Ya know, I was on active duty back in the late 60s when the Army was transitioning to the M16. That was during Vietnam and everyone was clamoring for lightweight rifles and lots of ammo, and the M16 was supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread.

I seem to recall a few of those late night beer-and-bull sessions wherein I held forth that "one of these days" the US would get involved in a dust-up in some place like a desert or mountain terrain and would fervently wish they had something with more range and punch than the 5.56 "groundhog rifle" to fight with.

That was almost 50 years ago. Wish I had bet someone money on it.

I'm still trying to slowly decide on a piston 7.62 (ie Ruger SR762) or a DI carbine (S&W M&P or other variant).

Would the 6.8 SPC ever come into play here as a mid-range between the 5.56 and the 7.62? It may help alleviate the 7.62 negatives (weight, ammo, etc...) while helping solve some of the 5.56 disadvantages that they are trying to overcome? It was an AMU developed cartridge, IIRC, no?

it will be interesting to see how it all pans out, if at all.

Matt

An interesting read, thanks for posting, seems like they are trying to redefine the laws of physics. It is unlikely you are going to put something in the field with more legs than the 7.62x54R without matching it's capacity for powder and bullet weight. Whatever magic you can apply to a modern whiz-bang cartridge case, with modern propellants and optimized projectiles, you can also apply to the 7.62x54R. As the old saying goes, there is no free lunch. You may be able to make the case shorter and fatter, ala the super short magnums, to fit in a shorter action. You may be able to utilize longer, heavier projectiles, with better profiles, to carry out further and flatter. You will never overcome sheer case capacity though.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/.276_Pedersen

Otony

Every one I talked to (which I admit is Limited) that has access to one loves them.
And I read a year or so ago on one of the former SOF websites that the Army Rangers use them as standard equipment unless a M4 is better suited to a certain mission.

I Know they are pricey (I have been saving for one and just found out they went up about 350 dollars Jan. 1st so that knocks me out of that thought) But by all reports they work and work well.

M1 rifles currently in the ROK and re-issue as 7.62x51mms. #onlykiddingalittlebit

--
Sincerely,

Hobie

"It’s important to establish right up front that 7.62mm is not the Army’s end goal. The “Interim” component of this capability’s name relies on a plan to eventually adopt one of the 6.5mm family of intermediate calibers. Currently, elements of the Army are evaluating .260, .264 USA and .277 USA. The .260 is commercially available while .264 USA and .277 USA are developments of the Army Marksmanship Unit. Unfortunately, the US Army doesn’t plan to conduct an intermediate caliber study until the early 2020s. That’s why they want to adopt 7.62mm now."

I selfishly am hoping that they end up going with the .260 just because I think it is a great cartridge and have never understood why it never caught on. Also I would love to see .260 conversions become commonplace for MY Scar 17.

Dean