining about the length!)
They very much like the 7.62mm guns: the L7 GPMG (M240) and the L129A1 rifle, which are very effective at all ranges. However, only 30-40% soldiers were capable of getting the best out of the L129A1 in terms of long-range accuracy.
Given a straight choice between 5.56mm and 7.62mm weapons, ALL of them would rather carry 7.62mm, despite the weight and recoil issues.
They would be delighted if someone came up with an intermediate cartridge and weapons which matched the performance of the 7.62mm with significant reductions in weight and recoil. However, they have no experience of such a round and would need to have a lot of successful hands-on experience with the weapons before they would accept it.