Originally Posted by
Transall
Hi,
Ours was 7.62x51 theirs 7.62x39 (well, I think 39 but it was definitely the shorter one).
That x51 and x39 being the length of the cartridge in mm (so, not including the bullet), their chamber would have been shorter.
Jamming our round in there would not have gone well.
Very likely we could have chambered their rounds.
Best regards, T.
Indeed - 7.62 short. Whoever called the SLR a blunderbuss hasn’t spent enough quality time with one
Apart from it’s obvious drawbacks, it was very accurate at a decent range. Apparently the NVA troops preferred to ambush the Americans. The theory being that you’d more likely crawl away from a 5.56 wound. A 7.62 - not so much.
We (the west, NATO) used the 81mm mortar round. They the 82mm. The same story was told about them being able to use our rounds. I’ve never made the attempt, nor met anyone game enough to try. Dropping that round down the tube would have been an act of faith.