http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=69
Rifle Set-up
26 Mar 10
Get your personal rifle, and get it set up, while you still can!
I've been asked about the "ideal rifle set-up."
I like a rifle that can be called upon to perform nearly any task a serious rifle can be expected to do, reasonably well, but that can't do any specific task perfectly. Rifles that are set up to do a single task perfectly, usually do all other tasks poorly. You can't have it both ways!
I like universal tools, not speciality tools, but that is just my opinion and personal preference.
So, here goes:
Caliber: It makes a lot of sense to have at least one rifle cambered for 223 (5.56x45). Far from the ideal, fighting caliber, but universally available (both in, and out, of the military supply system), and likely will be so for the foreseeable future.
Soviet/30 (7.62x39) and 6.8SPC both represent superlative choices. Much extended range and enhanced penetration when compared with the 223. For now, both are unavailable within the military supply system. However, both are generally available commercially, particularly 7.62x39.
308 (7.62x51) and 30-06 (7.62x63). These are the heavyweights, but they require big, heavy rifles, and the weight and bulk of the ammunition itself means that you'll be able to comfortably carry a good deal less of it than would be the case with any of the foregoing. Both calibers are generally available, albeit relatively expensive. When you weigh in, in excess of 165lbs, a rifle in one of these calibers may be just your ticket!
Other choices: Soviet/22 (5.54x39). Superior to the 223, but availability is a concern. Nearly all of it currently on-sale is imported. M1Carbine: Range-limited, but still a good choice. Readily available. FN's little 5.7X28 is also range-limited, but may represent a good choice for some. It is reasonably available, at least for now.
Rifle: We should all probably own at least one copy of the Stoner/AR. Maintenance-sensitive and generally inferior to most others listed below, still there are lots of spare parts available and lots of folks who can fix them. Best candidates are RRA, DSA, S&W, DPMS, Sabre-Tech
Other choices: Gas-piston rifles are superior to the Stoner System, for a host of reasons. For one, all are a good deal less maintenance-sensitive. Best candidates are RA/XCR, Berrett Ret-7, SA/M1A, FA/M14, Garand, DSA/FAL, Krebs/Kalashnikov, SIG/556. For all, I recommend a folding stock (when available), in order to facilitate low-profile transport.
The M1 Carbine is not exactly a "gas-piston" rifle, but it runs well. Short and handy, the best are available from Kahr and Fulton Armory. Since it uses a low-pressure round, flash-hiders are unnecessary. Likewise, Beretta's excellent CX4 Carbine, chambered for 9mm and 40S&W, is range and penetration-limited, but short, easy to use, and features low-recoil/noise/launch-signature, and, as with the M1 Carbine, does not require a flash-hider. Good choice for the small-statured.
Your fighting rifle needs to be short, slick, and handy. Things to be avoided include excessive length, snags, sharp corners and edges, and maladroit controls. Generally, extended/enlarged/ambidextrous controls create more problems than they "solve."
Rifles marked and marketed as "match" or "target" should be shunned like the plague! Military rifles need to have relatively loose chambers and other tolerances, so they will tolerate grit, dirt, and continuous neglect and lack of maintenance. Tightly tuned, target rifles will predictably go down in short order when exposed to "exigent" conditions. For our needs a general, utility, battle-rifle serves best. Accuracy, in relative terms, will never be better than mediocre.
Sights: The best set-up for your rifle is a full-length, top-rail, with side and bottom rails forward. Your rifle needs iron-sights, no matter what else you have! Best are Western-style, peep rear and front post. Yankee Hill, GG&G, Troy, and LaRue all make excellent examples, and all "fold-down" and out of the way when not needed. Those with good eyes may be able to use Soviet-style "pistol" sights, but these are generally inferior to peep sights.
Optics greatly improve speed and accuracy for many, but at the expense of extra bulk and battery issues in the case of some. Magnification is handy when one needs to make out downrange detail, but too much (more than 2.5X) leads to confusion and slow reactivity. Zero-magnification, "red-dots" generally represent the best combination of features. Aimpoint's T1 tops the list!
Aimpoints, Z-points, EOTechs, and others can be combined with a swing-out "magnifier," mounted, in tandem, on the top rail, behind the optic. This set-up provides optional magnification when required, but, again, at the expense of even additional bulk and "... yet another 'option' to clutter your mind!"
The Achilles' heel of all rifle-optics is frost! Most optics, even with cracked glass, still function normally. Fog can be quickly wiped away. But, a thick layer of frost on lenses, which often forms instantaneously and without warning, renders the optic temporarily useless, and frost cannot be wiped away readily. In addition, a frosted optic will simultaneously render back-up, iron sights (when mounted in-line) also unusable!
So, all rifle-optics need to be attached to the top-rail via a quick-release mount that will allow the Operator to instantly take the frosted optic off his rifle, deploy his iron sights, and get back into the fight without delay. When the emergency subsides, the (now clean) optic can be quickly re-mounted, and iron sights re-folded. With modern rails and mounts, re-zeroing is unnecessary. Best quick-release mounts are made by LaRue.
Optics need to be forward-mounted, away from the Operator's face. That way, the Operator can easily look around the optic, as well as through it. Most red-dots and scout-scops are not eye-relief-critical, so they can be mounted virtually anywhere on the top rail.
Slings: To be truly useful, your fighting rifle must be equipped with a sling! One-point slings are currently the rage, but, for all-day carry, a two-point sling is hard to beat. Blue-Force Gear's Vicker's Sling tops the list.
Finally, your rifle needs a co-axial flashlight, forward-mounted on the right, forward rail (for right-handers). Surefire, Insight, and Laser-Devices all make excellent candidates. Minimum strength is 120 lumens. A co-axial flashlight will make your sights (optical and iron) useable in low-light and instantly provide you with the critical information you will need in order to make well-grounded decisions with regard to the use of deadly-force. Indispensable on a serious rifle!
Other options, like vertical forends, must always be evaluated balancing tangible benefits (not just, "it looks ###y") versus concrete liabilities, mostly additional bulk/weight, fragility, the likelihood of it coming loose, and its potential to interfere with vital tasks/procedures.
Your rifle, even when properly equipped, is still mostly useless until it is sighted in! You must have complete faith in your sight settings, and in your ability to precisely apply them to the challenge at hand, or your next fight will undoubtably go badly! Most rifles enumerated above should be set so that they are dead-on at forty meters. So zeroed, your rifle will be, for all practical purposes, dead-on for any target between twenty-five and seventy-five meters, and within two inches all the way out past two-hundred meters.
Once zeroed, re-zero every chance you get! Constantly re-confirm your zero, particularly when traveling with the weapon and after changing brands of ammunition or bullet weights. When the Test comes, you don't want to be wondering about the validity of your zero. By the same token, don't "lend" your rifle to other people. They may decide to "adjust" your sights without telling you! With regard to your rifle's zero, "When there is doubt, there is no doubt!"
This represents a real problem for many police departments, in that it is ever-convenient for officers to "share" rifles. It may be convenient, but it is a can of worms! Individual rifles need to be issued to individual officers, and an officer's individual rifle needs to ever-remain with him, and he needs to take, and accept, complete responsibility for it, and for his competence with it. Anything less invites disaster!
Shoot your rifle! Get rounds downrange every chance you get, in order to confirm your zero (as noted above) and also to confirm that the weapon is running normally. Field-strip, clean, inspect, and lubricate it. Then, reassemble it and shoot it again!
When the Test comes, you'll be supremely confident, and ready!
/John
created by dti@clouds.com
Copyright © 2010 by DTI, Inc. All rights reserved.http://www.defense-training.com/quips/26Mar10.html
created on Friday March 26, 2010 23:59:1 MDT
