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**The Reaper** · 01-26-2004, 22:00

My .02 is that there are better ammo solutions to be had in 5.56 that have not been explored yet.

The 6.8 will be a great LEO round and will be fine on small deer, but it has a couple of serious negatives.

One, no one else in the world, or even in the US military will be using the round. The days of bopping over to the German compound, or to the 3rd ID to pick up some ammo would be over. For a unit like SF, which may have to take months of supplies in when they infil, this is a critical deficiency.

Second, anyone using it is going to be leaving an absolutely unique signature behind on the battlefield. For an HVT like SOF, which is seriously hunted by the Bad Guys, this is more than a minor concern. The unit scattering these expended cases behind them will soon have a new group of motivated fans following them with hostile intent.

Third, the round has not been field tested for numerous parameters, and is even now still being tweaked.

Fourth, we have sold NATO on the 7.62x51 and the 5.56x45 NATO cartridges in the past as standards against their will. I do not see them, in a time of declining defense budgets, adopting a new round while they have billions of 7.62 and 5.56 ammo and hundreds of thousands of weapons in the old calibers.

For the above reasons, if I were going in harm's way in another country, I would prefer the 5.56 or 7.62x39. In fact, IMHO almost any solution would be preferable to the 6.8 for the next 5-10 years, at the soonest.

Just my .02, and worth what you paid for it.

TR

01-26-2004, 22:00	#2
The Reaper Quiet Professional Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Free Pineland Posts: 24,829	My .02 is that there are better ammo solutions to be had in 5.56 that have not been explored yet. The 6.8 will be a great LEO round and will be fine on small deer, but it has a couple of serious negatives. One, no one else in the world, or even in the US military will be using the round. The days of bopping over to the German compound, or to the 3rd ID to pick up some ammo would be over. For a unit like SF, which may have to take months of supplies in when they infil, this is a critical deficiency. Second, anyone using it is going to be leaving an absolutely unique signature behind on the battlefield. For an HVT like SOF, which is seriously hunted by the Bad Guys, this is more than a minor concern. The unit scattering these expended cases behind them will soon have a new group of motivated fans following them with hostile intent. Third, the round has not been field tested for numerous parameters, and is even now still being tweaked. Fourth, we have sold NATO on the 7.62x51 and the 5.56x45 NATO cartridges in the past as standards against their will. I do not see them, in a time of declining defense budgets, adopting a new round while they have billions of 7.62 and 5.56 ammo and hundreds of thousands of weapons in the old calibers. For the above reasons, if I were going in harm's way in another country, I would prefer the 5.56 or 7.62x39. In fact, IMHO almost any solution would be preferable to the 6.8 for the next 5-10 years, at the soonest. Just my .02, and worth what you paid for it. TR __________________ "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910 De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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