Doc Ed got it right on "mouth closed."
A couple of points on gun selection for combat.
pistols first.
I am a very poor shot with a pistol admittedly. I carried a 1911 strapped to my right leg and tied down for my entire tour. I never hit anything with. And I mean never ever hit anything. A few years later I found a Belguim Browning Hipower which was so much better because I could at least put a few holes in stuff I shot at. I do not know the safety issues with the current sidearms but the Army 1911 had a lot of bad sears and we had one or two people who I had to medivac for shooting themselves. The people's courage was not an issue- the sear was the issue.
AS far as hammer size, for close in work in a jungle where you are usually seriously outnumbered there is not much better than the M-16. Almost anybody can handle the recoil (on semi) and the 223 ammo is light enough that when we thought things were going to be really bad on a mission we would go to double basic laod and carry 1,200 to 1,600 rds. Try that with 308.
However for the longer range the retained energy the 308 would win any contest with the 223. Also when you get into an urban environment such as is the case in the middle east you are confronted with a dilemia. Manuverability of the M-16 inside the building versus the ability of the 308 ball to pierce hard targets. I think the soldiers who choose the 308 over the 223 would not be happy with an intermediate round. I am glad I am not fighting that war. These thougfhts are just speculation on my part. I don't keep track of military hardware. I keep track of my old friends and what the special forces are doing. If you go to the pictures of my pervious post and see what the special forces are carrying. These people steal or acquire what ever hardware they want and when you see them carrying the lttle carbines you know they are happy with them.
You will also see a few idiots carrying AKs. Very stupid. The sound of an AK is very distinctive and in combat (as opposed to hunting) you do a lot of shooting at sounds in order to suppress the return fire. Having AKs mixed in with your 16s causes uncertainty in which noise to shoot at.
Rem
There are people on the forum who know much more about the 30-06 vs 308 military trials than me, but the tests were done long ago and the 308 won. Same thing with the 308 versus the 223. By the way my first custom gun was a Springfield WWI rifle rebarreled to 25-06. I am a moron for selling that gun.
