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I suspect that velocity is the primary factor in overcoming deflection, with bullet shape and construction probably weighing-in after that. That is an interesting test with the 3/4" dowels. Within 100m, the 5.56 is no joke. In densely-forested terrain, it will cover most of the engagement distances and perform exceptionally well through trees and vegetation, however, I do see the attraction of leaning towards a more powerful cartridge in the desert-mountainous environment.
During this course I just ran, the value of a Designated Marksman became even more apparent in the patrol lane scenarios, even though we didn't shoot further than 100m in any of the iterations. It's one thing to shoot targets on a clean range, and something entirely different to shoot in realistic terrain features where vegetation has not been managed with mowers and such. Identifying targets and making precision hits through obstructions was a great asset to have.
One of the attendees had an Elcan on his AR15, so I found myself using him quite a bit as an asset controlled by key leadership positions at the Squad and Team levels. With the lead team in contact, I could bring him up from the trail team and have him establish a hasty overwatch position quickly, and support the lead fire team. The benefits of DMR's over LMG's and GPMG's include better maneuverability, little to no noticeable flash signature from the DMR compared to an LMG, and every shot goes exactly on target with a well-trained shooter. He can also kick in doors and clear rooms like the rest, with no weight penalties really.
Every Infantry Squad should have at least 3 guys trained for the DMR role, and pass through the wire with no less than 1 per squad. Even an M4 with a free-float tube and good optic would suffice. I'm going to include a different mix of optics that I think are good for the DMR role more in the future, as I have been testing some of them out for a while now. I really like the smaller 1-4x scopes with bright illumination, so you can use the illum in 1x as a red dot for CQB, then crank out to 4x for distance/target ID, etc. A 1-6x or small 1-8x would be even better, but the S&B 1.1-8, Leupold, and Premier 1-8x are all pretty big scopes. So is the Swarovski Z6i 1-6x, but it has beautiful glass and FOV. I wish I could take all the best features from these and compact them into a 10" long tube, at under 16 oz.
During this course I just ran, the value of a Designated Marksman became even more apparent in the patrol lane scenarios, even though we didn't shoot further than 100m in any of the iterations. It's one thing to shoot targets on a clean range, and something entirely different to shoot in realistic terrain features where vegetation has not been managed with mowers and such. Identifying targets and making precision hits through obstructions was a great asset to have.
One of the attendees had an Elcan on his AR15, so I found myself using him quite a bit as an asset controlled by key leadership positions at the Squad and Team levels. With the lead team in contact, I could bring him up from the trail team and have him establish a hasty overwatch position quickly, and support the lead fire team. The benefits of DMR's over LMG's and GPMG's include better maneuverability, little to no noticeable flash signature from the DMR compared to an LMG, and every shot goes exactly on target with a well-trained shooter. He can also kick in doors and clear rooms like the rest, with no weight penalties really.
Every Infantry Squad should have at least 3 guys trained for the DMR role, and pass through the wire with no less than 1 per squad. Even an M4 with a free-float tube and good optic would suffice. I'm going to include a different mix of optics that I think are good for the DMR role more in the future, as I have been testing some of them out for a while now. I really like the smaller 1-4x scopes with bright illumination, so you can use the illum in 1x as a red dot for CQB, then crank out to 4x for distance/target ID, etc. A 1-6x or small 1-8x would be even better, but the S&B 1.1-8, Leupold, and Premier 1-8x are all pretty big scopes. So is the Swarovski Z6i 1-6x, but it has beautiful glass and FOV. I wish I could take all the best features from these and compact them into a 10" long tube, at under 16 oz.
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