Jack A. Sol
member
I was thinking the other day about what weapons one would need to cover all ranges of encounters. The first two don't really fit into the rule, but nonetheless are vital tools for the toolkit. they are a knife with at least a 4" blade, and a pistol (preferably a Glock or H&K) in one of the 3 main calibers 9, 40, 45. My argument for the glock 19 (9mm) would be it's ready ammunition supply, stupidly abuse handling reliability, cheap mags and readily available parts and accessories, ease of concealment, and simplicity.
Based on my expereinces in training classes, matches and real life I kept coming up with the same basic weapons an requirements. I finally distilled them down into a simple format that follows:
-Close range you at least need a reliable 4 MOA gun (up to 200 yards)
-Medium range you at least need a 2 MOA gun (up to ~600 yards)
-Long range you at least need a 1 MOA gun (600 yards and beyond)
-All the above group sizes should be a COMBINATION of SHOOTER, AMMO, and GUN.
-Many shooters will induce 2-3 MOA of error. This error should be accounted for by either additional training or by better gear/ammo choice. Know you limitations and choose accordingly.
The .30 caliber pretty much rules when it comes to barrier penetration, projectile selection and terminal ballistics. This would dictate the following rifle choices
Close Range (assault rifle) 7.62x39 AK style gun of QUALITY MANUFACTURE ONLY (skip the Romanian and rebuilt garbage, go with a reputable known name builder IE Jim Fuller, Krebs, Arsenal USA) right now the only AK I would recommend that is readily available and well made with a STAMPED receiver is the Arsenals. for those in the market for a custom gun, I have seen no finer looking and assembled gun than A Fuller gun. simply outstanding workmanship and he can build it however you want. Use good quality ammo when accuracy is a factor. wolf and surplus fodder is usually only 3-6 MOA stuff. Paul Gomez reccomends the wolf military classic JHP 124gr stuff as a excellent gelatin performer. I am working on a 150gr bonded JSP with Hunting Shack as well, which should be a really great performer. we'll see. A Red dot sight or low power scope capable of near-unity (1x) magnification and under 4x, is a very nice addition in this class. The Aimpoint micro on a ultimak rail, co-witnesses the irons almost perfectly.
Mid range (Main Battle Rifle) This is basically the DMR/Guerilla sniper type rifle. An M-14 or DSA FAL clone or a decent PSL/Dragunov (with good ammo). mid range scope in this class. Illuminated 2.5-8x32 Leupold MR/T is the perfect scope for the price IME with a 2-7 short mag Burris Ballistic plex coming in second as the best buy scope choice. Irons should also be squred away and you should be capable of using them at ranges out to at least 500 yards. Quality ball ammo can be used in this class.
Long Range (sniper rifle) The caliber must be LARGER THAN 7.62X51. 300 win mag is a great choice out to 1200 yards or so and ammo availability is great even at small town hardware stores. Good match ammo available for about $1 per round. Both Remington and Savage offer tactical rifles in this caliber for a reasonable price, the Steyr SSG-04 (street @ $2K) might be the perfect choice for this category in 300 Win Mag and its detachable 8 round mags. Sako and FN makes a similar gun in 300 WSM. Cartridge choice should be determined by availability and price unless you can afford to put away 5K of 338 lapua or 30-378 weatherby (at about $4 per round). Scope choice should be AT LEAST a 10x with capabilities of both lower and higher magnifications as ideal. A 3-18x would be about perfect. The mil-dot reticle has past it's day IMO, and there are much better choices out there like Leupolds "TMR", IOR's "MP-8", Horus Vision, and almost any mil-based system offered by quality manufacturers. A BDC (bullet drop compensator, provides markings on scope elevation dial preset for certain ranges) is helpful, but not 100% perfect for precise shooting. A bipod is mandatory as well as a shooting sling. Match grade ammo should be used in this class. The long range rifle should also be accompanied by a laser range finder. the simpler and more robust the better. The Leica compact version, which doesn't have all the doodads and geegaw's of other offerings like Leupold, just plain works, and it don't take a rocket surgeon to figure it out. You can actually hand it to your wife and ask her to point it at something and tell you how far away it is. Easy.
The rule also dictates that if you need more accuracy than the rifle you have then you go up a step until you get what you need. I am also a HUGE fan of chrome lined barrels wherever possible. trust me you'll never notice any accuracy detriment in the field.
All that explained and said if you just want ONE good gun with readily available parts and ammo then it's pretty hard to beat the AR. NO it's not the best at what it does, NO it's not the most reliable gun on the planet, NO it's not the most accurate, NO it doesn't have the best caliber, BUUUUT it does do all of the above in a reasonable manner and to an extent that WILL get the job done IF the operator is up to the task and understands the limitations of the system , kind of like a Leatherman!! Good to about 600 yards for accuracy but ammo choice for terminal performance is a critical factor after 200 yards. Stay with chrome lined barrels and milspec 5.56 chambers or reliability goes straight out the window. If you want to build a SYSTEM, or realize that you need more than a pistol and an AK, then consider the above course for your tool kit. YMMV
Jack
Based on my expereinces in training classes, matches and real life I kept coming up with the same basic weapons an requirements. I finally distilled them down into a simple format that follows:
-Close range you at least need a reliable 4 MOA gun (up to 200 yards)
-Medium range you at least need a 2 MOA gun (up to ~600 yards)
-Long range you at least need a 1 MOA gun (600 yards and beyond)
-All the above group sizes should be a COMBINATION of SHOOTER, AMMO, and GUN.
-Many shooters will induce 2-3 MOA of error. This error should be accounted for by either additional training or by better gear/ammo choice. Know you limitations and choose accordingly.
The .30 caliber pretty much rules when it comes to barrier penetration, projectile selection and terminal ballistics. This would dictate the following rifle choices
Close Range (assault rifle) 7.62x39 AK style gun of QUALITY MANUFACTURE ONLY (skip the Romanian and rebuilt garbage, go with a reputable known name builder IE Jim Fuller, Krebs, Arsenal USA) right now the only AK I would recommend that is readily available and well made with a STAMPED receiver is the Arsenals. for those in the market for a custom gun, I have seen no finer looking and assembled gun than A Fuller gun. simply outstanding workmanship and he can build it however you want. Use good quality ammo when accuracy is a factor. wolf and surplus fodder is usually only 3-6 MOA stuff. Paul Gomez reccomends the wolf military classic JHP 124gr stuff as a excellent gelatin performer. I am working on a 150gr bonded JSP with Hunting Shack as well, which should be a really great performer. we'll see. A Red dot sight or low power scope capable of near-unity (1x) magnification and under 4x, is a very nice addition in this class. The Aimpoint micro on a ultimak rail, co-witnesses the irons almost perfectly.
Mid range (Main Battle Rifle) This is basically the DMR/Guerilla sniper type rifle. An M-14 or DSA FAL clone or a decent PSL/Dragunov (with good ammo). mid range scope in this class. Illuminated 2.5-8x32 Leupold MR/T is the perfect scope for the price IME with a 2-7 short mag Burris Ballistic plex coming in second as the best buy scope choice. Irons should also be squred away and you should be capable of using them at ranges out to at least 500 yards. Quality ball ammo can be used in this class.
Long Range (sniper rifle) The caliber must be LARGER THAN 7.62X51. 300 win mag is a great choice out to 1200 yards or so and ammo availability is great even at small town hardware stores. Good match ammo available for about $1 per round. Both Remington and Savage offer tactical rifles in this caliber for a reasonable price, the Steyr SSG-04 (street @ $2K) might be the perfect choice for this category in 300 Win Mag and its detachable 8 round mags. Sako and FN makes a similar gun in 300 WSM. Cartridge choice should be determined by availability and price unless you can afford to put away 5K of 338 lapua or 30-378 weatherby (at about $4 per round). Scope choice should be AT LEAST a 10x with capabilities of both lower and higher magnifications as ideal. A 3-18x would be about perfect. The mil-dot reticle has past it's day IMO, and there are much better choices out there like Leupolds "TMR", IOR's "MP-8", Horus Vision, and almost any mil-based system offered by quality manufacturers. A BDC (bullet drop compensator, provides markings on scope elevation dial preset for certain ranges) is helpful, but not 100% perfect for precise shooting. A bipod is mandatory as well as a shooting sling. Match grade ammo should be used in this class. The long range rifle should also be accompanied by a laser range finder. the simpler and more robust the better. The Leica compact version, which doesn't have all the doodads and geegaw's of other offerings like Leupold, just plain works, and it don't take a rocket surgeon to figure it out. You can actually hand it to your wife and ask her to point it at something and tell you how far away it is. Easy.
The rule also dictates that if you need more accuracy than the rifle you have then you go up a step until you get what you need. I am also a HUGE fan of chrome lined barrels wherever possible. trust me you'll never notice any accuracy detriment in the field.
All that explained and said if you just want ONE good gun with readily available parts and ammo then it's pretty hard to beat the AR. NO it's not the best at what it does, NO it's not the most reliable gun on the planet, NO it's not the most accurate, NO it doesn't have the best caliber, BUUUUT it does do all of the above in a reasonable manner and to an extent that WILL get the job done IF the operator is up to the task and understands the limitations of the system , kind of like a Leatherman!! Good to about 600 yards for accuracy but ammo choice for terminal performance is a critical factor after 200 yards. Stay with chrome lined barrels and milspec 5.56 chambers or reliability goes straight out the window. If you want to build a SYSTEM, or realize that you need more than a pistol and an AK, then consider the above course for your tool kit. YMMV
Jack
