j two dogs, The World's Militaries are now in the age of the assault rifle. The assault rifle is defined as being lighter than a battle rifle, provide choice of automatic single round fire or full automatic fire, use a high capacity detachable box magazine, and shoot cartridges that are more powerfull than pistol ammo, but less powerfull than battle rifle ammo. The recoil produced by the larger cartridges make full auto fire very difficult for the average soldier to manage. The .308 was first chambered in the U.S. M14 rifle, which was basically the M1 with an improved gas system , a detachable 20 round box magazine , and a three position safty on the right side of the reciever. Safe, Fire, and Full. Even in the 11+ pound M14, it soon became apparent that the recoil of the full sized .308 cartridge made it impossible for most men to controll the weapon on full automatic. Enter the M16 with it's mid power .223 cartridge. It took the U.S. 40 years to admitt that a 50 grain bullet leaves something to be desired as a combat round. I am glad our leaders seem to be on the verge of replacing it. The 6.5 Grendel is indeed an anemic 6.5 round, but if adopted, will be the best assault rifle cartridge on the planet. It has considerably more power and range than the .223 or the 7.62X39, and believe it or not, shoots to longer ranges a tad flater than the .308, and is a little more resistant to wind drift. Of course, it has no where near the striking energy of the .308, at any range. In spite of that, it would be hard to beat as a assault rifle cartridge. I'm sure that there is a slight smile on the face of old Jeff Cooper. He was furious when the US adopted the .223.
