Outgunned is only vague to someone who has never been outgunned in combat. I have. Interestingly personally I was not, but the rest of the unit was. In Vietnam when we got the first issue of those Black POS Matty Mattel’s. In a firefight when 1/3 to ½ of your platoons rifles can’t function, or to put that in to the parlance of this discussion, cannot hurt the enemy, you are out gunned. I Had my M14 still, but that left me the guns, and what was left of the platoon to engage the enemy with their AK-47’s. Their rifles worked.
All right. I also served in Vietnam, back before the decision was made to equip everyone in-theater with a M16 rifle. I was issued a TRW M14, that I used the period that I was there. They tried to give me an M16, but after having two of them malfunction, and be lost, I was re-issued my M14.
Being outgunned has/had nothing to do with your little tirade. The definition of "outgunned" varies widely. Were the British "outgunned" by the Germans? Were the Germans "outgunned" by the Americans? One of the salient points of the Russian expedition into Afghanistan was the issue of the AK74 lacking range over the older, heavier caliber Afhan fighters. The Soviets had artillery, squad-served weapons, and air-support. Those are great items against another military, but are just about useless over the individual guerilla, or the small group that hits-and-runs.
The 5.56x45 round was never intended to be used against targets beyond 400 meters. As the effort was made to adjust the gun fielding it to ever-shorter barrels, the ammunition became ever more problematic.
Training can make up for some of the problem. After all, hitting the target is more important than bullet design, penetration, yaw, or fragmenting. Our men and women are better markspeople than Hadji has ever dreamed of being.
However, distance is distance. The guy shooting at you from 500 meters isn't going to be there when that air-strike arrives, nor is he going to be worth the collateral damage from a 105mm barrage. Then again, even if he is, time is usually of importance. While he holds you up, his own people can run, or sneak around for an ambush.
Knight's Armaments has developed a PDW that uses a 6mm cartridge. Out of a 10" barrel, it has more power than the 5.56x45, by at least 100 ft/lbs. If the M4 is to reach it's true potential, the 5.56 cartridge needs to be optimized for the shorter barrels.