Grendel carbines and DMR rifles actually weigh a few ounces less than 5.56mm guns because the bore is bigger and there is less barrel steel to tote up the hill.
What would it take to convert millions and millions of M4 and M16 rifles to 6.5 Grendel? In theory, just a barrel, a bolt, and a magazine. The cartridge produces more recoil than the 5.56, but not so much more that it requires a new buffer or scope/accessory mounts.
6.5 is a great caliber and has the sectional density. Its “stacked”.
Used in silhouette for long range.
Cut to the chase. Go back to 30 caliber.
Cut the weight with modern stock design and smart action engineering.
The old .308 was pretty good. The OLD 30-06 is still a very lethal long range cartridge.
I hunt with .257 Weatherby (listed in the 6.5 category). Can’t say enough about 6.5mm. It’s time has come.
Maybe the current experts can average out all the world's battle rifle cartridges, in which case we will have something perfect for the next average war fought against average enemies in an average environment.
Mr. niteowl77
If the bad guys are much more than 300 meters out they should be killed with something else. Because they are tough to see, if for no other reason.
Closer in, you’ll want all the ammo you can carry. So why use heavier ammo?
I’d rather put my money (but with less weight penalty) on better sights; which is exactly what has been happening slowly but surely to our boy’s equipment since Gulf war 1.
C.W.
The Stoner design needs to find itself assigned to the history books. No battle rifle should be in use for more than 50 years by the best military in the world.
While the design has been improved for reliability and accuracy, it is holding our troops back.
The 6.5mm is capable of great long-range accuracy, lethality and compactness......depending on which cartridge it is loaded into.
With a variety of bullet weights, it can work in close quarters or at longer distances.
The Stoner rifles are needless heavy by today’s standards and can be lightened with modern materials.
I look forward to a new cartridge and a new rifle.
Not invented here so was turned down.
ping
(added “banglist” to key words)
MK 262 Mod 1 will shoot accurately all day long at 300 to 500 meters if you have an 18 to 20 inch barrel. If most of the bad guys were wearing body armor, you’d probably want a larger caliber, though.
I can’t believe no one has picked apart this line:
“As most of our enemies are shooting 7.62mm-based firearms such as former Soviet or Iraqi AKs, SKSs, Druganovs, and PKMs, they actually have a deadlier reach than our troops’.”
Sorry, while this may be true for the Dragunov (not Druganov) and PKM, which are 7.62x54R, it is absolutely NOT true for the 7.62x39 AK and SKS, which have an effective range of around 200m-300m. An AR would generally be preferable by all accounts I’ve seen.
British .303 bolt action.
If it was good enough for Rorke’s Drift, it should be good enough for a Muzzi (if you dip it in pig’s blood first.
Back them up with Tommy guns with 50 round drums for suppression.
Everyone missed the obvious point. If the army gets away from the AR platform then it loses its status as a “weapon of war”. The liberals/gun grabbers also lose their case in which to ban the rifle based on it being a “weapon of war”.
That makes too much sense so it’s not gonna happen. The military industrial complex will want to make more money by selling a whole new rifle and caliber.
Cartridge-related religious wars aside, the last time they went through this the program went Tango Uniform because DoD insisted on a replacement that had double the reliability of the M4 platform. But after 50 years of battle-testing and upgrades, Stoner’s dinosaur on average is running 3600 MRBS. Good luck finding anything that’ll run double that once it’s in the hands of Pvt. Snuffy and being operated under battlefield conditions.
So unless they lower their standards this time, it’ll likely be SSDD.
Probably the easiest thing would be to just go to the .243X45. Go with a fast twist and whatever bullets work best. Also keep the barrel at least 20 inches even if you have to go to a bull pup.
it may be time to hang up the Stoner-designed rifles.
= = =
Well, then the AR’s will not be evil Military any more, right?
Projectile weapons are so last century.
Just move up to 7.62 NATO. That saves the ammunition production headaches of starting up a new caliber and keeps any ammo reserves viable.