On Sunday, Mike Jones and his Garand Thumb team dropped their XM7 review.
It is as close as we can get to the military rifle and ammunition. The properly loaded bi-metal cases and a round ‘close’ to one we could see in use—solid copper. The EPR projectiles of the M855A1, M80A1, and M(whatever this gets designated) are under wraps and unobtainium at this point.
But, like other commercial ammunitions to military equivalents we can still get good data and extrapolate.
The ammunition has always been the coolest part of the NGSW program—in my opinion—since the case allows the user to play with pressures we haven’t been able to with brass or soft steel.
Mike mentions that the XM7 is now the M7. However, I haven’t seen any official US DoD literature confirming the full adoption. It is being more widely fielded and displayed. I’ve even seen units local with the Guard.
Official fielding is listed as 1st Bat, 506th of the 101st Airborne, but I have heard rumors that it’s being unboxed and fielded with other units, too. Rollouts are often chaotic.
But it is looking like the 7 and the 250 are sticking around. We will see if the USMC shifts to the 7, or a variant thereof, and the 250 in the upcoming months and years. The Marines thus far seem comfortable with the 5.56 M27. However, the shift for them would be much less jarring as the M27 and the M7 are much closer in weight and size. Currently, the option remains open, but the Marines like their H&K.
