Reading some of the early reports from Vietnam about the AR-15's effectiveness can be interesting. Knowing that many people were pushing for the AR-15's adoption, there has been suggestion that some reports were exaggerated/embellished to make the rifle's effectiveness appear greater than it was. Personally, I have no idea but (for example) this is an excerpt from one such report:
"At a distance of approximately 15 meters, one Ranger fired an AR-15 full automatic hitting one VC with 3 rounds with the first burst. One round in the head-took it completely off. Another in the right arm, took it completely off, too. One round hit him in the right side, causing a hole about five inches in diameter. It cannot be determined which round killed the VC but it can be assumed that any one of the three would have caused death. The other 2 VC ran, leaving the dead VC with I carbine, 1 grenade and 2 mines.
(2.) (C) "On 9 June a Ranger Platoon from the 40th Inf Regt was given the mission of ambushing an estimated VC Company. The details are as follows: a. Number of VC killed: 5 b. Number of AR-15's employed: 5 c. Range of engagement: 30-100 meters d. Type wounds: 1. Back wound, which caused the thoracic cavity to explode. 2. Stomach wound, which caused the abdominal cavity to explode. 3. Buttock wound, which destroyed all tissue of both buttocks. 4. Chest wound from right to left, destroyed the thoracic cavity. 5. Heel wound, the projectile entered the bottom of the right foot causing the leg to split from the foot to the hip. These deaths were inflicted by the AR-IS and all were instantaneous except the buttock wound. He lived approximately five minutes."
This was (as far as I'm aware) 55 grain ammo fired from a 1:12 twist barrel. Do these type of wounds sound plausible?
https://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/343778.pdf
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