Any time gun geeks start talking about military rifle cartridges and the topic lands on the 5.56 NATO / .223 Remington round, somebody will insist it was specifically designed to wound. Brownells Gun Techs™ Caleb and Steve, aka "The Smyth Busters," weigh in on whether this is true. The theory is that wounding a soldier not only takes him out of the fight but also his comrades who have to tend to him. Hence, wounding is "better" than killing. But one of the original U.S. military requirements for the 5.56x45mm round was that it be able to penetrate a helmet at 500 meters. In fact, ANY bullet can kill, even a .22 Short. Early combat reports from Vietnam indicated the 5.56 bullet tended to tumble more readily than the old .30-06 from the M1 Garand or the M14's 7.62 / .308 bullet. A tumbling bullet will often cause a bigger wound, and this might be the source of the "designed to wound" theory. So the myth is BUSTED. The 5.56 NATO cartridge was not somehow specially designed to wound rather than kill. If you have found convincing evidence to the contrary, the guys are ready to revise their conclusion! Tell us about it in the comments below. As far as Steve is concerned, the M1 Garand is really the military rifle that "does it all" anyway. (Wait, is he being provocative?)
