I meet some of the nicest, and most interesting, people at the gun range. Yesterday afternoon there were two young men (late 20s – early 30s) on the 100 yd rifle line when I got there. At one point, when the range was cold, we were chatting as we walked out to check our targets. One guy made a comment about my PTR 91 and I replied with one of my pat answers: “Grandma Jeffery always said ‘don’t send a boy if you’ve got a man.’” (She used the phrase in the specific context of playing Spades. Translation: lead with your highest card. However, I give it a broader, more general, application.)
Anyway, turns out that both of these guys had been active-duty Marines. One had done two tours in Iraq, including at least one of the battles for Fallujah. The other had served a tour in Afghanistan’s Korengal/Korangal valley and maybe one in Iraq also. My point is, they had really “been there, done that” and even though both of their duty weapons had been chambered in 5.56, they readily sang the praises of the 7.62 round in a combat situation.
They both talked about watching enemy combatants continue to fight even after absorbing multiple hits of 5.56. But, on the other hand, one well-placed round of 7.62 was incredibly lethal. One fellow said “Heck! Even if you just hit him in the arm, he’s going down to the ground.” His buddy nodded in agreement. And, they both talked about the round’s effectiveness at penetrating barriers also. I think the comment was “and it didn’t matter what they tried to hide behind either.” In fact, even though they both had, and shot, AR-15s while they were at the range, one of the men was also trying out his new SOCOM M1a that he’d wanted for so long and had finally saved up enough money to buy.
Now, I’m really not trying to stir up the never-ending “this round is a better choice than that round because of blab, blab, and blab” debate. I just wanted to relay the personal observations of two combat veterans that I had the pleasure of meeting and shooting with recently.
Anyway, turns out that both of these guys had been active-duty Marines. One had done two tours in Iraq, including at least one of the battles for Fallujah. The other had served a tour in Afghanistan’s Korengal/Korangal valley and maybe one in Iraq also. My point is, they had really “been there, done that” and even though both of their duty weapons had been chambered in 5.56, they readily sang the praises of the 7.62 round in a combat situation.
They both talked about watching enemy combatants continue to fight even after absorbing multiple hits of 5.56. But, on the other hand, one well-placed round of 7.62 was incredibly lethal. One fellow said “Heck! Even if you just hit him in the arm, he’s going down to the ground.” His buddy nodded in agreement. And, they both talked about the round’s effectiveness at penetrating barriers also. I think the comment was “and it didn’t matter what they tried to hide behind either.” In fact, even though they both had, and shot, AR-15s while they were at the range, one of the men was also trying out his new SOCOM M1a that he’d wanted for so long and had finally saved up enough money to buy.
Now, I’m really not trying to stir up the never-ending “this round is a better choice than that round because of blab, blab, and blab” debate. I just wanted to relay the personal observations of two combat veterans that I had the pleasure of meeting and shooting with recently.
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