Quote:
Originally Posted by Panther Al
All the infrastructure (well, ok, what isn't glowing in the dark) is set up to support it.
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This. Much as I agree with the political reasons, it'll come down to logistics. No other rifle design would have the available tooling, blueprints/TDP, and base of recruitable/draftable civilian gunsmiths that the AR-15 platform has. Even with all available supplies being shipped to deployed troops aboard all available transport, you're still going to have significant quantities of 5.56x45mm in stockpiles that couldn't be moved for lack of fuel, personnel, or vehicles.
I also don't see a switch to a heavier or different caliber. A cartridge of 5.56x45mm simply takes a smaller physical quantity of resources to produce than a heavier round.
Now, moving past the standard service rifle, I can see a lot more variance in designated marksman and sniper weaponry. It may not entirely work from a strict prewar regulatory perspective, but I can see a general attitude (or even a change to regs) of "if you can qualify with it and keep it reliable and fed, you can use it" for troops in that role. From a gaming perspective, that opens the door for a lot of sniper or hunting rifles that aren't standard issue but players might like to use anyway.
- C.