Marines To Upgrade Rifles, Investigate Use Of Hollowpoint Bullets

By Bob Owens

According to the Marine Times, the Corps is considering a number of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) upgrades to enhance the combat accuracy of Marine riflemen. The Marines will also be investigating a continued shift away from full metal jacket (FMJ) rounds to open-tip (rifle) and hollowpoint (pistol) ammunition for combat.

The rifle upgrades to the existing Marine Corps M16A4 assault rifle will use many upgrades that civilian AR-15 users have preferred for years for hunting and competition on their semi-automatic-only rifles.

Perhaps the most important single upgrade is the adoption of a free-floating barrel, so that Marines shooting the rifle using a …read more

Via:: Bearing Arms