The problem with high rates of fire
The problem with high rates of fire
While many perceive a higher rate of fire in a firearm to improve it's combat effectiveness, generally speaking this is only true in a very limited number of circumstances. Either when attempting to blanket the sky in bullets, so as to intercept an incoming missile for example, or when trying to hit a moving target while also moving very quickly (such as in a helicopter), in general a higher rate of fire doesn't result in improved effectiveness of a firearm under ordinary combat conditions, especially in the use of infantry weapons. There's a few reasons as to why, but the primary reason is that shooting the same target 30 times, or 50 times as opposed to 5 or 10 usually doesn't result in substantial benefit over the ordinary weapon. An individual who is shot 5 times is generally no less incapacitated than someone shot 50, meaning that it's simply a waste of ammunition to use more rounds. As bullets travel in roughly the same pattern as the previous round before it, in the direction the barrel is facing, shooting lots of bullets doesn't mean lots of hits. Simply shooting bullets in random directions won't automatically guarantee hits, let alone kills or incapacitation, as one needs to aim with a firearm to make it effective and useful. Without aiming in between each shot, there is no guarantee that the bullets will hit their mark, and given how small bullets are, and how a few degrees can completely throw off the aim of the individual, makes randomly firing in different directions generally a bad idea. As bullets do not lock on to the nearest human being like a guided missile, the most likely event is that most bullets will miss. It takes something like 3,000 rounds per enemy kill in open combat with infantry (not including rounds used in training or fired by large machine guns), meaning there are already a tremendous amount of bullets wasted. "Spraying-and-praying" is a tactic so futile for combat that the U.S. army and marines removed the fully automatic firing selector from their rifles entirely from the 80's until just recently.
Especially with infantry, ammunition storage is a key concern. If a soldier is completely out of ammo in 10 seconds, a soldier won't last very long in a prolonged firefight. As the average soldier only carries about 300 rounds and this is 10 pounds, being able to shoot 20 rounds per second confers no particular advantage to most infantry engagements; being out of ammo in 15 seconds means the fight is over on your side. Even when fully automatic fire is available, it's used in short controlled bursts, usually directed at the same target to make it easier to hit the target, or to hit the target multiple times to ensure incapacitation. Disciplined, accurate shooting is particularly important for infantry. Rapid fire capabilities are more about convenience and maneuverability rather than raw firepower. The ability to shoot on the go or without having to fiddle with the gun in an exorbitantly tedious way allow for smooth operation during stressful situations or under harsh circumstances, which is primarily the goal of such a rate of fire. It also allows for defensive capabilities, where one can quickly lay down suppressive fire in the event where it's needed, warning the enemy not to get to close or else face a hail of bullets. It also confers an incredible advantage in the fast paced nature of close quarters combat, which is invaluable defensively. In the anti-air or anti-ground role (from the air), high rates of fire can be useful. But on the ground with infantry, it very rarely is.
Past about 600 RPM, there is very little tangible benefit to a higher rate of fire. A high rate of fire does come with certain drawbacks, such as wasting ammunition. But overheating, faster degradation of parts, higher recoil, and the need for stronger and usually heavier materials all contribute to problems associated with a high rate of fire. A firearm that shoots faster overheats faster, often exponentially so. Not only are more rounds fired in a shorter amount of time, but there's less time for the gases to escape the rifle. At certain rates of fire, gases simply can't escape the weapon in time and build up, thus increasing the pressure of the gun and it's temperature. There's also the added drawback of friction, which increases exponentially. 3 times the rate of fire doesn't just 3 mean 3 times the friction, but often much more than that. As a result the weapon not only overheats even faster, but also wears down on the parts. Certain rates of friction can begin stripping metal faster, meaning that at too high a rate of fire the weapon can literally be destroying itself. To compensate for this, the weapon often needs to be heavier and made of stronger materials, which not only makes it harder to carry, but more expensive as well. This in turn reduces the total number than can be produced in a war, such as with the MG42 and MG34, with the Germans producing roughly a million machine guns total, and the U.S. producing over 10 million machine guns when the Browning .50 cal (3 million), Browning .30 cal (5 million), and BAR (2 million) are tallied up.
While many perceive a higher rate of fire in a firearm to improve it's combat effectiveness, generally speaking this is only true in a very limited number of circumstances. Either when attempting to blanket the sky in bullets, so as to intercept an incoming missile for example, or when trying to hit a moving target while also moving very quickly (such as in a helicopter), in general a higher rate of fire doesn't result in improved effectiveness of a firearm under ordinary combat conditions, especially in the use of infantry weapons. There's a few reasons as to why, but the primary reason is that shooting the same target 30 times, or 50 times as opposed to 5 or 10 usually doesn't result in substantial benefit over the ordinary weapon. An individual who is shot 5 times is generally no less incapacitated than someone shot 50, meaning that it's simply a waste of ammunition to use more rounds. As bullets travel in roughly the same pattern as the previous round before it, in the direction the barrel is facing, shooting lots of bullets doesn't mean lots of hits. Simply shooting bullets in random directions won't automatically guarantee hits, let alone kills or incapacitation, as one needs to aim with a firearm to make it effective and useful. Without aiming in between each shot, there is no guarantee that the bullets will hit their mark, and given how small bullets are, and how a few degrees can completely throw off the aim of the individual, makes randomly firing in different directions generally a bad idea. As bullets do not lock on to the nearest human being like a guided missile, the most likely event is that most bullets will miss. It takes something like 3,000 rounds per enemy kill in open combat with infantry (not including rounds used in training or fired by large machine guns), meaning there are already a tremendous amount of bullets wasted. "Spraying-and-praying" is a tactic so futile for combat that the U.S. army and marines removed the fully automatic firing selector from their rifles entirely from the 80's until just recently.
Especially with infantry, ammunition storage is a key concern. If a soldier is completely out of ammo in 10 seconds, a soldier won't last very long in a prolonged firefight. As the average soldier only carries about 300 rounds and this is 10 pounds, being able to shoot 20 rounds per second confers no particular advantage to most infantry engagements; being out of ammo in 15 seconds means the fight is over on your side. Even when fully automatic fire is available, it's used in short controlled bursts, usually directed at the same target to make it easier to hit the target, or to hit the target multiple times to ensure incapacitation. Disciplined, accurate shooting is particularly important for infantry. Rapid fire capabilities are more about convenience and maneuverability rather than raw firepower. The ability to shoot on the go or without having to fiddle with the gun in an exorbitantly tedious way allow for smooth operation during stressful situations or under harsh circumstances, which is primarily the goal of such a rate of fire. It also allows for defensive capabilities, where one can quickly lay down suppressive fire in the event where it's needed, warning the enemy not to get to close or else face a hail of bullets. It also confers an incredible advantage in the fast paced nature of close quarters combat, which is invaluable defensively. In the anti-air or anti-ground role (from the air), high rates of fire can be useful. But on the ground with infantry, it very rarely is.
Past about 600 RPM, there is very little tangible benefit to a higher rate of fire. A high rate of fire does come with certain drawbacks, such as wasting ammunition. But overheating, faster degradation of parts, higher recoil, and the need for stronger and usually heavier materials all contribute to problems associated with a high rate of fire. A firearm that shoots faster overheats faster, often exponentially so. Not only are more rounds fired in a shorter amount of time, but there's less time for the gases to escape the rifle. At certain rates of fire, gases simply can't escape the weapon in time and build up, thus increasing the pressure of the gun and it's temperature. There's also the added drawback of friction, which increases exponentially. 3 times the rate of fire doesn't just 3 mean 3 times the friction, but often much more than that. As a result the weapon not only overheats even faster, but also wears down on the parts. Certain rates of friction can begin stripping metal faster, meaning that at too high a rate of fire the weapon can literally be destroying itself. To compensate for this, the weapon often needs to be heavier and made of stronger materials, which not only makes it harder to carry, but more expensive as well. This in turn reduces the total number than can be produced in a war, such as with the MG42 and MG34, with the Germans producing roughly a million machine guns total, and the U.S. producing over 10 million machine guns when the Browning .50 cal (3 million), Browning .30 cal (5 million), and BAR (2 million) are tallied up.
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