Topic: 7.62x35?

[Libertas]

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htweap/articles/20150708.aspx

"SOCOM operators are believed to have used 7.62x35 equipped M-4s in combat and were apparently satisfied with its performance but SOCOM has not yet adopted the round on a large scale but both subsonic and supersonic versions are available to any operators who feel they need it."

I guess we'll have to wait and see if this round has any real benefit or not for us Civies...

[Glock32]

I thought I recognized that metric designation.  It's much better known to us in the civilian world as .300 Blackout.

There's a .300 Blackout fad in the AR community.  I can see its utility as a subsonic round for suppressed rifles, but a lot of people are using it unsuppressed in supersonic loads.  Not sure what advantage it brings to the table in that configuration.  I see it as one of a few different attempts at upsizing the 5.56, another being the 6.8 SPC.

From a ballistics perspective, a 7mm projectile has an ideal combination of bullet mass and aerodynamics.  The British were onto this in the late 1940s, but their efforts were shelved when NATO went with the 7.62x51 and later the 5.56x45.  The efforts at bridging the gap between those two NATO rounds have largely been an attempt to reinvent what the British had already figured out.

[Libertas]

I guess I don't know how much "better" this is than 5.56 or the more comparable 7.62x39 AK round...it seems to be more of a "fit" issue for standard AR rifles since you only have to change the upper, as well as being workable with a suppressor, as well as being the counter to the Russian round.  Will this eventually replace 5.56 or not or remain an "option"?  It's hard to tell at this point where both rounds future may go.

For us Civies it probably doesn't matter much...but in terms of future market impact and ammo availability it kinda does matter.

I guess another argument for hand-loading...

[Glock32]

I don't think it will ever be a general issue round anywhere.  It's main advantage is that you can fire it at subsonic velocities and still pack a much better punch than with pistol caliber suppressed weapons.  The Dutch Marines are the Netherlands' special forces, so I can see this being useful for them.

It's similar to the 7.62x39, but with only the need to swap the upper receiver of an AR.  With 7.62x39 in an AR, you also need a new bolt because the case head dimensions are different, and also different magazines.  It is worth noting though that this easy swap can be a problem if people aren't careful.  I've read accounts of people chambering and firing .300 Blackout in a 5.56 AR, with predictable results of trying to fire a 30 caliber bullet down a 22 caliber bore.

[AlanS]

It is worth noting though that this easy swap can be a problem if people aren't careful.  I've read accounts of people chambering and firing .300 Blackout in a 5.56 AR, with predictable results of trying to fire a 30 caliber bullet down a 22 caliber bore.

Definite Darwin candidates.