How Many Bullets Does it Take To Kill An Insurgent?

A soldier with the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division’s 3rd Brigade Combat Team fires at the enemy in the remote village of Barge Matal in Nuristan province in northeastern Afghanistan last month. (DOD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Matthew Moeller)

US Forced To Import Bullets From Israel As Troops Use 250,000 For Every Rebel Killed -- Global Security

US forces have fired so many bullets in Iraq and Afghanistan - an estimated 250,000 for every insurgent killed - that American ammunition-makers cannot keep up with demand. As a result the US is having to import supplies from Israel.

A government report says that US forces are now using 1.8 billion rounds of small-arms ammunition a year. The total has more than doubled in five years, largely as a result of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as changes in military doctrine.

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My Comment: This is an old report from 2005. I have been looking for more up to date stats on bullets used in Afghanistan .... if anyone has any information just put the link into the comments section of this post.

The U.S. Marines Are To Get Better Bullets In Afghanistan

Marines zero their service rifles on a 36-yard firing range.
(Photo by Lance Cpl. Bobby J. Yarbrough).

Corps To Use More Lethal Ammo In Afghanistan -- Navy Times

The Marine Corps is dropping its conventional 5.56mm ammunition in Afghanistan in favor of new deadlier, more accurate rifle rounds, and could field them at any time.

The open-tipped rounds until now have been available only to Special Operations Command troops. The first 200,000 5.56mm Special Operations Science and Technology rounds are already downrange with Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, said Brig. Gen. Michael Brogan, commander of Marine Corps Systems Command. Commonly known as “SOST” rounds, they were legally cleared for Marine use by the Pentagon in late January, according to Navy Department documents obtained by Marine Corps Times.

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My Comment: The US marines are good shots right now .... I suspect that these bullets will not only give them better range, but it will be more effective to take down the enemy with one shot instead of a few.