Over the years, I have noticed a desire among people to have one do-it-all piece of gear or setup. Something that is capable of every conceivable role. While I have also walked this path, and while, in some respects there will always be a necessity to do this, I have found that there are always negatives to every path we take.
Obviously, without motorized transport to work out of, or without having a personal gear Sherpa, there are always compromises to be made. Every training op (or real-life one) is a careful balancing act between what we might need, what we would like to have, and what we can carry within the limits imposed by bulk and weight.
I first heard the saying that “mission drives the gear train” sometime in the late 90s. For me, figuring out the gear train involves a serious, in-depth analysis of the “mission,” without subjecting myself to analysis paralysis - a feat that is often difficult to accomplish. I have to reel myself in from what-iffing far too often. Almost invariably, compromises are made. It comes down to acceptable compromise, and sometimes, realizing that I can only pare things down so far.
What does this mean in terms of weapon selection? Well, to start with, I have never met anyone who has been in a gunfight that has told me, “Man, I remember being in the thick of it, and wishing I had less ammo/smaller magazines, and ‘less’ gun.” I have met a LOT of people that wished they had more ammo, and that they had a rifle, instead of the handgun they had. By the same token, any gun is better than no gun. Realize that without having a gun caddy that follows you around, prepared to hand you the specific gun you want at any given moment, “perfect” is rarely going to happen.
However, a bit of forethought can go a long way. If I know I will be in an overwatch position, I probably won’t be picking a SBR. If I know I’ll be jumping out of a car and kicking doors, a 16” rifle with LPVO will probably not be my first choice. Can I accomplish those tasks with suboptimal tools? Sure. But in the realm of combat, every advantage matters, especially when skill levels are similar.
Regarding skill levels, I have never been caught out by assuming my opponent is as skilled, or more skilled than I. I have had occasions where assuming I am more prepared/more skilled has bitten me in the ass. So, I try very, very hard to have every advantage possible if pre-planning is possible. Part of that involves gear (and thus, firearm) selection, for the task at hand. In my Gear Philosophy article, I mentioned that I have several different gear setups that I can draw from, based on the task and role I will be performing. While some things remain relatively consistent across my “field” setups (my 1st Line, for example), it definitely becomes a matter of mission driving the gear train…rifles included.
I’m going to say some things that are likely to hurt some feelings. I encourage to read the words I type, and not look for any “tone” to them. Also, I freely admit that my circumstances are not everyone elses’ circumstances. Some people cannot afford to go as deeply down the rabbit hole as I can, and I have friends that can go MUCH deepr than I can.
First, it is absolutely imperative to be brutally honest with yourself. You can lie to anyone else, but honesty to yourself is key. Only you know how often and how harshly you train. Only you know how likely you are to devote time to in-depth maintenance and cleaning, when so many other things must occur, in whatever scenario you are prepping for. If that scenario is a total collapse, and the human resources you have to rely on are minimal, food/water gathering and prep are likely to be a fulltime job. Add in preventive maintenance of all of your stuff (because what you have may be all you ever have, so it better last), gathering wood, security, dealing with illness and injury, and all of the other non-negotiable things you will have to do, and time to keep your equipment inspection-ready is going to be in very short supply. Again, that is assuming you are prepping for that type of scenario, and are even preparing for any scenario at all. If you are, buying equipment, including guns, that will last a lifetime, require minimal cleaning and maintenance, and will perform as close to 100% as possible under harsh conditions are necessities.
If, on the other hand, you are merely a recreational shooter, or a collector, those necessities no longer are. While it will impact the enjoyment of your range day if your gun craps the bed, the consequences are negligible. A couple clicks of the mouse, or a good cleaning, ot a trip to a gunsmith will have you up and running in a matter of hours/days/weeks. Mission. Gear train.
To put into context my next point, some background is in order. I have personally shot well over a million rounds. I see thousands of guns a year shoot thousands of rounds - some is sterile flat range, some is rainy, muddy, snowy, icy “field” conditions. I am a factory armorer for AR15s/M16s/M4s, several types of handgun, and several shotguns. I am one of a handful of armorers responsible for the maintenance and repair of a couple thousand handguns, rifles, and shotguns for my agency. I know, regularly interact with, and discuss firearms and training issues with some of the best-known and most prolific instructors, gunsmiths, and manufacturers in the industry. I have been heavily involved in training on the civilian, the military, and law enforcement side of things. None of the above is meant to toot my own horn. It is to give context to what I am about to say.
Not all guns are created equally.
Parts are not parts.
Direct Impingement guns are not inherently less reliable than piston guns.
Lube is far more important than cleaning on most systems.
Just because the same factory makes parts for different companies does not mean the parts are all equal.
The average (and even the above-average) shooter is probably incapable of out-shooting any of their guns.
Gun magazines and authors lie (neither is likely to get samples to test if they are brutally honest about crappy guns, which means loss of ad revenue).
Many authors are woefully unqualified to talk about the things they discuss, and much of the “testing” they do is unscientific, low-roundcount, performed on pristine, hand-selected samples, in excellent conditions.
What the average “gun person” knows about guns is often laughable, and based on a ton of confirmation bias, or attachment to their personal choices.
Again, this is not me claiming to know it all. These are observations, proven time and time again, over the course of 30+ years of being heavily involved in the industry, and from having seen thousands of high roundcount guns fire millions of rounds, in less than optimal conditions. There are outliers on both ends.
In my experience, there is a sweet spot where quality meets cost, to give the most bang for the buck. As of the time of this writing, that is right around $1000 for an AR15 (rifle only, no accessories). While more expensive is not always better, as of right now, it is pretty hard to get below this price point without cutting corners. Skilled American labor costs money. The more of those skilled, American man hours are put into a gun, the more that gun will cost for the company to break even, let alone make a profit. Manufacturing, assembly, finishing, QA/QC all require time. All require skill to do right. Testing (MPI/MPT) requires expensive equipment amd time. Some companies do not test at all. Some batch test. And some test every piece. The more testing, the more man hours, the more cost.
So, what do I run? Well, that varies. I have Colts, I have BCMs, I have Sons of Liberty Gunworks (SOLGW), I have ADM, I have KAC, I have Hodge, I have Archer, I have Larue. I think that is all I have, that I own, right now. I have shot most other brands, and if it is out there I know someone that either has owned, or currently owns it.
Some examples of guns I own:
ADM UIC lower, B5 SOPMOD Stock, VLTOR A5 Buffer System, Law Tactical Folding Stock Adaptor, T10 Swivel and Mount, Larue MBT2 Flat Face Trigger, Radian Short-Throw Ambi Safety Selector, Radian Raptor Ambi CH, SOLGW 11.5” M89 upper, Cryptic Mystic Black BCG and bolt, Blue Force Gear GMT Sling, EoTech EXPS3, Magpul MBUS Pro BUIS, Modlite 18350 OKW in Arisaka mount, Arisaka Handstop, Unity Axon SL Hot Button
This is my current duty gun. I own a couple other SBRs, set up very similarly, only set up to use a suppressor and with MAWL C1+ ir designators.
Cryptic bolt + A5 Buffer = amazingly smooth-shooting rifle. This is the only AR15 in 5.56 that I own, that has less than 20K rounds on it.
Colt AR15A3 Upper and Lower Receivers, BCM BCG and bolt, BCM Gunfighter Stock and Grip, BCM 14.5” ELF (Enhanced Lightweight Fluted) Barrel with pinned/welded Surefire Flash Hider, BCM KMR Handguard, Raptor Ambi CH, BAD-CASS Short -Throw Ambi Safety Selector, Norgon Ambi-Catch, Vortex Razor Gen II 1-6 LPVO in Badger Ordinance C1 Mount, with offset Aimpoint T2, Blue Force Gear GMT Sling, BCM KAG Handstop, Surefire Fury with Modlite OKW Head in Haley Thorntail Mount, Surefire Pressure Pad
This is another of my duty guns. It has well over 100k rounds on it, and is on its fifth barrel. For rifles with LPVO, this is my standardized setup. The optic may vary, but the layout remains consistent.
Another Colt AR15A3. Magpul M93 Stock, Norgon Ambi-Catch, Ambi Safety Selector, Hogue Grip, Badger Ambi CH, Aimpoint Comp M2 in Prototype Larue Mount, KAC 300m BUIS, KAC RAS Handguard, Surefire M900 Light/VFG, Wilderness Singlepoint Sling
This thing is HEAVY. My Old School circa 2003 Force Recon clone.
7.62x39 AR. Custom Sabre Defense Lower, BCM Upper, Magpul CTR Stock and MOE Grip, Norgon Ambi-Catch, BAD-CASS Short-Throw, Ambi Safety Selector, Armageddon Tactical GMS Ambi CH, Liberty Gun Works Enhanced 7.62x39 Bolt, BCM BCG, Black Rifle Arms 14.5” Midlength gas 7.62x39 Barrel, BCM KMR Handguard, Surefire Muzzle Brake, Aimpoint T2 in Larue Mount, Unity Tactical HUB - Surefire P3 Fury and ATPIAL-C, Troy Rear BUIS, BCM KAG Handstop, Wolff Extra Power Hammer Spring, Enhanced firing pin
Kind of a standardized build for me, when it comes to Red Dot guns, only in 7.62x39.
A note on 7.62x39 ARs - magazines, bolts, firing pins and hammer springs are the sticking points to reliable 7.62x39 ARs, with magazines being the main issue. I tried everything, including the internet magazine builds that allegedly worked great. ASC mags, with modified followers, and special springs, etc. None of them worked. Until I discovered C Products 28-round 7.62x39 magazines. Those things have been 100% problem-free.
I originally built this gun up as an experiment, when 7.62x39 was significantly cheaper than 5.56, and in case 5.56 ever became unobtanium. Because I had a substantial supply of 7.62x39 already (I had an AK47 and a SKS), it was a possible way to make training cheaper, while having a backup caliber, and maintaining the ergonomics of my primary rifle system. With the muzzle brake, and the midlength gas, this rifle shoots suprisingly flat.
Larue .308 OBR - LMT DMR Stock, Ares Amentum Sling, Norgon Ambi-Catch, BAD-CASS Short-Throw Safety Selector, Radian Raptor Ambi CH, Nightforce BEAST 5-25x56 with Horus H59 Reticle and ARD, in Larue Mount, Flatline Ops ACI, Flatline Ops Sniper Accu-Level, Atlas BT10 V8 Bipod
Heavy, but a tack-driver. I’ve taken this to 1400 yds on IPSC steels, using M118LR. If I am carrying this, my total loadout is among my heaviest.
These rifles cover my basic rifle setups. There may be minor differences in optics (CQBSS or Kahles Ki6 vs Razor 1-6, or EoTech vs Aimpoint), or barrel length (14.5” vs 16” or 11.5” vs 10.3”), or the presence of ir designators. However the general setups remain pretty standard. Short rifles for CQB, LPVOs for Recon, Red Dot rifles for General Purpose, High Power Variables for Precision.
I’m not married to the idea that all rifles need BUIS. I’m a believer in some form of Backup Sighting System, but the belief that that needs to be iron sights is not one I adhere to. I have BUIS on many of my rifles because my department requires them, or because I have several spares floating around. I have seen far more iron sights fail/break than quality optics (I don’t include EoTechs in that - I have Eotechs on guns I use under NODs, because, sadly, they are the best option for shooting passively using NODs. I have seen many EoTechs crap out).
I’m a lefty. As such, I ambi all of my guns. For full factory ambi guns, I have found nothing better than ADM. For non-factory ambi guns, I automatically add a Norgon Ambi-Catch and a Short-Throw Ambi Safety Selector to any gun I buy or build, along with an Ambi CH. For Safety Selectors, my go-tos are Battle Arms Development BAD-CASS (no longer made, afaik), or Radian. For CH, the Radian Raptor is hard to beat. I’ve used Armageddon Tactical, BCM, Geissele, Badger, and Griffin Armament. All are decent.
I will sometimes add an aftermarket trigger. I think the Larue MBT2 is the best one on the market, especially if you factor in price. Even not taking cost into account, I prefer the Larue to the Geisseles or Timneys I have used.
For lights, I’m a huge Modlite fan, particularly the OKW for rifles. Surefire, Cloud Defensive, and Streamlight all make good/decent lights as well. I have not seen good things from Olight.
AR15 brands I have seen work well in high roundcount environments:
Colt
BCM
SOLGW
KAC
Daniel Defense
ADM
Radian
Hodge
FN
S&W M&P Sport 2
Sig
H&K
LMT
LWRC
Noveske
Centurion
Sionics
Rosco
AR15 brands that have been hit or miss:
Geissele
Mega
CMMG
RRA
Bushmaster (anything post 2007ish has sucked)
Wilson
AR15 brands I would avoid:
Delton
Anderson
Bear Creek
Fostech
Olympic Arms
DPMS
Nemo
I know this list is not all-inclusive, and I am forgetting some. If you have a specific question, ask in Comments
I left off several brands that I do not feel I have a sufficient sample size on, to comment fairly.
Also, I specifically left Larue off, because they are a brand that I feel are highly dependant on use-case. As precision, semiautomatic rifles, I don’t think they have a lot of competition. I have just over 7000 rounds through mine, with ONE malfunction, which was 100% ammo-related (squib round). I have taken it through multiple sniper schools, and done some pretty horrible things to it. However, I also clean it every 500 to 1000 rounds. As a high roundcount “combat” gun, I am less sure. The tolerances on it are such that I hesitate to trust it with minimal maintenance, in harsh, on-going conditions, where multiple magazines in a compressed timeframe may be necessary.
That is not a slam on Larue, AT ALL. Mark builds amazing products. I’ve probably put at least one of his kids through college with everything I have bought from him. His mounts and triggers are some of, if not THE best I have ever used. For precision stuff, I cannot say enough good about the OBR, and don’t hesitate to recommend it unconditionally.
What about other rifle systems? Or calibers?
I have pretty extensive experience with AK47s, and don’t hate them. There isn’t really a world where I would pick one over a quality AR15. They are a bit more tolerant to a lack of lube than ARs, but I have seen a comparable number of AKs fail as ARs. Ergonomically, the AR blows the AK away. I am not a ballistician, but I do have some training in the field, and have sat in and participated in numerous FBI Protocol tests, and a few dozen vehicle and armor shoots. I see no ballistic advantage to 7.62x39 over quality 5.56.
I’ll link to a video and article from Chuck Pressburg below. He is retired from SFOD-D, a plankholder from AWG and former Ranger, and can speak far better than I on the 7.62x51 vs 5.56 debate. Language warning for the video.
https://www.arbuildjunkie.com/5-56-vs-7-62-chuck-pressburg/
For the Commie-gun lovers out there, my AK47:
Romanian SAR-1, with Kobra optic.
The Kobra is meh. It is basically impossible to zero scientifically, as there are no defined clicks, so it’s a matter of shooting a couple rounds, spinning the dials randomly, shooting a few more, spinning a bit more, and repeating, A LOT. It HAS held up well to abuse, and holds zero, once you have it, and it does offer multiple reticle options.
For the $400 I have into the rifle, it’s great. For what it would cost today, not so much.
Bottom line, buy quality; shoot a LOT, in every condition and position you can think of; train relentlessly in all the ancillary skills. Be deadly.