Originally posted by SHORT-N-SASSY
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There's a great discussion about this in the Primary & Secondary videos, particularly from senior enlisted USASOC/JSOC soldiers who used M16A1/M193, M16A2/M855, M4A1/M855, M4A1 SOST, M4A1 Mk.262, and other loads in real-world conflicts dating from Grenada to the present. They pointed out that we had no problem stacking enemy corpses like corkwood with any of the combinations I mentioned, and that video analysis of the events in Mogadishu show the guys who complained about M855 not killing anyone documented them missing repeatedly, with dust kicking up behind the Somalis, whereas video of the Somalis being actually shot showed very quick terminal effects.
In Grenada as part of Urgent Fury, 1/75 and 2/75, as well as SFOD, slayed a lot of Cubans and Grenadian military with 5.56, no complaints. Same thing in Panama. Ranger Regiment and SFOD had no complaints about terminal performance of M855. All of a sudden, one guy in Mogadishu selectively quoted by Mark Bowden says M855 zips right through the enemy, doesn't work. This is then taken as gospel, and spread throughout the gun world like wildfire.
I know my experiences are anecdotal, but everyone I've seen shot with M855 from short barrels mostly, died or was torn apart with avulsions, insane bone fragmentation, massive blood loss, and very permanent injuries that changed their lives if they survived. The ones that survived only did so because we provided world-class first aid and echelons of care for them, with readily available RBCs and experienced surgeons to repair what could be repaired in a timely manner.
Unless you brain-punch a moon ape, there are no guarantees for an instant kill, and quickly dying combatants are still a lethal threat to be dealt with. Good units structure their marksmanship training accordingly. Amateurs look for a new gadget to compensate for the fact that they aren't even addressing the main problem of training. I can issue out the latest and greatest super AR15 chambered in 6mm Grendel even, with a .600 G1 BC explosive armor-penetrator bullet going 2800fps, and most of the units still won't be able to hit a silhouette in combat at 200m on demand because Commanders simply don't take marksmanship training seriously.
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