T3E2 Trials .276-Caliber Garand

The military (primarily the Army, which makes caliber decisions for the other armed forces) seems to make caliber decisions by technicians. I believe the caliber of weapons used in combat should be made by the troops that have to use them. Having been in the Marine Corps infantry in Vietnam, we were issued 5.56mm M16A1s. I didn't like the rifle (made by Mattel), and found (like all my colleagues) that the .22 caliber 55-grain bullet, while it could cause some spectacular wounds, was easily deflected by brush or bamboo, whereas the .30 caliber bullet of the 7.62mm M60 machine gun (or the .45 caliber M3 grease gun) cut right through that stuff and found the enemy. When I got into the Marine CAP units, I ended up with an M14 and loved it. In Vietnam, we didn't need the long-range capability of the 7.62mm round, but I'll bet the troops in the sandbox would have loved to have it. The .30 (i.e. .30-06) was a successful military round for us for 60 years. 7mm and 7.92mm calibers have seen successful military use, and I observed that the 7.62x39mm AK round was used pretty successfully against us in Vietnam. So, IMHO, something in .30 caliber would seem to be the best suited for the combat scenarios we're engaged in now. The .276 round (about 7mm) of the original M1 would seem to be effective, too.

6.5 Creedmoor or 6.8 SPC

What is OLD is new again.