Posted on 07/31/2013 5:41:45 PM PDT by Kip Russell
Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement. Failing that caliber. Failing that lots of shots on target. To wit: The hiker, who has not been identified by Alaska State Troopers, had set out from the Rainbow trail head at Milepost 108 of the highway Sunday morning, said Tom Crockett, a park ranger. He was near the first Turnagain Arm viewpoint, about a half-mile up the trail toward McHugh Creek, when he spotted the bear . . . The man called, Hey, bear, hoping not to startle the animal, he said. The bear turned and charged, the hiker later told rangers. The man fired the AK-74 he was carrying . . .
The bear stopped after the first volley of shots, and then charged again. The man fired once more. That time the bear folded into a ball, rolling and running downhill and thudding to a stop in a clump of birch trees about 100 yards from the trail.
newsminer.com reckons the hiker needed 13 shots to take down the 500 600 pound bear. Like I said.
Cheap ammo.
The 5.56 is plenty capable of rapid incapacitation, the issues revolve around bullet design. The original M-16 barely stabilized the bullet, so it often tumbled resulting in large wound channels and plenty of energy transfer. Not all that accurate, but if you hit the target results tended to be pretty good.
Once the bullet was better stabilized, it tended to pencil through. That's the source of the complaints you're citing.
I think the Soviets have a good bullet design for the AK-74 that will fly properly, but tend to tumble and fragment after impact.
There is at least one good military option for the M-4, the SOST round recently adopted by the Marines. The Army, on the other hand, may be in trouble with their most recent design, the M855A1, which also happens to be lead-free.
The M855A1 looks to be a turkey, costing twice as much as the SOST round, and running at 63,000 PSI which halves barrel life. It's also pretty poor at armor penetration.
Civilians have a lot of fine options for 5.56 bullets, as well as even better AR chamberings like the 6.5 Grendel.
I have one chambered for 6.8 SPC...the ammo's pricey, but I do like the round.
Not that we're likely to encounter anything around here but a small, displaced black bear from NGA.
Nice buck.
Diet has a lot to do with meat flavor. But a good strategy is to marinate it in buttermilk before cooking.
BTW, I like your sense of humor.
I salute you and your service, sir. I was mech infantry a generation after you, but I never faced anything more dangerous than down-range Ft. Carson. We were still using 113s - they were great for hauling gear, but I would not have wanted to be in one under fire.
You mentioned the NVA wanting to keep things close - I'd read about Giap preaching to "grab the enemy by the belt." It makes sense from their perspective. One of our NCOs was a Vietnam combat vet and he mentioned a firefight where one of the NVA was hit be a 40mm grenade that hadn't traveled far enough to arm.
LOL
“I have one chambered for 6.8 SPC...the ammo’s pricey, but I do like the round.”
The 6.8 is almost as good as the Grendel (grin).
BTW, given your tagline I have to mention that my son’s named Robert Anson.
That is awesome beyond words!
Actually, it’s reasonable to say a well built AK74 is right on par with AR15 accuracy using only Russian surplus ammo. I do love the AR15, however I have seen enough in person to realize that. The 5.45x39 was in fact the Russian’s answer to our M16.
In sub zero climates with minimal access to supplies, the 74 makes sense in those type situations. Minimal upkeep and as a military weapon has proven to be the same in desert warfare. For a hiker in the woods it is a simple to tote around choice. It has it’s place for sure. There were actually bolt action sniper rifles chambered in 5.45x39 used in East Germany.
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