Thanks, Jeff, it's about time someone pointed this out.
First, let me say that am no longer a hunter.....nothing against it (except for too many drunks in the woods), but gun hunting is an unfair match and I have no urge to kill wild critters....that are doing me no harm.
My only formal training was in the Army.....they still used the M-14 in my time.(drafted in 1968). The M-16 hadn't worked is way through the system yet.
The best point of the M-16 back then was it was light. Using the prevailing rifle ranges & targets (50 to 450 meter pop-up man silhouettes), the 5.56 showed its shortcomings.
The instructors at the range called the 7.62 "point blank" at 100 meters using iron sights (peep type). I would agree. At 450 meters I probably *hit* 90-95 %......not a kill but a hit is good when the other fella is trying to kill you. Basically, they just handed us the M-16 to qualify with no comments & very little instruction.
An aside. For the first few days, I was top dog in my company in basic rifle training .....I did have prior hunting experience. After due consideration, I dropped to middle of the pack......McNamara's war was going on after all.
I liked the M-14. It would not jamb..... even if you could grow potatoes in the in the works.......the sumbytch was hopeless on full auto tho.
I find the push to optical sights as market driven. I went the opposite route. During my stay with Uncle Sugar, my detachment had to blow off 3600 rounds of 7.26 per quarter..... in one sitting.......8-10 guys normally got the job at the range.....I volunteered......I volunteered a lot in the Army. I did my time in Greece rather than Nam......got the 5 month early-out too.
I got into point shooting ...no sights......a white rock maybe 5 feet wide 400-500 yards out put off a nice puff of dust when struck. I hit it 60-70 % of the time after a bit of practice. Not bad payment for a sore shoulder. Glad I didn't have to pay for the ammo........