Another Marine weighing in...
Fly Navy said:
Yeah, I'd like to hear what experienced Marines have to say about it. Though, I've found they too can be very ignorant. I once had an Infantry Marine tell me that the 7.62x39mm round is sub-sonic and that the 5.56 NATO round tumbles through the air. Some people will believe anything you tell them I guess.
Sadly, I have to admit that we're taught that trash in boot camp, or at least were when I went through, by the unknown distance course (pop-up targets in a field)
instructors, of all people. My own theory was and has been that the 5.52 traces the same sort of flight profile as a well-thrown football, i.e. the gyroscopic effect of it's spinning keeps it in the same attitude as when it exited the barrel, so if it strikes a soft target (read:body) on "descent," the nose strikes it off-axis in relation to the attitude, which causes the bullet to tumble briefly
in the body. [Please don't laugh me out of the thread, I don't have the expertise that you two do. That's my own interpretation.] My theory is such because I
have seen what it can do to an ammo can full of jello @ 300yds, and it's not pretty!
I can personally attest to the fact that it fails to stop a target with any less than two body hits, almost
every time. Aarrgh! It usually slows 'em down enough for you to point them out to your 240G gunner though! :icon_tong
I do second the nomination of the M4, as far as mobility with all the gear on goes. Sitting on a 3 point harness makes it an easy "sling n' ping" too.
Only got to shoot the A4 once, can't say anything about field performance. Thanks for posting all the other info, I learn something every time I swing by...