5.56 very poor round for stopping power

[marathonrunner]

Hey Guys, please read the following article. It pretty much states the 5.56 is basically a worthless round that is a poor shooting platform for stopping the bad guy. It sites many examples of soldiers in battle who had to shoot the bad guy 5 sometimes 6 times before they would go down. Maybe I should have went with .308 for SHTF but this article really concerns me.

How about 5.56 HP or SP? Would that make it close to a .308?


Articles: The Last 'Big Lie' of Vietnam Kills U. S. Soldiers in Iraq

 

[patrickd]

That's because .224" FMJ only poke a tiny hole straight through. Switch to a SP in your AR and it's a complete different story.

 

[Brasky]

Judging a round by its "stopping power" completely destroys any credibility you had in your first post.

Fmjs aren't ideal for unarmored flesh in any caliber

 

[TANKLEGACY]

I used 5.56 in the military, "stopping power" only counts when you can place perfect shots under a high stress environment....because in essence...all a .223/556 is, is a really fast 22LR.

Though we could place perfect shots with our M4A1...none of us really cared for them...all our personal long rifles are AR10's...

...most of us felt, the AR15 platform is a good childs or womans gun...lol

 

[Muss Muggins]

Don't you own a couple dozen AR15 style rifles . . . ?

Hey Guys, please read the following article. It pretty much states the 5.56 is basically a worthless round that is a poor shooting platform for stopping the bad guy. It sites many examples of soldiers in battle who had to shoot the bad guy 5 sometimes 6 times before they would go down. Maybe I should have went with .308 for SHTF but this article really concerns me.

How about 5.56 HP or SP? Would that make it close to a .308?


Articles: The Last 'Big Lie' of Vietnam Kills U. S. Soldiers in Iraq

 

[MichiganScott]

It's an ammunition problem. 5.56 NATO really doesn't wound much unless the bullet yaws and breaks up in flesh.The M855 doesn't begin to yaw until after it has penetrated a body. It's even worse with a short barrel and reduced velocity. The old M183 would yaw faster and sometimes would actually yaw in a body. A 77gr OTM makes the AR15 a much more effective platform than either.

 

[dusty3030]

Since we're talking about killing and self defense and all at short range if you shoot someone with a 5.56 or a 7.62 NATO is really just a matter of personal preference as a center mass or cranial hit with either will generally cause the offending party to quit doing whatever it is they were doing that made you decide to shoot them in the first place.

 

[DanWales]

5.56

I'm confused isn't this the same round that has probably put a couple million people in the ground ??

The same round that lots of people are wanting to shoot animals with now, that are tougher than a humans.

Now that they are cheap to shoot about everyone I know has one.

If I had to shoot a human or larger animal and make it a drop shot .... for sure the .308 or 06 would be my choice.

No argument intended but it's a nasty little round.

Dan

 

[CATI1835]

Give me a technical definition of "stopping power". Don't tell me something your Daddy, or uncle, or Bubba told you. A scientific definition please.

 

[DocB]

My son has had two combat tours over the past 10 years. He carried an M4 and said that they really didn't want us to kill anybody The 5.56 is not and never will be a self defense round. As stated above by another poster, it's a 22 LR going really fast. Although, one must remember, a wounded enemy is much more trouble for the enemy than a dead enemy.

 

[Triathloncoach]

What happens when AR-15 rifle bullets tear through the human body – BGR

Some quotes from above article

“One looks like a grenade went off in there,” University of Arizona trauma surgeon Peter Rhee told Wired when comparing the damage done by AR-15 bullets and 9mm handgun bullets. “The other looks like a bad knife cut.”

The reason that happens is pretty simple, and it’s explained by physics. The bullet from an AR-15 rifle leaves the muzzle at three times the speed of a handgun bullet. That means it has plenty of energy to “distribute” inside the body upon collision.

It can disintegrate three inches of leg bone, turning it to “dust” according to Donald Jenkins, a trauma surgeon at the University of Texas Health Science Center. “The liver looks like a jello mold that’s been dropped on the floor,” if hit by the same bullet, Jenkins says. The exit would can be the size of an orange.

Comparatively, handgun bullets can be stopped by flesh and bone, and can pass through the body only to remain stuck in the skin.

 

[eb07]

My federal bonded 62gr jsp begs to differ.

 

[marathonrunner]

What happens when AR-15 rifle bullets tear through the human body – BGR

Some quotes from above article

“One looks like a grenade went off in there,” University of Arizona trauma surgeon Peter Rhee told Wired when comparing the damage done by AR-15 bullets and 9mm handgun bullets. “The other looks like a bad knife cut.”

The reason that happens is pretty simple, and it’s explained by physics. The bullet from an AR-15 rifle leaves the muzzle at three times the speed of a handgun bullet. That means it has plenty of energy to “distribute” inside the body upon collision.

It can disintegrate three inches of leg bone, turning it to “dust” according to Donald Jenkins, a trauma surgeon at the University of Texas Health Science Center. “The liver looks like a jello mold that’s been dropped on the floor,” if hit by the same bullet, Jenkins says. The exit would can be the size of an orange.

Comparatively, handgun bullets can be stopped by flesh and bone, and can pass through the body only to remain stuck in the skin.

Grisly! I get people telling me all the time oh .308 is way better you got a mouse gun. blah blah blah

 

[Nevada Ed]

NATO outlawed HP bullets ........only "Ball" type bullets can be used.

The M1 and M14 were good weapons but the military wanted more fire power. Enter the M-16, stage left.

 

[eb07]

NATO outlawed HP bullets ........only "Ball" type bullets can be used.

The M1 and M14 were good weapons but the military wanted more fire power. Enter the M-16, stage left.

Myth: NATO banned jhp

U.S. Army Wants Hollow-Point Ammo for New Pistol, Not for the M9 | Military.com

 

[murphydog]

The laws of physics haven't changed in the past 12 years since this article was written, but your choice of ammunition and degree of practice/training may make a difference. Choose wisely.

 

[Arik]

Hey Guys, please read the following article. It pretty much states the 5.56 is basically a worthless round that is a poor shooting platform for stopping the bad guy. It sites many examples of soldiers in battle who had to shoot the bad guy 5 sometimes 6 times before they would go down. Maybe I should have went with .308 for SHTF but this article really concerns me.

How about 5.56 HP or SP? Would that make it close to a .308?


Articles: The Last 'Big Lie' of Vietnam Kills U. S. Soldiers in Iraq

It's true. Plenty of times soldiers had to shoot 5 or 6 times to kill a bad guy. However, plenty of people have been shot just as much by bigger and badder rounds and lived to tell. There are also plenty of stories from the current war where bad guys took more than one shot from a 50BMG before they laid down and died.

HP is much better but 556 isn't exactly a wimp of a round

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

 

[phonejack]

About 20 years ago there was arguing back and forth about 5.56 vs. 7.62. Clint Smith pretty well ended that by stating "the bullet has to do something when it gets there". I also had a friend whose son (Marine, sand box 2 tours) said that with a 7.62 you only have to shoot them once. Ball ammo of course.

 

[Nevada Ed]

Eb07;

That article is about the 9mm pistol not the M-16 rifle.

As of yet, combat troops can not use JHP until the 2018 bill passes.

Then maybe the JHP bullet might be used for the troops in battle, in the M9 pistol.

 

[eb07]

Still a myth. Nothing was signed. Just a guideline. Never had to follow by any treaty, law, or regulation.

Just a parroted myth like the 45 knocked people down or the soldiers used to throw Garand clips to simulate the ping