Results 21 to 30 of 54
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July 12th, 2018, 08:18 PM #21
Re: Will 5.56 NATO be overtaken by a new caliber?
I think we're still several decades away from hand held rail guns. The amount of energy needed to fire the weapon at killing velocities just isn't available yet. I've seen some stuff made, but nothing that comes close to piercing the skin. Even if they get one, getting a RoF to a reasonable level that it's useful in a battle situation is going to be difficult to over come due to the time it takes to charge the system. You just can't break the laws of physics.
Rules are written in the stone,
Break the rules and you get no bones,
all you get is ridicule, laughter,
and a trip to the house of pain.
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July 12th, 2018, 08:24 PM #22Grand Member
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Re: Will 5.56 NATO be overtaken by a new caliber?
Not till I get issued my light saber.
Here's a dose of reality for the OP... I'm active military. My gov issued cell phone is a Blackberry. You think we're a bit behind in some areas? I can't tell you how many times I've pulled it out to make a call and someone says, "wow, they still make those things?"
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July 12th, 2018, 08:31 PM #23
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July 14th, 2018, 06:58 PM #24Banned
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Re: Will 5.56 NATO be overtaken by a new caliber?
Don't see it.
Of course the 7.62 x 51 is sometimes called the AR for adults.
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July 21st, 2018, 12:47 AM #25Senior Member
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July 30th, 2018, 07:11 PM #26Grand Member
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Re: Will 5.56 NATO be overtaken by a new caliber?
The Serbs are testing rifles in 6.5 Grendel. https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/...-serbian-army/
The US is fielding the M885A1. This uses a copper alloy body with a steel penetrator on the nose. The design is similar to a hollowpoint but the DOD thinks it's not.
https://www.americanrifleman.org/art...all-cartridge/
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July 31st, 2018, 09:24 PM #27Senior Member
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Re: Will 5.56 NATO be overtaken by a new caliber?
Of course it will be overtaken or replaced. Name one military weapon that has not been. You can't because they all have been or will be replaced by something sometime different. Period. How long a caliber hangs around as a front line cartridge by a military is nearly as cyclic as new car designs. How long a military caliber hangs on as a hunting round or paper puncher does vary. Think 45 ACP, 30-06, 45-70, 9mm Luger, etc. At some point in the not so distant future, powder cartridges as we know them will surely be replaced by a new technology as others have posted. Merely pointing at an object and humming, (think Dune), or your old Kirk and Spock Phaser or Rail Guns or something similar will make our modern firearms as obsolete as a Blunderbuss someday. When you think about it, almost everything man-made becomes obsolete to a certain extent. I am fast becoming obsolete myself!
Engineers make things idiot proof! Evolution makes better idiots!
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July 31st, 2018, 09:41 PM #28
Re: Will 5.56 NATO be overtaken by a new caliber?
Been using the Ma Duce (M2) since 1933 and it’s end isn’t in sight.
Will 5.56 be replaced sure someday but it won’t be anytime soon especially by another current caliber like .308, 6.5 or .224.
Regarding some energy or rail gun type shit, The technology just isn’t close to being there on the small arms level and won’t be for along time.Last edited by Hodgie; July 31st, 2018 at 09:45 PM.
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August 1st, 2018, 07:23 AM #29
Re: Will 5.56 NATO be overtaken by a new caliber?
Building on Hodgie's post, I agree wholeheartedly with his assessment.
I think the 5.56mm round represents the best compromise military cartridge going. The Russian/Soviet 5.45 and the Chinese versions are both really just adaptions of the same concept. The loser here is the traditional 9x19mm, .45acp, etc which are limited to a rather minor role as pdf weapons.
My best guess is that the next gen military cartridges will either be caseless or if we actually begin militarizing space and need a weapon that will function in airless environment.
So the short answer is nothing will change in the short run. (meaning next decade at least). The Brown Bess platform evolved into a definitive form shortly after 1700 as the standard arm of the British Empire. It remained essentially the same arm up until the final model (I think this was labeled the Pattern 39) which was merely updated to percussion ignition. They were still in widespread use as late as the Civil War meaning its service life extended for well over 140 years.
Any kind of railgun/energy weapon requires so much juice to function that it is likely it will be generations (if it ever happens at all) before we can build a power source compact enough to be carried by an individual.Last edited by Ecclectic Collector; August 1st, 2018 at 07:29 AM. Reason: update statement
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August 1st, 2018, 09:07 AM #30
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