Originally Posted by
XavierD
What I am wondering is why support guys who will probably never have to shoot past 200 yds get the m16s, and the infantry grunts get m4s for patrols where engagements are rarely under 200m. As for size, you don't get out of vehicals a lot on a foot patrol. Mounted units can still use M4s, that's what a carbine is for. Infantry needs a rifle though.
The 5.56 round is fine; the current ball sucks. A lightwieght LP cartridge would work fine. 5.56 can stop a guy, it just needs to be put in the right place.
Also consider the weight difference between 7.62 and 5.56. each guy can only carry so much.
The marksmanship training comment was dead on, very little training is done past 300 meters. This is fine for the M4, with the current 855 ball, that is about the limit. An m16 can go further.