The last few days I have seen several mainstream media outlets in a tizzy about the new Sig Sauer MCX spear, like this article from Business Insider. They are breathlessly saying that the new rifle can defeat body armor and is hugely dangerous to sell to civilians.
If you aren't aware MCX Spear is the civilian version of the US Army's new 6.8x51mm rifle, the XM5. The round is fairly powerful and somewhat unique but is it really the danger that the media is making it out to be? It's the media, of course it isn't.
The media articles I have seen make it sound like the MCX Spear and the .277 Fury round are somehow especially dangerous because it can defeat modern body armor. First of all, the AR-15's .223 caliber (or 5.56mm depending on what it is chambered in) can easily defeat most level II vests worn by law enforcement. Those vests are only rated for handguns (and not even all high powered ones either) so the whole discussion is largely moot. To stop any rifle round you need a plate carrier.
The articles also fail to inform readers that there are plenty of semi-auto rifles that fire rounds that are either equivalent to the .277 Fury or exceed it. .308 caliber AR-10's are common, along with dozens of other rifles chambered in the round, such as the civilian variants of the FN-SCAR-H, the HK G3 and the FN FAL, just to name three popular rifles. And there are other similar calibers, such as the 30-06 and so on.
So if these rifles are common why aren't they used in mass shootings more? The articles I have seen have greatly downplayed the downsides of full sized rifle rounds(or nearly so in the case of the .277 Fury). The most obvious in this case is the ruinous expense of both the rifle and ammo. The MCX Spear itself costs an absurd $8000 MSRP and the ammo costs more than $2 a round. For comparison a bare bones AR-15 can be bought for between $600 and $1000 and 5.56mm costs around .50 cents a round, depending on demand and supplies. Older cartridges, like .308 are also more expensive, though not nearly as much as .277 fury, around $1 a round. There's a reason I often don't take my .30 caliber rifles to the gun range and that's why. And the rifles themselves aren't cheap. You can get a Century Arms C308 (a G3 clone) for less than $1000 but that's about it, most cost dramatically more than an AR-15.
The other problem with these rounds is that they are heavy. .277 is about the same size as .308 and you simply can't carry that much with you compared to intermediate rounds like 5.56mm and dramatically less if you stay in pistol range. Not to mention that the magazines for these full size rifle rounds are bigger and have less capacity.
Finally, I think the media plays a major roll in how mass shooters chose their weapons. In the past mass shooters mostly used handguns for pretty obvious reasons (they are concealable). However, after a few mass shootings using AR-15's, the constant media coverage changed what people think the best weapon for killing a large number of people is. I think this process could start again with the MCX Spear directly due to these articles saying it's good for mass shootings, despite the obvious downsides of the rifle. Without that push though, I don't see people using rifles for mass shootings, despite the fact that they are moderately more powerful than an AR-15.
As for the MCX Spear itself, I think it's mostly a meme rifle. Sure, the military is trying it but really don't see what advantage the rifle has over something chambered in .308 and the obvious disadvantage in cost and availability. It's a toy for collectors and not something most people should bother with right now. If the XM5 becomes the standard service rifle than you might want to get one, as there is something to be said about owning something in what will be one of the most common calibers out there, but that's a long ways off and may never happen to begin with.
Finally, when it comes to the media, it always pays to be suspicious about their reporting on gun rights. They have proven themselves to either be completely ignorant about firearms or deliberately lying about them because they hate them. I am far from a firearms expert but even I was able to blow massive holes in the articles about the MCX Spear with a minimum of research. Many people though are just as ignorant as the media and they lap this stuff up. It just goes to show how badly our mainstream media serves us these days.
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