That Guy
PDF THINK TANK: ANALYST
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You're right and wrong. Pakistan's special forces such as the SSG ARE happy with the m-4s, but that doesn't mean they didnt encounter problems before. It's a very well known fact that they did in fact have to switch over the type 56, in order to compensate for the problems I mentioned.And our Special forces are happy with their M-4s. I can give you pictures and operations which were fought with M-4s. F-2000 is one of the reliable bullpups. It is a closed system not water, mud or slit is going to damage it. F-2000 are used by SSW their mission in COIN was to jump in and call in CAS or air strikes on targets not for long range patrols.
Type-56 were only used by those units who are going to be behind enemy for a while because you can fin AK ammo easily.
Maybe you should read bullet ballistic data. 7.62x39 is not a good round for penetration but it has good punch and stopping power. Its heavy and slow. It is good in short to medium ranges. Maximum effective range it can travel is 500 yards.
Now, 5.56 is a good round for short to long ranges. It is fast lighter go through body armour easily. It is good round for engagements upto 600-700 yards depending upon optic, shooter and barrel should be 14 inch which is standard. Someone who says 5.56 cant kill give me or someone else to shoot them.
Most of the engagements which our troops and SF units have fought were at long ranges. So what do you want a slow,heavier and short ranged bullet or a faster, lighter and long ranged bullet.
While you are correct that the 556 has better piercing power than the 762, the problem with that is it only really applies to soft targets, such as human flesh and ballistics jell. Things like piecing thick sheets of metal, or destroying tree branches, I'd rather use an AK type, as the 762 round is known to not pierce, but utterly rips targets into two pieces, which is why the switch became necessary. In other words, rough targets like trees, you're better off with a 762 round.
While the range for the m-4 is 600 to 700, as compared to the sky's effective range of 500, that matters little as most engagements tend to happen either in long distances, or a distance of roughly 300 yards or less, so you're right about that, but the problem here is that you're misinformed about the distance of engagements that the Pakistan army had to deal with. While most engagements did take place at extremely long ranges, those were mostly potshots at patrolling soldiers, and in those cases, the range was well beyond the 600-700 yards. In which case, battle rifles such as the G-3 were used to engage the enemy, which has a much longer effective range than both the Ak and the M4, due to both its longer barrel, and large bullet...etc.
There was also the issue of environmental damage to the M4 rifles, which is well documented in various battlefields.
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