Public Mass Shootings: Database Amasses Details of a Half Century of U.S. Mass Shootings with...

SrA John Monette - I'd like to comment on both of the points you made and they each deserve their own response.

First, the subject of need versus want. I agree, there is a big difference between the attitude of "I would like to own a firearm to be able to protect myself in a worst case scenario" and "I need one to protect my family". One of these two attitudes is predicated on expecting to be attacked with lethal force, and even in the most dangerous parts of the U.S. that is far from a guarantee. Most Americans have never been shot at.

Second, if my memory serves me right, the final development of the 5.56 round and AR-15/M-16 coincided with the early phase of the Vietnam War. At the time the expectation was that our military would be operating mostly between the tropics of cancer and capricorn in wooded and jungle environments for the duration of the cold war, and needed a primary weapon with a fast light round that could go through brush and didn't weigh a lot, so an effective quantity of ammo could be carried in places vehicles couldn't traverse.

I did also hear one rumor that directly conflicts one of your points but I have never been able to confirm it, this would be through the lens of 1960's weapon development and battlefield triage. The 5.56mm x 45mm projectile is more likely to cause a survivable wound than larger rifle calibers, this would potentially lead to reserve troops having to go into the line of fire to retrieve casualties, allowing for a higher overall number of enemy fighters being taken out of action in direct fire engagements.

PO1 Jeff Chandler - So that may be more than a rumor then...

As to the rest, I'm following completely on the the wind effects, and I know that a lighter weight projectile is more greatly affected when hitting something on it's way to the target. I guess I just always assumed that was more about the projectile having a smaller cross-section and being less likely to hit something on along it's path of travel.

What I am taking from you though is that ammunition weight was the biggest concern, how to move more rounds at one time for the least effort, while still having an effective primary combat rifle. I learned something.

Zero difference in 95% of situations, but in extremely thick ground floor vegetation, you still probably hit something and miss. Thank god you can carry 200 rounds and are still able to move quickly.

SrA John Monette I'm curious. Where did you learn about the comparative lethality of rifle rounds?