New calibre question

Thailand actually adopted the TAVOR.

The 6.8 and 6.5 ammo are pretty scarce - if you are serious about shooting for proficiency you will go bankrupt or run out of ammo with these funky calibres.
 
6.8 SPC is superior in many way to 5.56 NATO but the implications of any switch are wide and deep.
Even for special forces, you would get in a logistic nightmare where you could lose a squad because you airdropped them 5.56 NATO instead of 6.8 SPC during an extended gunfight (such as the one Black Hawk Down).

I know that one high ranking Marines Corps commander wanted to deploy 6.8 SPC because Marines were fed up with 5.56 NATO in Afghanistan but nothing happened.

Alex
 
greentips said:
Thailand actually adopted the TAVOR.

The 6.8 and 6.5 ammo are pretty scarce - if you are serious about shooting for proficiency you will go bankrupt or run out of ammo with these funky calibres.
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Their Markmanship unit guys told me back in may 2010 that they had bought 1000 to conduct a decent trial on but that the reports of them being selected and adopted were way ahead of reality.
 
AlexF said:
6.8 SPC is superior in many way to 5.56 NATO but the implications of any switch are wide and deep.
Even for special forces, you would get in a logistic nightmare where you could lose a squad because you airdropped them 5.56 NATO instead of 6.8 SPC during an extended gunfight (such as the one Black Hawk Down).

I know that one high ranking Marines Corps commander wanted to deploy 6.8 SPC because Marines were fed up with 5.56 NATO in Afghanistan but nothing happened.

Alex
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I agree completely. The 6.5 Grendal has some ballistic performance improvement over 6.8 SPC and vice versa. Both have ballistic performance improvements over 5.56 NATO.

But think about how many millions of M16s, M4s and all the mags for such are out there. Not to mention the ammo production lines for 5.56 NATO. For the average grunt 5.56 NATO is just fine. For special applications that where other calibers come into play.
 
greentips said:
And those who think 5.56 is underpowered, I invite you to stand at 500m and let us shoot at you, so you can report first handedly how much it hurts.
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Hey, the cartridge is only effective to 400 yards, you're on! ;)

I decided on 556 because it's relatively cheap and readily available. If I ever need to find/borrow ammo it's not an issue. If I show up at a service rifle match and end up using someone else's rifle and I'm running some weird caliber I'm hosed.
 
Well thanks for all the input, guys. I guess that when I buy my first zombie rifle, it will be shooting small holes into my woodpulp zombies -- say a little less than a quarter inch. Then it is a matter of practise, practise, practise. Convenient, really, as I kind of like what NEA is promising us and that's their standard calibre. :D

As for Greentips' kindly suggestion, it sounds great but let's save some money on travel -- you take your rifle into your backyard, I'll wear a shirt with a target printed on it and stand in my backyard, and.... ;)
 
Kveldulf said:
I know. Quite aside from all my grumping, I just want advice on what calibre my first black rifle should be. Specifically, has anyone done a comparison between 6.5 Grendel, 6.8 SPC, and 300 BLK? Those are the ones I kinda like right now. ;)
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Definitely go 5.56 for your first AR. It's a great round and it's nice and cheap for lots of target shooting at the range. Than, buy a 300BLK upper when they come out or a complete 300BLK rifle for your next AR because it's hard to stop at just one. 300BLK has so much going for it in my opinion. Everything on a 5.56 rifle except the barrel is interchangeable with the 300BLK. It is also SAAMI approved so this should hopefully lead to lot's of future factory ammo choices.

Here is a great comparison breakdown between the 300BLK, 5.56, 7.62x39 and 6.8.

http://300aacblackout.com/resources/300-BLK.pdf


.
 
Thanks, zimmineee. I had already seen this article and a couple of others. They gave me the impression that, if production were starting from scratch and current military stocks were not important, 6.8 SPC would be the superior cartridge. The only area where 300 BLK stands out, so far as I can see, is in suppressed mode.

No matter. For my first AR I shall follow the advice of most everyone who replied and go 5.56. By the time I'm ready to get adventurous and buy a new calibre, there will be a lot more information available.
 
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