Home EOTech 5.56 vs 7.62 NATO in a gunfight, which ones better?

5.56 vs 7.62 NATO in a gunfight, which ones better?

1
45

Bridging gaps within our industry one conversation at a time. The Bridge is not a show about firearms, training, or the military as some might expect. It’s about people; connecting with others, sharing experiences, exchanging perspectives, and healing together through sometimes vulnerable conversations about difficult topics. We hope to help and heal others as we do so for ourselves by airing these conversations for all to hear. Thanks for listening! We hope you enjoy the show.

Full Podcast:

The Bridge Homepage:

Travis Haley (Host)
CEO, Haley Strategic Partners:

Spotify:

Apple Podcasts:

Amazon Podcasts:

Haley Strategic Partners:

Instagram:

Telegram for the latest updates & restocks.

Facebook:

#haleystrategic #haleystrategicpartners #thebridge #thebridgepodcast #thinkersbeforeshooters

Note to readers: Please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, social media, internet forums. etc.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

45 COMMENTS

  2. Modern body armor easily stops 5.56, and it doesn’t have the sheer power to cause blunt force damage either. 7.62 will be effective even if you hit level 4 armor, if it doesn’t penetrate, it will break your ribs and probably cause internal bleeding. Not to mention that you can get 25 round mags for 7.62 that aren’t cumbersome, although the 20 rds are better for distance shooting and going prone. If you can’t handle the recoil or weight of a rifle larger than a .22…..you need to hit the gym more and/or train more. End of discussion.

  6. Indians hated the 5.56 for decades and are transitioning back to 7.62. Always the issue in the mountains, that's why they are getting some 150k 308 rifles for mountains and counter insurgency. Even standards rifle is going to be ak rounds

  7. If soldiers could hit their targets 7.62 wins every time. But that's not how soldiers work. In the heat of battle there's plenty of spray and pray and non-lethal hits, that's why quantity wins out over quality- it's the logistics. Also in most modern conflicts (most not all) fighting is done from 300 yards in so you don't need 1000+ yard ammunition.

  8. As a chicken tender and coyote hunter I live and die by the 556/ 223. I get what he is saying through. Some of the distances we were shooting at in Afghanistan with 556 were laughable…..308 really was not any better though the .50 was goat. I would just say taylor your gun to your envionment. East coasties like me 223 is good for alot of things, out west go full size.

  9. If… or when the world goes to shit and gunfights are breaking out in the street at a capacity that everyone's home armoires won't be mostly a waste of money. The caliber of round you carry will mean very little in terms of this round vs. that round. The things that will matter most will be likelihood, opportunity, and the mental fortitude to adapt to changing situations. A fortress is useless if you don't lock your doors.

  17. They chose less lethal round on purpose of putting more people out of combat. When one killed, it's one out of combat; when one wounded, it's 2 or 3 out of combat, because comrades will most likely help the wounded.

  19. This really depends on the engagement and the discipline. Asking soldiers is… not unimportant, but not the main focus for sure. US is deploying abroad where logistics matters a lot, and engaging at short distances typically, 100 yards is the usual. The doctrine is to maneuver and suppress. You need a lot of rounds that will not hit people for that. The forces the US faces are emplaced, defending and with knowledge of home turf. They make use of short logistics lines and can set engagements up to be long distance. They are just different tools for different jobs. There will always be a case where you have the wrong tool for the job, and it sucks people die for it, but that's the nature of war.

  24. I did some live fire training with a bunch of guys. We ran the same course with a 5.56 and then a 308. Almost everyone had better hit percentage with the 308. I think it's a subconscious thing where you know you have fewer rounds so each shot has to count. People take a little better aim that way. With the little 5.56 people were rushing the shots and missing.

  25. With 5.56 NATO you can score hits at a good range. Provided you're a very good shot. However, the performance isn't going to be reliable because – saying it once again – it's a 300 yard cartridge fired from a 300 yard rifle. The more you go beyond that the less effective the platform and cartridge become.

  27. This is NOT rocket science. Stop talking about caliber and start talking about velocity and terminal ballistics. What separates a rifle from a handgun is velocity. A handgun wounds primarily by crushing flesh in the permanant wound canal. A rifle is orders of magnitude worse, because of its velocity (2500fps+) it EXPLODES flesh around the permanant wound canal. It redefines handgun wounding into a SPLAT reality. Here, we are discussing what's best. Gentlemen, what is best is NEVER falling below the splat velocity. If you shorten your barrel and engage an enemy at distance, you may have just transformed your .223/556 into a .22LR. There are idiots out there sporting AR platform barrels that get as short as 4.5 to 5.5 inches. You might as well pick up an MP5 because that nerfs your rifle down to handgun velocities. What is best? What length is your barrel? What distance are you targeting? What ammo are you using? It's that simple.

  31. The way you guys talk about killing people is so twisted.. "I never got to blast anyone with it" aww poor baby, didn't get to kill another human being with your fancy gun? Bless him.

  33. What is the range of the engagement, how long is the expected engagement, 5.56 and 7.62 will kill a person pretty good. You might have to take into account vehicle armour differences though a technical is cooked. The lighter 5.56 has closer range advantages because it is lighter and better auto stability and hipfire.

  38. higher caliber hits harder but in a war the ammount of bullets u can use to gain advantage is more important. A 7.62 rifle can not carry as many shots in a magasine and also, carrying ammo, u can carry much more if its lower caliber. U can keep an enemy down by covering fire better with more ammo, the idea is not to hit most but to be able to outmanouver enemy and force them to surrender.

  40. Well, i just have a cheap Savage .308 rifle .. but after shooting a few frozen milk jugs of water at 200 yards, and seeing that carnage of explosions, i can tell you now, i damn sure wouldn't want to get shot by one. Ever.

Leave a Reply