05-24-2011, 11:07 PM
Stan,
One of the challenges of the short barrel and standard ammunition is that the muzzle blast gets to be horrific due to high muzzle pressures and the muzzle being that much closer to the shooter's ear. The problem gets to be particularly acute when shooting from confined spaces.
I ran a QuickLoad exercise on this topic a few months back and discovered that it is possible to get muzzle velocities within a couple of hundred feet per second of standard ammuntion in a 7.5 inch(!) barrel with lighter loads of pistol powder and have a muzzle pressure that's only 10 percent higher than one would see with the 14.5" M4.
Naturally, this second ammunition type would need to be optimized to assure reliable function in the weapon so that standard-issue ammunition could be used in an emergency.
One of the challenges of the short barrel and standard ammunition is that the muzzle blast gets to be horrific due to high muzzle pressures and the muzzle being that much closer to the shooter's ear. The problem gets to be particularly acute when shooting from confined spaces.
I ran a QuickLoad exercise on this topic a few months back and discovered that it is possible to get muzzle velocities within a couple of hundred feet per second of standard ammuntion in a 7.5 inch(!) barrel with lighter loads of pistol powder and have a muzzle pressure that's only 10 percent higher than one would see with the 14.5" M4.
Naturally, this second ammunition type would need to be optimized to assure reliable function in the weapon so that standard-issue ammunition could be used in an emergency.