#7.62mm

Project SALVO’s experiments with multiple projectile ammunition did, surprisingly, result in the production of service ammunition. The 7.62mm M198 Duplex round was an attempt to improve the short-range combat effectiveness of the M14 rifle (so far as this author knows, it was never linked for use in the M60 machine gun – ED: Commenter Bud Harton mentions that it was linked for use in the M60, and this has been confirmed by other sources), but the fundamental limitations of duplex ammunition remained, and it was never successful. Eventually, the improved hit probability rifle would be realized in the .22 caliber AR-15, adopted as the M16 before the Vietnam War.

Bob Holloway, then of Fort Worth, Texas, in the 1980s built on his experiences in Southeast Asia and Rhodesia to design a .308 caliber military rifle, what eventually became the HAC-7. His rifle was an amalgamation of Armalite, FN, and Kalashnikov designs, with a considerable amount of his own ingenuity thrown in. The result is now one of the most interesting “might-have-beens” of the 20th Century: A lightweight .308 infantry rifle two decades older than the FN SCAR-H.

SWR have published some interesting videos to their  Youtube channel recently. In their latest video they use a balloon, a high-speed video camera and their new SWR Specwar 762 suppressor to show the difference in muzzle blast between a suppressed and unsuppressed rifle.

New Zealand Defence Force is switching from the 5.56mm FN Minimi to the 7.62mm FN Minimi as their standard Light Support Weapon (LSW).

The H&K MR762A1 LRP (Long Range Package) is the civilian version of the H&K G28 rifle, Germany’s new Designated Marksmen Rifle.

Geissele is producing a special run of semi-automatic triggers for the HK417. They are modified Geissele HK417 SSF (Super Select Fire) triggers from a canceled order.

The legendary REMOV sent us photos of the new Polish UKM-2013 machine gun that is set to be unveiled later this week at the MSPO International Military Expo …

Later this month IWI will officially unveil their new NEGEV NG7 Machine Gun. It will be chambered in 7.62x51mm but retain the same size as the standard model IWI Negev.

I shot the new consumer 7.62mm HK762A1 (H&K417) for the first time at Media Day. There were so many people queuing to shoot it I only got to shoot about 7 rounds. I fired those 7 rounds off as fast as possible (as I usually do) and it felt good. It is heavy, like all AR-10 rifles, but the weight helps soak up the recoil. The handguard is shorter than I would like it. A lighter but longer handguard would be preferable in my opinion. H&K is considering offering a full length rail as an aftermarket accessory. Below are photos of the guy who was ahead of me in the queue to shoot the gun …

FN Herstal is officially debuting the 7.62x51mm FN SCAR-H PR (Precision Rifle) at the MILIPOL Paris expo this week.

Turkish firm KALEKALIP has designed a nifty looking new battle rifle for the Turkish Army that will be manufactured by MKEK. The rifle is chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO and uses a gas piston and rotating bolt action. The barrel is 16″ in length. The total length is 36″ and it weighs 9 lbs.

David Crane of DefenseReview has confirmed the existence of the Colt CM901 (7.62mm Battle Rifle) whose existence was first revealed by Solider Systems a few days ago.

Blain at ARFCOM reports …

The Remington Semi-Auto Sniper System (RSASS) is a prototype 7.62x51mm rifle. It features a full length rail, uses Magpul 7.62mm magazines and has a left-side foldable charging handle. Nice! I stole these photos from the AAC Blog …

Steve Adelmann of Shooting Illustrated discusses his quest to find a decent H&K G3 clone …