#1 It has been my experience (I must caveat this with I have not shot the 68gr? round) multiple strikes with the M193 62 gr 5.56 rounds were not nearly as effective as the 77gr M262 or even M80 147gr 7.62. I should have clarified that each of those projectiles was fired from a different platforms and at elevations above 5000ft and distances sometimes over 250m not necessarily at CQC ranges. Not to be grotesque but I have seen afghans shot with 5.56 still in the fight, I have never seen anyone shot with 7.62x51 live, much less in the fight.
This has been my experience, which is less than some around here, so I might be wrong, but I don't think so. I'd still rather have a 7.62 gun than a 5.56 one.
First, the M193 is a 55 grain round. That it's terminal performance beyond 250 meters is less effective than a heavier 5.56 round or a 7.62 round is sort of self-explanatory.
As for anecdotal observations, they do not neccessarily equate to absolute fact. I have seen people survive a 2000lb JDAM strike, does that mean that it is ineffective? We have treated afghans shot/hit with 5.56, 7.62, .50 cal, 30mm and 40mm rounds or fragments. There are no definitives, people are hard to kill. If the enemy does not want to die, he can continue fighting, even with mortal wounds.
My point of contention with your post was your de-facto statement that one hit with a 7.62 kills. That is not true at all.
#3 I was countering the myth that a 7.62 gun carries a heavier logistical burden. Yes you might carry less rounds, but I still stand fast on the assertion that 7.62 rounds will need less shots to neutralize a target. That the aforementioned m993 will penetrate father into concrete (read sun baked mud huts) much further than the 5.56 black or green tip. They also will penetrate body armor/steel plate much further. I hadji is wearing a cut piece of 1/4 inch steel in a home made plate carrier @ 300m 5.56 might not do the job and might take a few rounds to get it done with strikes outside the box 7.62 will not have that issue
Again, your premise was 1 round only for 7.62, double taps with 5.56. This is irrelevant, you continue to engage until the threat no longer qualifies as such. The advantage of a 5.56 gun compared to a 7.62 gun in situations where rapid shots at close range are required, is the lower recoil of the 5.56 translating to a higher number of shots delivered faster and with more accuracy.
And I have yet to see an afghan mud/shit hut exterior wall not stop small arms rounds. In the AO I was, even the 84mm Carl Gustav AT round had a hard time cutting through, let alone the 7.62 and 5.56.
It's not about surviving, it's about winning!
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