Seems this thread has moved from the cost of .223/5.56mm to the effectivness of the round.
Over the past couple years the Army has looked at all current COTS (commercial, off the shelf) ammunition and tested it to see if there was anything substantially better than M855. There was a write up done in Infantry magazine, which I'm not sure if it can be accessed by the web, but anyway, it was a very good article on a comparison of the current rounds available.
Bottom line: Of all rounds tested, there where no currently manufactured rounds which beat the performance of M855 by any noticible margin. This included 77gr Siearra and 75gr Amax, as well as lighter varmint bullets. There was even a comparison to M80 ball in 7.62x51mm. All things being considered, shot placement in more important than caliber. Obviously that is over simplifiying things a bit, but a 7.62 in the arm or leg is not as effective as a 5.56 in the heart or brain.
The hard thing to do is to set the parameters for a round and its purpose. What effect are you trying to achieve. Are you looking to just kill a person? I can kill a person, but it takes five minutes for them to die and in the mean time they can still fire back at me. Are you looking at instant incapacitation, defined as no longer being able to effectivly fight? What engagement range to you want? 300m and in or further for light machineguns and DMR weapons. Then, think about the environement it has to exist in. Artic cold to desert heat, high humidity jungle, monsoon season, long storage life, good in short barreled rifles as well as light machineguns, same trajectory as a tracer round. What about the target? Skinny Haji behind a car or north korean wearing heavy clothes behind a log. Is he in the prone and the round is going to have to penetrate his arm before hitting a vital area?
All I'm saying is that there are a lot of dead people who can't argue the effectiveness of the 5.56 round and they have been killed with M855. When you look at the expectation of the round, it really does its job well.
Take this in context when you are comparing the purpose of the round. It is for military application.
If you are a police officer or civilian intersted in home defense, there are better options available to you because the round doesn't need to meet as many performance standards.
Anyway, just thought I would put that out there for condsideration.
Originally Posted by tpe187
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