Grendel LMG

[JASmith]

I would disagree with this if you can't fire the LMG rounds in the rifle and vice versa. If you have different rounds, the zero would be different and that would negate the whole point of ammo commonality.

I know I've stripped rounds from 7.62 belts for M-14 sniper rifles when we ran out of sniper ammo. I also know of guys who gathered up expended links and assembled belts for the machine guns when they only got rifle ammo resupply.

Things can get chaotic sometimes...

You make an interesting point. I think we are almost on the same page. One could visualize that a Grendel used by a sharpshooter or sniper would likely be shooting long range precision ammo with ballistics similar to those desired for the LMG.

This would be different than using M855A1 in an M4/M16 when the sharpshooter runs out of Mk262 but more or less equivalent with your description of the M14 and general purpose MG.

And yes, things get chaotic and there are times when the ammo you got is the ammo you use...