[The Reaper]

Rifles, Carbines, and Accessories, a Primer

Introduction

There is a good bit of discussion today about carbines and what proper accessories are.

Many websites are out there with tons of information. Some is from experts, some is from guys who use their guns for games, and some is from kids who have not owned anything more lethal than an Airsoft rifle. An experienced warrior will hold the edge with a 1903 Springfield over a wannabe with a SIG 552. The weapon is merely a tool, and possession of the latest and greatest no more makes one a soldier than owning a Stradivarius would make me a concert violinist.

In light of that, I would offer the following as my personal opinions as a former action guy who has been a few places and done a few things, nothing particularly HSLD. I have access to a lot of different options and have, as I suspect that many of you do, accumulated several boxes of parts that were recommended or looked cool that once mounted, just didn’t do the job. I still shoot regularly and am involved with training SF and SOF personnel.

A brief history

It is generally accepted that the assault rifle had its beginnings in Germany with the STG-44. It was a compact, magazine fed, self-loading, selective-fire carbine chambered for an intermediate-powered cartridge, the 7.92x33 Kurz. The AK-47 has many similarities. Early post-War thinking led Western arms designers to believe that a full-powered round was a better choice for the next war, so despite the efforts of the Brits, the US pushed NATO into the 7.62x51 round, basically a shortened .30-’06. Rifles developed for it were the M-14, the FAL, and the G-3. These rifles generally used a 20 round magazine and loaded, weighed in the neighborhood of 9-11 pounds with an overall length of 40-44”. Eventually, the weight and size of the rifle and the ammo, combined with increasing numbers of females in the service, led the US to move to their first assault rifle, the AR-15, which became the M-16, using the 5.56x45 round.

Choose the right tool for the job

As with many things, requirements should drive your weapons selection. If you will need to make 600 meter shots, shoot through cars and buildings, or make head shots at 300 meters, an assault rifle/carbine is probably not the right selection. If you are looking for a lightweight, portable weapon to carry indoors, or in a vehicle, to be used at shorter ranges, but to possess more power than an SMG or pistol, then the assault rifle/carbine is the optimum choice. If you are a civilian who wants a weapon for home defense, unless you are anticipating a Night of the Living Dead scenario, a thirty round mag, a HSLD optical sight, the ability to engage out to 300 meters and beyond, and the ability to penetrate 4 interior walls are probably negatives, especially when you have to explain it in court. The weapon will look “offensive” to the uninformed, and collateral damage is going to be difficult to justify. Get a Remington 870 that looks like Grand Pa’s duck gun instead. It will work wonders on several intruders. If you are deploying to the Box as a servicemember or a contractor, and want to maintain proficiency, or get some good accessories, this is the place to get the skinny.

The basis for a good set-up is the right weapon. There are many assault rifles and carbines to choose from today. I have a fair amount of trigger time on AKs, Galils, ARs, M14s, Berettas, FNs, HKs, Steyrs, SIGs, etc. They each have their pros and cons. Most, in one form or another, are available to civilians in free parts of the US. Pointless, “feel-good” legislation, illegal policies, and nambyism have limited the availability of some, and raised the prices of most others.

A Sturmgewehr or full-sized battle rifle like the M-14, HK G-3, or FN-FAL shoots a full-power rifle cartridge, normally a 7.62x51. While there are environments where that is needed, it will be heavier, will recoil more, be more difficult to control, will tend to penetrate barriers better, and the ammo will weigh twice as much or more than an intermediate power assault rifle round. That means that you will only be able to carry half as many rounds. Not a problem if you are only carrying it from your car to the firing line, but if you actually have to hump it with a basic load, it can become tiring very quickly. That is why the basic load for an M-1 or an M-14 is about half what it is for the M-16. There are “carbine” and Para versions of these rifles. They will recoil more, have more muzzle blast, and generally be even more difficult to control. And the ammo will still be heavier than the assault rifle.

Characteristics

The assault rifle will generally be chambered for one of the common assault rifle cartridges, like the 7.62x39, 5.56x45, or the 5.45x39. It will have a detachable box magazine of 30 rounds capacity or more. Actual assault rifles will be capable of controlled full-auto fire. It will weigh between six and nine pounds and will be about 30-36” on overall length.

The first thing a gun must be is reliable. The most precise weapon or the best accessories in the world are useless if the gun doesn’t go ban when the trigger is pulled. That is one of the advantages of the AK. No matter where it was made, or how poorly it is maintained, or the condition of the mag, or how crappy the ammo, it will almost always work reliably. At the same time, it is not a precision weapon. The AK is probably among the most reliable under a variety of adverse conditions, with the others falling somewhere underneath. With good mags and ammo, the AR is capable of cycling reliably for several thousand rounds before cleaning becomes necessary. That many rounds exceed what most would expect to fire in a single engagement. It does not mean that it should not be cleaned sooner when time permits.

Second, the weapon must be accurate enough for its intended purpose. Most AKs are accurate enough for engagements under 100 meters. Beyond that, it becomes questionable. Some, with the right ammo will shoot well out to 300 meters. Most will not. ARs tend to be among the more accurate, along with HKs and SIGs. A carbine is not a sniper weapon. If you expect it to be, you are likely to be disappointed. The abbreviated barrel of a carbine normally has a shorter sight radius and gives up a significant amount of muzzle velocity to the full-sized counterpart. At the same time, it is lighter and more portable. If you anticipate the need to reach out and touch targets at extended ranges, this should affect your decision. The majority of combat engagements are taking place under 100 meters though. Take your rifle and gear out to the range, jock up, and see what your groups look like at 100 meters. If that went well, move the target out to 300 meters and try again. That is your practical accuracy, rather then the theoretical accuracy you get off of a sandbag. Your max effective range is realistically what you can do with your gear from combat shooting positions against a man sized target, like a Series E silhouette, or for a more realistic challenge, a KZ-sized paper plate. As with hunting, you need to know what your limits are, as well as that of your equipment, and respect them.

Many assault rifles and carbines are designed for differing people with differing ergonomics. However, ergonomics on some rifles are clearly better then others. While the selector switch on an AK also functions as a dust cover, it is needlessly difficult to manipulate when in a firing position and is noisy. The Galil attempts to address this, but is only marginally successful. The M-14 retains the Garand slotted safety at the front of the trigger guard. This requires the trigger finger to come off the trigger to take the safety off, and for the trigger finger to reach around the front of the trigger guard to activate it. For right handed shooters, the optimum placement of the safety appears to be on the left side of the receiver, above the thumb. The AK and most older weapons require the supporting hand depress a latch to remove a magazine, and many require that the mag be “rocked” out of the mag well from rear to front, thus slowing a reload as the hand must first remove the empty mag before reinserting the fresh one. The AR allows the index finger of the shooting hand to depress the mag release and drop the empty mag without assistance. On the older rifles, the bolt is designed to be operated by the right (shooting) hand. The FAL, G-3, and ARs are charged and cleared with the left (support) hand (though the HK requires the operator to reach far out onto the forend to do so). Failure drills and loading will be faster with such as system. I do like the raised vertical bolt handle of the Galil, as it allows for easy manipulation by either hand. Finally, the AK has no bolt hold open, and neither does the HK. The AR series do, and it is easily accessible by the support hand after inserting a magazine. It is large enough to permit slapping with the hand, rather than requiring a precise move to operate. The AR is much faster to reload than the AK, the HK, the M-14, or even the FAL. Sights are important to accuracy. I am probably prejudiced, but I think that the M-14 has the best sights. The AR, FAL, and G3 are good, but lack the quick, fine adjustments of the M-14. The AK sights are fast and robust, but are of very short radius and only grossly adjustable, contributing to the accuracy issue.