Ian usually takes on the topic of older weapons, his conversational and matter-of-fact tone of voice taking us on a journey while we sip a drink and perhaps enjoy a cigar and hear the tale of whatever neat bit of firearm history he has for us this time.
While I go to Mike and Brandon for my more absurdist humor in the gun space, Ian along with Josh and Henry at 9-Hole Reviews are my stops for quiet contemplation on practical matters.
Now, I too have shot the XM5, an Army trial gun actually that SIG brought to Freedom Days. I shot the XM250/MG68 as well. Both with the higher pressure hybrid case ammunition.
These are going to be phenomenal rifles, even with the lower velocity practice ammunition. I didn’t discuss that facet of the program with Sig, but it aligns nicely with other training doctrine the military is pushing with other platforms. For example, 7.62x51mm is staying in sniper programs as a training round primarily as the new MSRs field. The deployed rounds will be .300NM and .338NM. Using the cost savings methodology the average soldier will still be fielding a more efficient 135gr ball round in its 6.8×51 brass cased configuration than in the 7.62×51 147gr.
For the civilian market, it will come down to cost. With 6.8 being loaded in quantity it could become popular, especially if the plinker ammo is around what M80 and M80 knock offs are running. Even the high performance hybrid rounds will be popular if they can price can be kept around what match ammo runs. It will come down to that though, SIG knows it too.
Anyway, enjoy the video and take a break from the politics on the internet for a moment.
