Originally Posted by
Larry Gibson
armoredman
I've seen lots of Soldiers who could effectively fire the M14s and M14E1/A1s on full auto quite well including myself. But then I wasn't a wrestler but was a well trained Soldier and I only weighed 150 back then. It's a matter of training and I doubt Sailers aren't that well trained on weapons (SEAL being the exception.....sometimes....). Having actually used both cartridges, among several others, in combat I can say from experience I never had to shoot more than once with 7.62 NATO to get the job done vs 2 -3 rounds sometimes with the 5.56. Also, what is "cover" to 5.56 is most often only "concealment" to 7.62 which is/was an often overlooked factor in combat.
BTW; many M14s were put back into service in the last 20 year war because the 5.56 lacked the range and effectiveness in many situations. Also, all of our GP machineguns are chambered in 7.62 NATO along with most of our NATO allies. Additionally, the majority of our sniper rifles and many of our squad level marksman rifles are also chambered in 7.62 NATO.
As an old infantryman and SF weapons NCO, we used to have a saying plagiarizing the old American Express credit card commercial; "7.62 NATO, better than Master Card and VISA, accepted worldwide....never leave home without it....."