Army Captain Slams New XM7 Rifle As “Unfit,” Sig Sauer Says Otherwise (Updated)

[Timber Rattler]

https://www.twz.com/land/army-captain-slams-new-xm7-rifle-as-unfit-sig-sauer-says-otherwise?fbclid=IwY2xjawKQaOpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFram5VTkNVakZlaUpUUUlJAR4jBi3JEBvPNowieOciiUBszHe4h6JPsGkv_hJbamSRXmeZRf06i_nsfSpjmQ_aem_rnI9tLag_oeGBiB3YnyQwA

Army Capt. Braden Trent has caused something of a stir this week, saying that data he has collected points to his service’s new 6.8x51mm XM7 service rifle suffering from serious reliability and other issues, including excessive barrel wear and regular breakages of key components. He claims, based in part on observations of live-fire exercises involving XM7-armed soldiers, that these problems, together with a host of other factors, make the gun “unfit” for its intended purpose. The gun’s manufacturer, Sig Sauer, has strenuously pushed back on Trent’s assertions and outright denied a number of them.

Trent presented his findings, which come from an unclassified student thesis, at the annual Modern Day Marine exposition in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. The Army infantry officer is currently attending the Expeditionary Warfare School, part of the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia.

“My project began as a fact-finding mission. I wanted to find out, how does this new product [the XM7] increase soldier lethality and what data can I provide at the unclassified level to help soldiers and leaders alike make better decisions at the tactical, operational, and strategic levels?” Trent said in his presentation at Modern Day Marine. His research, “consisting of in-depth historical analysis, testing with experts, ballistics research, extensive dialog with soldiers, industry and leaders,” came “to the conclusion that the XM7 is unfit for use as a modern service rifle.”

EXCERPT

And thus the U.S. Army procures another piece of junk rifle.  Is it too much to ask to stick with the tried and battle tested .308/7.62 X 51mm cartridge and go back to the original AR-10 platform that still works just fine and is widely available at any sportsman's shop?

https://www.sportsmans.com/shooting-gear-gun-supplies/modern-sporting-rifles/armalite-ar10-defensive-sporting-308-winchester-16in-black-anodized-semi-automatic-modern-sporting-rifle-201-rounds/p/1415407?srsltid=AfmBOop6cdRObdLlyt6zjV1zeVf2sL9UAl9vw_bMdWcBd7vGoukbDtEd