Guns and Gear: Beware of the Man Who Has One Gun (and One Optic), Part 1

Regular readers have probably figured out by now that I am a big fan of the AR-15 platform. A wise man whose name is lost to the sands of the Internet described the AR-15 as "Legos for adults," referring to the great versatility of the platform and its ability to be configured to suit your purposes.

Some AR-15 owners take this to an extreme, building or buying many different AR-15 variants in many different configurations: a short-barreled rifle for CQB, a KISS 20-inch rifle for that retro feel, a mid-length "recce" configuration for general-purpose shooting, a 24-inch platform for varmint hunting (depending on their interests), a tricked-out M4 configuration with stuff on every rail in case Blackwater/Xe calls them out-of-the-blue with a BYOG (Bring Your Own Gun) job offer, a precision rig with a stainless steel barrel, etc. When I'm feeling relatively sane and avoiding the constant temptation of "because it's cool," I favor the other extreme. Another wise man said "Beware of the man who has one gun. He probably knows how to use it."

This is the goal that I aspire to (assuming, as I said, that I can avoid the temptations of "because it's cool"). I want one AR-15 that can do it all, from CQB/MOUT/FISH at indoor distances of 0-25 meters to precision shooting at the approximately 500-600 meter effective range of a 77-grain 5.56x45mm cartridge. This has many advantages from both the training and logistics perspectives: one manual of arms, one sight picture, one cheek weld, one stance, one grip, one trigger feel, one set of spare parts, one set of maintenance and repair procedures, one set of magazines, one type of ammo, etc.

Looking at the major components of an AR-15 system, this goal is mostly achievable: start with a decent lower receiver and parts kit, add a reliable two-stage trigger like those made by Geissele Automatics, put on a quality upper receiver group with a 16-inch barrel and mid-length gas system like that made by Bravo Company Manufacturing or the Noveske N4 series, and add a Magpul UBR stock or a VLTOR E-Mod. Put on a good light and mount, like the Viking Tactics mount with the SureFire G2 LED, for night/low-light environments or just about any of the SureFire dedicated weapon lights. Add a good vertical foregrip or try Magpul's innovative new Angled Foregrip. Finally, add a Harris bipod or a Tango Down Advanced Combat Bipod if you'll be doing a lot of prone shooting or just want a work-out for your support-side forearm :). This is basically the "recce" configuration I referred to above.

There's one little detail missing from this "dream carbine": sights.

Our Marines still qualify with the M16 at 500 yards with open sights. Alas, they are also less than half my age when they go through boot camp and their jobs keep them in the great outdoors, not in front of a computer for 50+ hours a week. Iron sights are noticeably slow in fast, close-range shooting, so we need something better than this. Although I don't like "because that's what (the Marines. the Army Rangers, the Navy SEALs, or the US Postal Service SWAT team) uses" as a justification, it is worth noting that almost all Fleet Marines have an optic on top of their rifle. The iron sights are used in in boot camp to teach the fundamentals of marksmanship without gee-whiz gadgets.

There is a lot to be said for red-dot sights like the Aimpoint Comp series or holograph sights like the L-3/EOTech series. They are wicked fast in close-quarters shooting and people (presumably with better eyes than me) can shoot them to "minute of bad guy" (or better) at 300 yards. More recently, 3/4x magnifiers with flip-to-side mounts have become available to improve the effectiveness of these sights at medium ranges. However, these add to the risk of snagging your weapon on something and your CQB reticle may not be well-suited to 300-500 yard shots where bullet drop becomes too significant for "Kentucky hold-over." To be frank, I also think this is simply inelegant.

At the other end of the spectrum are the fixed-power 4x scopes like the Trijicon ACOG series. I used to have a TA01NSN ACOG and I absolutely loved it. I would come home from the range quite proud of the nice little groups I put on my targets at 300 yards. Then I went to GunSite and really learned how to shoot the AR-15 in the Tactical Carbine and Advanced Tactical Carbine classes. I did good at the 300-yard line and, thanks to the ACOG's superior light-gathering characteristics and illuminated reticle, excelled at the night shoot. When it came to the 25-yard line and the shoot house, though, I was way behind the power curve. The 4x magnification slowed me down and the back-up sights on top of the TA01NSN are worse than useless (*). Based on what I learned at GunSite, I became an Aimpoint devotee for quite a few years, then moved up to the EOTech, but I miss the medium- to long-range capability, if for no other reasons than: a) medium- to long-range shooting is fun and b) two-gun/three-gun competition is a good way to sustain very perishable combat shooting skills and most courses of fire include some precision shots.

Let me pause at this point and say that for 90% of the shooting that a civilian would do in a self-defense situation, a non-magnifying red-dot or holographic scope (like the Aimpoint or EOTech products I've already mentioned) would be just fine. Even in a SHTF situation, you wouldn't be taking 300-yard shots if for no other reason that when law and order is restored, you'd have a hard time convincing a jury that a dirt-bag at 300 yards represented an immediate, deadly threat to you and your family. How do you even positively identify a threat at 300 yards? Gang colors aside (which unfortunately aren't a legal justification for the use of deadly force), it's not like the bad guys in a SHTF situation will be wearing uniforms. (**)

That said, it seems that we've talked ourselves into an impasse. The ACOG, Aimpoint, and EOTech optics are all great at what they do, but none of them is a "one-size-fits-all" solution to top off this general-purpose carbine. In our next installment, I'll look at some options.

By: Guardian

(*) Newer versions of the ACOG offer a mini-red dot sight on top of the main sight, but you still have to change your cheek weld. Newer versions of the ACOG also offer the Binden Aiming Concept in which a trick of the eye superimposes the reticle on your vision when you keep both eyes open. I tried this at a military trade show a while back and it does work, but it's not especially natural or comfortable (at least to me). Your mileage may vary.

(**) Although it's been a while since my last post, the hiatus was not for me to get my J.D. and pass the bar exam. I'm still not a lawyer and still not offering legal advice.