Joined
·
5,623 Posts
Isn't it funny how history has a way of being ironic? Infact it seems at times to play jokes on us.I know I'm going to piss off a whole bunch of people with my next statement.At the time ww2 began the 30-06 was an obsolete MILITARY cartridge.I believe common sense will show this to be true.
I'm going to go out on another limb with this next one as well.If the 276. Pederson had been adopted at the time the Garand was about to go into service,The 7.62x51 may never have been developed,as well the 5.56x45 may never have been conceived either.Think about this a second.The 7.62x51 is without question a good service round,except for controllability in full auto.I'm not going to beat the dead horse about wether full auto is necessary,thats not the point.It a perceived need by the military,and as such is a requirement.I would venture to say green recruits are less intimidated by milder recoiling weapons,and as such may have a shorter learning curve with them.
It's ironic that we continue to search for the "best" service round,by looking into medium calibers like the 6.8 spc or the 6.5 Grendel,while if 70 years ago we would've adopted the 276,the need for replacing the 5.56 may not even exist.
I think most of us know the germans were probably the first to experiment with what we would call an assault rifle cartridge today,the 7.92x33 kurz(for "short" in German)It was basically an 7.92x57(8mm) Mauser case shortened.That to me is what defines an assault rifle from a submachinegun(fires pistol rounds) from a machinegun,automatic rifle or battle rifle(fires full size rifle rounds).
It might be obvious to us today but the Germans figured out that they didn't engage the enemy that often at 800 meters and decide they didn't need a cartridge for general use powerful enough to do it.I believe our own army engineers figured out pretty much the same thing but less forward thinking minds,plus the fact we had an assload of the ole' 30 government in surplus meant they weren't changing the standard service round.
Given the fact we were about to enter the greatest conflict the world has ever known,it might not have been a bad choice especially considering the logistics hassle of different rounds for the main battle rifle and the machine guns.
I guess back to my main thought,is that it would be interesting how things would have turned out if the 276. had been adopted,The ballistics are somewhat similar to the 6.5 Grendel.With modern powders it could be very interesting.
In the end the ideal cartridge for an assault rifle should have perfect balance of range,penetration,terminal performance,and low recoil/full auto controllability.Sounds easy enough right?
I'm going to go out on another limb with this next one as well.If the 276. Pederson had been adopted at the time the Garand was about to go into service,The 7.62x51 may never have been developed,as well the 5.56x45 may never have been conceived either.Think about this a second.The 7.62x51 is without question a good service round,except for controllability in full auto.I'm not going to beat the dead horse about wether full auto is necessary,thats not the point.It a perceived need by the military,and as such is a requirement.I would venture to say green recruits are less intimidated by milder recoiling weapons,and as such may have a shorter learning curve with them.
It's ironic that we continue to search for the "best" service round,by looking into medium calibers like the 6.8 spc or the 6.5 Grendel,while if 70 years ago we would've adopted the 276,the need for replacing the 5.56 may not even exist.
I think most of us know the germans were probably the first to experiment with what we would call an assault rifle cartridge today,the 7.92x33 kurz(for "short" in German)It was basically an 7.92x57(8mm) Mauser case shortened.That to me is what defines an assault rifle from a submachinegun(fires pistol rounds) from a machinegun,automatic rifle or battle rifle(fires full size rifle rounds).
It might be obvious to us today but the Germans figured out that they didn't engage the enemy that often at 800 meters and decide they didn't need a cartridge for general use powerful enough to do it.I believe our own army engineers figured out pretty much the same thing but less forward thinking minds,plus the fact we had an assload of the ole' 30 government in surplus meant they weren't changing the standard service round.
Given the fact we were about to enter the greatest conflict the world has ever known,it might not have been a bad choice especially considering the logistics hassle of different rounds for the main battle rifle and the machine guns.
I guess back to my main thought,is that it would be interesting how things would have turned out if the 276. had been adopted,The ballistics are somewhat similar to the 6.5 Grendel.With modern powders it could be very interesting.
In the end the ideal cartridge for an assault rifle should have perfect balance of range,penetration,terminal performance,and low recoil/full auto controllability.Sounds easy enough right?