05 February
In Uncategorized by Ted
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Starting in World War 1, the US military used the 30-06 .30 caliber cartridge for its Model 1903 Springfield bolt action service rifle, and then in World War II for its Model M1 Garand semi-automatic service rifle,.30 caliber BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) and for the Browning .30 caliber machine gun. The 30 caliber M1 cartridge was both powerful and had range capabilities that exceeded 1000 yards. For the type of conflicts and engagements that the US was involved in from 1917 through 1954, this rifle and cartridge combination was a perfect fit. After the Korean conflict and the forming of NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) the US and its allies agreed to have commonality of ammunition. For handguns, this was the 9mm Parabellum. For rifles, this became the .308 otherwise known as the 7.62 x 51. This cartridge had almost identical ballistics to its predecessor the .30-06, but it was shorter, and therefore could be utilized in rifles with shorter and therefore lighter actions.