Is there a problem with the lethality of the 5.56 NATO caliber?

Friday, November 22nd, 2013

Is there a problem with the lethality of the 5.56 NATO caliber? No, says Per G. Arvidsson, Chairman of NATO Weapons & Sensors Working Group:

Two ways to incapacitate

  1. Hit to the central nervous system.
    • Immediate incapacitation regardless of caliber or type of projectile!
  2. Loss of blood pressure by massive bleeding.
    • Incapacitation can take time!

Small Arms Lethality

  • GBR hosted a two day ”NATO Workshop on Small Arms Lethality” in February -09 at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom in Shrivenham.
  • The conclusion was that shot placement is the most important parameter.
  • This is achieved through good and realistic training.

New Swedish Pop-Up Target

Benefits of 5.56 over 7.62

  • Equal lethality.
  • Half the mass (12g – 24g).
  • Half the volume.
  • Reduced recoil and signature (noise and flash).
  • Better penetration in thin metal plates.
  • Flatter trajectory and shorter ToF out to 700m
  • Lighter weapons.
  • Higher hit probability.

Trajectory of 5.56 vs. 7.62 with 20-inch barrels

Trajectory of 5.56 with 14.5-inch barrel vs. 7.62 with 20-inch barrel

Swedish experience

  • In SWE we realized already back in the early 80’s that you must “train as you fight”.
  • A dynamic shooting training was therefore introduced in 1985.
  • There are three levels of ”Marksmanship badges” that are worn by soldiers and officers.
  • When SWE introduced the 5.56 ak 5 rifle in 1986, the score had to be increased because otherwise everybody qualified as a Marksman.
  • The same thing happened when we introduced the ak 5C with its red-dot sight.

(Hat tip to Weapons Man.)

Comments

  1. Dan Kurt says:

    The future in military rifles is here. What remains is engineering development to bring down the price. It is a marriage of micro electronics, laser, optics and a human user. Look up TrackingPoint a manufacturer of “Intelligent Digital Tracking Scopes” and “Precision Guided Firearms” for hunting and tactical shooting. Watch some videos.

  2. Borepatch says:

    I find this unconvincing. We get repeated reports of Tangos not going down when they get hit the first (or second, or third) time. You never hear that about .50 BMG, so it’s obviously not all shot placement.

  3. Bob Sykes says:

    A while ago over at Buckeye Fires blog, some one posted a study on the results of a few thousand gun fights with pistols. While large calibers and magnums caused the most damage and often killed outright, small calibers like the 22 LR and 32 were about equally effective as the large calibers in warding off attackers. The extreme pain of even a 22 dissuaded any but the most determined or drugged up attacker.

    The other point about shot placement was also emphasized. Grazing shots in the arms or legs don’t scare any one regardless of caliber. Head shots generally kill regardless of caliber.

  4. Isegoria says:

    I’ve definitely mentioned the gun that aims itself a few times.

  5. Isegoria says:

    While it’s true that stopping a threat isn’t all a matter of shot placement, that is the single most important factor, and differences in handgun stopping power appear to be small.

    Rifles are in a different category from handguns, of course, but all rifles have tremendous stopping power. The difference between 90 percent and 99 percent stops is dwarfed by any improvement in accuracy or number of rounds carried. A 13,000 foot-pound .50-caliber round does not have ten times the stopping power of a 1,300 foot-pound 5.56 round.

    Also, I wouldn’t be surprised by some serious confirmation bias. When you shoot a burst of .50-caliber rounds at a target in the distance, and he doesn’t go down, you conclude, I must’ve missed. When you shoot a round of 5.56 mm at a target, and he doesn’t go down, you think, if only I had a round with more stopping power!

Leave a Reply