{"id":54517,"date":"2020-05-03T20:48:57","date_gmt":"2020-05-04T01:48:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=54517"},"modified":"2020-05-03T20:54:50","modified_gmt":"2020-05-04T01:54:50","slug":"54517","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/?p=54517","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"

Special Operations Community Embraces \u2018Wildcat\u2019 Calibers<\/a><\/p>\n

One phenomenon that has emerged from the U.S. special operations community over the last 10 to 12 years involves exploration and acquisition of small arms in new ballistic calibers.<\/p>\n

Rather than the better known weapon designs in 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm, .50 caliber, and even the U.S. Army\u2019s emerging 6.8 mm Next Generation Squad Weapon, the community has embraced calibers like the .300 AAC (Advanced Armament Corporation) Blackout (.300 BLK), 6.5 Creedmoor, .300 PRC (Precision Rifle Cartridge), and both .300 and .338 Norma Magnum.<\/p>\n

Often created as so-called \u201cwildcat\u201d rounds, prior to their broader acceptance and expanded production availability, these new caliber cartridges each provide a staggering array of design and performance specifics, experts said.<\/p>\n

Recent requests for information released by U.S. Special Operations Command have identified specific command interest in a compact personal defense weapon chambered in .300 BLK.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re dealing in whole different types of mission sets,\u201d explained C.J. Dugan, vice president of business development at Maxim Defense, which has developed its own personal defense weapon designs. \u201cThe old way was, if you were doing \u2018low vis\u2019 close target reconnaissance or protection, you really only had an MP5 [9×19 mm Parabellum], which is hard to deal with these days because of parts. The only other answers you had were a pistol or a Mk18 [M4A1 (5.56×45 mm NATO) with a Close Quarters Battle Receiver variant with 10.3-inch barrel]. So trying to deal with a weapon system that would give you the right combination of distance and accuracy, and then trying to maneuver in a civilian vehicle with either only a pistol or \u2018a 10.3,\u2019 which you then had to keep out of sight, and then deal with and try to react to something, you kind of had limited expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crediting the early development work done by Advanced Armament Corp., Dugan offered a general description of the .300 BLK design, which included \u201ctaking a 5.56 [mm] case and necking it out to a .30 cal projectile, but utilizing pistol powder inside of that, which gives you a lot of muzzle velocities that you were losing in a short barrel with a rifle round.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my opinion, that was the genesis of why the 300 Blackout became popular in the SOF community,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause now, with the 300 Blackout \u2014 a .30 cal projectile loaded in a 5.56 case and burning pistol powder \u2014 you\u2019re now getting 2,000 feet per second out of a five-and-a-half-inch gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTake a PDW for what it is \u2014 a personal defense weapon,\u201d he summarized. \u201cIf you are pulling that thing out, things have gone really bad. \u2026 And if I am going to make a decision to engage a threat, I want to make sure that I have the best possibility for the terminal ballistics to eliminate that threat. So I combined all of that and we sat down and worked through a product deal with Fort Scott [Munitions], and I took their projectile and we put a bunch of it through our weapons and optimized different calibers for our weapons, both in the five-and-a-half-[inch barrel] and eight-and-a-half variants.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to its own PDW designs, Maxim Defense has also introduced an ammunition line and is one of more than two dozen U.S. manufacturers that currently produce a .300 BLK option.<\/p>\n

Dugan noted that the Maxim .300 BLK is based in part on the \u201ctumble upon impact\u201d designs of Fort Scott Munitions, which continue to \u201ctumble\u201d at ballistic speeds down to 500 feet per second.<\/p>\n

Many of Dugan\u2019s observations were echoed by Lanse Padgett, chief executive officer of PCP Tactical LLC and Gorilla Ammunition Co.<\/p>\n

\u201cGorilla Ammunition was established in 2013, and basically was founded on .300 Blackout,\u201d he said. \u201cWe started making .300 Blackout right out of the gate, when it was just coming on the scene.\u201d<\/p>\n

The company has recently worked with Northrop Grumman, current operators of the government-owned Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, to manufacture \u201csome Blackout loads for military testing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Describing the .300 BLK as \u201ca phenomenal cartridge for engagements inside of 200 yards,\u201d Padgett offered, \u201cIt is excellent for [close quarters battle]- type operations \u2014 room clearing\/house clearing\/building\/clearing \u2014 where you can take a short barrel rifle and have almost the same ballistics as a long barrel rifle. But it makes it so much more maneuverable. And you have a much bigger projectile going at the intended target.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor instance, the 5.56 round was designed for an M16 that had a 20-inch barrel. But now everyone wants to shoot it out of a 10-inch barrel or an eight-inch barrel and you have lost so much velocity by shaving all those inches off your barrels. So you\u2019re now shooting a projectile that was designed to be shot at a certain velocity at much, much less velocity and you don\u2019t have the same terminal effects that you had. \u2026 But with .300 Blackout, you\u2019re able to shoot shorter barrels with more lethality. That\u2019s really where I think you gain the advantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Recent SOCOM requests for proposals have also identified interest in weapon designs chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor, with one recent announcement identifying a desire for a lightweight assault machine gun in 6.5 Creedmoor as a possible replacement to the current MK48 assault machine gun chambered in 7.62×51 mm NATO.<\/p>\n

Introduced by Hornady Manufacturing Co. around 2007, Padgett said that 6.5 Creedmoor is one of five calibers of polymer cased ammunition currently manufactured by PCP Tactical, along with .50 caliber, .338 Norma Magnum, 7.62×51 mm NATO, \u201cand some work with .260 Remington for the SOF guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was best to compare the 6.5 Creedmoor to the \u201ctraditional\u201d 7.62×51 mm NATO round, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy ballistician would say this much more eloquently, but basically to get a better \u2018ballistic coefficient,\u2019 you want a longer, skinnier projectile,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 6.5 Creedmoor offers just that in a package that is the same overall length as a .308 (7.62×51 mm) cartridge case. But now you\u2019re getting increased velocity and a better ballistic coefficient, which means you\u2019re going to have increased engagement distance. It\u2019s not going to drop as fast. It\u2019s not going to be affected by wind as much as the traditional 7.62. You\u2019re gaining engagement distance and lethality with the extra benefit that it works in existing 7.62 length chambers. So it\u2019s basically a barrel swap to take existing guns and turn them into 6.5 Creedmoor guns.\u201d<\/p>\n

Few programs more clearly reflect the embrace of new calibers better than SOCOM\u2019s acquisitions of bolt-action sniper rifles over the past 10 to 12 years.<\/p>\n

An example can be found in its 2009 solicitation for the Precision Sniper Rifle. Planners called for a weapon that could be switched between calibers that would include 7.62×51 mm NATO, .300 Winchester Magnum (Win Mag), and .338 Lapua Magnum. By the time that the subsequent Advanced Sniper Rifle solicitation was released in May of 2018, it specified 7.62×51 mm, .300 Norma Magnum and .338 NM \u2014 not the same as .338 Lapua.<\/p>\n

It is broadly understood that the .338 NM represents the anti-materiel solution, the .300 NM represents the anti-personnel solution, and the 7.62×51 represents a training option that could also be applied to shorter range urban settings.<\/p>\n

In March 2019, Barrett Manufacturing announced that its Multi-Role Adaptive Design system had been selected for the Advanced Sniper Rifle, subsequently designated as the MK22 Mod 0.<\/p>\n

The MK22 Mod 0 is one of two Barrett sniper rifles currently being provided to special operations customers. A similar weapon, identified as the \u201cDoD\u201d system, is also being provided to a community element chambered in a Hornady-developed caliber identified as .300 PRC.<\/p>\n

\u201cAround November 2016 the Department of Defense issued a procurement for a direct and immediate warfighter capability for the .300 PRC,\u201d said Joel Miller, director of global military sales for Barrett. \u201cIt was essentially to provide operators some greater capabilities in stand-off distances and to ensure overmatch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about ballistic comparisons between the .300 PRC and the .300 Norma Magnum included on the ASR, Miller deferred to Hornady Manufacturing, which developed the .300 PRC.<\/p>\n

According to Neal Emery, senior communications manager for Hornady, all of the other \u201cbig 30s\u201d have some type of inherent design issues and the development of the .300 PRC reflected an attempt \u201cto have something that will easily handle the long, heavy, high performance style, .30 caliber bullets with the greatest consistency possible for extended long-range shooting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another long-range projectile that has been embraced by SOCOM over the last few years is the .338 Norma Magnum, with the design of both the .300 NM and .338 NM credited to ballistician Jimmie Sloan in the 2006 to 2007 timeframe.<\/p>\n

Community acceptance of the rounds not only contributed to the change in evolution in sniper rifle requirements noted above, but has also been reflected in Special Operations Command \u2014 and Marine Corps \u2014 interest in belt-fed machine gun designs in .338 NM.<\/p>\n

In response, General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems has been exhibiting its .338 NW Lightweight Medium Machine Gun design for the last few years.<\/p>\n

And in January, SIG Sauer announced the safety certification and delivery of a number of its own new \u201c338 MG\u201d systems for special operations combat evaluations.<\/p>\n

According to Jason St. John, director of government products in SIG Sauer\u2019s defense strategies group, both the .338 NM and .338 Lapua reflect a sniper community desire for a flatter trajectory, larger bullet, more wind-resistant long-range capability to extend the battlefield for the sniper.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe .308 [7.62×51 mm] was limited at about 800 meters; 1,000 to 1,200 meters for .300 Win Mag; and they wanted to push it a little bit further,\u201d he said. \u201cThat grew into an extended range capability to have standoff with your enemy from an anti-personnel perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noting that the .338 NM design results in a 300-grain projectile traveling at 2,900 feet per second, he credited the cartridge with \u201ca tremendous anti-materiel capability\u201d delivered from a 20-pound package.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe M2A1 [.50 caliber] is an 80-pound machine gun,\u201d he asserted. \u201cWe\u2019re looking at a system that\u2019s 60 pounds lighter and actually combines an anti-materiel solution and anti-personnel solution in one trim package.\u201d<\/p>\n

He acknowledged \u201csome challenges\u201d in direct comparisons with a .50 cal that has different specialized projectiles, adding, \u201cHowever, when you\u2019re looking at something like steel penetration with a .338 compared to steel penetration with a .50 cal, they are comparable at 1,200-plus meters, and in some aspects the .338 is superior in mild steel penetration at comparable distances.\u201d<\/p>\n

As noted earlier, the representative samples cited here are not intended to serve as complete ballistic profiles. Rather they are intended to highlight the unique characteristics of special operations missions and some of the ballistic overmatch solutions available to Special Operations Forces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Special Operations Community Embraces \u2018Wildcat\u2019 Calibers One phenomenon that has emerged from the U.S. special operations community over the last 10 to 12 years involves exploration and acquisition of small arms in new ballistic calibers. Rather than the better known weapon designs in 5.56 mm, 7.62 mm, .50 caliber, and even the U.S. Army\u2019s emerging … Continue reading “”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gun-schtuff","category-military"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54517","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=54517"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54517\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54519,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54517\/revisions\/54519"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=54517"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=54517"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/milesfortis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=54517"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}