a .30 hole clean through the target. With military ball ammo it doesn't expand, it doesn't fragment, it doesn't tumble. Again, according to him this resulted in poor "stopping power". Obviously having a hole drilled clean through you isn't good, but appearently in his experience it didn't work fast enough. And, as he always does, he illustrates his point by telling a story of him having to shoot the same guy three times. He would shoot, the guy would go down, he would engage another target and the first guy would be back up again............
I'm quite sure he experienced that. People can be pretty damned tough sometimes.
As for .308 FMJ "just poking holes"...if that were exactly true, then .30 Luger FMJ would be just as effective as .30-06 FMJ, at close range, because they both just "poke a hole".
Right, wrong? I'm not a physics buff. I'm not a medic or a hunter, either. Has anybody seen a gunshot wound from .308 or .30-06 FMJ? What'd it look like?
Regardless, as has been said, if you feel FMJ is ineffective, there are plenty of other options available today. Just bear in mind that whenever you have an expanding or fragmenting bullet, you're sacrificing your ability to defeat cover to some extent.
Sometimes people can keep fighting after taking multiple wounds that should be "man-stoppers". It just goes to show you that there are no absolutes. Never gamble on the enemy's lack of fortitude. He just might suprise you.
Personally, I have no use for a 5.56mm rifle, ergo, I don't own one. I don't feel there is anything I could do with a 5.56 that I couldn't do with a similar .308. And, in any case, I personally have more confidence, based on second hand information, in the .308 cartridge. Of course, as Pat Rogers demonstrated to 444, there is always a counterexample to every argument, so always be ready to shoot a second time.
Ironically, though I have no personal use for one, I carry a 5.56mm rifle every single day.
If anyone is interested in what I'd prefer (and I very much doubt it), I'd go with an 18-19" or so FAL, with a DSA medium contour barrel (fluted), scope mount, and ELCAN scope. Plenty of accuracy, plenty of range, and about the same OAL as the M16 clone I carry.
An M4 would be handier for a lot of the tasks I can do, but there are some WIDE OPEN SPACES here, and this place is flatter than a platter of piss (as my dad would've said). The extra reach-out-and-touch might come in handy, and the ELCAN would help to acquire targets at range or in low light. Also, most of the buildings around here are brick and stucco, so the extra penetration would be an advantage. So personally, I'd take range and penetration over a shorter, handier weapon, in the environment I work in.
(If I had my pick, but had to use an M16, I'd have a Colt M16A3 flat top, with a 5.56mm ELCAN scope, safe-semi-auto trigger group.)
But that's my opinion. I carry what they tell me to.
Speaking of irony, it's 9:25AM here, and it's the 19th of October. Autumn, right? Yeah, it's 91* outside and warming up. Ugh.
