US Army Considers Adopting an Interim Battle Rifle in 7.62NATO: eventually adopt 6.5

[LR1955]

Meat Ax needs to take a little break guys.

We can take a bunch of crap off of folks but sometimes it goes too far. Meat Ax went too far.

Yes, we realize MA hates everything AR. Got it and we don't care. However, when someone's blind hatred becomes repeated obnoxious rants on this and other threads, we care.

So Meat Ax can go to some AK board and rant about how much AR's suck for six months. Then he is back on the Grendel Forum.

LR55

[stanc]

Roger on the ammo availability. Just doesn't make sense to change platforms to go with a 7.62, then swap again to a 260 or other cartridge.

I disagree.

Going with 7.62 allows a long-range rifle to be fielded ASAP (and at lowest cost), instead of waiting years for the requisite .260 loadings to be developed, tested, approved, and produced in quantity so that a .260 rifle could enter service.

Looks like bogus info so it's a moot point.

In the absence of sources or substantiation, I think the story should certainly be treated with a healthy skepticism, but I'm not prepared to say the report is false. Just because sources may wish to remain anonymous, doesn't necessarily mean the info is bogus.

The discussion you linked to on the 260 testing is encouraging though.

Yeah, but that claim is also unsubstantiated, so who knows if SOCOM really is testing .260 rifles and machine guns.

[ahillock]

What weapons are the most common we have encountered that fire 7.62x54R?

Based on economics and availability, my guess would be this:

[ahillock]

Going with 7.62 allows a long-range rifle to be fielded ASAP (and at lowest cost), instead of waiting years for the requisite .260 loadings to be developed, tested, approved, and produced in quantity so that a .260 rifle could enter service.

I would agree with this and was exactly what came to mind. Rather than wait for years and years of testing and other bureaucratic time wasting, it gives the Army the chance to get a long range rifle ASAP and at a fairly low cost as you mentioned. That also gives them the chance to do all the testing that needs to be done to move to .260 for long term use. That will take time, but at least in the meantime they would have the 7.62x51 to hold them over until that time point in the future.

[LRRPF52]

Personal photo:











If only someone would issue out 7.62 SASS rifles, then we could over-match these bugger-eaters.

[LRRPF52]

[LRRPF52]

[stanc]

If only someone would issue out 7.62 SASS rifles, then we could over-match these bugger-eaters.

Well, that IS essentially what the article says is being considered, except they would be issued to ALL riflemen in a BCT, not just the designated marksmen and snipers.

The only question is, is the report true or false?

[montana]

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2017/04/05/breaking-us-army-considering-going-back-1954-interim-7-62mm-infantry-rifle/

[LRRPF52]

I'm going with April Fool's joke at this time.

[85_Ranger4x4]

Based on economics and availability, my guess would be this:

Draganov's have been in circulation since the 60's... I am sure there are a few of them floating around.

That said it is kind of sad to see those poor sniper rifles though, as the owner of a '43 ex sniper I would love to get a complete one someday.

[montana]

I'm going with April Fool's joke at this time.

Yup!

[stanc]

I'm going with April Fool's joke at this time.

Heh, heh. I might buy into that notion, if the article had been published on April 1st, instead of the 5th.

[ahillock]

I'm going with April Fool's joke at this time.

Nope.

[LRRPF52]

If it's serious, then whoever authored the idea needs to be fired and sent into a new line of work, like I would respond to bands that sounded terrible, out of tune, vocalist singing embarrassingly flat. Go sell your equipment at the pawn shop and forget this ever happened.

Imagine my AGs and ABs with 7.62 NATO rifles, let alone the RTO, key leaders, combat medics, FOs, combat engineers, my freaking grenadiers in the fire teams, Javelin gunners.

What a colossal and monstrous abortion someone has conceived....again.

You know how many 7.62 NATO mags most guys even in SOCOM will carry, with all the other crap? 4-5 on their kit, maybe some more in an assault pack.

I call that the "die in place" combat load, and several people have almost done exactly that because of it. If they weren't exfiled by rotary wing, it would have been an overrun situation.

Make chance contact en route to some objective, spend at least one mag on the initial return fire at the far ambush while key leaders and trail elements figure out what the 3 Ds are. Maneuver, using another mag or 2 and hope it isn't a bloody nose with a planned counter-attack.

After an initial chance contact like that, you can literally be close to black if you showed up with (5) 20rd 7.62 NATO mags like that. You still haven't even done your mission, and are located somewhere along the infil stage of movement.

Now you need resupply, unless you're cool with taking mags off your buddies in the trail elements during consolidation and reorganization, putting your unit at an average of 80 rounds per man.

Real smart. This is one of those rare cases where I will cue the draped coffin consequence, because that's how you get draped coffin redeployment, as opposed to having a fighting chance with a real basic load.

Do people not think this through?