11-10-2011, 03:05 AM
stanc Wrote:IIRC, we've been over this point before. Advocating two different loads -- heavy ball for machine guns and light ball for carbines -- is a nice theory, but the reality is that nearly all the world's armies (China being a notable exception with the 5.8x42) use only one loading for carbines and LMGs.
IMO, any proposal for the use of two loads is a non-starter.
I agree that a single universal load is very desirable.
Having said that - how often, in the real world of military operations, do you get sections breaking up MG belts to feed rifles, or hastily belting MG ammo from rifle mags? Does it really matter if the belted ammo is different from the rifle ammo? That might be a compromise worth making to obtain the other benefits of one calibre for all rifles and magazine-fed guns.
However, we must also bear in mind that to be worth changing from 7.62mm in belted MGs, the new ammo needs to offer a substantial reduction in weight.