For those who think the 5.45 x 39mm is a fox hunting round:

VARIATIONS ON THE M16 THEME

The Beowulf wasn’t the only AR15/M16-style weapon on the Alexander Arms table. The group also brought its .21 Genghis, and selected the Shoot-out as the venue for unveiling the new .26 Grendel. Fewer than two dozen people had even seen the Grendel prior to the Shoot-out, a company spokesman told AFJ.

Like the Beowulf, the Genghis is built around an M16 operating system, but is chambered for the Soviet-designed 5.45-by-39mm cartridge, the round for which the AK-74 assault weapon is chambered. This round, Alexander Arms personnel pointed out, delivers 20 percent less recoil than a 5.56, yet creates a wound cavity up to 30 percent greater than the M16’s 5.56 round.

The Genghis at the Shoot-out was a semiautomatic version – it lacked three-round and full-auto capabilities; nonetheless, our evaluators found the 11-inch-barreled system a great weapon.
“It’s easy to shoot; very similar to a 5.56 M4,” an evaluator said. “Alexander Arms claims it has better ballistics than the 5.56; the lower cost of ammo is its main appeal over 5.56 use.”

Another found it “a dream to shoot. It has countersniper written all over it. The form and fit were unmatched – what a great gun.”

Alexander Arms sees the lower-cost ammo -officials say 5.45-by-39mm rounds can be purchased for approximately half the cost of 5.56 ammunition – makes the Genghis an attractive training system for M16 users.

“It has no recoil,” another noted. “Comfortable to shoot; easy to keep on target. I’d like to try one on full auto and with three-round bursts.”

“Super-low recoil and smooth operation,” another said.

But at least one evaluator felt the weapon would face an uphill battle in being adopted by U.S. military units. “I’m very much impressed with the weapon,” he said, “but the caliber limits its potential adoption.”

Only a few evaluators got to try their hand with the new Grendel, but those who did liked what they saw. One of them found the 6.5 round “very easy to shoot,” and was impressed by the 120-grain round’s 2,600 fps speed.

“Good integration of the AR-series frame,” another said. He and his colleagues gave the new weapon a resounding thumbs-up.

As learned in Afghanistan and again in Iraq, the M16’s 5.56 round lacks the punch needed for long-range engagements. That’s why Special Operations Command has been toying with the idea of adopting a larger round – something on the order of a 6.8 – for some time. So it’s probably no coincidence that Alexander Arms has adapted an AR15/M16 platform for its 6.5 round, and why company officials demonstrated the Grendel’s abilities from the 600-yard line at Blackwater.

Seems to me the only objection to the 5.45 x 39mm round is political.

For further info and a way cool 76mm shoulder fired gun go to:

http://www.militarycity.com/blackwater/videos.html

(Click on analysis to get the text above)

In the mean time… who has the biggest silencer… here is my submission: