7 June 13
From a friend and student in Norway:
“This morning I passed a checkpoint manned by local troops from our HV (Norwegian National Guard).
It was nice to see they all had fully-loaded H&K G3s at the ready, but pointed in a continuous safe direction, and fingers where they belong. Unlike so many ‘soldiers’ these days, they’re accustomed to carrying loaded rifles all day, accordingly have good gun-handling skills, know and understand the importance of their job, and thus don’t resemble bored, nonchalant, dithering buffoons!
There are still forces among the high-up in the Norwegian Army who are eager to replace our current inventory of (7.62×51) G3s with some rifle in 5.56×45 (223) caliber.
Luckily, here most officers are hunters too and know the difference between the 7.62×51 and the 5.56×45, and have scant regard for the latter!”
Comment: Several domestic rifle manufacturers have told me that, in Canada too, there is but small demand for rifles chambered in 223. Like Norwegians, Canadians regard them as toys. They’re interested mostly in rifles chambered for 308, and north. As in Norway, many Canadians are big-game hunters and, via their experiences in the field, have formed strong opinions!
Caliber debates are endless, of course, but, even in Western Europe, the issue is far from settled, as we see!
/John
