{"id":110163,"date":"2025-05-20T04:52:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-20T09:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=110163"},"modified":"2025-05-20T04:52:02","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T09:52:02","slug":"110163","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=110163","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Criticisms of the Military\u2019s XM7 Rifle Spill Into the Open<\/a><\/p>\n

When it comes to those of us who choose our own rifles, it\u2019s possible to get the \u201cperfect\u201d gun. We each have our own wants, needs, and and preferences we can accommodate. Only the thickness of our wallets limit how satisfied we can ultimately be. Hunters, target shooters, people defending their families, and many law enforcement officers can pick the platform, choose the caliber, and select the accessories that will ride on it.<\/p>\n

But the United States Army doesn\u2019t get to do that. No matter how many wants and needs the military may specify in its procurement process, they still need to come up with a \u201cone size fits most\u201d solution. Sure, every soldier could theoretically build their own rifle that fits their tastes and the needs of their particular job, but that would make things far too expensive and complicated logistically. Worse, the military has to be prepared to go up against the mass manufacturing power of China, so volume has to be an important consideration, too.<\/p>\n

The military\u2019s answer in its search for a next generation rifle has been\u00a0the XM7<\/a>. Unlike the intermediate cartridge M16 and M4 rifles, the plan this time was to pack in a lot more pep, even at the cost of how much ammunition a given soldier can carry into the fight. That decision has, of course, led to inevitable comparisons with the M14 rifle, and virtual barrels of digital ink have been spilled criticizing the philosophy of battle rifles versus the intermediate-cartridge rifles virtually every military has shifted to since World War II.<\/p>\n

But, despite widespread criticism, the Army has gone all-in on defending the brass\u2019s choice of the XM7. The first soldiers to experiment with the weapon, we\u2019ve been told, gave it glowing reviews. Then, subsequent units that picked it up had nothing but good to say about it. This led public opinion to waver a bit. Maybe the brass was right if all of the grunts love it\u2026right?<\/p>\n

It turns out that (as is often the case) we may not have been told the whole story. This video by Cappy Army goes into great detail on what the public and lawmakers were told about the XM7 versus what was actually said when soldiers were handed a copy of the rifle.<\/p>\n