>John,
>
>>>Tom,
>>>
>>>Apparently the cartridge tumbles on the M-16 which causes a tremendous amount of damage inside the body.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>An urban legend. The barrel has rifling which gives the bullet a rotational axis, creating more stability in flight. It doesn't tumble, it may wobble a little though.
>
>Thanks for the info.
>
>Then why would the cartridge create more exit damage? Is it the composition of the round?


Since you asked, here's a little info on bullets and their stability in flight http://www.povn.com/~4n6/anom.htm#header_anomalies . The rifling in the barrel gives the projectile a spin which creates a more stable flight path, when optimized. Too much twist in the rifling and the bullet becomes unstable.