I dont have a dog in the caliber fight to be honest. Im not a ground guy, so when it comes to putting lead in the head I have to defer to guys on the ground.
After reading about the complaints in Mog. and some similar complaints in Iraq it sounds like people want heaver ammunition. I am still hoping that 6.8 SPC becomes the standard, because it will encourage a wider variety of guns at the civil level and hopefully encourage ammunition manufacturers to start producing more of it.
There is a lot more to accuracy than length of barrel and action. HK is well known for producing very highly accurate and very wear resistant parts. But they also don't do it cheap. I dont know enough about the 416 but if I had to guess its a very high quality barrel with octagonal button rifling, or something similar.
After reading about the complaints in Mog. and some similar complaints in Iraq it sounds like people want heaver ammunition. I am still hoping that 6.8 SPC becomes the standard, because it will encourage a wider variety of guns at the civil level and hopefully encourage ammunition manufacturers to start producing more of it.
I don't really see how this could be accurate, as they are comparing a rifle with a 20" barrel to a carbine with a 16.5" barrel, the only real difference being the gas system. The acceptance standard for the M16 is supposedly 4-6 MOA or something along those lines, and the -416 is supposed to be capable of 1-2 MOA (according to HK), but one would have to think that in practice, the rifle would have the advantage.
There is a lot more to accuracy than length of barrel and action. HK is well known for producing very highly accurate and very wear resistant parts. But they also don't do it cheap. I dont know enough about the 416 but if I had to guess its a very high quality barrel with octagonal button rifling, or something similar.